Numerous canals, spanned by picturesque little wooden bridges, divide the city into sections. At low tide the locks in the sea-wall are opened to permit the excess of water to escape; at high tide the locks are closed to keep the lowlands from being flooded. Growing in the water are masses of _Victoria regia_ lilies with white or pink flowers; the giant leaves, with upturned edges, and often several feet across, resemble huge pies; but the plant is lovely from a distance only, as the veins and midribs are covered with long, sharp spines that effectively prevent any intimate advances on the part of an overenthusiastic admirer. Mosquitoes are not lacking, but they appear at night only, when one can easily evade them by remaining indoors; and through the hours of darkness the twanging and peeping of myriads of frogs fill the air with a not unmusical din. The population is the most cosmopolitan imaginable. It ranges from dignified, helmeted British officers down to the meanest Chinese or Hindu coolie living in a dilapidated shamble on the border of a marshy rice-field. Our first care was to secure the admission of our equipment by the customs officials. This was accomplished without an undue amount of difficulty; and within a short time we had also obtained a permit to pursue our scientific work, for in British Guiana birds are wisely protected. We also opened negotiations with Sproston’s, Ltd., who operate many large lumber, rubber, and mining enterprises in the interior of the country. This step is a most essential one, as the concern, through its agents, can be of the greatest assistance to the traveller. On July 7, we boarded a comfortable little steamer and started up the Demerara. Rain fell in torrents throughout the day so that it was impossible to see anything but the fleeting, yellow water against which the straining craft battled vigorously, and the long rows of trees faintly outlined in a world of blue-gray mist. Wismar was reached that night and passengers and luggage were hurried aboard the waiting train, which soon covered the eighteen miles of intervening country to Rockstone, on the Essiquibo River. A delightful bungalow hotel is maintained by Sproston’s at the latter place, and every need of the visitor is superabundantly supplied.