Natural-History Collectors. 4201 



such as the name of the genus if not of the species, whether a favour- 

 ite group or not, whether new or not. 



" The Upper Amazon steamer has not arrived yet : I rather expect 

 I shall be obliged to go to Para after all to embark, as it is probable 

 it will not stop here ; but I can get no news of the Company's plans : 

 if it stops at the Barra, of course I can go thither in the Barra steamer 

 and tranship. At any rate, there will be time to receive books and 

 papers from England. Odd papers, magazines, &c, which many 

 entomologists circulate amongst their friends, if relating to South- 

 American insects, even if in German, I should esteem much. 



" I am very anxious to hear of the safe arrival and profitable sale 

 of the barrel of fishes, &c. I could do more, perhaps, than you ex- 

 pect in London, in fishes, as I believe there are thousands of species 

 in these rivers, and those of the brooks and head rivers are different 

 from those of trunk streams : I only want encouragement. There is 

 some difficulty about vessels for them ; good barrels are not to be 

 had : but I have a scheme to remedy this. I have got some news of 

 the Lepidosiren at last; the Indians call it " Tambaki-mboya," and I 

 have some friends on the look-out for it : it is only with bow and ar- 

 row that they can obtain it, as they say it bites off the hook. I think 

 it likely I may get heads of the Iniae, or dolphins ; yet the Indians 

 have superstitions about them which makes it difficult to get them. 

 All say there are three kinds ; I have always seen two, the Bouti and 

 the Tucuxi, the former have some black and the others flesh-colour, 

 and as I have seen these colours go in pairs when they are rolling, 

 they may be two species. The sloth I send was a fine specimen, but 

 most unfortunately, such is the humidity of the weather, it was impos- 

 sible to dry it quickly enough, and the claws all fell off. In future, I 

 shall treat all thick mammal-skins as Professor Owen recommends in 

 the Admiralty Manual — put them in spirit. 



" I think it is necessary that you should request Messrs. S. & Co., 

 when you send parcels, to put them in their manifest ; likely enough 

 the lost parcel was seized in Para for want of this. There is now 

 steam all the way from Southampton to Santarem; you might try this 

 conveyance by sending me the six latest dates of the ' Illustrated 

 London News,' they will reach me in about thirty-five days." 



" Santarem, June 26, 1853. — I wrote you when I forwarded a col- 

 lection on the 10th of March ; a second letter on the 29th of March ; 

 and a third with the collection on the 27th of May ; so, having writ- 

 ten so often, I have not at present much to say. The steamer, when 



