Page:A history of Chile.djvu/453

 CHILE OF TO-DAY 407 have a good flavor. There are innumerable crustaceans and mollusks in the south ; there are three species of perch, one kingfish, three siluridse, shads and lampreys. The forests of southern Chile have a certain sombre beauty peculiar to themselves, the foliage being of great variety and exquisite coloring. The trees grow to a considerable height and are intertwined with par- asitic vines and creepers. One of these parasites is called "angel's hair" and hangs from the trees like threads of lace. There is an undergrowth of ferns, bamboos, shrubs and canes, the latter attaining a height sufficient to interlace treetops and form roofs of green over the forest avenues. On the mountains grows the stately pine. One species of this is indigenous to southern Chile, the Pehuen, or Araucania imbricata. It grows to a height of one hundred feet or more and bears a fruit greatly appreciated by the Pehuenche In- dians, who derive their name from it. There are many kinds of sweet-scented and beautiful flowering plants and rosebushes, particularly along the rivers. Mint, nettles, plaintains, trefoils and mallows, grow as well in Chile as anywhere else; so also lupins, loveapples, celery, cresses, mustard, and fennel. Trop- ical plants, such as sugar cane, pineapples, bananas, sweet potatoes, jalaps and mechoacan,grow well enough in the northern states. There are also many wild plants peculiar to Chile. Maize and the cereals all grow in this climate. The Indians cultivated Indian corn be- fore the arrival of the Spaniards, also species of rye and barley. The potato seems to have found in Chile its native soil ; two species of it grow wild, with over thirty varieties. There are several varieties of the qui- nua, and two principal species of the gourd. The In- dians cultivated a dozen different kinds of beans before the country was discovered by Europeans, and it is