IN THE ECUADOREAN ANDES 207 



far beyond what other botanists have supposed to 

 be likely, but no one had ever before given the 

 same close attention to the species of forest-trees 

 over so large an area as Spruce had done.] 



To Mr. George Benthani 



AMBATO, June 22, 1858. 



I have just completed packing up three cases of 

 plants to be dispatched to you. . . . 



There are a few specimens of a Balanophorea which I have 

 included in the general collection, and a single specimen (being 

 all I could find) of a plant allied to Rafflesiaceae, which please 

 give to Dr. Hooker. The latter grew on the root of a tree in the 

 forest on Mount Tunguragua ; when fresh the involucre was dull 

 purple and the florets violet it "has shrunk about half in drying. 

 I only guess at its affinities, for I did not wish to injure the specimen 

 by examining it. 



The Phanerogamic collection is not so interesting as I could 

 wish. As I mentioned in a previous letter, I was prevented from 

 gathering many interesting trees about Baiios by having filled all 

 my paper. I have lately revisited Baiios and spent a month 

 there, but the weather was very gloomy and rainy, and there were 

 scarcely any flowers. In consequence of this I found it impracti- 

 cable to procure plants of the fine Orchids I have found on Tungu- 

 ragua. Nor did I find a single moss that I had not gathered 

 during my previous residence there so eagerly, it seems, I had 

 searched for them though I got twenty-one ferns and a lew 

 Hepaticre which had previously escaped me. 



What a fine chance there is now for your friend 

 Dr. Caapanema, or for any other wealthy and 

 scientific Brazilian not afraid of heat, rains, and 

 mosquitoes, to explore the Amazon and its tribu- 

 taries in a small steamer, where everything neces- 

 sary could be carried, and their collections preserved 

 and stowed away ! 



I have lately been calculating the number of 



