IN THE CINCHONA FORESTS 269 
position, but not so wide apart that a dog or a pig could have 
got through the interstices. The whole fabric was, therefore, 
abundantly ventilated, and only too frequently filled with fog, as 
we found to our cost, in coughs and aching limbs, and in mouldy 
garments, saddles, etc. 
Having reposed a day at Limon, Dr. Taylor went on with my 
horses two days' journey to Ventanas, hoping to find Mr. Cross 
there and to bring him up. During his absence I had to look 
after killing the ox and drying the beef, and to repair our dwelling, 
which was sadly fallen to decay, especially as to the roof. I 
therefore set the Indians to drag bamboos and palm-leaves out 
of the forest, with which we patched up the hut as well as we 
could. I visited also all the Bark trees known to exist within 
a short distance, and was well content to see on many of them 
a good crop of capsules, which had already nearly reached 
their full size on the finest trees ; on other trees, however, there 
were only very young capsules, and even a good many flowers, 
so that I might have obtained at least thirty good flowering 
specimens ; but, wishing to gather as many seeds as possible, 
I dried only a couple of specimens, which I had afterwards cause 
to regret, for not one of the late -flowering panicles produced 
ripe capsules. I learnt from the inhabitants that the trees had 
been covered with blossom in the latter part of April and begin- 
ning of May. 
When Dr. Taylor had been ten days at Ventanas, a brief note 
from Mr. Mocatta was left at Guaranda by the Spanish minister 
(on his way from Guayaquil to Quito), informing me that Mr. 
Cross had been taken suddenly ill, when about to start for 
Ventanas. I therefore sent to recall Dr. Taylor, and, after his 
return, to Limon, our operations were confined to visiting the Bark 
trees daily, which extended through a zone of about four miles in 
breadth, and to collecting and studying the accompanying vegeta- 
tion. As we had a fair share of sun towards the end of June, I 
was in hopes the fruit would speedily ripen ; but nearly all through 
the month of July the weather was cool, with a good deal of mist 
and fog, so that the capsules scarcely increased in size, many fell 
off, and some were attacked by a maggot and curled up. On the 
tree which bore most capsules they began to turn mouldy, the 
mould being not fungi but rudimentary lichens. I began to fear 
we should get no ripe seeds, and as the seeds had been especially 
recommended to me in my instructions from England, it may be 
imagined how severe was my feeling of disappointment. I had 
another motive for fearing the same result. The people of Limon 
had got a notion that I should buy the seeds of them, and one 
morning, when I made my round among the trees, I found that 
two of them had been stripped of every panicle, undoubtedly by 
some one who calculated on selling me the seeds. This was very 
