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sierra, llamas, alpacas, huanacos and vicuñas. Two rodents, viscacha and chinchilla live among the rocks. There are quantities of water and game-birds on the clear lakes and several species of fish. The condor (Sarcoramphus gryphus) is seen in the loneliest places.
montana extends up the eastern slopes to 8,000 ft. or more, even crossing the divide north of 8° S. It is a dense mass of vegetation, with occasional openings of soft, short grass which increase in extent above 6,000 feet. Nowhere is nature more prodigal. Cabinetwoods, dyes, aromatic plants and spices, rubber, vegetable-ivory—the list of beneficent plants is inexhaustible. Animal life is identical with that of Brazilian Amazonia. (See AMAZON : Flora and Fauna.) Population.—Though the exact population of Peru is un known, it is estimated at 5,000,00o. More than half are sierra Indians, and of the rest, the majority are half-breeds (mestizos), the others, whites, negroes and Asiatics. The original Spanish stock numbers less than soo,000, mostly members of the govern ing and professional classes. There are three types of Indians, Quechua, (the majority), Coll(' or Aymard (in the Titicaca basin), and Chuncho. The sierra Indian is very strong, silent and apa thetic and stolidly endures hardship. He resists cold and is able to carry great weights for long distances. His homespun clothing has altered little since the conquest. His house is a thatched stone hut with a door for its only opening. His food is dried mutton, salt beef or llama meat, maize, oca, frozen potatoes and cakes of quinoa. The universal beverage is maize chicha. His implements are few and simple. Only coca and alcohol induce him to toil for more than bare necessities. His occu pations are live stock raising, primitive agriculture, mining and driving pack-trains. He travels day and night, if necessary, fol lowing his flock of llamas with hoarse cries, throwing his sling, climbing rocks, fording streams, crossing the puna, sleep ing anywhere at night in spite of snow and hail-storms. The life of an Indian consists of two parts, drudgery and orgies on feast days. Indians of the montana (Chunchos),
divided into scores of tribes speaking as many languages, differ greatly in habits and customs. These tribes, isolated and independent, are all in a low state of cul ture (see BRAZIL). Coast Indians, mostly half-breeds, have special terms for all de grees of colour and race. Negroes, intro duced as agricultural slaves shortly after the conquest, live only on the coast. They were emancipated in 1855. The first Chinese coolies were brought under contract for the extraction of guano in 1849. Most of them went to the Chincha islands, and after the guano boom subsided, became agricultural labourers, or artisans and small shopkeepers. In Lima there is also a Japanese colony; about 2,000 arrived in 1926-27. Foreign population is chiefly concentrated in Lima and Callao. Several hundred eligible colonists arrived in the eastern valleys in 1926-27, mostly Poles. Spanish is the official language of Peru.
Public Health.—Common diseases are malaria, tuberculosis and bubonic plague. Permanent commissions for the study of malaria and tuberculosis were appointed by the Government in 1926. Yellow fever, which used to sweep the coast, has been stamped out, largely by the efforts of the International Health Board of the Rockefeller Foundation. The source of verruga peruana (Carrion's disease), peculiar to Peru on the upper, western slopes of the cordillera, has been traced. Hospitals can accom modate only a fraction of the ill. The Government is construct ing hospitals, prisons, markets and other public buildings. A most comprehensive undertaking is that of city sanitation. Thirty-two cities are being supplied with water and sewage systems.
A new education law was put into effect in 1921. Primary instruction, which is free and compulsory between the ages of 6 and 14, covers 5 years. Vocational training is given in both common and special schools. In 1926, 262,267 pupils were enrolled in 3,33o public primary schools, with 5,487 teachers. Secondary schools (colegios nacionales) have an attendance of about 5,326. Convent instruction is traditional for girls. In spite of an excellent system, there is still much illiteracy.