ment from the moisture of the atmosphere, and the very little that is afforded by the earth from which they spring. Saussure informs us that he once preserved the branch of a species of cactus for fourteen months in a dark cupboard without either earth or water, during which time the quicksilver fell nearly seventeen degrees below the freezing point, while in summer the heat was equal to seventy-eight degrees. The branch had not, when gathered from its parent stem, been conveyed in full strength and vigour to the place of destination; it had previously been subjected for at least three weeks to numerous experiments, both in the sun and shade. At length the cactus shrivelled up, and lost its juices, but during the period of seclusion it threw out roots and branches over its whole surface; and not one portion was deprived of its vegetative power.

The cactus, in common with all succulent plants, of which the unassuming houseleek offers a familiar example, beautifully exemplifies that mighty power which often causes regions naturally most unfavourable to vegetation to be covered with shrubs and flowers. In countries parched with excessive heat, and in places where few other plants would grow, these plants often withstand the beams of a fervid sun; they are provided for the purpose with large vessels for absorbing moisture, and consequently flourish on parched rocks, and in sandy deserts.

The tribe of which the cactus is a member, is curious and fantastic. Its numerous varieties rise abruptly from out the ground; they have neither leaves nor branches, and the stems are developed in the most varied and eccentric manner. Yet the

flowers are splendid, and astonish the passer-by with their gorgeous tints, and the magnificent unfolding of their petals. They often grow to a great size in sandy deserts, where no cool showers refresh the burning soil, where no streams are heard, and where the heated sand is intolerable even to the camel's foot. Yet there the melon cactus presents a cool and copious draught to the fainting traveller, and has often saved him from a lingering and painful death. It grows in the deserts of the East, and of Sahara, of the Pampas also, and in places where no other vegetable could exist. Travellers from the parched plains of Cumana and New Barcelona, speak of some gigantic species, at least thirty feet in height, whose upright and angular stems, if such they may be called, appear in the distance like massive columns. But still more striking is their effect when seen at sunset. The brilliant glow of the horizon then imparts a corresponding hue to the huge vegetable masses which cast a lengthened shadow on the ground, and he who had never witnessed such a spectacle might readily imagine that he saw before him fluted columns and massy pillars, with huge blocks of stone, and magnificent standing candelabra, which seemed destined in by-gone days to light up some hall of state.

Were it possible to embrace in one comprehensive glance the mighty range of the vast Cordilleras, what an exquisite variety of shrubs and trees, of herbs and flowers, would be everywhere conspicuous; of animals too, for the creatures concerning which I have just spoken, the llama, and vicugna, the guanaco, and alpaca, with numerous others of differ

ent forms and instincts, range far up its stupendous sides. Various also are the degrees of temperature in different localities, as they are either screened from the wind, or exposed to its power, or according to the aspect and nature of the soil. We may

briefly notice Quixos and Macas as affording interesting proofs of this peculiarity. Though both lying on the eastern side of the Cordilleras, they are widely different with regard to climate. The first is hot and moist, subject to almost continual rains, and covered in many parts with noble forests, while beautiful groups of cinnamon trees are seen in sheltered and sunny places, the flowers of which surpass even those of Ceylon, and fill the air with fragrance. Macas is dissimilar both in its temperature and seasons; for though it is also finely wooded, and covered with luxuriant vegetation, the air is clear and dry. Those who delight in flowers, and fine weather, and desire to avoid even the semblance of cold weather, might obtain their wish by changing from Quixos to Macas. In the former, winter commences in April, and lasts till September; while in the latter, September is the most delightful month in the whole year, and cool and refreshing breezes descending from the snowy mountains over which they have passed, temper the heat of the sunbeam. The air is then clear, and the sky serene, and the earth is clothed with grass and flowers, while the inhabitants, gladdened with such pleasing objects, rejoice that the storms of winter have passed by. Botanists report that few countries are more rich in vegetable productions. Tobacco grows plentifully in sheltered places; that unfragrant herb

is cultivated to such an extent as to supply the consumption of Peru and Quito, with that of Chili. After steeping the plant in hot mead or a decoction of sweet herbs, in order to improve its flavour, and the better to preserve its strength, it is dried, and tied up in rolls, containing an hundred leaves. No other is used by the inhabitants of the neighbouring countries, who prefer it when thus prepared. Sugar canes and cotton also thrive well in Macas. But the dread of the wild Indians, who commit fearful depredations, discourages the country people from planting more than just suffices for present consumption. It happens not unfrequently that when the peasant is working cheerfully, with his wife and children, he is suddenly assailed, and the products of his labour are in a moment carried off.

Among the variety of valuable trees that diversify the woods of Macas, one of the most remarkable is the Storax, (Styrax officinale,) of which the gum is exquisitely fragrant. But it is rarely to be obtained, as the trees grow in lonely places near the haunts of the wild Indians. Cinnamon trees also flourish in

great abundance. The bark they yield is said to be even superior to that of Ceylon, and though widely different from such as is produced at Quixos, the superiority is merely owing to their being fully exposed to the sunbeams, as they grow unshaded, and the richness of the ground is not drawn from them by the roots of other trees. This mode of treatment answers extremely well, as was shown by the exceeding beauty of a solitary tree, noticed by Ulloa, near the town of Macas, the bark and blossom of which exceeded in taste and fragrance, and aromatic

power, the richest cinnamon of the East. Great quantities of copal and wild wax are also brought from Macas, but the latter is of little value.

It would not readily be imagined that the province of Quito, situated in the centre of the torrid zone, and immediately beneath the line, could be, in climate, a privileged and happy land: where in some parts the natives not only rejoice in the mildness of the atmosphere, but even suffer occasionally from the cold; while in others they walk through meadows covered all the year with verdure, and enamelled with beautiful flowers.

Various circumstances concur in producing these effects, and by the combination of them, the heat is mitigated, and the country rendered habitable. First of these, is the elevation of this portion of America, which, rising high above the sea and land, is less heated by the action of the sunbeams, and is constantly played over by cool and refreshing breezes. Stupendous mountains also intersect the country in many parts, covered with snow that never melts; volcanoes, too, flaming within, but having their summits and deeply riven sides involved in ice. Hence, it happens that the plains are temperate, the valleys warm, and the mountainous regions even cold, and that according to the situation of different places is the gradation and variety of temperature, between cold and heat.

Quito possesses a happy medium. There neither heat nor cold predominates, though the extremes of both are felt at a short distance. The morning is generally pleasant, the day warm, and the nights of an agreeable coolness; the seasons go hand in hand,