Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/480

 474 LIMA encroaching upon other plants. The lily of the valley is a useful plant for forcing for winter flowers, and for a few years has been the most fashionable of all floral ornaments. Many thousands of crowns or " pips," as flo- rists call them, are imported annually, consist- ing of two or three inches of root stock ter- minated by a bud ; these are planted in boxes of rich earth, and kept cool for a few weeks until roots have formed; they are then brought into heat ; light is not essential until the flowers are about to open. These flowers, consisting of a single raceme and leaf, bring a higher price in proportion to size than any other winter flower; but a large proportion of the imported crowns fail to bloom. LIMA, the capital of Peru and of the depart- ment and province of its own name, on the Eimac river, 7 m. from Callao, its port on the Pacific ; lat, 12 2' S., Ion, 77 7' W. ; pop. in 1868, 121,362, of whom 38,761 were foreigners. The city, which is triangular, stands on a plain in a valley sloping gradually to the sea ; it is 500 ft. above Oallao, but so gentle is the slope that the road appears absolutely level. To the west and south no eminence intercepts the view or breaks the winds; but 60 m. to the east rises the Cordillera in regular stages, while spurs trending shoreward from the Andes sweep close by the town N. and E., and afford it a complete shelter. The city is 2 m. long and 1J m. wide, and is divided by the Rio Rimac. The lower or southern and by far larger portion is surrounded by strong walls built in 1683. The streets average 34 ft. in width, cross at right angles, are for the most Calles de la Coca and de Bodegones, Lima. part paved with cobblestone, and nearly all have sidewalks 5 ft. wide of flags imported from Europe. Open gutters run down many of the streets parallel to the river. The city is well lighted with gas. The walled portion has 12 gates, the most beautiful of which are those of Oallao and Maravillas ; the other por- tion, encircled by mountains, has two entrances, La Guia and La Piedra Liza. The river is crossed by a stone bridge of six arches, built in 1610, 500 ft. long and 190 ft. high. The houses, owing to the infrequency of rain, are flat-roofed, and often unsubstantially covered ; most of them have only two stories, as earth- quakes are common. The entrance is usually through a large gateway leading to a courtyard, which is generally embellished with fountains, statues, flowers, shrubs, and rare trees. The wooden lattices on the balconies have of late years given place to glazed windows ; and the exterior of the houses is now painted in colors at once more gay and less fantastic than for- merly, while stone has superseded adobe in their construction. The Plaza Mayor, the most spacious of the 33 public squares of Lima, embraces an area of nine acres in the centre of the city. Marble seats and vases are placed here and there ; there is a fountain in each of the four corners, and one in the centre sur- rounded by a gorgeous garden. This fountain is of bronze, 40 ft. high, with a stone base- ment ornamented with eight lions and as many griffins, and surmounted by a statue of Fame. The N. W. and S. "W. sides are lined with stone columns and arcades dating from 1693, under the latter of which are brilliant shops, the chief dry-goods and fashion marts of the place, the upper part of the structures being occupied as dwellings. There are numerous beautiful pub- lic edifices, the most remarkable of which are