Dec. 1890.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 39 



" I am sitting writing by the light of the full moon upon the upper 

 deck of tlie ' Bolivia.' The air is warm and balmy, and filled with 

 the croakings and chirpings of frogs and crickets ; and as it is now 

 near midnight, I must adjourn till to-morroM'. 



" 27^/i. — This morning I shall just add a few odds and ends to 

 this letter. I have enjoyed perfect health up here, and have had 

 no real illness, unless one can so call the great weakness and utter 

 incapability of doing anything whatever from which I suffered 

 during the starvation period. I have never once found it un- 

 pleasantly warm since I arrived in South America — the highest 

 temperature we have had (106° Fahr. in the shade) being one of 

 the most delightful days I have ever experienced. On the other 

 hand, I have suffered greatly from the cold on several occasions 

 during the past winter, on some nights being quite unable to sleep 

 although having over me a thick rug, an ulster, and the whole of 

 my wardrobe. The cold was sometimes most intense, especially 

 about sunrise, the mercury falling to below zero centigrade. The 

 Chaco is famous for its insect pests, which, however, during the 

 winter disappeared almost entirely, and are only now beginning to 

 make themselves felt again. The worst of them is the 

 ' Polvorino,' a fly so small as to be almost invisible, but the 

 intensity of whose bite quite throws that of the mosquitoe into 

 the shade. I have collected but few insects, as they disappeared 

 to a great extent during winter. I have got a fair collection of 

 birds, and the herbarium, although still small, is now beginning, 

 with the advent of spring, to develop a little. The absolute want 

 of any water-tight place on board I have found very objectionable, 

 and have already on one occasion found nearly the entire collection 

 of plants ruined. I have now adopted the plan of keeping it as 

 far as possible in the open air when it is dry, and bringing it down 

 to the saloon when the air is damp. 



" JSTow as to the present and the future. We are at present rest- 

 ing at this point, being utterly unable to move owing to the river 

 being almost completely dried up. The military party came up 

 with instructions to take us off on mule-back, abandoning the 

 steamer; but we, especially I, as you may well understand, are 

 loth to leave the ship. For me it would mean simply losing all 

 my collections, books, everything, as there are just enough mules 

 to take ourselves off. So a commission of half a dozen men is to 

 be sent down to the mouth of the river to wire to the owners of 

 the vessel for instructions. So you will see that the future is 

 rather doubtful for me. I may be down to the Kio Paraguay 

 within a month or two minus collections, clothes, &c., or I may 

 not be down for several months — preferably the latter ; for I shall 

 certainly stick to the boat if I can possibly manage it. I should 

 be much disappointed to have to leave before midsummer, by 

 which time most of the plants will be in flower and many in fruit. 



" Now I shall wind up this tedious scrawl with all best wishes to 



