Chapter I: Part 1

BAXTERS PATENT OIL COLOR PRINTING
XI, NORTHAMPTON SQUARE

CHIMBORAZO
]

VIEWS OF NATURE:
OR CONTEMPLATIONS ON
THE SUBLIME PHENOMENA OF CREATION;
WITH
SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS.

BY

ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT.

TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN

BY E. C. OTTÉ, AND HENRY G. BOHN.

WITH A FRONTISPIECE FROM A SKETCH BY THE AUTHOR, A FAC-SIMILE OF HIS
HAND-WRITING, AND A COMPREHENSIVE INDEX.

LONDON:

HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.

1850.

PRINTED BY HARRISON AND SONS,
LONDON GAZETTE OFFICE, ST. MARTIN’s LANE.

PREFACE BY THE PUBLISHER.

Great pains have been taken with the present translation, as well in regard to fidelity and style, as in what may be termed the accessories. In addition to all that is contained in the original work, it comprises an interesting view of Chimborazo, from a sketch by Humboldt himself; a fac-simile of the author’s handwriting; head-lines of contents; translations of the principal Latin, French, and Spanish quotations;[A] a very complete index; and a conversion of all the foreign measurements. It was at first intended to give both the foreign and English measurements, in juxta-position; but this plan was abandoned on perceiving that the pages would become overloaded with figures, and present a perplexing and somewhat appalling aspect, without affording any equivalent advantage to the English reader. In some few instances, however, where it seemed desirable, and in all the parallel tables, duplicate measurements have been inserted. The French _toises_ are converted into their relative number of English feet; and German miles, whether simple or square, are reduced to our own. The longitudes have been calculated from Greenwich, conformably to English maps, in lieu of those given by Humboldt, which are calculated from Paris. The degrees of temperature, instead of Reaumur’s, are Fahrenheit’s, as now the most generally recognised.

It here becomes necessary to say something of the translators, and the cause of so much unexpected delay in producing this volume; the more so as many of the subscribers to the Scientific Library have expressed an interest in the subject, owing, in some measure, to a controversy which arose out of my previous publication of _Cosmos_. The translation was originally entrusted to E. C. Otté, with an agreement as to time, according to which I had every reason to expect that I should fulfil my engagement to publish it in October last, or at latest in November; but, after much of the manuscript was prepared, the translator’s indisposition and subsequent absence from London, occasioned a serious suspension. In this dilemma I found it necessary to call in aid, as well as to assist personally. The result of this “co-operation of forces” will no doubt prove satisfactory to the reader, inasmuch as every sheet has been at least trebly revised, and it is hoped proportionably improved. In addition to the responsible translator, my principal collaborateur has been Mr. E. H. Whitelocke, a gentleman well qualified for the task.

All the measurements are calculated by the scientific friend, who fulfilled this department so satisfactorily in my edition of _Cosmos_.

The translation of the pretty poem, _The Parrot of Atures_, (page 189,) now first given in English, is contributed by Mr. Edgar A. Bowring.

For the additional notes subscribed “ED.” I am myself, in most instances, responsible.

Much has been said, pro and con, about the sanction of the Author to the several translations of his works. My answer has, I believe, been generally considered satisfactory and conclusive. I have now only to add, that when I wrote to Baron Humboldt, more than a year and a-half ago, presenting him with my then unpublished edition of _Cosmos_, I announced my intention of proceeding with his other works, and consulted him on the subject. He replied in the kindest spirit, without intimating any previous engagement, and honoured me with several valuable suggestions. A portion of one of his letters is annexed in fac-simile. In consequence of what I then presumed to be his recommendation, I determined to make the _Ansichten_ my next volume, and announced it, long before any one else, though not at first by its English name. At that time I had reason to hope that I should receive the new German edition at least as early as any one, but was disappointed. This circumstance, added to the delay already alluded to, has brought me late into the field. In now, however, presenting my subscribers with what I have taken every available means to render a perfect book, I hope I shall afford them ample atonement.

A few words respecting the work itself. The first edition was published forty-three years ago, the second in 1826, and the third, of which the present volume is a translation, in August last. The difference between the three editions in respect to the text (if I may so distinguish the more entertaining part of the work from the scientific “Illustrations”) is not material, excepting that each has one or more new chapters. Thus to the second edition was added the _Essay on Volcanos_ and the curious allegory on vital force, entitled _The Rhodian Genius_, and to the third _The Plateau of Caxamarca_.

The additions to the “Illustrations” however in the third edition are considerable, and comprise a rapid sketch of whatever has been contributed by modern science in illustration of the Author’s favourite subjects.

No intellectual reader can peruse this masterly work without intense interest and considerable instruction. After feasting on the highly wrought and, it may be said, poetical descriptions, written in the Author’s earlier years, he will turn with increased zest to the elaborate illustrations, which, in a separate form, are brought to bear on every subject of the text. This scientific portion, although not at first the most attractive, presents many delightful episodes, which will amply repay the perusal of even those who merely read for amusement.

HENRY G. BOHN.

_York Street, January, 1850._

AUTHOR’S PREFACE,
TO THE FIRST EDITION.

With some diffidence, I here present to the public a series of papers which originated in the presence of the noblest objects of nature,—on the Ocean,—in the forests of the Orinoco,—in the Savannahs of Venezuela,—and in the solitudes of the Peruvian and Mexican Mountains. Several detached fragments, written on the spot, have since been wrought into a whole. A survey of nature at large,—proofs of the co-operation of forces,—and a renewal of the enjoyment which the immediate aspect of the tropical countries affords to the susceptible beholder,—are the objects at which I aim. Each Essay was designed to be complete in itself; and one and the same tendency pervades the whole. This æsthetic mode of treating subjects of Natural History is fraught with great difficulties in the execution, notwithstanding the marvellous vigour and flexibility of my native language. The wonderful luxuriance of nature presents an accumulation of separate images, and accumulation disturbs the harmony and effect of a picture. When the feelings and the imagination are excited, the style is apt to stray into poetical prose. But these ideas require no amplification here, for the following pages afford but too abundant examples of such deviations and of such want of unity.

Notwithstanding these defects, which I can more easily perceive than amend, let me hope that these “Views” may afford the reader, at least some portion of that enjoyment which a sensitive mind receives from the immediate contemplation of nature. As this enjoyment is heightened by an insight into the connection of the occult forces, I have subjoined to each treatise scientific illustrations and additions.

