WCP686

[1]

Caracas

Ditton Hill

Surbiton

12 Jan 04

A. R. Wallace Esq

Dear Sir,

I have your letter of Jan <MS burned> & am sorry to learn that your friend¹ has been unable to get some sort of appointment. <He> will find it most difficult to make a living purely at colle<cting> even if he collects everything <at> least that is how it struck <one> & two ^professional Canadians whom I met at Bartica 40 miles into the Essequibo & with whom I collected for days <MS burned> told me the same & later – after <MS burned> month — had to give it up. I <MS burned> this as a friendly warning as <MS burned> the fauna is most inter<esting> [2] is by no means usually abundant from the reports of Para — there <is> ^a very different state of affairs there <is> at least was. On the slopes of the Andes also the quantity is <usu>ally different, even in Trinidad our <MS burned> collect more specimens, common<MS burned> well known some though most <of> them are.

Very little collecting has ever been done on the <illeg.> but what has <been> done is not very encouraging. And unless we got a long way up, the forest <would> not be virgin growth as planters have been on the banks for a long time. And one other drawback is the prodgious prodigious number of a large <black> mosquito. I spent 3 days in <MS burned> Amsterdam & can say that the<MS burned> of the "<illeg.> nipper" are not <MS burned>.

<MS burned> radius of 20 miles around George<town> is practically no good [3] collecting as it is all cultivated. I should think that a hut or disus<ed> house could be got low down <by> the Demerara River. Somewhere about the 3rd island ancient <MS burned> begins & I have heard that there <are> more butterflies in the creeks of the Demerara Riv. than any<where> else in the colony. All my <inform>ation was second-hand & not <MS burned> from an entomologist & I cannot vouch for it. I can say however I <was> impressed with the look of the <MS burned> in the Demerara but I only colle<cted> ^{in the Dem.} for a day or two at Wisman & <MS burned> up & it rained the whole time. Camoeni creek or Waratilla creek should be easily available. The same hills near the latter should <be> interesting.

I have heard that Suddi <MS burned> at the mouth of the Esse<MS burned> [4]<MS burned> give credence to the information.

Curatorship of the Museum is <MS burned> cant just now & I hardly know <who> to put you on to unless Mr. <And>erson at Lyndhurst Main Street would tell you. M^r.. Anderson is <a> ^civil engineer & has been over a <gre>at deal of country. There are so few people who have ever even seen <the> bush that it is surprisingly difficult <MS burned> information.

Guiana is fearfully over taxed but <MS burned> think there would be any trouble about <ca>mping out. One can rent forest land at <abou>t 5 or 10 cents an acre per annum, so <if> ever your friend was 10 cents would <not> stop him from pitching his camp, <ei>ther from the Colonial Secretary would be <a> splendid thing & doubtless save much <MS burned>.

<If> M^r.. Birch cares to come & <MS burned> me I could tell him more <in> half an hour than by 20 letters <MS burned> ^{most pleased to see him} <MS burned> search maps too when I <MS burned> collecting could be done <MS burned>

Yr sincerely | W. J. Kaye² [signature]

They must have struck a poor locality.³