complete the collections brought in by the Indians, adding to them such parts as might be wanted for a complete systematic description. The specimens ought not to be chosen, however, as they have hitherto been, solely with reference to those parts which are absolutely necessary to identify the species; the collections, to be complete, ought to include the wood, the bark, the roots, and the soft fruits in alcohol. The abundance and variety of timber in the Amazonian Valley strikes us with amazement. We long to hear the saw-mill busy in these forests, where there are several hundred kinds of woods, admirably suited for construction as well as for the finest cabinet-work; remarkable for the beauty of their grain, for their hardness, for the variety of their tints and their veining, and for their durability. And yet so ignorant are the inhabitants of the value of timber that, when they want a plank, they cut down a tree, and chop it to the desired thickness with a hatchet. There are many other vegetable products, besides those already exported from the Amazons, which will one day be poured into the market from its fertile shores. The clearest and purest oils are made from some of the nuts and palm fruits, while many of the palms yield the most admirable fibrous material for cordage, singularly elastic and resistant. Besides its material products,—and of these the greater part rot on the ground for want of hands to gather them,—the climate and soil are favorable for the growth of sugar, coffee, cocoa, and cotton; and I may add, that the spices of the East might be cultivated in the valley of the Amazons as well as in the Dutch possessions of Asia.”