340 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1924 



plants, placed over a stove and surrounded by a curtain of cloth to 

 force the hot air through the packages, would dry in a few hours. 

 The corrugated paper between the specimens allowed a free circu- 

 lation of hot air. 



When collections were made at towns along the railroad and one 

 could do the drying at a hotel there was little difficulty in prepar- 

 ing specimens. In visiting outlying places and traveling overland 

 certain modifications were necessary. 



The usual method of travel overland is to hire horses or mules 

 Avith driver for a definite stage, usually not to exceed two or three 

 days. In addition one should have a guide and interpreter. In the 

 present case I was fortunate in having the services of Mr. J. R. Mc- 

 William, a young Seventh-day Adventist missionary of Quito, who 

 spoke Spanish and was familiar with the country and its customs. 

 Most of the natives— that is, the Indians— speak Quichua and often 

 little or no Spanish. The mule driver, however, could act as an in- 

 terpreter for Quichua. The outfit was reduced to simple terms and 

 was carried on two pack animals. 



It is essential to successful travel that one should preserve one's 

 health. In the uplands there was no malaria but dysentery and 

 other intestinal diseases were common. To avoid dysentery and 

 typhoid one should drink no unboiled water and eat no uncooked 

 vegetables. Fresh fruit should be inspected and peeled with care. 



Since the travel was in a primitive country it was necessary to 

 provide certain comforts in order not to be worn out with the con- 

 tinuous strain of horseback riding. I took with me from Washington 

 a McClellan army saddle and a saddle blanket, also a folding army 

 cot with pad or thin mattress, and blankets. In actual travel navy 

 duffle sacks of heavy canvas were used to hold the baggage, one sack 

 on each side of a mule. The cot and pad filled one sack. A supple- 

 mentary supply of food was taken as one could not depend upon 

 getting what one needed at small inns or tambos. Such supplies 

 included condensed milk, sugar, tea, butter, sardines, canned salmon, 

 canned fruit, and crackers. Sometimes it was necessary to stop at 

 ■ Indian huts. Bread could rarely be obtained except in the larger 

 places. Milk, butter, and sugar were luxuries. Hot water could 

 always be furnished and usually caldo, a kind of stew or soup with 

 potato and scraps of other things — just what other things one could 

 not know. Eggs could sometimes be obtained. Candles were a neces- 

 sary part of the equipment as light is rarely furnished at small places. 

 The towns are situated in fertile valleys and these, being highly 

 cultivated, furnish little of value to the plant collector. The inter- 

 esting plants were obtained in going over the passes. On the other 

 hand tlie limiting factor determining the arrangements for each 



