228 
NOTES OF A BOTANIST 
CHAP. 
form plantations of these precious trees on a large 
scale. This 'task will occupy me (if my life be 
spared) the greater part of next year. 
The expedition to the woods above spoken of 
(in August and September of 1859) was to make 
myself acquainted with the different sorts of Barks, 
and to ascertain what facilities existed for procuring 
their seeds, etc., or, more properly speaking, what 
difficulties had to be overcome, and I assure you 
they are not slight ones. I established myself in a 
sugar hacienda about half-way between Riobamba 
and Cuenca, and five days' journey from Ambato, 
and from thence penetrated two days' journey 
farther into the forest towards the w*est, or nearly 
to the roots of the Andes on the Pacific side. The 
owner of the hacienda, Don Pepe Leon, a descend- 
ant of a noble Spanish family, and his wife, Sefiora 
Manuelita (a handsome and very clever Ambatina 
— most of the handsome women are of Ambato), 
were very agreeable people, and I spent a pleasant 
time with them. 
Notes of a Visit to the Cinchona Forests in 
THE Valley of Alausi, on the Western 
Slope of the Quitonian Andes 
To Sir Willia7n Hooker 
Ambato, Oct. 20, 1859. 
My last letter informed you that I was con- 
templating an expedition to the forests producing 
the Cinchona tree on the western slopes of the 
Quitonian Andes. I was for some time doubtful as 
to what part 1 should visit. It was but two or three 
