100 BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 
and itis you, who see my specimens,* that must pronounce 
on its success or failure. That the individual, who ventures 
into a pathless wilderness, must lay his account with facing 
many dangers, and enduring numberless privations, is a mat- 
ter of course, and I believe that in these disadvantageous 
respects, Surinam is exceeded by no country in the world, 
which botanists have ever visited. In Brazil, on the contrary, 
the traveller meets with roads, which however rugged, are 
still practicable for mules; so that from the south of that 
vast country to its northern extremity, it cannot be said that 
his progress is anywhere materially obstructed ; especially 
since the way in which the population is scattered enables 
the naturalist to obtain the most necessary articles of sub- 
sistence. Here, the person who would proceed by land, has 
to force his passage with the aid of an axe or cutlass through 
the forest, or he is guided by the course of a river, which in- 
variably, can only be navigated by small canoes, and is at- 
tended with considerable danger. He must carry whatever 
food is needful, and when his provisions spoil in this damp 
country, he must depend for a supply on his gun ; and often 
be reduced to support life with such abject fare as an alligator 
or monkey can afford, or find himself reduced to utter star- 
vation. 
Another difficulty arises from the want of communication 
between the inhabited parts of the colony and its vast unex- 
plored interior; thus entailing such an enormous expence in 
transporting collections from place to place, as could not be 
covered by the price usually charged for such objects when 
coming from countries of less difficult access. 
: My first excursion occupied but a fortnight, and its expe- 
riences are detailed in what I have just said. To you, whose 
rank among botanists is so high, and who are so well ac- 
quainted with what has been already done, as to be able to 
judge, by analogy, of what might be expected in the vegeta- 
tion of this district, I cannot presume to give any sketch of 
the general appearance of the country through which I have 
* Unquestionably Dr. Hostmann's plants are exceedingly well preserved. 
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