Everywhere the reader’s attention is directed to the perpetual influence which physical nature exercises on the moral condition and on the destiny of man. It is to minds oppressed with care that these pages are especially consecrated. He who has escaped from the stormy waves of life will joyfully follow me into the depths of the forests, over the boundless steppes and prairies, and to the lofty summits of the Andes. To him are addressed the words of the chorus who preside over the destinies of mankind:

On the mountains is freedom! the breath of decay
Never sullies the fresh flowing air;
Oh! nature is perfect wherever we stray;
’Tis man that deforms it with care.[B]

AUTHOR’S PREFACE,
TO THE SECOND AND THIRD EDITIONS.

The twofold object of this work,—an anxious endeavour to heighten the enjoyment of nature by vivid representations, and at the same time to increase, according to the present state of science, the reader’s insight into the harmonious co-operation of forces,—was pointed out by me in the preface to the first edition, nearly half a century ago. I there alluded to the several obstacles which oppose themselves to the æsthetic treatment of the grand scenes of nature. The combination of a literary and a purely scientific aim, the desire to engage the imagination, and at the same time to enrich life with new ideas by the increase of knowledge, render the due arrangement of the separate parts, and what is required as unity of composition, difficult of attainment. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, however, the public have continued to receive with indulgent partiality, my imperfect performance.

The second edition of the _Views of Nature_, was published by me in Paris in 1826. Two papers were then added, one, “An inquiry into the structure and mode of action of Volcanos in different regions of the earth;” the other, “Vital Force, or The Rhodian Genius.” Schiller, in remembrance of his youthful medical studies, loved to converse with me, during my long stay at Jena, on physiological subjects. The inquiries in which I was then engaged, in preparing my work “On the condition of the fibres of muscles and nerves, when irritated by contact with substances chemically opposed,” often imparted a more serious direction to our conversation. It was at this period that I wrote the little allegory on Vital Force, called The Rhodian Genius. The predilection which Schiller entertained for this piece, and which he admitted into his periodical, _Die Horen_, gave me courage to introduce it here. My brother, in a letter which has recently been published (William von Humboldt’s Letters to a Female Friend, vol. ii. p. 39), delicately alludes to the subject, but at the same time very justly adds; “The development of a physiological idea is exclusively the object of the essay. Such semi-poetical clothings of grave truths were more in vogue at the time this was written than they are at present.”

In my eightieth year I have still the gratification of completing a third edition of my work, and entirely remoulding it to meet the demands of the age. Almost all the scientific illustrations are either enlarged or replaced by new and more comprehensive ones.

I have indulged a hope of stimulating the study of nature, by compressing into the smallest possible compass, the numerous results of careful investigation on a variety of interesting subjects, with a view of shewing the importance of accurate numerical data, and the necessity of comparing them with each other, as well as to check the dogmatic smattering and fashionable scepticism which have too long prevailed in the so-called higher circles of society.

My expedition into northern Asia (to the Ural, the Altai, and the shores of the Caspian Sea) in the year 1829, with Ehrenberg and Gustavus Rose, at the command of the Emperor of Russia, took place between the second and third editions of my work. This expedition has essentially contributed to the enlargement of my views in all that concerns the formation of the earth’s surface, the direction of mountain-chains, the connexion of the Steppes and Deserts, and the geographical distribution of plants according to ascertained influences of temperature. The ignorance which has so long existed respecting the two great snow-covered mountain-chains, the Thian-schan and the Kuen-lün, situated between the Altai and Himalaya, has (owing to the injudicious neglect of Chinese sources of information) obscured the geography of Central Asia, and propagated fancies instead of facts, in works of extensive circulation. Within the last few months the hypsometric comparisons of the culminating points of both continents have unexpectedly received important and corrective illustration, of which I am the first to avail myself in the following pages. The measurement (now divested of former errors) of the altitude of the two mountains, Sorata and Illimani, in the eastern chain of the Andes of Bolivia, has not yet, with certainty, restored the Chimborazo to its ancient pre-eminence among the snowy mountains of the new world. In the Himalaya the recent barometric measurement of the Kinchinjinga (26,438 Parisian, or 28,178 English feet) places it next in height to the Dhawalagiri, which has also been trigonometrically measured with greater accuracy.

To preserve uniformity with the two former editions of the _Views of Nature_, the calculations of temperature, unless where the contrary is stated, are given according to the eighty degrees thermometer of Reamur. The lineal measurement is the old French, in which the _toise_ is equivalent to six Parisian feet. The miles are geographical, fifteen to a degree of the equator. The longitudes are calculated from the first meridian of the Parisian Observatory.

_Berlin, March, 1849._

CONTENTS

Page
PUBLISHER’S PREFACE v

AUTHOR’S PREFACE, TO THE FIRST EDITION ix

AUTHOR’S PREFACE, TO THE SECOND AND THIRD EDITIONS xi

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS xvii

STEPPES AND DESERTS 1 Illustrations and Additions 22

CATARACTS OF THE ORINOCO 153 Illustrations and Additions 174

NOCTURNAL LIFE OF ANIMALS IN THE PRIMEVAL FOREST 191 Illustrations and Additions 202 Hypsometric Addenda 204

IDEAS FOR A PHYSIOGNOMY OF PLANTS 210 Illustrations and Additions 232

ON THE STRUCTURE AND MODE OF ACTION OF VOLCANOS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE EARTH 353 Illustrations and Additions 376

VITAL FORCE, OR THE RHODIAN GENIUS 380 Illustration and Note 386

THE PLATEAU OF CAXAMARCA, the Ancient Capital of the Inca
Atahuallpa, and First View of the Pacific from the Ridge of the
Andes 390
Illustrations and Additions 421

INDEX 437

=FAC-SIMILE OF THE HAND-WRITING OF BARON HUMBOLDT.=

EXTRACTS OF A LETTER TO THE PUBLISHER.
]

SUMMARY OF CONTENTS.

ON STEPPES AND DESERTS pp. 1–21.

Coast-chain and mountain-valleys of Caracas. The Lake of Tacarigua.
Contrast between the luxuriant abundance of organic life and the
treeless plains. Impressions of space. The steppe as the bottom of an
ancient inland sea. Broken strata lying somewhat above the surface,
and called Banks. Uniformity of phenomena presented by plains. Heaths
of Europe, Pampas and Llanos of South America, African deserts, North
Asiatic Steppes. Diversified character of the vegetable covering.
Animal life. Pastoral tribes, who have convulsed the world—pp. 1–5.

Description of the South American plains and savannahs. Their extent
and climate, the latter dependant on the outline and hypsometrical
configuration of the New Continent. Comparison with plains and deserts
of Africa—pp. 5–10. Original absence of pastoral life in America.
Nutriment yielded by the Mauritia Palm. Pendant huts built in trees.
Guaranes—pp. 10–13.

