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CHAPTER XIX
BOTANICAL EXCURSIONS AND ASCENTS IN THE
ECUADOREAN ANDES
{July i, 1857, to December 31, 1858)
[\YiTH the exception of the first six months spent at
Banos (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 William
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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