the death of the coral animals. More correct views of recent times.
Shore reefs, encircling reefs, and lagoon islands. Atolls, or coral
walls enclosing a lagoon. The coral islands to the south of Cuba, the
Jardines del Rey of Columbus. The living gelatinous investment
of the calcareous scaffolding of the coral trunks attracts fish and
turtles in search of food. Singular mode of fishing by the aid of
the Remora (the Echeneis naucrates) 62-72
Probable greatest depth of coral structures 72-75
Besides much carbonate of lime and magnesia, Madrepores and
Astræas also contain some fluoric and phosphoric acids 75, 76
Oscillatory state of the bottom of the sea according to Darwin 76-79
Traditions of Samothrace. Irruptions of the sea. Mediterranean.
Sluice theory of Strato. Myth of Lyktonia, and the “Atlantis
broken into fragments” 78-83
On the causes which prevent the sinking down of clouds and
precipitation taking place from them 83-84
Heat disengaged from the crust of the earth while solidifying. Hot
currents of air which in the early ages of the earth, from frequent
corrugations of the strata and elevations of land, may have been
diffused in the atmosphere from temporary fissures 84, 85
Colossal size and great age of some kinds of trees; Dragon tree
of Orotava thirteen, and Adansonia digitata (Baobab) thirty-two
English feet in diameter. Characters cut in the bark of the trees in
the 15th century. Adanson assigns to some of the Baobab trunks
in Senegambia an age of between 5100 and 6000 years 86-92
Judging by the annular rings, there are yew-trees (Taxus baccata)
from 2600 to 3000 years old. Is it true that in the northern
temperate zone the part of the tree turned towards the north has
narrower annular rings, as Michel Montaigne affirmed in 1581?
Species of trees in which individuals attain a size of above twenty-
one or twenty-two English feet diameter, and an age of several
centuries, belong to the most different natural families 92-94
Diameter of the Mexican Schubertia disticha of Santa Maria del Tule
40-1/2 English feet; the sacred Banyan fig-tree of Ceylon almost 30;
and the oak at Saintes (Dep. de la Charente Inférieure) 29-1/2 English
feet. The age of the oak tree estimated from its annular rings at
from 1800 to 2000 years. The root of the rose tree growing
against the crypt of the Cathedral of Hildesheim is 800 years old.
A kind of sea-weed, Macrocystis pyrifera, attains a length of 630
English feet, exceeding therefore the height of the loftiest Coniferæ,
even that of the Sequoia gigantea 94-97
Examination of the probable number of phænogamous plants hitherto
described or preserved in herbariums. Relative numbers. Laws
discovered in the geographical distribution of plants. Relative
numbers of the great divisions of Cryptogamia to Cotyledonous
plants, and of Monocotyledonous to Dicotyledonous plants, in the
torrid, temperate, and frigid zones. Elements of arithmetical botany.
Number of individuals; predominance of social plants. The forms
of organic beings are mutually dependent on and limit each other.
If we know exactly the number of species of one of the great
families of Glumaceæ, Leguminosæ, or Compositæ, at any one
part of the globe, we may infer approximatively both the number
of species in the remaining families, and the entire number of
phænogamous plants in the same district. Application of the
numerical ratios to the direction of the isothermal lines. Mysterious
original distribution of types. Absence of Roses in
the southern, and of Calceolarias in the northern hemisphere.
Why has our heather (Calluna vulgaris), and why have our oaks
never advanced eastward beyond the Ural Mountains into Asia?
