The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1921-08-26
Herd Of LIamas, in Peru.

prepared by the National Geographic
| Society, Washington. d. CO
Peru, which has been celebrating
the hundredth anniversary of it's in
dependence from Spain, in the pres
enee of commissioners officially repre-
senting the United States and other
nations, is far enough out of the
beaten path of most North Americans
| to be but vaguely known to them. 1t
| Is often thought of, no doubt, as a
| little republic clinging to the sides of
| the lofty Andes lest it slip and be
lost in the Pacific. But in area and
interest Peru is by no means neg
| ligible; and if it has failed to take
an important place in world affairs,
| either commercial or political, it may
| well be that that fact is due, not to
| lack of size and resources and pOten-
tial wealth and power, but rather to
| iinmaturity.
| Peru has every climate under
heaven, together with many of the
| products and conditions that go with
them. 1t has the sand dunes of the
Sahara; the fertile, sun-bathed, irri-
gated valleys of California; the dry
| grazing lands of Australia; the pro-
| ductive mountain valleys and uplands
of Kashmir; the bleak plateaus of
| Tibet; the snowy peaks of SwitZer-
land; and the tropical jungles of Cen
trail Africa and Brazil. And off it's
shores, tropical in latitude but mild in
| temperature, the waters, so cold that
| often they are uncomfortable for bath
ing, are alive with the sea life of the
| near-antarctic.
Much of Peru is occupied by the
| towering Andes, with few passes less
than $4,000 feet high, and with numer-
| Gus peaks exceeding 21,0O0 feet.
These great ramparts are chiefly re-
sponsible for the diversity of Peru's
| climatic conditions. They precipitate
the moisture of the Atlantic winds
and so create the tropical jungles that
| stretch from their bases toward the
| interior of the continent; thrust slopes
| and plateaus up into the cool regions
Of the upper air; and cut off the Pa
| cific coast section from the moisture
laden winds, making much Of it
| desert.
Coast Strip Has Rivers but No Rain.
Although the strip Of Peru between
the Pacific and the western foothills
of the Andes is devoid of rain and
largely desert, many streams from the
mountains break across this region to
the sea, and the relatively narrow val
| leys, irrigated from their waters, con-
stitute the most fertile land of the
country.
Most of the desert land between the
parallel rivers is not so from lack of
fertility but because of the absence
| Of life giving water. This is most
unusual region lying within the tropics
and adjoining the sea, where normal
ly vegetable growth wodld be abund-
| ant. If it corld be viewed from a
| distance of a thousand miles through
a telescope it would probably appear
much as the supposed canals of Mars
| have been described as appearing to
some observers-dark, roughly parallel
| lines of vegetation on a drab, verdure-
less background. Some of the bench
| lands have been reclaimed for consid-
cradle distances from the rivers, and
projects have been considered to inn
! pound the waters that rush down from
the melting Andean SHOWS and bring
under cultivation practically the whole
coast region.
Peru has an area of about 100000
square miles and is therefore only
| slightly smaller than Mexico and well
over quarter the size of the United
| States exclusive of Alaska. If Peru
| could be laid down on the surface of
| the United States so that its southern
most point coincided with the south
ernmost projection of Texas its north
| eastern corner would lie near Peoria,
| H.. and its northwestern extremity
near Cheyenne, Wyo. The, rough tri-
angle would cover practically all of
Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, half OF
Nebraska, parts of Illinois, Missouri,
| Colorado, Iowa and South Dakota,
and fragments of New Mexico and
Wyoming.
Where the Incas Flourished.
Just as the United States was set
tied from the Atlantic coast and de-
velOped first its coastal strip, leaving
as an unknown region for generations
the country to the west beyond its
mountains and deserts, so Peru has
developed in the reverse direction.
The European conquerors of its Inca
empire entered the country from the
Z! Pacific coast. and it is along this strip