tion in South America was three-
strand hemp, a hard material, good for standing rigging but not good
for tackle or for use aboard canoes. A four-ply bolt rope of best
manilla, made in New Bedford, Mass., should be taken. It is the finest
and most pliable line in the world, as any old whaler will tell you.
Get a sailor of the old school to relay the coils before you go into
the field so that the rope will be ready for use. Five eighths to
seven eighths inch diameter is large enough. A few balls of marline
come in conveniently as also does heavy linen fish-line.

A small-sized duffel-bag should be provided for each of the men as a
container for hammock and net, spare clothing, and mess-kit. A very
small waterproof pouch or bag should be furnished also for matches,
tobacco, etc.

The men should be limited to one duffel-bag each. These bags should be
numbered consecutively. In fact, every piece in the entire equipment
should be thus numbered and a list kept in detail in a book.

The explorer should personally see that each of his men has a hammock,
net, and poncho; for the native, if left unsupervised, will go into
the field with only the clothing he has on.

FOOD--Though South America is rich in food and food possibilities,
she has not solved the problem of living economically on her
frontiers. The prices asked for food in the rubber districts we passed
through were amazing. Five milreis (one dollar and fifty cents) was
cheap for a chicken, and eggs at five hundred reis (fifteen cents)
apiece were a rarity. Sugar was bought at the rate of one to two
milreis a kilo--in a country where sugar-cane grows luxuriantly. The
main dependence is the mandioc, or farina, as it is called. It is the
bread of the country and is served at every meal. The native puts it
on his meat and in his soup and mixes it with his rice and beans. When
he has nothing else he eats the farina, as it is called, by the
handful. It is seldom cooked. The small mandioc tubers when boiled are
very good and are used instead of potatoes. Native beans are nutritious
and form one of the chief foods.

In the field the native cook wastes much time. Generally provided with
an inadequate cooking equipment, hours are spent cooking beans after
the day's work, and then, of course, they are often only partially
cooked. A kettle or aluminum Dutch oven should be taken along, large
enough to cook enough beans for both breakfast and dinner. The beans
should be cooked a