The Llanos have become more habitable to man since the discovery of
America. Remarkable increase of wild Oxen, Horses, and Mules.
Description of the seasons of drought and rain. Aspect of the ground
and sky. Life of animals; their sufferings and combats. Adaptability
with which nature has endowed animals and plants. Jaguar, Crocodiles,
Electric Fishes. Unequal contest between gymnoti and horses—pp. 13–19.

Retrospective view of the districts which border steppes and deserts.
Wilderness of the forest-region between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers.
Native tribes separated by wonderful diversity both of language and
customs; a toiling and divided race. Figures graven on rocks prove
that even these solitudes were once the seat of a civilization now
extinct—pp. 19–21.

SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS AND ADDITIONS pp. 22–152.

The island-studded Lake of Tacarigua. Its relation to the
mountain-chains. Geognostic tableau. Progress of civilization.
Varieties of the sugar-cane. Cacao plantations. Great fertility of
soil within the tropics accompanied by great atmospheric
insalubrity.—pp. 22–26.

Banks, or broken floetz-strata. General flatness. Land-slips—pp.
26–28.

Resemblance of the distant steppe to the ocean. Naked stony crust,
tabular masses of syenite; have they a detrimental effect on the
atmosphere?—pp. 28–29.

Modern views on the mountain systems of the two American peninsulas.
Chains, which have a direction from S.W. to N.E., in Brazil and in the
Atlantic portion of the United States of North America. Depression of
the Province of Chiquitos; ridges as watermarks between the Guaporé
and Aguapehi in 15° and 17° south lat., and between the fluvial
districts of the Orinoco and Rio Negro in 2° and 3° north lat.—pp.
29–31.

Continuation of the Andes-chain north of the isthmus of Panamá through
the territory of the Aztecs, (where the Popocatepetl, recently
ascended by Capt. Stone, rises to an altitude of 17,720 feet,) and
through the Crane and Rocky Mountains. Valuable scientific
investigations of Capt. Frémont. The greatest barometric levelling
ever accomplished, representing a profile of the ground over 28° of
longitude. Culminating point of the route from the coast of the
Atlantic to the South Sea. The South Pass southward of the Wind-River
Mountains. Swelling of the ground in the Great Basin. Long disputed
existence of Lake Timpanogos. Coast-chain, Maritime Alps, Sierra
Nevada of California. Volcanic eruptions. Cataracts of the Columbia
River—pp. 31–38.

General considerations on the contrast between the configuration of
the territorial spaces, presented by the two diverging coast-chains,
east and west of the central chain, called the Rocky Mountains.
Hypsometric constitution of the Eastern Lowland, which is only from
400 to somewhat more than 600 feet above the level of the sea, and of
the arid uninhabited plateau of the Great Basin, from 5000 to more
than 6000 feet high. Sources of the Mississippi in Lake Istaca
according to Nicollet, whose labours are most meritorious. Native land
of the Bisons; their ancient domestication in Northern Mexico asserted
by Gomara—pp. 38–42.

Retrospective view of the entire Andes-chain from the cliff of Diego
Ramirez to Behring’s Straits. Long prevalent errors concerning the
height of the eastern Andes-chain of Bolivia, especially of the Sorata
and Illimani. Four summits of the western chain, which, according to
Pentland’s latest determinations, surpass the Chimborazo in height,
but not the still-active volcano, Aconcagua, measured by Fitz-Roy—pp.
42–44.

The African mountain range of Harudje-el-Abiad. Oases of vegetation,
abounding in springs—pp. 44–46.

Westerly winds on the borders of the desert Sahara. Accumulation of
sea-weed; present and former position of the great fucus-bank, from
the time of Scylax of Caryanda to that of Columbus and to the present
period—pp. 46–50.

Tibbos and Tuaryks. The camel and its distribution—pp. 50–53.

Mountain-systems of Central Asia between Northern Siberia and India,
between the Altai and the Himalaya, which latter range is aggregated
with the Kuen-lün. Erroneous opinion as to the existence of one
immense plateau, the so-called “Plateau de la Tartarie”—pp. 53–56.

Chinese literature a rich source of orographic knowledge. Gradations
of the High Lands. Gobi and its direction. Probable mean height of
Thibet—pp. 56–63.

General review of the mountain systems of Asia. Meridian chains: the
Ural, which separates lower Europe from lower Asia or the Scythian
Europe of Pherecydes of Syros and Herodotus. Bolor, Khingan, and the
Chinese chains, which at the great bend of the Thibetan and
Assam-Burmese river, Dzangbo-tschu, stretch from north to south. The
meridian elevations alternate between the parallels of 66° and 77°
east long. from Cape Comorin to the Frozen Ocean, like displaced
veins. Thus the Ghauts, the Soliman chain, the Paralasa, the Bolor,
and the Ural follow from south to north. The Bolor gave rise, among
the ancients, to the idea respecting the Imaus, which Agathodæmon
considered to be prolonged northwards as far as the lowland or basin
of the lower Irtysch. Parallel chains, running east and west, the
Altai, Thian-schan with its active volcanos, which lie 1528 miles
from the frozen ocean at the mouth of the Obi, and 1512 from the
Indian Ocean at the mouth of the Ganges; Kuen-lün, already
recognized by Eratosthenes, Marinus of Tyre, Ptolemy, and Cosmas
Indicopleustes, as the greatest axis of elevation in the Old World,
between 35½° and 36° lat. in the direction of the diaphragm of
Dicæarchus. Himalaya. The Kuen-lün may be traced, when considered as
an axis of elevation, from the Chinese wall near Lung-tscheu,
through the somewhat more northerly chains of Nan-schan and
Kilian-schan, through the mountain node of the “Starry Sea,” the
Hindoo Cush (the Paropanisus and Indian Caucasus of the ancients),
and, lastly, through the chain of the Demavend and Persian Elburz,
as far as the Taurus in Lycia. Not far from the intersection of the
Kuen-lün by the Bolor, the corresponding direction of the axes of
elevation (inclining from east to west in the Kuen-lün and Hindoo
Cush, and on the other hand south-east and north-west in the
Himalaya) proves, that the Hindoo Cush is a prolongation of the
Kuen-lün, and not of the Himalaya which is associated to the latter
in the manner of a gang or vein. The point where the Himalaya
changes its direction, that is to say, where it leaves its former
east-westerly direction, lies not far from 81° east long. The
Djawahir is not, as has hitherto been supposed, the next in altitude
to the Dhawalagiri, which is the highest summit of the Himalaya;
for, according to Joseph Hooker, this rank is due to a mountain
lying in the meridian of Sikhim between Butan and Nepaul, called the
Kinchinjinga or Kintschin-Dschunga. This mountain (Kinchinjinga)
measured by Col. Waugh, Director of the Trigonometrical Survey of
India, has for its western summit an altitude of 28,178 feet, and
for its eastern 27,826 feet, according to the _Journal of the
Asiatic Soc. of Bengal_, November, 1848. The mountain, now
considered higher than the Dhawalagiri, is represented in the
engraving to the title-page of Joseph Hooker’s splendid work, _The
Rhododendrons of Sikkim Himalaya_, 1849. Determination of the
snow-limits on the northern and southern slopes of the Himalaya; the
former lies in the mean about 3620 up to 4900 feet higher. New
statements of Hodgson. But for the remarkable distribution of heat
in the upper strata of the air, the table-land of western Thibet
would be uninhabitable to millions of human beings—pp. 63–80.