The vegetation cycle of each species requires for its successful
organic development a certain minimum amount of temperature. 97-113
Analogy between the numerical laws of the distribution of animal and
of vegetable forms. If there are now cultivated in Europe above
35000 species of phænogamous plants, and if our herbariums probably
contain, described and undescribed, from 160000 to 212000
species of phænogamous plants, it is probable that the number of
collected insects and collected phænogamous plants are nearly
equal; whilst we know that certain well-explored districts in
Europe have more than three times as many insects as phænogamous
plants 113-119
Considerations on the probable proportion which the number of known
phænogamous plants bears to the entire number existing on the
surface of the globe 119-125
The different forms of plants successively noticed. Physiognomy of
plants treated in a threefold manner; viz. as to the absolute
diversity of forms, their local predominance in comparison with the
entire number of species in different phænogamous Floras, and
their geographical climatic distribution 126-200
Greatest extension in height or of the longitudinal axis in
arborescent vegetation: examples of 235 to 245 English feet in Pinus
lambertiana and P. douglasii; of 266 English feet in P. strobus; of
298 and 300 English feet in Sequoia gigantea and Pinus trigona. All
these examples are from the north-west part of the New Continent.
Araucaria excelsa of Norfolk Island only attains, according to
well-assured measurements, 203 to 223 English feet; and the
Mountain Palm of the Cordilleras, Ceroxylon andicola, 192 English
feet 165-168
These gigantic vegetable forms contrasted with the stem of two
inches high of a willow-tree stunted by cold of latitude or of
mountain elevation; and still more remarkably with a phænogamous
plant, Tristicha hypnoides, which, when fully developed in the plains
of a tropical country, is only a quarter of an English inch in
height 169
Bursting forth of blossoms from the rough bark of the Crescentia
cujete, the Gustavia augusta, and the roots of the Cacao tree.
The largest flowers, Rafflesia arnoldi, Aristolochia cordata,
Magnolia, Helianthus annuus, Victoria regina, Euryale amazonica,
&c. 203, 240
The different forms of plants determine the character of the landscape
as dependent on vegetation in different zones. Physiognomic
classification or division into groups according to external “facies”
or aspect, entirely different in its principles from the
classification according to the system of natural families. The study
of the physiognomy of plants is based principally on what are called
the vegetative organs, or those on which the preservation of the
_individual_ depends; systematic botany grounds the arrangement
of natural families on a consideration of the reproductive organs,
or those on which the _preservation of the species_ depends 205-210
_On the Structure and Mode of Action of Volcanos in the different
Parts of the Earth_--p. 211 to p. 241.
Influence of journeys in distant countries on the generalisation of
ideas, and the progress of physical geology. Influence of the
form of the Mediterranean on the earliest ideas respecting volcanic
phenomena. Comparative geology of volcanos. Periodical recurrence
of certain natural changes or revolutions which have their
origin in the interior of the globe. Relative proportion of the
height of volcanos to that of their cones of ashes in Pichincha,
the Peak of Teneriffe, and Vesuvius. Changes in the height of
the summit of volcanos. Measurements of the height of the
margins of the crater of Vesuvius from 1773 to 1822: the author’s
measurements comprise the period from 1805 to 1822 213-228
Particular description of the eruption in the night of 23-24
October, 1822. Falling in of a cone of cinders 426 English feet in
height, which previously stood in the interior of the crater. The
eruption of ashes from the 24th to the 28th of October is the most
remarkable of which we possess any certain knowledge since the
death of the elder Pliny 228-235
Difference between volcanos with permanent craters; and the
phenomena (very rarely observed within historic times) in which
trachytic mountains open suddenly, emit lava and ashes, and
reclose again perhaps for ever. The latter class of phenomena
are particularly instructive to the geologist, because they recall the
earliest revolutions of the oscillating, upheaved, and fissured
surface of the globe. They led, in classical antiquity, to the view
of the Pyriphlegethon. Volcanos are intermitting earth springs,
indicating a communication (permanent or transient) between the
interior and the exterior of our planet; they are the result of a
reaction of the still fluid interior against the crust of the earth;
it is therefore needless to ask what chemical substance burns, or
supplies materials for combustion, in volcanos 235-238
The primitive cause of subterranean heat is, as in all planets, the
process of formation itself, _i. e._ the forming of the aggregating
mass from a cosmical gaseous fluid. Power and influence of the
radiation of heat from numerous open fissures and unfilled veins
in the ancient world. Climate (or atmospheric temperature) at that
period very independent of the geographical latitude, or of the
position of the planet in respect to the central body, the sun.
