The towns of Chili are built in the finest parts of the country, but not always placed so advantageously as they might have been, for the purposes of commerce. The streets are about 40 feet wide, intersecting each other at right angles, and forming so many squares. The houses in general are built of mud or clay hardened in the sun, having but one story, with a garden attached to each of them; many, 110W ever, of more recent construction, are composed of brick or stone, and furnished with upper stories. In our sketch of the provinces, we have already mentioned the principal cities; but we shall here notice more particularly some of the most remarkable. St Jago, the capital of the Spanish provinces, was founded in 1541, by Pedro de Valdivia, and is finely Stuated on the left bank of the river .Mapocho, in a beautiful plain, 24 leagues in extent ; it stands 90 leagues from the sca, and 20 from the main ridge of the Andes ; the river is em ployed in vvatering its numerous gardens, and is convey ed through the streets by means of conduits. The prin cipal suburbs lie on the opposite bank of the river, and a fine bridge connects them with the city. The houses of St Jago, though very low, and in general but of one story, are both handsome and convenient. The grand Piazza, near the middle of the city, is 150 feet square, having an elegant bronze fountain in its centre. The in habitants, in 1770, were computed at 46,000. Conception, or Penco, was founded by Valdivia, in 1530 ; but being twice overwhelmed by an earthquake, accompanied by an inundation of the sea, its first situation was abandoned for one more secure, and the city was rebuilt (1764) about a league from the shore. It contains about 13,000 inhabitants. The bay of Conception is the largest on the coast of Chili, and has two entrances, formed by the Island Quiriquina at its mouth, the cast of which is the safest and most frequented. Its best port is that of Tal.
-t aguana. Coquimbo, or La Serena, founded by Valdivia in 1544, presents a beautiful appearance, the wide spaces between its squares being entirely occupied by gardens; the houses are built of mud, covered with leaves. It is a large town, but not proportionably inhabited. Valpa raiso, the principal sea-port in Chili, from whence is transacted all the trade with Peru, is large, populous, and flourishing. It lies about three miles from the port ; but there is another town called .Almendral, close upon the harbour, which is the residence of those employed about the shipping. The harbour is capacious, and suf ficient to contain large vessels up to the shore. Valparaiso has a military governor, or corrcgidor, nominated by the king.
The principal forts have been erected on the southern frontiers, to repress the incursions of the Araucanians. On the north side of the Biobio, arc the forts of Jumbel. Tucapel, Santa Barbara, and Puren. To the south of the same river is the fort of Arauco, with those of Col cura, San Pedro, Santa Joanna, Nascimento, and An geles.
The Araucanians have neither walled cities, nor per manent fortifications of any kind; but these as emblems of slavery and dependence, they reside in scat tered hamlets, which are commonly situated on the banks of rivers, or on plains that possess the convenience of an easy irrigation.
The inland parts of Chili are the most fertile, and the fertility increases in proportion to the distance from the sea. File rallies of the Andes are superior to thc mid dle districts, and these to the maritime. In the maritime districts the soil is brown, inclining to red, brittle, and claycd, and contains marl mixed with marine substances. In the interior, and in the vallies of the Andes, it is brittle, and of a yellowish black colour. It every where possesses an extraordinary warmth, and brings to perfect maturity those tropical fruits which are natives only of the torrid zone. The inexhaustible sources of fertility in this delightful country renders unnecessary the use of artificial manures, and experience has taught the bus banclmen of Chili their superfluity, if not injury. The fermentation and putrefaction of manure is supposed to engender or multiply certain worms destructive to grain in the blade. From these Chili is entirely exempted; and it is alleged as a known fact, that the lands of St Jago, though they have been constantly cultivated for a period of near two centuries and a half, without receiv ing any artificial manure, have suffered no diminution in tbeir amazing produce. The soil of Chili, by a very moderate calculation, yields, at an average, 65 for one in the middle districts, and 45 in the maritime. There ,are, indeed, lands which produce 120, and 160 for one; and, according to some authors, there, have been fre quent instances of 300 fold; but this extraordinary in crease has not been confirmed by later and more authen tic. information.
The climate is mild, equable, and salubrious, and not inferior to any in the new world. The transition from .heat to cold is moderate, and their extremes equally un known. The air is so much cooled in summer by cer .tain winds from the Andes, distinct from thc east winds, 'that in the shade no one is even incommoded with per .spiration. In the interior where the heat is greatest, Reaumur's thermometer seldom exceeds 45°, and in win ter it very rarely sinks below the freezing point. Chili -enjoys a constant succession of fine weather from the be 'ginning of spring till autumn. The rainy season corn _ _ 7' • II, • menses in April, and continues to the end of August. The southern provinces have much more of it than those in the centre, while in the northern provinces of Co quimbo and Copiapo it rains very seldom. In these pro vinces, however, and throughout the country, the dews fall in such abundance, as in a great measure to supply the want of rain. Snow, except on the Andes, is very uncommon. On the coast it is entirely unknown, and though it sometimes falls in the middle districts, it is often melted before reaching the ground, and is seldom known to lie for the space of a day. On the Andes, how ever, from April to November, it falls in prodigious quantities, and renders the passes for the greater part of the year altogether impracticable.