BOOKS.

MR. BALL'S SOUTH AMERICAN NOTES.* PENDING the completion of M. de Lesseps's stupendous design upon the Isthmus of Panama, South America will not be cir- cumnavigable; but the next thing to circumnavigating it is to do what Mr. John Ball did, as he tells us in the very pleasant little book he has lately brought out. Leaving England in March, 1882, he proceeded by one of the Royal Mail steamers to Barbados, then to Jamaica, and on to Colon. Disembarking there, he took the railway to Panama—a journey of four hours —and there got on board one of the Pacific Mail Company's steamers which run between San Francisco and Valparaiso, calling at various ports on the West Coast of both the Americas, —Panama being one of them, and Callao another. At the latter, the ship on which he had taken passage, was put in quarantine by the authorities, and how long she might have been detained is uncertain, but for the fortunate fact that she carried mails which were for the moment the object of anxious curiosity to the Chili= officials, and to the representatives of foreign Powers :—

"The position of affairs was already sufficiently critical, and the attitude recently assumed by the Government of the United States had added a new element of uncertainty to the existing difficulties.

The result was, that on Monday, just as we were beginning to be seriously uneasy at the prospect of a long detention, a steam. launch was seen to approach having a number of officials on board. A seemingly interminable conversation between them and the captain and medical officer of our ship, finally resulted in a Chilian medical man coming on board to make a careful examination of the ship, the crew, and the passengers. After we had been duly marshalled and inspected—the first-class passengers on the spar-deck, the others on the main-deck—the welcome announcement, Admitted to pratique,'

ran through the ship and about noon we were set on land close to the custom-house." (pp. 59-614

No sooner landed, than Mr. Ball was off to Lima, which is reached by train in half-an-hour :—

" Occupied by the forces of her victorious rival, and shorn of most of the almost fabulous wealth that once enriched her inhabitants, Peril can, even in her present ruined state, show a capital city that impresses the stranger. It is true that the buildings have no architec- tural merit, that most of the streets are horribly ill-paved, and that at present there is little outward appearance of wealth in the thorough- fares; in spite of all this the general aspect is novel and pleasing.

With scarcely an exception, the numerous churches are vile examples of debased renaissance architecture, fronted with stucco ornamentation in great part fallen to decay. Not long before our arrival, I believe under Chilian administration, they had been all freshly covered with whitewash, out into rectangular spaces by broad

bands of bright blue The fair Linteilas, as to whose charms travellers have been eloquent, and who used to throng the public drives and walks towards sunset, were no longer to be seen. To exhibit themselves would be to display indifference to the misfortunes of their country." (pp. 61-62.)

But all this is very well ; it was not, however, merely the author's object, like that of the wily Ulysses, to see cities and their inhabitants. He is, as everybody ought to know, an ardent botanist, one who has long—at least, ever since he re- linquished political life—hovered on the border-line between the amateur and the professional, with much more scientific know- ledge than the ordinary amateur, and yet without the necessity that makes many men professional. Already during his short stay in Jamaica—a stay shortened by the aggravating conduct of the Royal Mail Company's superintendent at Kingston, who "by r. deliberate misstatement" (Mr. Ball puts it mildly ; other men of less calm temperament, and of less caution than becomes an ex-Under Secretary of State for the Colonies,

would have used a shorter substantive) deprived him and his com- panions of "the priceless pleasure of a trip to the mountains "—he had begun herborising, and the process was continued in crossing

the Isthmus, so that in the early days of his Pacific voyage the need of attending to his collection preserved him from " lotus- eating " under the steamer's awning. But landed in Peru, our traveller's business had to be undertaken in earnest. An old President of the Alpine Club, it was natural for him to seek the upper regions of the Andes.

"To a naturalist this great chain must ever be the dominant feature of the South American continent. To its structure and its flora • Notes of a Naturalist in South America. By John Ball, F.11.13., do. London: Kogan Paul, Trench, and Co. 1887, and fauna are attached questions of overwhelming importance to the past history of our planet ; and, however little a man may hope to effect during a flying visit, the desire to gain that degree of acquaint- &ince which actual observation alone can give becomes painfully intense." (p. 63.)

