150 Dr. T. A. Chapman and Mr..G. C. Champion on 
hear was too long to repeat here. The delusion was, how- 
ever, very firmly established, and persists strongly te the 
present time. About ten years ago, some Italian workmen 
in search of employment passed through the district, and 
were taken by the natives to be Frenchmen (all foreigners 
are supposed to be Frenchmen) with a similar sinister 
exploit in view, and several of them were beaten and one 
or two seriously injured. Our position was that we also 
were Frenchmen come to El Barco with an identical 
purpose, an idea possibly suggested, certainly confirmed, 
by our manipulation of nets, satchels, pill-boxes, etc. As 
vineyards were everywhere, except on the higher ground, 
it seemed self-evident that we took out of our satchels 
Phylloxera spawn and by means of our nets scattered it 
broadcast over the country. 
It must be remembered that our real objects are wholly 
incomprehensible to the country people, and even when, 
as we had always before found them, most friendly and 
polite, it was always clear that they regarded our account 
of our proceedings as being obviously insincere. Their 
usual belief was that we were gathering materials for 
some potent and valuable medicine, at other times they 
seemed to think we were mining engineers unwilling to 
avow our explorations. 
Unfortunately, at El Barco, another explanation fell in 
at once with their prejudices, and there was no doubt much 
sincerity in the threats of what would happen to us, that 
we heard of a man going so far as to say he would 
certainly use a gun if he found us near his vines. Our 
informants, being more educated, regarded these popular 
views as nonsense, but had no doubt they were strongly 
held, and would be acted on by the small cultivators. 
Others of the peasant class with whom we talked clearly 
held the popular view, and found their innate politeness 
under an extreme strain when desiring to show their 
belief in our honesty. A very curious point was, that 
within thirty-six hours of our arrival not only were these 
opinions of us adopted, but everybody apparently for miles 
around was aware of our presence, and knew, and I fear 
usually accepted, this extraordinary view of the object of 
our visit. 
We could no doubt have claimed official protection and 
got some persons to go with us as guards, but as the 
immediate locality was not attractive, and the friendly 
