it off to the sea. The slopes of the valleys were frequently so very
steep as to discourage the most ardent modern agriculturalist. The
farmer might wake up any morning to find that a heavy rain during
the night had washed away a large part of his carefully planted
fields. Consequently there was developed, through the centuries,
a series of stone-faced andenes, terraces or platforms.

Examination of the ancient andenes discloses the fact that they were
not made by simply hoeing in the earth from the hillside back of a
carefully constructed stone wall. The space back of the walls was
first filled in with coarse rocks, clay, and rubble; then followed
smaller rocks, pebbles, and gravel, which would serve to drain the
subsoil. Finally, on top of all this, and to a depth of eighteen
inches or so, was laid the finest soil they could procure. The
result was the best possible field for intensive cultivation. It
seems absolutely unbelievable that such an immense amount of pains
should have been taken for such relatively small results. The need
must have been very great. In many cases the terraces are only a few
feet wide, although hundreds of yards in length. Usually they follow
the natural contours of the valley. Sometimes they are two hundred
yards wide and a quarter of a mile long. To-day corn, barley, and
alfalfa are grown on the terraces.

Cotahuasi itself lies in the bottom of the valley, a pleasant place
where one can purchase the most fragrant and highly prized of all
Peruvian wines. The climate is agreeable, and has attracted many
landlords, whose estates lie chiefly on the bleak plateaus of the
surrounding highlands, where shepherds tend flocks of llamas, sheep,
and alpacas.