BIOGRAPHY 
xxxiii 
his chief friends, Mr. Borrer and Sir WiUiam Hooker, and was 
no doubt also introduced to Mr. George Bentham, and through 
their advice and encouragement determined to undertake the 
botanical exploration of the Amazon valley. It is probable, 
also, that he heard from some of our entomological friends at 
the British Museum how successful Bates and myself had already 
been, and how highly we spoke of the climate and the people, 
showing that there were no real difficulties in the way of a 
naturalist collector. 
His decision having been taken, his whole time must have 
been fully occupied till the date of sailing for Para on June 7, 
1849. Letters from Sir W. Hooker in October and November 
1848 show that this journey was under discussion, and that by 
December it was finally decided upon. A letter to Mr. G. 
Stabler shows that Spruce came to Kew in April 1849, and 
spent about two months there. During this time Mr. Bentham 
agreed to receive all his botanical collections, name the already 
described species, sort them into sets under their several genera, 
and send them to the various subscribers in Great Britain, as 
well as in different parts of Europe. He also undertook to 
describe the more interesting new species and genera, and to 
collect the subscriptions and keep all accounts, in return for 
which invaluable services he was to receive the first (complete) 
set of the plants collected. 
Later letters show that only eleven subscribers were obtained 
at first ; but that after the early collections arrived and were 
reported on by Sir W. Hooker in the Joitrnal of Botany\ and by 
so great a botanist as Mr. Bentham, subscribers were at once 
found for twenty sets, which, a few years later, when the great 
novelty of the collections and their admirable condition as 
specimens became more widely known, increased to over thirty. 
As will be seen by some of the letters printed in these 
volumes. Spruce highly appreciated the great service Mr. 
Bentham rendered him in thus undertaking the laborious duties 
of a botanical agent ; and that he fully expressed his gratitude 
for it, as well as for the numerous letters Mr. Bentham wrote to 
him on botanical subjects connected with his work, which were 
his chief solace and encouragement during his long and often 
solitary wanderings. 
