One would expect the weather to be much hotter here; but there is no proportion between the heat of this part of America and the same latitudes in Africa.  This is owing to two causes; that the neighbourhood of the snowy mountains diffuses a cool temperature of the air all around; and the constant humid vapours, which are so frequent that I often expected it to rain when I first went to Lima.  These vapours are not so dense, low, and gloomy, like our fogs, nor yet are they separated above like our summer clouds; but an exhalation between both, spread all around, as when we say the day is overcast, so that sometimes a fine dew is felt on the upper garments, and may even be discerned on the knap of the cloth.  This is a prodigious convenience to the inhabitants of Lima, who are thus screened half the day from the sun; and though it often shines out in the afternoon, yet is the heat very tolerable, being tempered by the sea-breezes, and not near so hot as at Lisbon and some parts of Spain, more than thirty degrees farther from the equator.

The entire want of rain in this country induced the Indians, even before the conquest, to construct canals and drains for leading water from among the distant mountains, which they have done with great skill and labour, so as to irrigate and refresh the vallies, by which they produce grass and corn, and a variety of fruits, to which also the dews contribute.  A Spanish writer observes that this perpetual want of rain is occasioned by the south-west wind blowing on the coast of Peru the whole year round, which always bears away the vapours from the plains before they are of sufficient body to descend in showers:  But, when carried higher and farther inland, they become more compact, and at length fall down in rain on the interior hills.  The inhabitants of Peru have plenty of cattle, fowls, fish, and all kinds of provisions common among us, except butter, instead of which they always use lard.  They have oil, wine, and brandy in abundance, but not so good as in Europe.  Instead of tea from China, which is prohibited, they make great use of camini, called herb of Paraguay, or Jesuits tea, which, is brought from Paraguay by land.  They make a decoction of this, which they usually suck through a pipe, calling it Mattea, being the name of the bowl out of which it is drank.  Chocolate is their usual breakfast, and their grace cup after dinner; and sometimes they take a glass of brandy, to promote digestion, but scarcely drink any wine.  In Chili, they make some butter, such as it is, the cream being put into a skin bag kept for that purpose, which is laid on a table between two women, who shake it till the butter comes.