Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.3)

Jan. 1835. formation of peat. 349 ter which is found along the whole west coast for 600 miles to Cape Horn. The arborescent grass of Chiloe has here ceased to exist ; while the beech of Tierra del Fuego both grows to a good size, and forms a considerable proportion of the wood ; not, however, in the same exclusive manner as it does further to the southward. Cryptogamic plants here find a most congenial climate. In the neighbourhood of the Strait of Magellan, I have before remarked that the country appears too cold and wet to allow of their arriving at perfection ; but in these islands, within the forest, the number of species, and great abundance of mosses, lichens, and small ferns, is quite extraordinary.* In Tierra del Fuego trees grow only on the hill- sides ; every level piece of land being invariably covered by a thick bed of peat ; but in Chiloe the same kind of situ- ation supports the most luxuriant forest. Here, within the Chonos Archipelago, the nature of the chmate more closely approaches that of the southern, than that of the northern, of these two countries. Nearly every patch of level ground is covered by two species of plants [Asteliapumila of Brown,t and Dciiatia magellanica), which by their joint decay com- pose a thick bed of elastic peat. In Tierra del Fuego, above the region of woodland, the former of these eminently sociable plants is the chief agent in the production of peat. Fresh leaves are always succeed- ing one to the other, round the central tap root; the lower ones soon decay ; and in tracing a root downward in the peat, the leaves (yet holding their position) can be ob- served passing through every stage of decomposition, till the whole becomes blended in one confused mass. The Astelia is assisted by few other plants ; here and there a small creep- ing one {Myrtus numiaularia), with a woody stem like our * By sweeping with my insect-net, I procured from these situations a considerable number of minute insects of the family of Staphylinidse, and others allied to Pselaphus, and minute Hymenoptera. But the most characteristic family in number of both individuals and species, through- out the more open parts of Chiloe and Chonos, is that of the Telephoridae. •) Anthericum trifar'mm of Solander.