Organic forms of the present tropical world buried in the icy
regions of the north 238-241
_Scientific Elucidations and Additions_--p. 243 to p. 248.
Barometric measurements of Vesuvius. Comparison of the height
of different points of the crater of Vesuvius 243-247
Increase of temperature with depth, 1° Reaumur for every 113
Parisian feet, or 1° of Fahrenheit for every 53·5 English feet.
Temperature of the Artesian well at Oeynhausen’s Bad (New
Salzwerk, near Minden), the greatest depth yet reached below the
level of the sea. The hot springs near Carthage led Patricius,
Bishop of Pertusa, in the 3rd century, to form just conjectures
respecting the cause of the increase of temperature in the interior
of the earth 248
_The Vital Force, or the Rhodian Genius_--p. 249 to p. 257.
_Note to “The Vital Force, or the Rhodian Genius”_--p. 259 to p. 263.
The Rhodian Genius, the development of a physiological idea in a
mythical garb. Difference of views respecting the hypothesis of
peculiar vital forces. 259, 260
The difficulty of satisfactorily reducing the vital phenomena of
organisation to physical and chemical laws, is principally founded on
the complication of the phenomena, and on the multiplicity of
simultaneously acting forces, as well as the varying conditions of
the activity of those forces. Definition of the expressions “animate”
and “inanimate” substances. Criteria derived from the
composition of the elements after a substance has been separated
into parts by external agency are the simple enunciation of
facts. 260-263
_The Plateau of Caxamarca, the ancient residence of the Inca
Atahuallpa, and the first view of the Pacific from the crest of
the Andes_--p. 265 to p. 302.
Quina-producing forests in the valleys of Loxa. First use of the
fever-bark in Europe; the Countess of Chinchon, wife of the
Viceroy 267-269
Alpine vegetation of the Paramos. Remains of ancient Peruvian
artificial roads; they rise in the Paramo del Assuay almost to the
height of the summit of Mont Blanc 269-277
Singular mode of communication by a “swimming post” messenger 277-279
Descent to the Amazons river. Vegetation round Chamaya and
Tomependa; Red Groves of Bougainvillæa. Ridges of rock
traverse the Amazons. Its breadth at the Pongo de Manseriche
less than 160 English feet. The falling in of masses of rock at
Rentema left the bed of the river below the falls dry for some hours,
to the great alarm of those who lived on the banks 279-281
Passage across the chain of the Andes at the part where it is
intersected by the magnetic equator. Ammonites nearly 15 English
inches long, Echini, and Isocardias of the cretaceous group,
collected between Guambos and Montan, 12790 English feet above
the level of the sea. Rich silver mines of Chota. The picturesquely
towering Cerro de Gualgayoc. Large mass of pure
native silver in filaments or wire found in the Pampa de Navar.
A fine piece of pure gold, wound round with similar threads of
silver, found in the Choropampa (field of shells), so called from the
numerous fossils. Outbursts of silver and gold ores amongst the
cretaceous rocks. The small mountain town of Micuipampa is
11874 English feet above the level of the sea 282-286
From the mountain wilderness of the Paramo de Yanaguanga the
traveller descends into the beautiful valley, or rather plateau,
of Caxamarca (the elevation of which is nearly equal to that of
the city of Quito). Hot baths of the Incas. Ruins of the
Palace of Atahuallpa inhabited by his descendants, the family of
Astorpilco, who live there in the greatest poverty. Strong belief
of the still remaining subterranean “golden gardens” of the Inca
beneath the ruins; such certainly existed in the valley of Yucay,
beneath the Temple of the Sun at Cuzco, and at several other points.
Conversation with the youthful son of the Curaca Astorpilco.
