WCP722

[1]

Broadstone, Wimborne

Sept. 27th. 1904

My dear Fred¹

Yours of Sept^r. 8th. just arrived — 19 days this time — [MS burned] if I post this today it will go by tomorrow’s mail. What a long while it seems since you started, 6 months ago, and only just getting your first lot of insects off now. But of course you had very bad luck at starting in the wet season. From your description <of> the home at Belmont it almost s<eems> as if it might be a better locality th<an> Caparo, but you will see. Your account of the present state of Guanaco will renders it, I think, out of the question [MS burned] going there with the chance of being looted [MS burned] reckless Venezuelan officials — justly mad ag<ainst> England for her treatment of them recently.

As you still give no other address than C<arr> I send this the same as Cast, as "Belmont" [MS burned] may not reach you. No you see the gre<at> loss incurred by missing the dry season. I hope you will not stay on at Trinidad [MS burned] you again get to "somewhere on the C[MS burned] in the wet. As Guanaco so don’t [MS burned] suppose you will go B. Guiana [MS burned] [2] either at the Missionary station on the Marooca River, or at Suddie, or at some old settlement in or near Forest — not at the [illeg.], which I am pretty sure will be less productive, more expansive, and altogether less agreeable and advantageous. As no doubt there are many people in P. of Spain who have lived in B. Guiana you will be able to get accurate information as to those places and about this wet season. According to Chambers Encyc. the dry seasons in B. Guiana are from Aug. to Dec^r. and from Feb. to April, so that unless you have left within a week or two after writing to me you will again have lost part of the longest of the two fine weather seasons. I see they say that the climate is wetter inland than on or near the Coast, & that [MS burned] another reason why Suddie or <the> missions will be best for you.

[3] I told you in my last what I thought your collections must be worth, & on receipt of them Janson² will no doubt send you a small remittance on account. If you sh find the mountains near P. of Spain sufficiently rich in all orders of insects to induce you to stay there two or three months, then it would be well to arrange so as to rea<ch> B. Guiana by end of January, so you may get settled in your collect<ing> ground by the very beginning of the short dry season and utilize the whole of it. You have been wonderfully fortunate in your expenditure so far, but if at [MS burned] time within the next year you run out of funds altogether you <may> use my name to get an adva<nce of> £10 or £20 — which, with [MS burned] [4] the Governor, will, I have no doubt, satisfy only one of your solvency to that amount. But I hope you will not require it.

From your description of the valleys and mountains of the north of Trinidad I rather hope you will decide to give them three or four months, as you have such nice head quarters to return to, after a week’s collecting at a time, at different points. There must surely be some villages or woodcutters huts, at which you could stay, & I hope some roads and paths. A thorough collector must do well in such a country which I feel sure has never been thoroughly collected yet. Should you get into any mossy districts, will you get a handful <of> moss whenever you see any in fruit & put it <in> your pocket. If wrapped up in small parcels or old newspaper, it will be useful when packing up your boxes to send home as padding, it will be most interesting to my father in law Mr. Mitten,³ who collects & describes the mosses of the whole world including the Hepatica. Then instruct <Jan>son to send me all these "paddings." Also <if> you come across any bulbous plants on <the moun>tains, you can pack up a few bulbs [MS burned] for me.

[MS burned]erely | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]