BOTANICAL TRIP HITCHCOCK 339 



covered cone is a magnificent sight in clear weather, the road reach- 

 ing an ultimate altitude at Urbina of nearly 12,000 feet, then on into 

 the valley of Ambato and Latacunga, over another pass near the 

 great peak of Cotopaxi, and finally descending to Quito, which lies 

 in a sort of bowl. A few minor railroads lead inland a short dis- 

 tance from some of the coast towns. The commerce of the interior 

 cities that are not served by the railroad is by means of pack trains 

 over roads that are much used and rarely repaired. 



PRODUCTS OF ECUADOR 



The chief industry of Ecuador is agriculture. The mineral re- 

 sources are great, but through lack of suitable facilities for trans- 

 portation these resources have been only partially developed. There 

 is a large gold mine at Portovelo, in southern Ecuador, where we 

 had the privilege of staying a few days on our journey through this 

 region. Copper and other metals are also found and petroleum is 

 produced in the region west of Guayaquil. 



The chief agricultural export product is cacao, from which choco- 

 late is made. The industry has been threatened recently by a dis- 

 ease, witches'-broom, which has greatly reduced the output in cer- 

 tain regions. 



Sugar raising is an important industry but the product is chiefly 

 used within the country. Considerable coffee is exported, and for- 

 merly the ivory nuts and rubber were important products. 



The making of Panama hats is the leading manufacturing in- 

 dustry, of which the export value for 1920 was $1,500,000. These are 

 made from a palm growing on the coastal plain and are woven or 

 plaited by hand. In some localities a large part of the population 

 from children to the aged take part in the manufacture. 



In the valleys of the interior the usual crops of temperate re- 

 gions are raised, mostly for home consumption, such as wheat, bar- 

 ley, and alfalfa. Stock raising is increasing in importance. 



COLLECTING PLANTS IN ECUADOR 



As the work in Ecuador was of a cooperative nature as indicated 

 in the first paragraph, the collecting included all kinds of flowering 

 plants of which three sets were obtained. The collection included 

 2,137 numbers (19914 to 22050), a large part of which were obtained 

 in triplicate. A sufficient amount of stock newspaper sheets cut to 

 folders lli^ by 161/2 inches, the so-called inner sheets, was taken 

 from America for the entire trip as one can not depend upon getting 

 such things in Ecuador. Also there were taken about 500 driers, and 

 200 sheets of corrugated paper faced on one side. Two kerosene 

 • cooking lamps with 4-inch wicks furnished the heat. Packages of 