The Hiongnu, whom Deguignes and John Müller considered to be a tribe
of Huns, appear rather to be one of the widely spread Turkish races of
the Altai and Tangnu mountains. The Huns, whose name was known even to
Dionysius Periegetes, and who are described by Ptolemy as Chuns (hence
the later territorial name of Chunigard!) are a Finnish tribe, from
the Ural mountains, which separate the two continents—pp. 80–81.

Representations of the sun, animals, and characters, graven on rocks
at Sierra Parime, as well as in North America, have frequently been
regarded as writing—p. 82.

Description of the cold mountain regions between 11,000 and 13,000
Parisian, or 11,720 and 13,850 English feet in height, which have been
designated Paramos. Character of their vegetation—p. 83.

Orographic remarks on the two mountain clusters (Pacaraima and Sierra
de Chiquitos) which separate the three plains of the lower Orinoco,
the Amazon, and La Plata rivers from each other—p. 84.

Concerning the Dogs of the New Continent, the aboriginal as well as
those from Europe, which have become wild. Sufferings of Cats at
heights surpassing 13,854 feet—pp. 85–88.

The Low Land of the Sahara and its relations to the Atlas range,
according to the latest reports of Daumas, Carette, and Renou. The
barometric measurements of Fournel render it very probable, that part
of the north African desert lies below the level of the sea. Oasis of
Biscara. Abundance of rock-salt in regions which extend from S.W. to
N.E. Causes of nocturnal cold in the desert, according to Melloni—pp.
88–92. Information respecting the River Wadi Dra (one-sixth longer
than the Rhine), which is dry during a great part of the year. Some
account of the territory of the Sheikh Beirouk, who is independent of
the Emperor of Morocco, according to manuscript communications of
Capt. Count Bouet Villaumez, of the French Marine. The mountains north
of Cape Nun (an Edrisian name, in which by a play of words a negation
has been assumed since the 15th century) attain an altitude of 9186
feet—pp. 92–94.

Gramineous vegetation of the American Llanos between the tropics,
compared with the herbaceous vegetation of the Steppes in Northern
Asia. In these, especially in the most fertile of them, a pleasing
effect is afforded in spring by the small snow-white and red flowering
Rosaceæ, Amygdaleæ, the species of Astragalus, Crown-imperial,
Cypripedias, and Tulips. Contrast with the desert of the salt-steppes
full of Chenopodiæ, and of species of Salsola and Atriplex. Numerical
considerations with respect to the predominant families. The plains
which skirt the Frozen Ocean (north of what Admiral Wrangel has
described as the boundary of Coniferæ and Amentaceæ), are the domain
of cryptogamic plants. Physiognomy of the Tundra on an ever-frozen
soil, covered with a thick coating of Sphagnum and other foliaceous
mosses, or with the snow-white Cenomyce and Stereocaulon paschale—pp.
94–96.

Chief causes of the very unequal distribution of heat in the European
and American continents. Direction and inflection of the isothermal
lines (equal mean-heat of the year, in winter and summer)—pp. 96–105.

Is there reason to believe that America emerged later from the chaotic
covering of waters?—pp. 105–107. Thermal comparison between the
northern and southern hemispheres in high latitudes—pp. 107–109.
Apparent connexion between the sand-seas of Africa, Persia, Kerman,
Beloochistan, and Central Asia. On the western portion of the Atlas,
and the connection of purely mythical ideas, with geographical
legends. Indefinite allusions to fiery eruptions. Triton Lake. Crater
forms, south of Hanno’s “Bay of the Gorilla Apes.” Singular
description of the Hollow Atlas, from the Dialexes of Maximus
Tyrius—pp. 110–11.

Explanations of the Mountains of the Moon (Djebel-al-Komr) in the
interior of Africa, according to Reinaud, Beke, and Ayrton. Werne’s
instructive report of the second expedition, which was undertaken by
command of Mehemet Ali. The Abyssinian high mountain chain, which,
according to Rüppell, attains nearly the height of Mont Blanc. The
earliest account of the snow between the tropics is contained in the
inscription of Adulis, which is of a somewhat later date than Juba.
Lofty mountains, which between 6° and 4°, and even more southerly,
approach the Bahr-el-Abiad. A considerable rise of ground separates
the White Nile from the basin of the Goschop. Line of separation
between the waters which flow towards the Mediterranean and Indian
seas, according to Carl Zimmermann’s map. Lupata chain, according to
the instructive researches of Wilhelm Peters—pp. 114–120.

Oceanic currents. In the northern part of the Atlantic the waters are
agitated in a true rotatory movement. That the first impulse to the
Gulf-stream is to be looked for at the southern apex of Africa, was a
fact already known to Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1560. Influence of the
Gulf-stream on the climate of Scandinavia. How it contributed to the
discovery of America. Instances of Esquimaux, who, favoured by
north-west winds, have been carried, through the returning easterly
inclined portion of the warm gulf-stream, to the European coasts.
Information of Cornelius Nepos and Pomponius Mela respecting Indians,
whom a King of the Boii sent as a present to the Gallic Proconsul
Quintus Metellus Celer; and again of others in the times of the Othos,
Frederick Barbarossa, Columbus, and Cardinal Bembo. Again, in the
years 1682 and 1684, natives of Greenland appeared at the Orkney
Islands—pp. 120–125.

Effects of lichens and other cryptogamia in the frigid and temperate
zones, in promoting the growth of the larger phanerogamia. In the
tropics the preparatory ground-lichens often find substitutes in the
oleaginous plants. Lactiferous animals of the New Continent; the
Llama, Alpaca, and Guanaco—pp. 125–128. Culture of farinaceous
grasses—pp. 128–131. On the earliest population of America—pp.
131–134.

The coast-tribe the Guaranes (Warraus), and the littoral palm
Mauritia, according to Bembo, Raleigh, Hillhouse, Robert and Richard
Schomburgk—pp. 134–136.

