320 MVx. SPRUCE'S EXPEDITION— Chap. XIX. 



them fall on sheets spread on the ground to receive them, so 

 that the fe^v loose seeds shaken out by the fall were not lost. 

 The capsules were afterwards spread out to dry for some days 

 on the same sheets. In September J\Ii*. Spruce went across 

 to the valley of the San Antonio, to the southward, in order 

 to secure additional seeds from " red-bark " trees there, leav- 

 ing Mr. Cross to watch over the rooting of the cuttings at 

 Limon. Between the 14th and 19th he gathered 500 well- 

 grown capsules at San Antonio, in addition to 2000 already 

 collected at Limon. Good capsules contain forty seeds each, 

 so that at least 100,000 well-ripened and well-dried seeds 

 were now gathered ; and on the 28th of September Mr. 

 Spruce started for Guayaquil.* In November he proceeded 

 up the river again, and purchased one of the rafts at Ven- 

 tanas, which are used for conveying cacao to Guayaquil. It 

 was composed of twelve trunks of raft-wood, sixty-thi-ee to 

 sixty-six feet long and one foot in diameter, kept in their 

 places by shorter pieces tied transversely, and covered with 

 bamboo planking, fenced round with rails to a height of three 

 feet, and roofed over. The rope used for bmding the parts of 

 the raft together was the twining stem of a Bigyionia. The 

 Wardian cases were got ready on the raft at Ventanas, and 

 Mr. Cross arrived with the plants from Limon on the 13th of 

 December, and established them in the cases to the number 

 of 637. 



After encountering several dangers and mishajDS in navi- 

 gating the river, the raft with its precious freight reached 

 Guayaquil on the 27th of December ; and the plants were 



'' Mr. Cross sowed eight of the seeds; Spruce m 1859, were sown at Guava- 

 one began to germinate on the fourth quil, wliich had remained nine months 

 day, and at the end of a fortnight four in his herbarium. Of these four ger- 

 seeds had pushed then- rachcles. In i minated, wliich clearly shows that well- 

 three weeks one had the seed-leaves ' ripened and properly-di-ied seeds do 

 completely developed ; and on the not lose theh vitality for a much longer 

 twenty-eiglith day after sowing, the ' period than then- excessive dehcaey 

 last of the eight pushed its radicle, would lead one to suspect. 

 Eight chinchona-seeds, gathered bvMr. 



