CHAPTER XXII 
ON THE SHORES OF THE PACIFIC I SPRUCe's LAST 
THREE YEARS IN SOUTH AMERICA 
[During the whole of this period Spruce was 
struggling hard against the severe illness which 
prostrated him for the remainder of his life. The 
list of his Botanical Excursions gives a connected 
view of his movements in search of health, and the 
few letters he wrote to his friends give a sufficiently 
vivid picture of his life and occupations, when he 
could do little more than rest and make those 
minute observations on the country and the people 
which were his chief consolation during the weari- 
some years of forced inactivity. 
One result of these observations was an elaborate 
paper of 80 pages, on the district of Piura, in 
which he resided for nearly two years, more 
especially in relation to the cultivation of cotton 
there. This paper was published by the Foreign 
Office, but is now out of print ; and as it describes 
a district very rarely visited by European travellers, 
I here reproduce those portions of it (about one-third 
of the whole) which are of general or botanical 
interest. They also serve to show how carefully 
Spruce utilised his opportunities for scientific obser- 
vation, even under the most adverse conditions.] 
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