Two lines of railway ought to have put it into Mr. Ball's power easily to effect his purpose ; but, unfortunately for him, the state of affairs produced by the war between Peru and Chili rendered either route impossible for him, though nearly the whole of the former was at the feet of its invaders. From General Lynch, in command of the victorious army then occu- pying Lima, and of Irish descent, Mr. Ball received every assistance, and was thereby enabled to reach Chiela, which was practically the terminus of the Northern line. Here he seems to have thoroughly enjoyed himself, notwithstanding some

deficiency of accommodation and difficulty of supplies. He and his companion had been told before leaving Lima that they would suffer from the soroche—the mysterious "mountain sickness" —but, as was quite natural in a mountaineer of his experience, he treated the warning with derision, for Chicla is only 12,200

feet above the sea-level. Sure enough, however, the malady attacked him, though in a mitigated form, and only during the first two nights after he had lain down. On the third day, in the course of whioh he ascended more than 2,000 feet higher, all the symptoms disappeared.

Mr. Ball's account of the delights of Chiela, must be read to be appreciated, and probably no one but a botanist could appreciate it fully, though the ecstasy which must have pervaded the author's spirit is easily perceived. One distressing drawback there was. He had underrated the quantity of paper required to dry his harvest of specimens, and dreaded their decay before his eyes for want of the means necessary to their preservation. In this extremity he wrote urgently to Mr. Nation, the well- known naturalist at the capital, "telling him that unless I could find two reams of suitable drying-paper on my return, I should infallibly require accommodation in a lunatic asylum at Lima." (p. 84.) It is gratifying to learn that his correspondent did not fail him in the hour of need, and on our traveller's return, he found the required quantity of filtering-paper awaiting him at his hotel.

We have not space to name even the many incidental themes on which Mr. Ball touches in this entertaining chapter. Lightly as they are treated, it is in a masterly fashion, and the result is most agreeable, for what would be to the general reader nothing but dry detail is kept wholly out of sight. We must, however, hasten onward, and content ourselves by quoting Mr. Ball's

opinion as that of a clear-seeing man, without any bias except one in favour of the country he was quitting :—" If Peru is to be rescued from anarchy and corruption, it must be through the

influence of a single will—by a virtual, if not a formal, autocracy. To believe that in such a condition of society as exists here progress can be accomplished by representative institutions, seems to me as gross a superstition as the belief in the divine right of kings." That is to say that another Mango Capac is wanted !

Putting to sea again, our traveller made his way to Valparaiso, touching here and there on the long line of intervening coast.

At one of these points, Iquique—the scene of the naval combat

between the Esmeralda,' and the Huascar,' which changed the fortune of the recent war—copies of the local newspapers were brought off to the ship -- "I had already seen with surprise, and had many further oppor- tunities for observing, the extent to which the newspaper press in South America has absorbed whatever literary capacity exists in the country. Of information there is not indeed mach to be gathered from these sheets ; but of grand sentiments and appeals to the noblest emotions the supply seems inexhaustible. I regret to own that experience in other parts of the world had already made me somewhat distrustful of such appeals ; but the result of my study of South American newspapers culminated in a severe fit of moral indignation, and I do not yet receive in a proper spirit any appeal to tie noblest sentiments of my nature." (p. 126.)

Was Mr. Ball remembering Erin in the days of old, and his contested elections P At Caldera he found the Pacific Squadron of the British Navy, and with regret declined a proffered cast in the flag-ship, continuing his coasting voyage in the 'Ayacucho.' On May 9th he reached the "Valley of Paradise," whose harbour "gives an impression of greater importance than it actually

possesses." The town, he says, has often been described, "but I do not remember to have seen any sufficient warning as to the frightful peril to which the majority of the population is con- stantly exposed" from the effects of earthquakes "It is frightful to contemplate the amount of destruction of life and property that must ensue if a violent shock should ever visit Valparaiso. And the peril is twofold; the great wave which is the usual sequel of a violent earthquake, would inevitably destroy what- ever might survive the first shock in the crowded streets of the lower town." (p. 139.)

Here, at present, the great mercantile houses are chiefly English, and, except among the poorer classes, English seems to be the dominant language, though, as elsewhere, German obviously is running it bard. Mr. Ball made but a short stay, hastening to Santiago de Chili to visit the well-known Dr. Philippi, who, having long occupied the chair of Natural History in the Univer- sity there, is now, though still in full vigour, succeeded in it by his son. But our traveller was further rewarded by being able to come to the conclusion that Santiago is by many degrees the most beautifully situated town that he has anywhere seen, and our readers must know that Mr. Ball's travelling experience is extensive. Thence he journeyed by railway some fifty miles southward to Gualtro, and onwards by coach to the Baths of Cauquenes, on the Cachapoal—thsse being among the few places named in the text which we are unable to find in the excellent map considerately appended to the volume—and there enjoyed his first day's botanising on the slopes of the Chilian Andes. On the morrow he tried higher levels and the rain-repelling pro- perties of a genuine poncho, made of guanacos' wool. Persevering, he was at length rewarded by a cloudless sky, and a most favourable position for viewing the Great Cordillera ; but, wisely no doubt, he abstains from attempting a description of it, though he does tell us of an afterglow, beautiful beyond all former experience and even imagination, which he witnessed on his return to Santiago. These glorious spectacles and scientific pursuits, however, do not make the old parliamentary hand forget its cunning :—

