With the completion of the proposed railway from Paita to the head of navigation on the Marañon, by which communication will be established between the extensive region of the Montaña and the Pacific coast, this department will become one of the most important highways of traffic in the republic. With its abundant resources and healthful climate, there is every reason to expect great development in wealth and population. At present the population of Piura, which covers a territory of about fifteen thousand square miles, is a little more than two hundred thousand. [Illustration: A “BALSA” LOADED WITH FREIGHT, PAITA.] CHAPTER XXIV VINEYARDS AND ORCHARDS OF THE SOUTHERN COAST REGION [Illustration: SUBMARINE BLASTING OFF MOLLENDO.] From Lima southward, the coast valleys resemble those of Southern California, though no idea of their beauty and fertility is to be gained from a view of the coast line, which here stretches along in the same monotonous series of sandhills and barren cliffs that mark its length all the way from Guayaquil to Valparaiso, with only a few green spots, as at Callao and Arica, to brighten its sombre aspect. Travellers find it hard to believe that abundance and fertility belong to a region apparently so little favored, but, to be convinced, it is necessary only to disembark at one of the ports in the vicinity of these valleys and to make a half-hour’s trip into the interior by railway. At some of the ports, the green vineyards and gardens run so close to the shore that only a narrow strip of sand lies between. This desert strip once crossed, the scene is changed completely, and nature appears radiant and smiling in the midst of winding streams and verdant fields. The vineyards of Peru are still in the early stages of development, though wine-growing has been an industry of the country for centuries, the first cuttings having been introduced as early as 1557 by Carabantes, when experiments were made in viticulture in several districts of the coast. The valleys and hillsides of Ica and Moquegua were found to be especially adapted for this industry, though the vineyards of Lima, Arequipa and Tacna also yield good harvests. Wine-growing has received more attention within recent years than formerly, and the results are apparent in the increased quantity and improved quality of the production. In the Department of Ica, the most promising vineyards are located in the vicinity of the capital and in the _campiña_ around Chincha Alta, near the port of Tambo de Mora, about a hundred miles south of Callao. [Illustration: MOQUEGUA, A WINE-GROWING CENTRE OF THE SOUTHERN COAST REGION.]