Phenomena produced in the Steppe by a long drought. Sand-spouts, hot
winds, deceptive images by aërial refraction (mirage). The awaking of
crocodiles and tortoises after a long summer sleep—pp. 136–142.

Otomaks. General considerations respecting the earth-eating of certain
tribes. Unctuous and Infusorial earths—pp. 142–146.

Carved Figures on rocks, which form a belt running east and west from
the Rupunuri, Essequibo, and mountains of Pacaraima, to the solitudes
of the Cassiquiare. Earliest observation (April, 1749) of such traces
of an ancient civilization, in the unpublished travels of the Surgeon
Nicolas Hortsmann, of Hildesheim, found among d’Anville’s papers—pp.
147–151.

The vegetable poison Curare, or Urari—pp. 151–152.

ON THE CATARACTS OF THE ORINOCO, NEAR ATURES AND MAYPURES pp. 153–173.

The Orinoco, general view of its course. Ideas excited in the mind of
Columbus on beholding its mouth. Its unknown sources lie to the east
of the lofty Duida and of the thickets of Bertholletia. Cause of the
principal bends of the river—pp. 153–162. The Falls. Raudal of
Maypures, bounded by four streams. Former state of the region. Insular
form of the rocks Keri and Oco. Grand spectacle displayed on
descending the hill Manimi. A foaming surface, several miles in
extent, suddenly presents itself to view. Iron-black masses of
tower-like rocks rise precipitately from the bed of the river; the
summits of the lofty palms pierce through the clouds of vapoury
spray—pp. 162–168.

Raudal of Atures, another island-world. Rock-dykes, connecting one
island with the other. They are the resort of the pugnacious,
golden-coloured rock manakin. Some parts of the river-bed in the
cataracts are dry, in consequence of the waters having formed for
themselves a channel through subterranean cavities. Visit to these
parts on the approach of night, during a heavy thunder-storm.
Unsuspected propinquity of crocodiles—pp. 168–171. The celebrated cave
of Ataruipe, the grave of an extinct tribe—pp. 171–173.

SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS AND ADDITIONS pp. 174–190.

Abode of the river-cow (_Trichecus Manati_) in the sea, at the spot
where, in the Gulf of Xagua on the southern coast of the Island of
Cuba, springs of fresh water gush forth—pp. 174, 175.

Geographical illustration of the sources of the Orinoco—pp. 175–179.

Juvia (_Bertholletia_), a Lecythidea, remarkable as an instance of
lofty organic development. Haulm of an Arundinaria upwards of sixteen
feet from joint to joint—pp. 179–180.

On the fabulous Lake Parime—pp. 180–188.

The Parrot of Atures, a poem by Ernst Curtius. The bird lived in
Maypures, and the natives declared that he was not understood, because
he spoke the language of the extinct Aturian tribe—pp. 188–190.

NOCTURNAL LIFE OF ANIMALS IN THE PRIMEVAL FOREST pp. 191–201.

Difference in the richness of languages as regards precise and
definite words for characterizing natural phenomena, such as the state
of vegetation and the forms of plants, the contour and grouping of
clouds, the appearance of the earth’s surface, and the shape of
mountains. Loss which languages sustain in such expressive words. The
misinterpretation of a Spanish word has enlarged mountain-chains on
maps, and created new ranges. PRIMEVAL FOREST. Frequent misuse of this
term. Want of uniformity in the association of the arboral species is
characteristic of the forests within the tropics. Causes of their
imperviousness. The Climbing plants (_Lianes_) often form but a very
inconsiderable portion of the underwood—pp. 191–196.

Aspect of the Rio Apure in its lower course. Margin of the forest
fenced like a garden by a low hedge of Sauso (_Hermesia_). The wild
animals of the forest issue with their young through solitary gaps, to
approach the river-side. Herds of large Capybaræ, or Cavies.
Fresh-water dolphins—pp. 196–199. The cries of wild animals resound
through the forest. Cause of the nocturnal noises—pp. 199–200.
Contrast to the repose which reigns at noontide on very hot days
within the tropics. Description of the rocky narrows of the Orinoco at
the Baraguan. Buzzing and humming of insects; in every shrub, in the
cracked bark of trees, in the perforated earth, furrowed by
hymenopterous insects, life is audible and manifest—pp. 200–201.

SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS AND ADDITIONS pp. 202–203.

Characteristic denominations of the surface of the earth (Steppes,
Savannahs, Prairies, Deserts) in the Arabic and Persian. Richness of
the dialects of Old Castile for designating the forms of mountains.
Fresh-water rays and fresh-water dolphins. In the giant streams of
both continents some organic sea-forms are repeated. American
nocturnal apes with cat’s eyes; the tricoloured striped Douroucoali of
the Cassiquiare—pp. 202–203.

HYPSOMETRIC ADDENDA pp. 204–209.

Pentland’s measurements in the eastern mountain-chain of Bolivia.
Volcano of Aconcagua, according to Fitz-Roy and Darwin. Western
mountain-chain of Bolivia—pp. 204–205. Mountain systems of North
America. Rocky Mountains and snowy chain of California. Laguna de
Timpanogos—pp. 205–207. Hypsometric profile of the Highland of Mexico
as far as Santa Fé—pp. 207–209.

IDEAS FOR A PHYSIOGNOMY OF PLANTS pp. 210–231.

Universal profusion of life on the slopes of the highest mountain
summits, in the ocean and in the atmosphere. Subterranean Flora.
Siliceous-shelled polygastrica in masses of ice at the pole. Podurellæ
in the ice tubules of the glaciers of the Alps; the glacier-flea
(_Desoria glacialis_). Minute organisms of the dust fogs—pp. 210–213.

History of the vegetable covering. Gradual extension of vegetation
over the naked crust of rock. Lichens, mosses, oleaginous plants.
Cause of the present absence of vegetation in certain districts.—pp.
213–220.

Each zone has its peculiar character. All animal and vegetable
conformation is bound to fixed and ever-recurring types. Physiognomy
of Nature. Analysis of the combined effect produced by a region. The
individual elements of this impression. Outline of the mountain
ranges; azure of the sky; shape of the clouds. That which chiefly
determines the character is the vegetable covering. Animal
organizations are deficient in mass; the mobility of individual
species, and often their diminutiveness, conceals them from view—pp.
220–223.