" Among the various claims of the Chilian Republic to be regarded with interest by the student of political progress, I must note the fact that it has for some time successfully adopted a system of suffrage which is supposed to be too complex for the people of our country. In political elections for representatives, the mode of voting is, I believe, very nearly the same as that known amongst us as the Hare system ; while in municipal elections the cumulative vote is adopted, each voter having as many votes as there are candidates to be elected, and being allowed to give as many votes as he pleases to the one or more candidates of his choice. I unfortunately was not aware of these facts while in the country, and therefore failed to make inquiry on the subject ; but the fact that, while there is a keen interest in political life, no one has proposed to alter the present mode of voting, seems to prove that the existing system gives general satisfaction." (pp. 191-192.)

Returning to Valparaiso, Mr. Ball was again disappointed by a delayed steamer, but at length took passage in the Rhamses,' of the German Cosmos line, on May 29th,—the especial advantage of the boats of this company being their light draught, which lets them traverse the narrow and intricate channels of Western Patagonia, to say nothing of the fact that- " A naturalist finds an additional attraction in the general sympathy and helpfulness which he may expect from every officer in a German ship. Courtesy and friendly feeling are almost invariably to be found on board our steamers, but the pursuits of a naturalist rarely seem to call forth the slightest show of interest." (p. 206.)

Further down the coast, in about Lat. 360 S., which we men- tion because the place is not marked on most maps, he stopped at Lots, which is a pargue,—one of the gardens of the world, as it ought to be, seeing that the owner is accredited with an annual income of £00,0O0! Soon after this they were abreast of the Araucanian territory, which, though claimed by

Chili, has always possessed a government practically indepen- dent, and except Patagonia—if that country can be said to have a government—is really the only native " Indian " government that is left on the whole continent.

But we must hasten over the rest of the voyage. In those latitudes, and at that season, it soon "grew wondrous cold," and the nights were long; yet June 5th, "his first day in the Channels, will ever remain a bright spot" in Mr. Ball's memory :— "One of the advantages of a voyage through the Channels is that at all seasons the ship comes to anchor every night, and the traveller is not exposed to the mortification of passing the most beautiful scenes when he is unable to see them. When more thoroughly known, it is likely that among the numerous coves many more will be found to offer good anchorage ; but few are now known, and the distance that can be run during the short winter days is not great. We were told that our halt for the night was to be at Eden Harbour, less than twenty miles south of the English Narrows, and to my great satisfac- tion we dropped anchor about 3.30 p.m., when there was still a full hour of daylight. Our good.natured captain put off dinner for an hour, and with all convenient speed I went ashore." (pp. 223.221.) The plants of this region, never before seen by our author, filled him with increasing excitement. The chief and only tree was the evergreen beech ; but the most striking feature in the vegetation was the abundance and luxuriance of the ferns :— "By a vigorous use of my ice-axe, which is an excellent weapon for a botanist, I succeeded in uprooting a good many plants from the icy crust in which they grew ; but the minutes slipped quickly by, daylight was fading in this sheltered spot, shut out from the north and west by steep hills, and too soon came the call to return to the ship." (pp. 226-227.) The next day the scenery was grander, and reminded Mr. Ball of the Upper Lakes of Killarney. After crossing Eyre Sound, into which glaciers discharge their ice, he had once more a glimpse of the open sea. Arrived at Chatham Island, he again landed, and visited a recently deserted Fuegian camp. On the morning of June 9th he entered the far-famed Straits of Magellan, the chief features of which he sketches in a few well-chosen words. "I have called the scene unique," he says, "and, in truth, I believe that nothing like it is to be found elsewhere in the world." (p. 239.) At length he rounded Cape Froward, the southern point of the continent—Mount Sarmiento, on Clarence Island, towering on the right like another Matterhorn—and arrived at Punta Arenas, otherwise Sandy Point, then beholding human dwellings for the first time since leaving Lota. There are houses on Chiloe, seven hundred miles off in a straight line, but much further by any feasible route, and some wooden sheds on the Santa Cruz River, four hundred miles to the eastward, where the Argentine Government keeps a few soldiers to establish its claim to that part of Patagonia ; but for all practical purposes, the nearest civilised neighbours of the Sandy Pointsmen are the English colonists on Falkland Islands, another five hundred miles further off.

