The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-12-29

pps, spare ribs and scramble A'ih
nave referred to the nine To-
go south. The vegetation on tba
VEST coast Of the Andes Is n.o" =
rom the Strait Of magellan W. 81
a.os. d thousand miles ~
;n N.aihs are heavily wooded. Their
d oense jungle also at the nor,h
arn tns from Panama to the sonth,
- oul"laIy OF Ecuador. Between
the loot hills of the monntains 80 go
q country as sandy and harran -
tne mighty Sahara between tham ona
me sea. There the rain never falls
ana II Is the only eastern stone 49,
YOU n n vegetation.
:. IA the southern Andes Won there
~ q cav rainfall. This comes from
:I,e WINDS OF the Pacific, which blow
III tnat direction. A little farther
mortii the winds come from the cas-,
Ihey are loaded with h waters of
ne Auan1lc They drop a part OF
tneir burden on their q across
South America and the rains no,r al
along the eastern side Of the Andes
ny the time the winds get to the ton
tney are dry and there is nothing but
snow water, which melts on the high
PEAKS and flows down in a stream
mere anc there through the great
western desert. Farther north IN
Ecuador there is a heavy rainfall and
the rivers that flow down the steep
western slopes often flood the coun-
try for miles.
l was surprised about the rain neal
the Strait Of Magellan. Ii some pa
Of western PATAGONIA the ground is
covered with moss as deep as your
waist and there are mighty ferns
With fronds as long as your arm and
longer. The most OF the trees are
evergreens. They are small, but are
SO thick on the ground that YOU can
walk on their tops in snow shoes. The
ground there is saturated with moist
ure and when l tried TO make my way
through the woods I sank in as
though | We're on one Of the boys OF
old Ireland. 1t rains there every few
days. Indeed, / am told that it rains
thirteen months every year.
And this brings me to the lakes o.
the Andes. The western slopes il
southern Chile have bodies of fresh
water that will compare in beaut!
with the lakes Of the Alps. Lake Ma
hLel Hapi, which is about 1850 fee
high is like a Norwegian ford, Will
waterfalls flowing down the steer
walls Of the basin in which it lies
Lake Esmeralda is another beautiful
sheet, and Lake Llanquihue is an in
land sea second only to Titicaca Il
size. All of these k lie in a ia
vine or along a pass which will some
day be one Of the routes over the An
des. They are in southern Chile, an
are sometimes called the Switzerian'
Of the south.
The Andes in north Chile have n
water except alkaline deposits, som
Of which are so bitter that they woul
poison the man who tried to drin
them. Among these are the great be
rax lakes, one OF which is tWent,
four miles in length. It skirts tn
railroad track which runs from l.
Paz. Bolivia, down to Antofagasts
and it contains enough borax to was
all the heads of the human race,
saw this lake on my way from Ri
hyia down to the coast, and the cru!
Of borax upon it was so hard ths
one could have skated over IT
though upon ice. The crust locke
like ice and the boraX l saw take
out was for all the world like tn
!, finest of white spun silk Waded {
woven into Jumps.
On other lakes in the neighborhoo
of that desert region l saw mlrag'
|, snch as YOU find in the deserts or 81
, Of salt water seemed to have gree
" oAA
!, Of sale water seemed to have gree
, islands floating or them. while ~
: mas and alpacas and Indians Wake
!, through the air.
: Lake Titicaca, and its little slsts
? lake Poopa. are both more or ie
alkaline. You a drink the Iitica'
. water. but it tastes bitter. and the "
ter Of Lake Desaguadero Ii ST
worse. The borax lake IS more Ditt
2 than the Dead Sea and the Dcsagua
!, aro river water tastes very mucn III
hat of the Jordan.
THE most wonderful lake up'
: earth is Titicaca. 1t is two miles al
! la half straight up in the ar o
!. tho sea level and is
~silver-clad mountains from le,ooV
: % 600 feet Ligh. You feel the al
tnHe when you ride over the iaf
lyon seem to be on the very fooi
; tha world and know II you cou
!. climh over those y
: u-ouId drop off into space. All OF {
= fountains surrounding he axe a
: covered with snow and the lake IT'S
. is so blue that it a one tnInh
: tbe protto at Capri, which is 1amo
= eli over the world. There are ihl
aIands in the lake and the distah