Enumeration of the forms of Plants which principally determine the
physiognomy of Nature, and which increase or diminish from the equator
towards the Pole, in obedience to established laws—

Text. Illustrations.
Palms pp. 223–224 pp. 296–304
Banana form p. 224 p. 305
Malvaceæ p. 224 pp. 305–307
Mimosæ p. 225 pp. 307–308
Ericeæ p. 225 pp. 308–310
Cactus form p. 226 pp. 310–312
Form of Orchideæ p. 226 pp. 312–313
Casuarinæ p. 226 pp. 313–314
Acicular-leaved Trees p. 227 pp. 314–329
Pothos form, and that of the Aroideæ p. 227 pp. 329–331
Lianes and Climbing plants pp. 227–228 pp. 331–332
Aloes p. 228 pp. 332–334
Grass form p. 228 pp. 334–337
Ferns p. 229 pp. 337–341
Lilies p. 229 pp. 341–343
Willow form p. 229 p. 343
Myrtles p. 229 pp. 343–346
Melastomaceæ p. 229 p. 346
Laurel form p. 229 p. 346

Enjoyment resulting from the natural grouping and contrasts of these
plant-forms. Importance of the physiognomical study of plants to the
landscape-painter—pp. 229–231.

SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS AND ADDITIONS pp. 232–352.

Organisms, both animal and vegetable, in the highest Alpine regions,
near the line of eternal snow, in the Andes chain, and the Alps;
insects are carried up involuntarily by the ascending current of air.
The small field-mouse (_Hypudæus nivalis_) of the Swiss Alps. On the
real height to which the Chinchilla laniger mounts in Chili—pp.
232–233.

Lecideæ, Parmeliæ on rocks not entirely covered with snow; but certain
phanerogamic plants also stray in the Cordilleras beyond the boundary
of perpetual snow, thus Saxifraga Boussingaulti to 15,773 feet above
the level of the sea. Groups of phanerogamic Alpine plants in the
Andes chain at from 13,700 to nearly 15,000 feet high. Species of
Culcitium, Espeletia, Ranunculus, and small moss-like umbellifera,
Myrrhis andicola, and Fragosa arctioides—pp. 233–234. Measurement of
Chimborazo, and etymology of the name—pp. 234–236. On the greatest
absolute height to which men in both continents, in the Cordilleras
and the Himalaya,—on the Chimborazo and Tarhigang—have as yet
ascended—p. 236.

Economy, habitat, and singular mode of capturing the Condor (_Cuntur_,
in the Inca language) by means of palisades—pp. 237–239. Use of the
Gallinazos (_Cathartes urubu_ and _C. aura_) in the economy of nature,
for purifying of the air in the neighbourhood of human dwellings;
their domestication—pp. 239–240.

On the so-called revivification of the rotifera, according to
Ehrenberg and Doyère; according to Payen, germs of Cryptogamia retain
their power of reproduction in the highest temperature—pp. 240–241.

Diminution, if not total suspension, of organic functions in the
winter-sleep of the higher classes of animals—p. 242. Summer-sleep of
animals in the tropics. Drought acts like the cold of winter. Tenrecs,
Crocodiles, Tortoises, and East-African Lepidosirens—pp. 242–244.

Pollen, Fructification of Plants. The experience of many years
concerning the Cœlebogyne; it brings forth mature seeds in England
without a trace of male organs—pp. 244–245.

The phosphorescence of the Ocean through luminous animals as well as
organic fibres and membranes of the decomposing animalculæ. Acalephæ
and siliceous-shelled luminous infusoria. Influence of nervous
irritability on the coruscation—pp. 245–250.

Pentastoma, inhabiting the lungs of the rattle-snake of Cumana—p. 251.

Rock-constructing Coral animals. The structure surviving the
architects. More correct views of the present period. Coast-reefs,
Reefs surrounding islands and Lagoon-islands. Atolls, Coral walls
inclosing a lagoon. The royal gardens of Christopher Columbus, The
Coral Islands south of Cuba. The living gelatinous coating of the
calcareous fabric of the coral-stems allures fishes in quest of food,
and also turtles. Singular mode of fishing with the Remora, _Echeneis
Naucrates_ (the little angling fish)—pp. 251–258.

Probable depth of the coralline structures—pp. 258–260. Besides a
great quantity of carbonate of lime and magnesia, the madrepores and
Astreæ contain also some fluoric and phosphoric acid—pp. 260–261.
Oscillating state of the sea-bottom according to Darwin—pp. 261–262.

Irruptions of the sea. Mediterranean Sea. Sluice-theory of Strato.
Samothracian legends. The Myth of Lyctonia and the submerged
Atlantis—pp. 262–266. Concerning the precipitation of clouds—p. 266.
The indurating crust of the earth while giving out caloric. Heated
currents of air, which in the primordial period, during the frequent
corrugations of the mountainous strata, and the upheaval of lands,
have poured into the atmosphere through temporary fissures and
chasms—pp. 266–268.

Colossal size and great age of certain genera of trees, _e. g._, the
dragon-tree of Orotava of 13, the Adansonia digitata (Baobab) of 33
feet in diameter. Carved characters of the 15th century. Adanson
assigns to certain Baobab-stems of Senegambia an age of from 5000 to
6000 years—pp. 268–273.

According to an estimate based on the number of the annual rings,
there are yews (Taxus baccata) of from 2600 to 3000 years old. Whether
in the temperate northern zone that part of a tree which faces the
north has narrower rings, as Michael Montaigne asserted in 1581?
Gigantic trees, of which some individuals attain a diameter of above
20 feet and an age of several centuries, belong to the most opposite
natural families—pp. 273–274.

Diameter of the Mexican Schubertia disticha of Santa Maria del Tule
43, of the oak near Saintes (Dep. de la Charente inf.) 30 feet. The
age of this oak considered by its annual rings to be from 1800 to 2000
years. The main stem of the rose-tree (27 feet high) at the crypt of
the church of Hildesheim is 800 years old. A species of fucus,
Macrocystis pyrifera, attains a length of more than 350 feet, and
therefore exceeds all the conifera in length, not excepting the
Sequoia gigantea itself—pp. 274–276.

Investigations into the supposed number of the phanerogamic species of
plants, which have hitherto been described or are preserved in
herbariums. Numerical ratios of plant-forms. Discovered laws of the
geographical distribution of the families. Ratios of the great
divisions: of the Cryptogamia to the Cotyledons, and of the
Monocotyledons to the Dicotyledons, in the torrid, temperate, and
frigid zones. Outlines of arithmetical botany. Number of the
individuals, predominance of social plants. The forms of organic
beings stand in mutual dependence on each other. If once the number of
species in one of the great families of the Glumaceæ, Leguminosæ, or
Compositæ, on any one point of the earth, be known, an approximative
conclusion may be arrived at not only as to the number of all the
phanerogamia, but also of the species of all remaining plant-families
growing there. Connection of the numerical ratios here treated on in
the geographical distribution of the families, with the direction of
the isothermal lines. Primitive mystery in the distribution of types.
Absence of Roses in the southern, and of Calceolarias in the northern
zone. Why has our heath (Calluna vulgaris), and why have our Oaks not
progressed eastwards across the Ural into Asia? The vegetation-cycle
of each species requires a certain minimum heat for its due organic
development—pp. 273–287.