In this isolated spot the accommodation for strangers consists of a single room, and as this happened to have a tenant in an Italian zoologist, lodging was harder to seek at Punta Arenas than in Brighton or Scarborough during the season. It was even beyond the power of a hospitable fellow-countryman to give our traveller quarters. However, Mr. Ball seems to possess a winning way ; and between the British Vice-Consul, his German colleague's partner, and the Italian zoologist, matters were arranged. We wish we had space for the interesting account of our author's stay at this remote point.* As he was daily, almost hourly, expecting an English steamer, delayed, as it turned out, by bad weather in the Pacific, he could make no long excursions ; but had to content himself with botanising in the immediate neighbourhood, as well as the hard frost and short days would permit. At last the ' Iberia ' arrived, and he was off in her to Monte Video, bidding farewell to Sarmiento, which was distinctly seen at the distance of one hundred miles —a fact due to refraction—but missing a view of Mount Darwin, believed to be the highest summit of the Friegian Archipelago. His voyage was uneventful, and he reached his destination on June 21st, the shortest day. Here his time was strictly limited, and so were his excursions. He took a short trip on the Uruguay as far as Paisandu—of tinned-tongue fame—and had a glimpse of Buenos Ayres. The general use of telephones in this country naturally caused an unfavourable comparison between it and our own, where we are, thanks to the policy of our Post Office, practically deprived of an invention so convenient. More to his liking was the fact that he had the luck to meet with a Sagitt aria, the seeds of which he brought away, and thereby has ornamented Kew Gardens with a plant that, growing to a gigantic size, has for several seasons been an object of admiration to the visitors. Embarking again on another steamer, he proceeded to Santos, and thence by railway to Sao Paulo and Rio Janeiro —the last being a journey of three hundred and eighty miles, performed in less than fourteen hours, and he thus lost the wonderful view of the entrance to the Brazilian capital. The celebrated avenue of palms in the botanic garden there gave him a feeling of something like disappointment. It has been correctly described as producing the effect on the spectator of

the aisle of a great Gothic cathedral, and its defect is that the reproduction is too faithful. The trees, about one hundred feet high, are so exactly alike, that they seem to have been cast in the same mould, and it is hard to conceive that they are not the work of art. Naturally, he sought Petropolis, the elevated suburb of Rio Janeiro, and in this fascinating spot, although unable to reach the higher summits of the Organ Mountains, he passed ten days as though in an earthly paradise :— The admirable reflections on Mr. Croll's theory of secular changes of the earth's surface, which seems to have been called up by Mr. Ball's stay here, are wisely placed by him in an appendix. They are far too recondite for the general reader to appreciate. "As happeris to every stranger in a tropical forest, I was bewildered amidst the great variety of trees that struggle for supremacy, the one condition for victory being to get a fall share of the glorious sunshine overhead. By vigorous tugging at one of the Hanes that hang like a rope from a branch sixty feet above my head, I succeeded in breaking off a fragment, and identifying one of the larger trees as a species of fig, with large, oval, leathery leaves, some- what like those of a magnolia. It is needless to say that each tree is invaded by a host of enemies,—parasites that fatten on its substance, comparatively harmless epiphytes that cling to the branches, and hosts of climbing lianas that mount to the topmost branches, robbing them of their share of sunlight, and hang down, often twined together, and in the deep shade are generally mere bare flexible stems. It was strange to observe that one of the deadliest enemies, a small parasite, fixing itself near the ground on the trunks of the larger trees, is a species of fig, belonging to the same germs as some of the giants of the forest, and doubtless tracing its descent from a common ancestor. It is in the tropical forest that one feels the force of Darwin's phrase, struggle for existence,' as applied to the vegetable world. In our latitudes it is by an effort of the imagination that we realise the fact that in our fields and woodlands there is a contest going on between rival claimants for the necessary conditions of life. Here we see ourselves in the midst of a scene of savage warfare. The great climbers, like monstrous boas, that twine round and strangle the branch, remind one of the Laocoon ; the obscure parasite that eats into the trunk of a mighty tree till a great cavity prepares its down- fall, testifies to the destructive power of an insidious enemy." (pp. 330-331.)

With this extract, that all will admire, we shall leave Mr. Ball and his charming little volume, in which there is hardly a page from which we could not have quoted a passage well worthy of our readers' attention. On his homeward voyage, he touched at Bahia and Pernambuco, but the length which this article has reached compels us to pass them over. He sighted England on August 16th, amid gusts of cold wind and showers of drizzling rain, that recalled to his mind his wintry experience of the Straits of Magellan, and showed "that the physical differences between the conditions of life in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are not nearly so great as has generally been supposed."