ON THE PACIFIC COAST 323 



and when I afterwards fell in with the trees pro- 

 ducing- them, there was either no gum to be had 

 or merely small fragments, sufficient for identifica- 

 tion with larger masses, but not worth sending as 

 specimens to England. The collection of balsams, 

 gums, resins, etc., is a task requiring an Indian's 

 patience. Mostly they must be gathered drop by 

 drop, or incisions must be made and the trees visited 

 after the lapse of months to get the lumps of coagu- 

 lated juice. I was unfortunate in some things I 

 tried to collect on a large scale. For instance, I 

 took with me down the Rio Negro a demijohn of 

 the Sassafras of that river, and several demijohns 

 of a beautifully white and transparent Oil of Copaiba, 

 procured on the Siapa, intending to send them to 

 England and ascertain their commercial value ; 

 but the person who took them down to Para not 

 only received the freight beforehand, but sold the 

 articles there on his own account instead of delivering 



O 



them to my correspondent. 



[XVith this letter Spruce sent dried specimens of 

 a gum-producing tree which grew about a mile and 

 a half from the village of Chanduy, and which after 

 several attempts he succeeded in reaching " though 

 I had to lie down many times by the way." He 

 then concludes thus :] 



This is, I think, all your correspondent has to 

 send you this time. You will see he is now good 

 for little else besides talking and writing even the 

 latter is painful to him and can be done only reclin- 

 ing in the hammock ; but if you will have patk-n< < 

 with him, he will still try to obtain lor you any 

 information within his reach. Very faithfully yours, 



Rl HARD SPRU< I . 



