6 NOTES OF A BOTANIST 



the weeds kept down more than in Brazilian 

 villages. About 1000 sticks of firewood were 

 embarked here in two hours. 



On April i we reached Iquitos, a considerable 

 village on the north bank at the mouth of a small 

 stream of black water. It contains many people 

 of mixed race, besides a great many Iquitos Indians 

 who inhabit the western portion of the village, 1 

 Here I first saw the fruit of a remarkable palm-like 

 Pandanaceae (Phytelephas) allied to the plant that 

 produces the vegetable ivory. 



On April 2, reached Nauta, on the north bank, 

 a few miles above the mouth of the Ucayali, which 

 enters from the south a river equal in size to the 

 Maranon itself. Nauta stands on rising ground 

 from 30 to 60 feet above the river. The soil is 

 sandy with some mixture of clay near the river. 

 At the back the ground goes on gently rising for 

 a considerable distance, only interrupted by rivulets. 

 In the second growth on old clearings, the most 

 curious feature is the absence of Selaginella, so 

 constant in such places on the Amazon and Rio 

 Negro. There is, however, a common Adiantum 

 and a low tree-fern. 



[As the steamer went no farther, Spruce had to 

 wait a fortnight at Nauta before he could hire two 

 canoes with the necessary Indians to take him and 

 his goods up to Yurimaguas on the river Huallaga. 

 In the intervals of this work he collected such 



1 I(|iiiui> is Mown town of about 10,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of 

 the Peruvian province of Loreto, and the centre of the rubber trade of the 

 1 : ! Napo, ;m 1 nil (he higher tributaries of the Amazon. There is a 



monthly communication with l';ira by river steamers, while at longer intervals 

 steamers make the through journey from Liverpool to this inland port within 

 sight of the lower ranges of the Andes. 