The room is still shewn in which (1553) the unhappy Atahuallpa
was imprisoned for nine months, also the wall on which the Inca
indicated the height to which he would fill the room with gold if
he should regain his liberty. Manner in which the Inca was
put to death on the 29th of August, 1533, and remarks on what
are erroneously called “the indelible stains of blood” on a stone
slab in front of the altar of the chapel of the state prison 287-295
Hope of a restoration of the empire of the Incas (which was also
entertained by Raleigh) has been preserved among the natives.
Cause of this expectation 295
Journey from Caxamarca to the sea-coast. Passage over the
Cordillera by the Altos de Guangamarca. Often disappointed
hope of enjoying the first view of the Pacific Ocean from the crest
of the Andes. This hope at last fulfilled at an elevation of 9380
English feet 296-302
_Scientific Elucidations and Additions_--p. 303 to p. 324.
On the origin of the name borne by the chain of the Andes 303-305
Epoch of the introduction of the Quina-bark in Europe 305, 306
Remains of the roads of the Incas, and of fortified dwellings;
Apozentos de Mulalo, Fortalezar del Cañar, Inti-Guaycu 307, 308
On the ancient civilisation of the Chibchas or Muyscas of New
Granada 308-310
Potatoes and Plantains, when first cultivated 311
Etymology of the word Cundinamarca, which has been corrupted
from Cundirumarca, and was used in the first years of republican
independence to denote the whole country of New Granada 311, 312
Chronometric connection of the town of Quito with Tomependa on
the upper waters of the Amazons, and with Callao de Lima, the
position of which was accurately determined by observations of
the transit of Mercury on the 9th day of November, 1802 312, 313
Unpleasant etiquette in the Inca’s court. Atahuallpa’s captivity;
his proposed ransom 314
Philosophic doubts of Huayna Capac (according to the report of Padre
Blas Valera) respecting the Deity of the Sun. Objections of the
Inca-government to the extension of knowledge among the poorer
and lower classes of the people 316, 317
Raleigh’s project for restoring the dynasty of the Incas under
English protection, for which a yearly tribute of several hundred
thousand pounds was to be paid 317, 318
Earliest evidence obtained by Columbus of the existence of the
South Sea or Pacific Ocean. The South Sea first beheld by Vasco
Nuñez de Balboa (25th Sept. 1513), and first navigated by Alonso
Martin de Don Benito 318, 319
On the possibility of the formation of an oceanic canal (with fewer
locks than the Caledonian Canal) through the Isthmus of Panama.
Points in which the examination has been neglected 319-323
Determination of the longitude of Lima 323, 324
INDEX
Adansonia digitata (monkey-bread tree), one of the largest and oldest
trees of the globe, ii. 89.
Allco, the native Peruvian dog, i. 108.
Aloë, ii. 27, 180.
Altai, one of the four parallel mountain chains in Central Asia,
i. 86.
American races, connection between the inhabitants of Western America
and Eastern Asia probable, but its nature and period uncertain,
i. 176.
Andes, etymological considerations connected with the word Andes or
Antis, ii. 303.
Animal life, its universal diffusion, ii. 1.
Asia, Central, general review of its mountain systems, i. 85.
Atlas.--The position of the ancient Atlas discussed, i. 144.
Atahuallpa, site of his ancient palace, ii. 289;
his prison, 290;
death, 291;
descendants, 292;
notice of the comet which appeared in the year on which the Inca
was put to death, 313.
Banks, slightly elevated portions of the Llanos, called “Banks” by
the natives, i. 2, 33.
Boa, swims in the South American rivers, and carries its head above
water like a dog, i. 190.
Bogota, the seat of an ancient civilisation of the Muyscas or
Chibchas, ii. 309.
Cactus, ii. 24, 147.
Camel, i. 68;
Ritter’s memoir on the diffusion of the camel, present existence
in a wild state, i. 70;
fossil in the Sewalik hills, i. 71.
Casas grandes, ruins of an Aztec palace, i. 168.
Casuarineæ, ii. 25, 152.
Caxamarca, the ancient capital of the Incas, ii. 267, 287.