Analogy with the numeric laws in the distribution of animal forms. If
more than 35,000 species of phanerogamia are now cultivated in Europe,
and if from 160,000 to 212,000 phanerogamia are now contained,
described and undescribed, in our herbariums; it is probable that the
number of collected insects scarcely equals that number of
phanerogamia; whereas in individual European districts the insects
collected preponderate in a threefold ratio over the phanerogamia—pp.
287–291.

Considerations on the proportion borne by the number of the
phanerogamia actually ascertained, to the entire number existing on
the globe—pp. 291–295.

Influence of the pressure of atmospheric strata on the form and life
of plants, with reference to Alpine vegetation—pp. 295–296.

Specialities on the plant-forms already enumerated. Physiognomy of
plants discussed from three different points of view: the absolute
difference of the forms, their local preponderance in the sum total of
the phanerogamic Floras, and their geographical as well as climatic
dispersion—pp. 296–346. Greatest height of arboral plants; examples of
223 to 246 feet in Pinus Lambertiana and P. Douglasii, of 266 in P.
Strobus, of 300 feet in Sequoia gigantea and Pinus trigona. All these
examples are from the north-western part of the New Continent. The
Araucaria excelsa of Norfolk Island, accurately measured, rises only
from 182 to 223 feet; the Alpine palms of the Cordilleras (Ceroxylon
andicola), only 190 feet—pp. 322–324. A contrast to these gigantic
vegetable forms, presented not merely by the stem of the arctic willow
(Salix arctica, two inches in height,) stunted by cold and exposure on
the mountains, but also in the tropical plains by the Tristicha
hypnoides, a phanerogamic plant which is hardly three French lines
(quarter of an inch) in height, when fully developed—pp. 324–325.

Bursting forth of blossoms from the rough bark of the Crescentia
Cujete, of the Gustavia augusta, from the roots of the Cacao tree. The
largest blossoms borne by the Rafflesia Arnoldi, Aristolochia cordata,
Magnolia, Helianthus annuus—p. 348.

The different forms of plants determine the scenic character of
vegetation in the different zones. Physiognomic classification, or
distribution of the groups according to external facies, is from its
basis of arrangement entirely different from the classification
according to the system of natural families. The physiognomy of plants
is based principally on the so-called organs of vegetation, on which
the preservation of the individual depends; systematic botany bases
the classification of the natural families on the consideration of the
organs of reproduction, on which the preservation of the species
depends—pp. 348–352.

ON THE STRUCTURE AND MODE OF ACTION OF VOLCANOS IN
DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE EARTH— pp. 353–375.

Influence of travels in distant lands on the generalization of our
ideas and on the progress of physical orology. Influence of the
conformation of the Mediterranean on the earliest ideas respecting
volcanic phenomena.—COMPARATIVE GEOLOGY OF VOLCANOS. Periodical return
of certain revolutions in nature, the cause of which lies deep in the
interior of the globe. Proportion of the height of volcanos to that of
their cone of ashes in the Pichincha, Peak of Teneriffe, and Vesuvius.
Changes in the height of volcanic mountain summits. Measurements of
the margins of the crater of Vesuvius from 1773 to 1822; the author’s
measurements embrace the period from 1805 to 1822—pp. 353–365.
Circumstantial description of the eruption in the night between the
24th and 25th of October, 1822. Falling in of a cone of ashes more
than 400 feet high, which stood in the interior of the crater. The
eruption of ashes from the 24th to the 28th of October, was the most
memorable among those, of which authentic accounts are possessed,
since the time of the elder Pliny—pp. 365–371.

Difference between volcanos that are of very diverse forms, with
permanent craters, and the phenomena more rarely observed in historic
times, in which trachytic mountains suddenly open, eject lava and
ashes, and reclose, perhaps for ever. The latter phenomena are
peculiarly instructive for geognosy, because they remind us of the
earliest revolutions that occurred in the oscillating, upheaved,
fissured surface of the earth. In ancient times they led to the notion
of the Pyriphlegethon. Volcanos are intermittent earth-springs, the
result of a permanent or transitory connection between the interior
and exterior of our planet, the result of a reaction of the still
fluid interior against the crust of the earth; hence the question is
useless, as to what chemical substance burns in the volcanos, and
furnishes the material for combustion—pp. 371–373. The primary cause
of subterranean heat is, as in all planets, the formative process
itself, the separation of the conglomerating mass from a cosmic
vaporous fluid. Power and influence of the calorific radiation from
numerous deep fissures, unfilled veins in the primordial world. Great
independence, at that period, of the climate (atmospheric temperature)
in respect to geographical latitude, the position of the planet
towards the central body, the sun. Organisms of the present tropical
world buried in the icy north—pp. 373–375.

SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS AND ADDITIONS pp. 376–379.

Barometric measurements on Vesuvius, comparison of the two
crater-margins and the Rocca del Palo—pp. 376–379. Increase of
temperature with depth, being 1° of Fahrenheit for every 54 feet.
Temperature of the Artesian well in Oeynhausen’s Bath (New Salt-works
near Minden), at the greatest depth yet reached below the level of the
sea. As early as the third century the thermal springs near Carthage
led Patricius, Bishop of Pertusa, to form correct suppositions
respecting the cause of calorific increase in the interior of the
earth—p. 379.

VITAL FORCE, OR THE RHODIAN GENIUS; AN ALLEGORY. pp. 380–385. ILLUSTRATIONS AND NOTE pp. 386–389.

The Rhodian Genius is the development of a physiological idea in a
mythical garb. Difference of views concerning the necessity and
nonnecessity for the assumption of peculiar vital forces—pp. 386–387.
The difficulty of satisfactorily reducing the vital phenomena of the
organism to physical and chemical laws is, principally, based on the
complexity of the phenomena, on the multiplicity of forces acting
simultaneously, as well as on the varying conditions of their
activity. Definition of the expressions, _animate_ and _inanimate_
matter. Criteria of the miscent state ensuing upon separation, are the
simple enunciation of a fact—pp. 387–389.

THE PLATEAU OF CAXAMARCA, THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF THE INCA
ATAHUALLPA, AND FIRST VIEW OF THE PACIFIC FROM THE RIDGE
OF THE ANDES. pp. 390–420.

Cinchona, or Quina-woods in the valleys of Loxa. First use of the
fever-bark in Europe; the Vice-Queen Countess of Chinchon—pp. 390–392.

