322 NOTES OF A BOTANIST CHAP. 



for a time completely prostrated. The fact is, I 

 have been too constant to botany ; several times in 

 the course of my travels I might have taken to some 

 occupation far more lucrative ; and I have met 

 many men who, beginning without a cent, have 

 made more money in two or three years than I in 

 thirteen, and that without being exposed to thunder- 

 storms and pelting rain, sitting in a canoe up to the 

 knees in water, eating of bad and scanty food once 

 a day, getting no sleep at night from the attacks of 

 venomous insects, to say nothing of the certainty 

 of having every now and then to look death in the 

 face, as I have done. 



Excuse these personal details, which I have not 

 entered into with any hope or desire of exciting sym- 

 pathy, but simply to explain that, although still in the 

 midst of objects interesting to the inquirer into the 

 productions and processes of nature, I can pay little 

 heed to them. 



[Spruce then describes how he tried to obtain 

 specimens of the flowers, etc., of a particular balsam 

 tree Mr. Hanbury was very anxious to obtain ; but 

 after paying the owner of the forests ten dollars to 

 send an Indian to fetch them, he received a mule-load 

 of branches none of which possessed a single flower 

 or fruit, to obtain which one or two more journeys 

 would have to be made at different seasons. He 

 then proceeds : ] 



When I came out to the Amazon I resolved 

 never to take a specimen of a gum or resin without 

 gathering specimens of the tree producing it ; in 

 which I did very wrong, for I thus lost the oppor- 

 tunity of securing good specimens of many gums, 

 etc., brought by the Indians to the towns for sale ; 



