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CHAPTER XIX 
BOTANICAL EXCURSIONS AND ASCENTS IN THE 
ECUADOREAN ANDES 
(Jufy I, 1857, December 31, 1858) 
[With the exception of the first six months spent at 
Bafios (and several shorter visits to it afterwards), 
the town of Ambato was Spruce's head-quarters 
during his three years' continuous exploration of 
the Andes of Ecuador. During the year and a 
half comprised in this chapter there is nothing in 
the shape of a Journal, but the letters to his friends, 
Messrs. Teasdale, Bentham, and Sir V/illiam 
Hooker, furnish materials for a fairly complete 
account of his life and work during this period. 
His explorations covered a large extent of the 
surrounding mountains and forests, and as he was 
often away from Ambato for weeks or months at a 
time, I shall now commence each chapter with the 
full " List of Botanical Excursions," which is suffi- 
ciently detailed to enable the reader, by the help of 
the map, to follow his wanderings, and thus to 
better understand the references he makes in the 
letters to the places he has visited. It will be 
seen that he made a stay of some weeks at Quito 
in order to explore the neighbouring mountain 
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