can desire on the stormy coast of South Chile. At Chacao, on
the contrary, reefs and strong currents render the entrance dangerous
and the anchorage insecure.

Chiloe is but little cultivated, and scantily populated. If the
statement of my informant, the harbor-master, be correct, Chiloe and the
adjacent small islands contain only from 48,000 to 50,000 inhabitants,
part of whom live in _ranchos_ (huts), and part in a few villages. Next
to San Carlos, and the half-deserted Castro, to which the title of
"City" is given, the chief places are Chacao, Vilipilli, Cucao, Velinoe.
It is only in the neighborhood of these towns or villages that the
forest trees have been felled, and their removal has uncovered a fertile
soil, which would reward by a hundred-fold the labor of the husbandman.

The climate of the island is moist and cool, and upon the whole very
unpleasant. During the winter months, the sun is seldom seen; and it is
a proverbial saying in Chiloe, that it rains six days of the week, and
is cloudy on the seventh. In summer there are occasionally fine days,
though seldom two in succession. The thick forests are therefore never
dry, and beneath the trees, the vegetation of the marshy soil is
peculiarly luxuriant. The constant moisture is one of the greatest
obstacles to agriculture. To clear the ground for cultivation, it would
be necessary to burn the forests, and as the trees are always damp, that
could not be done without great difficulty. To some kinds of culture the
soil is not favorable. The cereals, for example, seldom thrive in
Chiloe; the seed rots after the ear is formed. Maize grows best; though
it shoots too much into leaf, and bears only small grain. The damp soil,
on the other hand, is favorable to potatoes, of which vast quantities
are planted. There is a degenerate kind of potato, very abundant in
Chiloe. On bisection it exhibits a greater or lesser number of
concentric rings, alternately white and violet; sometimes all of the
latter color. It is well known that southern Chile is the native land of
the potato. In Chiloe and also in the neighboring islands, potatoes grow
wild; but, both in size and flavor, they are far inferior to the
cultivated kind. Like the maize, they shoot up in large leaves and
stalks. The climate is also very favorable to the different kinds of the
cabbage plant; but peas and beans do not thrive there.

In the forests there are often clear spots on which the grass grows to a
grea