Alpine vegetation of the Paramos. Ruins of ancient Peruvian causeways;
they rise in the Paramo del Assuay almost to the height of Mont
Blanc—p. 394. Singular mode of communication, by a swimming courier—p.
399.

Descent to the Amazon River. Vegetation around Chamaya and Tomependa;
red groves of Bougainvillæa. Rocky ridges which cross the Amazon
River. Cataracts. Narrows of the Pongo de Manseriche, in which the
mighty stream, measured by La Condamine, is hardly 160 feet broad.
Fall of the rocky dam of Rentema, which for several hours, laid bare
the bed of the river, to the terror of the inhabitants on its banks—p.
401.

Passage across the Andes chain, where it is intersected by the
magnetic equator. Ammonites of nearly 15 inches, Echini and Isocardia
of the chalk-formation, collected between Guambos and Montan, nearly
12,800 feet above the sea. Rich silver-mines of Chota. The
picturesque, tower-like Cerro de Gualgayoc. An enormous mass of
filamentous virgin silver in the Pampa de Navar. A treasure of virgin
gold, twined round with filamentous silver, in the shell-field
(Choropampa), so named on account of the numerous fossils. Outbursts
of silver and gold ores in the chalk-formations. The little
mountain-town of Micuipampa lies 11,873 feet above the sea—pp.
402–405.

Across the mountain wilderness of the Paramo de Yanaguanga the
traveller descends into the beautiful embosomed valley or rather
Plateau of Caxamarca (almost at an equal altitude with the city of
Quito). Warm baths of the Inca. Ruins of Atahuallpa’s palace,
inhabited by his indigent descendants, the family of Astorpilca.
Belief entertained there, in the existence of subterranean golden
gardens of the Inca; said to be situated in the lovely valley of
Yucay, under the Temple of the Sun at Cuzco, and at many other points.
Conversation with the son of the Curaca Astorpilca. The room is still
shown in which the unfortunate Atahuallpa was kept prisoner for nine
months, from the November of 1532; also the wall on which he made a
mark to indicate the height to which he would cause the room to be
filled with gold, if his persecutors would set him free. Account of
the prince’s execution on the 29th of August, 1533, and remarks on the
so-called “indelible blood stain” on a stone slab before the altar in
the chapel of the city prison—pp. 406–414. How the hope in a
restoration of the Inca empire, also indulged in by Raleigh, has been
maintained among the natives. Causes of this fanciful belief—p. 414.

Journey from Caxamarca to the sea-coast. Passage across the
Cordilleras through the Altos de Guangamarca. The often disappointed
hope of enjoying the sight of the Pacific from the crest of the Andes,
at last gratified, at a height of 9380 feet—pp. 415–420.

SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS AND ADDITIONS pp. 421–436.

On the origin of the name borne by the Andes Chain p. 421.

Epoch of the introduction of Cinchona (Peruvian) bark into Europe—p.
422.

Ruins of the Inca’s causeways and fortified dwellings; Aposentos de
Mulalo, Fortaleza del Cañar, Inti-Guaycu—p. 423.

On the ancient civilization of the Chibchas or Muyscas of New
Granada—p. 425. Age of the culture of the potato and banana—p. 427.
Etymology of the word Cundinamarca, corrupted from Cundirumarca, and
which, in the first years of republican independence, designated the
whole country of New Granada—p. 427.

Chronometric connection of the city of Quito with Tomependa, on the
upper course of the Amazon River, and the Callao de Lima, the position
of which was accurately determined by the transit of Mercury on the
9th of November, 1802—p. 428.

On the tedious court ceremonies. of the Incas. Atahuallpa’s
imprisonment and unavailing ransom—p. 429.

Free-thinking of the Inca Huayna Capac. Philosophical doubts on the
official worship of the sun, and obstacles to the diffusion of
knowledge among the lower and poorer classes of people, according to
the testimony of Padre Blas Valera—p. 431.

Raleigh’s project for the restoration of the Inca dynasty under
English protection, which should be granted for an annual tribute of
several hundred thousand pounds—p. 432.

Columbus’ earliest evidence of the existence of the Pacific. It was
first seen on the 25th of September, 1513, by Vasco Nunez de Balboa,
and first navigated by Alonso Martin de Don Benito—p. 432.

On the possibility of constructing an Oceanic canal through the
isthmus of Panama (with fewer locks than the Caledonian Canal).
Points, the exploration of which has been hitherto totally
neglected—p. 435.

Determination of the longitude of Lima—p. 435.

ON STEPPES AND DESERTS.

At the foot of the lofty granitic range which, in the early age of our planet, resisted the irruption of the waters on the formation of the Caribbean Gulf, extends a vast and boundless plain. When the traveller turns from the Alpine valleys of Caracas, and the island-studded lake of Tacarigua[1], whose waters reflect the forms of the neighbouring bananas,—when he leaves the fields verdant with the light and tender green of the Tahitian sugar-cane, or the sombre shade of the cacoa groves,—his eye rests in the south on Steppes, whose seeming elevations disappear in the distant horizon.

From the rich luxuriance of organic life the astonished traveller suddenly finds himself on the dreary margin of a treeless waste. Nor hill, nor cliff rears its head, like an island in the ocean, above the boundless plain: only here and there broken strata of floetz, extending over a surface of two hundred square miles, (more than three thousand English square miles[C],) appear sensibly higher than the surrounding district. The natives term them _banks_[2], as if the spirit of language would convey some record of that ancient condition of the world, when these elevations formed the shoals, and the Steppes themselves the bottom, of some vast inland sea.

Even now, illusion often recalls, in the obscurity of night, these images of a former age. For when the guiding constellations illumine the margin of the plain with their rapidly rising and setting beams, or when their flickering forms are reflected in the lower stratum of undulating vapour, a shoreless ocean seems spread before us[3]. Like a limitless expanse of waters, the Steppe fills the mind with a sense of the infinite, and the soul, freed from the sensuous impressions of space, expands with spiritual emotions of a higher order. But the aspect of the ocean, its bright surface diversified with rippling or gently swelling waves, is productive of pleasurable sensations,—while the Steppe lies stretched before us, cold and monotonous, like the naked stony crust of some desolate planet[4].

In all latitudes nature presents the phenomenon of these vast plains, and each has some peculiar character or physiognomy, determined by diversity of soil and climate, and by elevation above the level of the sea.

In northern Europe the Heaths which, covered by one sole form of vegetation, to the exclusion of all others, extend from the extremity of Jutland to the mouth of the Scheldt, may be regarded as true Steppes. They are, however, both hilly and of very inconsiderable extent when compared with the Llanos and Pampas of South America, or even with the Prairies on the Missouri[5] and Copper River, the resort of the shaggy Bison and the small Musk Ox.