84 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
sands of sparks. I was informed that the boat was of the 
wood-burning type and in passing backwards and forwards 
to our cabin we took the chance of our clothes being set afire 
by falling sparks. 
‘*T had been advised by Americans to buy American canned 
food and an American ham before leaving Barranquilla, but 
on suggesting this to Black he told me that I might as 
well get used to native food, as I would have to eat it for 
several months; that I would soon become accustomed to, 
and learn to like, many of the native dishes. When once ac- 
customed to meals as served on the boat I concluded that he 
was right, as I very soon began to like the various ways in 
which the banana was served, either as fritters, pies, or as 
a dessert cooked with sweet juices. Among the vegetables . 
the most common was the yuca (Manihot). This is eulti- 
vated as a companion crop with corn. Roots from the fully 
developed plant are eaten, in shape resembling the turnip 
and much more farinaceous than the ordinary potato. The 
meat served would not suit the American palate, inasmuch 
as the cattle are killed at five o’clock in the morning and 
served the same day. It is very dark in color and always hard 
and stringy. Eggs are served three times a day and the 
first question asked by the waiter is ‘Como se huevos, senor?’ 
Coffee is served in the form of ‘Cafe con leche’, about a table- 
spoonful of concentrated coffee being poured in the cup, 
after which boiling milk is added. For dessert various trop- 
ical fruits are always offered, such as mangoes, avocado, pine- 
apples, and papaya. During the forenoon and afternoon 
various refreshing drinks are served, prepared from the na- 
tive brown sugar; others are also made from oats. 
‘‘Our first port the following morning was Calamar, which 
is the river port for Cartagena. The next port was La Flor- 
ida, where we stopped to take on wood for fuel. This per- 
formance took place about every five or six hours, day and 
night, on the trip. The wood is eut from the forest along 
the river and piled to regulation height. The peons carry 
all the wood on their backs, the corners of a sack being in- 
verted over the head and held by the right hand extended at 
arm’s length. Another man piles the wood, extending from 
the right hand to the top of the head of the carrier. When 
packed to the limit, a piece of rope about six feet long, held 
in the left hand, is thrown over the pile and held taut by 