Cereals.--Original country of the principal Cereals discussed, i. 169.
Chibchas, ii. 309.
Chimborazo, conjectures as to the origin of the name, ii. 37.
Chota, silver mines of, ii. 282.
Cinchona, fever-bark, or quina, ii. 267, 305.
Climate of the eastern or flat portions of South America widely
different from that of Africa in the same latitudes, causes
of the difference, i. 8, 123;
the southern hemisphere cooler and moister than the northern, 139.
Climatic effects of extensive forests, i. 126.
Cœlebogyne, produces perfect seeds without any trace of pollen having
been discovered, ii. 51.
Condor.--Discussion of the height in the atmosphere to which the
condor ascends, ii. 40.
Coniferæ, or needle trees, ii. 25, 175.
Coral reefs, classified by Darwin, ii. 64;
his hypothesis of the origin and growth of coral reefs, 76.
Correo que nada, the “swimming post” in the upper waters of the
Amazons river, ii. 277.
Curare, plant from which the poison is obtained, i. 203.
Current.--Great revolving current of the Atlantic Ocean discussed,
i. 159.
Dogs.--European dogs have become wild in South America, and live in
troops in the Pampas, i. 107;
native Peruvian dogs, 108;
Tschudi’s remarks on the indigenous races of dogs in America, 111.
Dragon-tree of Orotava, ii. 16, 85.
Esquimaux, instances recorded of their having been carried across the
Atlantic to the shores of Europe, i. 162.
Ferns, ii. 28, 188.
Figured rocks, _i. e._ figures engraven on rocks in an extensive
district of South America, i. 196.
Fresh-water springs in the ocean near Cuba, i. 233.
Fournel, recent contributions to the physical geography of Northern
Africa, i. 115.
Frémont, Captain, importance of his geographical memoirs on our
knowledge of the geography of North America, i. 37, and
generally in Note[5], also i. 280.
Geographical distribution of plants, laws of the, ii. 102.
Gobi, the plateau of, i. 74, 79.
Gramineæ, ii. 27, 183.
Guaranis, a tribe inhabiting the sea-coast and rivers near the mouth
of the Orinoco, i. 178.
Granite, leaden-coloured rocks of, in the Orinoco, i. 188.
Great basin, the elevated plain so called, between the Rocky Mountains
and the Sierra Nevada of California, i. 44;
forms an inland closed river basin, 280.
Gymnotus, description of its capture in South America by means of
horses, i. 22.
Heat in plants developed during inflorescence, ii. 175.
Heaths, ii. 23, 145.
Himalaya, one of the four parallel mountain chains of Central Asia,
i. 92.
Hiongnu, i. 101.
Hooker, Dr. J., recent determination of the elevation of the
Kinchinjinga, one of the highest peaks of the
Himalaya, i. 93;
on the production of perfect seeds by the Cœlebogyne, ii. 51;
remarks on the geographical distribution of plants in Antarctic
floras, ii. 122.
Illimani and Sorata, their height above the sea recently corrected,
i. 57, 96, 277.
Kashmeer, valley of, i. 80.
Kinchinjinga, one of the highest peaks of the Himalaya, its elevation
recently determined, i. 92.
Kuen-lün, one of the four parallel mountain chains in Central Asia,
i. 72, 90.
Lama, alpaca, and guanaco, three originally distinct species of
animals, described, i. 166.
Laurels as a characteristic form of vegetation, ii. 28, 200.
Lianes, ii. 26, 178.
Liliaceæ, ii. 28, 193.
Llanos, their description, i. 7;
climate strongly contrasted with that of the African plains, 8;
animals which inhabit them, 15;
their prevalent vegetation, 120.
Luminosity of the ocean, ii. 53.
Malvaceæ, ii. 22.
Marañon, or Amazons, upper valley of, ii. 281.
Mauritia palm, i. 16, 181.
Melastomaceæ, ii. 28, 200.
Mimoseæ, ii. 22, 145.
Mississipi, river, its source correctly ascertained, i. 52.
