Untitled - The Alfred Russel Wallace Website

AMAZONIAN VEGETATION 351
and ever since I have neither seen nor heard tell
of him !
I have tried to treat with the traders who go
from Pelileo to Canelos, such as Hilario Flores
and others ; but not one has been willing to under-
take to bring the Cinnamon fruits, etc., on account
of its exceeding difficulty.
By Padre Fierro, who himself has just come out
of the forest, I certainly hoped to obtain it, but he
has only brought two young living plants, which (as
they were beginning to wither) he has left behind
him (planted) at St Ine's, on the farm of Dr. Lizar-
zaburo. He thought he was doing the best he
could for me in bringing the live plants. He
brought also seeds, but they got them from him
at St. Ine's.
All that I have been able to obtain is some loose
leaves and calyces with their fruits, but not of their
original colour. Tell me, may I send Mr. H anbury
these dried leaves ? The young plants will prosper,
but the difficulty is how to send them.
As to getting the flowers, that is the most im-
possible of all, for Padre Fierro tells me that no
sooner does the young calyx appear than it already
contains the young fruit [here Spruce remarks
"hence the tree appears to be dioecious"], so that
the calyx with the fruit ought to suffice for the identi-
fication of the Cinnamon tree. I hope to give these
things to Mr. Seckel, who is on his way to Ouito,
that he may send them to Mr. H anbury.
How I wish this affair had depended on me
alone, and that I could have gone to Canelos; but
that is impossible because of the precipitous ways.
If I could have gone myself, even although I had