PUBLISHED BY THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 

 OF THE COLLEGE OF PHARMACY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK 



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 I^EW YOl, 

 fiOTANJC/ 



Vol. III. 



New York, August, 1896. 



No. 8. 



CONCERNING EXPLORATION UPON THE LOWER ORINOCO. 



By prof. H. H. RUSBY. 



In response to a request from the Ed- 

 itor, a preliminary sketch is here pre- 

 sented of the work of exploration in 

 Venezuela with which I have been as- 

 sociated during the past spring. It is 

 expected that the study of the collections 

 made will later furnish material for fur- 

 ther contributions of a more detailed and 

 interesting character. 



The present Orinoco Company suc- 

 ceeds to the rights and title of the Manoa 

 Company, Limited, which had received 

 from the Venezuelan government a grant 

 of land, supposed to include about ten 

 million acres. This grant includes, in 

 general terms, the territory extending 

 from near the western or upper limits of 

 the delta of the Orinoco to the coast, in- 

 cluding by its northern boundary sever- 

 al of the islands of the delta, and extend- 

 ing southward to the crest of the Imataca 

 Mountains. It is said to have been 

 indicated by Humboldt as the most fa- 

 vorable and promising region for coloni- 

 zation which he had seen during his 



travels in South America. The present 

 population is limited to a number of 

 scattered Indian villages, their inhabi- 

 tants all peaceable, several small villages 

 with civilized inhabitants, a few scatter- 

 ed ranches and plantations and the pret- 

 ty little modern village of Manoa. The 

 terms of the grant stipulate that all 

 rights of the existing residents are to be 

 strictly respected. Besides their terres- 

 trial rights, the Company enjoys control 

 of the navigation of the southernmost 

 branch of the delta, which traverses the 

 concession. Most of the tract has never 

 been surveyed or even explored, and all 

 existing maps of this portion are based 

 upon such observations as could be made 

 from passing vessels or from such ad- 

 joining high lands as afforded a partial 

 view, in connection with deductions 

 based upon the examination of the bor- 

 ders. 



The expedition which I accompanied 

 was designed to explore and map the 

 concession, to prospect its mineral de- 



