54 



PIIYTOGEOCRAPHY AND F.XPI.OR.\TION 



Agriculture and Animal Husbandry'. 

 To enter into and conduct study within 

 regions where there are protected In- 

 dian populations, authorization must 

 be obtained from the Ministry of Jus- 

 tice. And, finally, on entry, one must 

 register with the Security Officers to 

 facilitate travel and transport within 

 the countr}'. It is exceedingly helpful 

 to present a carefully prepared list of 

 all equipment and supplies that are to 

 be used on the expedition for approval 

 by the Consular Office— in our in- 

 stance, the Consulate-General in New 

 York, who will issue, on agreement, a 

 stamp of approval or "Visto Bueno" 

 for it. . . . 



PREPARATION 



Details of preparation for an expe- 

 dition cannot be too precisely or metic- 

 ulously done. Major categories in 

 preparation are as follows: 1. immuni- 

 zations, medical and drug supplies; 2. 

 personal clothing and eflfects: 3. instru- 

 ments and equipment for scientific 

 work; 4. camp equipment; 5. photo- 

 graphic equipment; 6. clothing and use- 

 ful articles for guides and porters if the 

 expedition has such requirements; 7. 

 food; and 8. facilities for transport. 



1. Immunizations, medical and drug 

 supplies. 



Ordinarily, any applicant for a U.S. 

 Passport is given a card of "Interna- 

 tional Certificate of Inoculation and 

 Vaccination as approved bv World 

 Health Organization and The Pan 

 American Sanitaw Organization," upon 

 which record of inoculations and vac- 

 cinations should be entered. For travel 

 in most American tropical countries, 

 the more important immunizations 

 are those against smallpox, tvphoid, 

 yellow fever, and tetanus. inquir\' 

 should be made as to whether t\phus 

 and cholera \-accines \\'0uld be advis- 

 able for the countr)' to be visited. For 



our present purposes, except for the 

 last two diseases, all members of our 

 party have received updated inocula- 

 tions, and in addition, because of the 

 present danger of epidemic or pan- 

 demic Oriental influenza, have ob- 

 tained before leaving New York anti-flu 

 vaccine. . . , 



A carefully prepared and stocked 

 medical kit is essential to the success of 

 an expedition. With the exercise of 

 moderate judgment and care, travel in 

 tropical areas is as safe as living in any 

 city. If one is stricken with malaria or 

 is handicapped bv the stricture of dys- 

 entery, it is because of his own care- 

 lessness. There are a number of effec- 

 tive anti-malarials now on the market. 

 The New York Botanical Garden has 

 successfully used for the entire person- 

 nel of its expeditions for a period of ten 

 years the Parke, Davis & Co. anti- 

 malarial Camoquin. As a result of the 

 use of Camoquin as a prophylactic, in 

 only one instance has malaria broken 

 through, and then only of brief and 

 mild occurrence. More recently Camo- 

 form with Neomycin and Bacitracin 

 added has successfully been used as an 

 anti-amoebic. Anyone contemplating 

 explorator}' work in tropical areas 

 should inform himself ven' carefully 

 about medical and drug requirements. 



Danger from wild animals, particu- 

 larly poisonous snakes, is minimal in 

 most parts of the American Tropics. 

 Poisonous snakes do occur, but we have 

 encountered them so seldom during the 

 fifteen years of our present tropical 

 program, that we have not considered 

 it necessan,' to provide ourselves with 

 anti-venoms. We have felt that the or- 

 dinary snakebite kit providing tourni- 

 quet, lancet and pump is all that is 

 necessary. We have never had occa- 

 sion to use this equipment. 



Biting insects, bete rouge, ticks, etc., 

 are often very abundant and can cause 

 considerable personal discomfiture. The 

 best of repellents seem to be inade- 