Moon, mountains of the, their existence, extent, distance from the
Equator, and general direction, discussed, i. 149.
Mountain chains in Asia, in the direction of parallels of latitude,
i. 85;
those coinciding nearly with meridians, i. 94.
Muyscas, ancient civilisation of the, ii. 308.
Myrtaceæ, ii. 28, 196.
North America, general aspect of its natural features, and
considerations on its physical geography, i. 39.
Orchideæ, ii. 24, 151.
Orinoco, i. 207;
magnitude of the river compared with that of the rivers Plate and
Amazons, 211;
its sources yet unvisited, 213;
general description of its course, 214;
“black waters” of the Upper Orinoco, 215;
cataracts of Atures and Maypures, 217;
discussion of questions concerning its sources, 239;
supposed origin in a lake, 243.
Otomacs, a tribe on the Orinoco who use earth as food, i. 190.
Pacific, the author’s gratification at first seeing the Pacific from
the Alto de Guangamarca, ii. 300.
Palms, ii. 20, 128.
Panama.--Communication by canal or railroad across the Isthmus of
Panama discussed, ii. 319.
Paramo, a mountainous region in South America so called, i. 105;
its climate and vegetation, i. 105, ii. 269.
Pastoral life almost unknown to the original inhabitants of America,
i. 13.
Plants, physiognomy of, essentially distinct from a botanical
arrangement, ii. 14, 17, 208;
is the principal element in the characteristic aspect of different
portions of the earth’s surface, 16;
about sixteen different forms of plants enumerated, which are
chiefly concerned in determining the aspect of Nature, 18;
Palms, 20;
Plantains or Bananas, 21;
Malvaceæ and Bombaceæ, 22;
Mimosas, 22;
Heaths, 28;
Cactuses, 24;
Orchideæ, 24;
Casuarineæ, 25;
Coniferæ, 25;
Pothos, 26;
Lianes, 26;
Aloes, 27;
Grasses, 27;
Ferns, 28;
Liliaceæ, 28;
Willows, 28;
Myrtaceæ, Melastomaceæ, and Laurineæ, 29;
number of species contained in herbariums, 97;
points of view in which the laws of the geographical distribution of
plants may be regarded, 102;
conjectures as to the whole number of species on the globe, 119;
more than half the number of species are probably yet unknown, 121;
heat developed during inflorescence, 175;
general remarks on a physiognomic classification, 205.
Pothos, ii. 26, 175.
Quina (or fever bark), ii. 267.
Roads, old Peruvian, of the times of the Incas, ii. 270.
Rotiferæ, their revivification, ii. 45.
Sahara (African desert) composed of several detached basins, i. 114.
Sand-spouts a phenomenon characteristic of the Peruvian Sand Desert,
i. 183.
Sargasso, Mar de; its geographical position discussed, i. 63;
is the most remarkable assemblage of plants of a single species yet
known on the globe, i. 64.
Schomburgk.--Travels of the brothers Robert and Richard Schomburgk
important in many respects in regard to the physical geography
of Guiana and the bordering countries, i. 178, 197, 236, 250.
Sleep, summer and winter, of animals, i. 18, 185; ii. 48.
Snow, limit of perpetual; inequality of this limit on the northern
and southern declivities of the Himalaya, i. 98.
Sorata and Illimani; their heights above the sea recently corrected,
i. 57, 96, 277.
Steppes and Deserts, Characteristics of the European, i. 2;
African, i. 3;
Asiatic, i. 4;
South American, i. 7;
analogies and contrasts between the steppes and the ocean, i. 2, 35.
Strato, his sluice theory, ii. 78.
Sugar-cane; of Tahiti, of the West Indies, and of Guiana, i. 31.
Tacarigua, Lake of, i. 1;
its scenery and vegetation, i. 27.
Temperature.--Contrast between the temperature of the east coast of
America and the west coast of Europe in the same latitudes,
i. 129;
general remarks on the temperature of the United States of America,
i. 131.