88 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
railroad is to avoid the rapids at Honda which cause the river 
to be unnavigable at that point. Honda is likewise in a big 
coffee-shipping district. Arriving at Beltran at twelve o’clock 
we again went through the unpleasant pandemonium of 
transferring baggage to the boat on the Upper Magdalena 
River. We arrived here after a very picturesque trip. One 
of the interesting towns is Ambalema, situated in a big 
tobacco-growing district noted for its native-made cigars; 
also for its pottery. On this trip we noticed various native 
rafts floating down stream, carrying principally coffee and 
bananas. The coffee rafts are the most permanent, being 
built of bamboo with double decks. The bananas are floated 
down on rafts made from the banana trunks. When arrived 
at their destination the bamboo rafts are sold for the pur- 
pose of house building, whereas the banana rafts, after being 
unloaded, are cut loose to continue their trip of disintegration 
down the river. 
‘*We arrived at Girardot the following morning. This is 
the uppermost navigable port of the Upper Magdalena River. 
It has a population of 12,000 and is the center of the coffee 
district. The coffee is not grown here, but it is the main 
shipping center for all the Magdalena and Bogota region. 
“*The distance traveled from Barranquilla to Girardot was 
700 miles. After going through the customs, we enjoyed a 
very pleasant rest at the Pension Inglesa. I here had the 
pleasure of visiting the various coffee warehouses, one of 
special interest being a recently constructed building belong- 
ing to Norman Black & Co., which ineludes the only coffee- 
cleaning machinery in that district. Most of the coffee as 
brought into Girardot is hand-picked from the plant, in which 
state it is received at the warehouse. It then is spread out 
in the sand to dry, after which it is hand cleaned, the two 
halves being separated from the outer husk. It is then finally 
cleaned again by hand, sorted, and graded for size. With 
the installation of machinery most of this handwork is elim- 
inated. 
‘‘The next step of our journey was started the following 
morning, to Bogota. Leaving at 7 A. M. by train, we started 
our upward climb from the tropics, 600 feet above sea level, 
to the temperate climate of Bogota, 8,500 feet. We got as 
far as Facatativa, where we were obliged to change to another 
train because of a difference in rail gage. We finally arrived 
