Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/20

BOLIVIA other sources of wealth in Bolivia, are of com- paratively little value to the country, owing to the difficulty of transportation. There are in- numerable thermal springs in the republic; those of Caiza in the district of Porco, and Urimiri and Machacamarca near Lake .Aulla- gas, are the most generally known. Not more than half of Bolivia has a tropical climate, al- though nearly the whole republic is within the tropics. In the valley of the Desaguadero ex- tremes of heat and cold are unknown. The year is divided into two seasons : the wet or summer, from November to April, when rain falls almost every day, and the nights are cold with occasional frost; and the winter, from May to October, when snow and rain are never seen. The summer is preceded and fol- lowed by snow storms. This valley is in gene- ral salubrious. The cold in the higher moun- tain regions is extreme ; hail and thunder storms are frequent and terrific; and several maladies of a peculiar nature render abode in these parts exceedingly disagreeable. The su- rumpe, a violent inflammation of the eyes caused by the reflection of the sun's rays on the snow, is attended by severe pain, and sometimes de- lirium, while the veto, or mareo (seasickness), called by the Indians puna, or soroche, attacks travellers with weariness, blood-spitting, verti- go, fainting fits, &c., and sometimes terminates fatally. In the lowlands S. of the Cordillera Real the heat is oppressive in many of the valleys, and intermittent fevers are common. Goitre is prevalent in the Yungas valleys, but is not accompanied by cretinism as in some parts of Europe. Among the vegetable productions are the potato, which grows wild in many parts ; quinoa (chenopodium quinoa), sometimes used as a substitute for the potato ; the various ce- reals ; and nearly all the fruits of the tropical and temperate zones. Cotton grows wild, and is of two kinds, yellow and white, both of a fine, long staple ; the sugar cane is raised to a considerable extent ; the coffee of the Yungas valley is of excellent quality ; cacao is abun- dant on the Beni, and considered to be supe- rior to that of Guayaquil ; and the same prov- ince and Santa Cruz produce tobacco reputed equal to that of Havana. But perhaps the most important product of Bolivia is the coca, the annual sales of which in the market of La Paz amount to $4,000,000. It grows exten- sively along the E. slope of the Andes, be- tween 5,000 and 6,000 ft. above the sea. It is used by the Indians as betel is by the Asi- atics and kava by the South sea islanders ; and a refreshing tea is also made from it. The country produces in abundance copaiba, sarsa- parilla, jalap, valerian, ipecacuanha, and other medicinal drugs ; the canela de clavo, a, species of cinnamon; and many varieties of gums, caoutchouc being abundant and of excellent quality. The fertile strips toward the coast, besides many of the inter-tropical products al- ready mentioned, yield yuca, maize, and algar- robas; and the arundo donax is cultivated. There are vast indigo fields ; cochineal is pro- duced; and flax, once prohibited by Spain, is now largely raised. Dyewoods are numerous ; and the dense forests afford timber of great beauty, such as ebony, rosewood, mahogany, cedar, Brazil, and a variety of woods not com- monly known. The slopes of the Andes are to an immense elevation covered with magnifi- cent trees ; here, and in the valleys and the ravines of the mountains, abound cinchona trees, and especially the valuable G. Calisaya, from lat. 19 S., following the almost semicir- cular curve of the Andes, and at an elevation varying from 2,500 to 9,000 ft. above the ocean. Their usual companions, the ferns, melastomacea, arborescent passion flowers, and allied genera of cinchonaceous plants, are like- wise found in rich profusion. The various species of cacti, acacias, and palms are found in their respective zones; as also the mat6, or Paraguay tea, and a kind of mulberry, from the fibres of which the Indians prepare a beautiful yarn for shirts. A plant called sapaonane is used by the Indians to cure headache, and another called zapatilla as a laxative ; and the leaf of the matico is ap- plied to fresh wounds to draw out any foreign substance which might impede the cure. The cereals are sown on the table land, but do not ripen, and are cut green for forage. There are no trees here; the lower districts are clothed with a beautiful green- turf, and the val- leys with a coarse grass very good for pasture. The banks of Lake Titicaca are characterized by a luxuriant growth of rushes, used by the In- dians to make huts, mats, boats, and for a multi- plicity of uses. The llama, vicuna, alpaca, and guanaco roam in great numbers in the elevated regions ; horses, asses, and mules are plenty ; and numerous herds of horned cattle find pas- ture on the banks of the rivers in the plains. The forests are infested with pumas or cougars, jaguars, ocelots, wild cats, and bears. There are several species of monkeys. Peccaries are destructive to the crops ; the chinchilla is hunted for its fur ; and the burrowings of the bizcacha (lagostomus trichodactylus) render travel dangerous on the plains. The flesh of the tapir, carpincho (river hog), sloth, glut- ton, armadillo, and of two species of wild boar is used for food by the natives. There are the condor, gallinazo, and several species of hawks, also a species of ostrich ; and the mul- titude of birds in and about forest, lake, and river is incredible. Of reptiles there are the anaconda and the rattlesnake ; and the rivers are infested by caymans. Lake Titicaca abounds in fish of peculiar forms ; and in the rivers flowing to the Amazon is the bufeo, a variety of dolphin peculiar to these and the Brazilian waters. The vampire is troublesome in the plains, sucking cattle till death ensues; and there is a hornet called the alcalde, of enormous dimensions. Determined measures have of late been taken to construct roads. Several lines of rail way have been planned and