282 BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 
Copy of a Letter from Mr. Spruce, addressed to Mr. John Smith, Royal 
Gardens, Kew, dated, 
Falls of S. Gabriel, Rio Negro, Dec. 28, 1851. 
Dear Sir,—* Thus far have I advanced into the bowels of the land 
without impediment,” and before adventuring the falls (where T may 
possibly get a ducking) I seize an opportunity of sending you the seeds 
of a beautiful Lythraceous tree, which I collected on my way up. Tt 
grows on a sandy shore about twenty miles above the Barra, and I had 
gathered flowers of it on the 1st of October. Its habit is almost that 
of Lagerstræmia Indica, but the flowers are still more showy, and as H 
saw no tree above twenty-five feet high, and all were clad with flowers 
almost to the ground, I have no doubt you will be able to flower it at 
four or five feet high. It seems to be a PAysocalymma, a genus (if I 
may trust to Paxton) not in cultivation. My specimens give no idea 
of the beauty of the plant, as L was taken ill after gathering them, and 
they were nearly spoiled before I could get them into paper. 
- I left the Barra on November 14, and reached here on December 
18, a good voyage, considering that 1 worked all the way, and, conse- 
quently, made frequent stoppages. I have dried some 3000 specimens 
on the voyage—a much greater number than I ever dried on any pre- 
vious voyage ; and I am now oceupied in arranging them for packing 
into a case which I shall leave here to be forwarded to Pará. It was 
the owner of this sitio (Senhor Manoel Jacinto de Souza, a lieutenant of 
police) who sent me five out of the six men that composed my crew. 
They were under no obligation to ascend higher than Uanauaca, but 
they have agreed to accompany me to Sad Gabriel, if I will only let 
them have a fortnight to work in their rocas. It was no slight trouble 
to have to send a thousand miles for men, to wait three months for 
~ them, and then to have to pay them for the voyage down, and for the 
_ time they were waiting on me in the Barra (for they came on me quite 
. unexpectedly) as well as for the voyage up; yet even on these terms 
.. Twas glad to get them. So immense is the difficulty of procuring men 
.. ere to do anything, that I think of removing altogether to Venezuela. 
If I find plenty of fine Orchises here, T propose to load one or two 
canoes with them, take them myself to Pará (a voyage down and up of 
five or six months!), and there pack them for England. I could also 
in Pará procure an assistant, which here is impossible. My boat is 
