ors
resolved on a certain day to send into the city a number of Indians, who
were to conceal themselves on the roofs of the shops (_Pulperias_), in
which quantities of firewood were kept for sale. The moment the
cathedral struck the hour of midnight, the concealed Indians were to set
fire to the wood. Another division of Indians was immediately to dam up
the river at the convent of Santa Clara, and thereby lay the streets
under water. During the unavoidable confusion, which must have taken
place, the main body of the Indians was to enter the town and massacre
all the whites. This well-combined plan was by mere accident discovered,
when it was of course frustrated.

The fertility of the soil round Lima is very great when irrigation is
practicable. Where this cannot be accomplished, the earth withholds
even the most scanty vegetation. The _riego_, or irrigation, is thus
effected. On certain days the water conduits are closed, and the
fields are laid under water. When there is a deficient supply of
water, the trenches, or conduits, are not opened till the following
day. When, however, the supply of water is abundant, the _riego_ takes
place early every morning.

As the same identical plants are cultivated along almost the whole
coast, I will here notice them, to save the necessity of returning to
them hereafter.

COTTON is cultivated only in a few plantations in the immediate
vicinity of Lima; but it abounds more in the northern districts,
particularly in the department de la Libertad, in the coast province
Piura, in Lambayeque, and in Truxillo. In the southern province, Yca,
a considerable quantity is also reared for exportation. The brown
cotton was chiefly cultivated in the time of the Incas. Most of the
bodies found in the ancient graves on the coast are enveloped in
this kind of cotton.

The SUGAR CANE is cultivated with success in all plantations where
there is sufficient moisture of soil; and of all the agricultural
produce of the country, yields the greatest profit. The sugar estates
lie on the sea-coast, or along the banks of rivers. The vertical limit
of the sugar cane growth is on the western declivity of the
Cordilleras, about 4500 feet above the level of the sea, at which
height I saw fields covered with it. The largest plantations, however,
do not rise above 1200 feet above the level of the sea; while those of
the same extent on the eastern declivity are at the height of 6000
feet. Within the last forty