29 Oomsis John Womersley's big plant-drying box, heated by 2 Tilley lamps. Added to the not always sweet odors of drying plants is the smell of ripe skulls and the effluvium of Van's Zaglossus of days ago. Tonight it's not too bad. Wednesday, April 15. Definite SE weather today. But in this rather narrow valley, facing N and the big Markham Valley, the wind came up valley from the North. No rain, but rainy looking clouds in the Markham Valley, miles distant. Walked up the Bulolo Road 1/2 mile or so and struck in _ E from there to the primary forest on the first left of the foothills of the Herzog Mts., c. 1/4 mile from the road. A work gang was felling Anisoptera trees and the verbenaceous tree today, so I could safely work only the fringe of the rising ground. Pometia pinnata (Taun) was the only tree collected. Nothing striking otherwise in 17 numbers. I am running short of borrowed botanical driers and corrugates (my old stock of 1956, given to John Womersley after that expedition), and am therefore obliged to cut series from 8 to 6. The Tilley-heated drying box works slowly. And today there was trouble with it. A 5-gallon drum of gasoline was stored under the house with the 3 drums of kerosene, and the inevitable happened when the boys filled the lamps this morning. Caught today my first damselflies for the trip (2 spp.), also what I think is the 12th sp. of dragonfly for this camp. Bee-eaters hawking in the Schultz clearing late in the afternoon. The native driver of a govt. Land Rover, bound for Mumeng, delivered a batch of mail from Lae. Nine letters and 2 radiograms for me. Good Alan Willis; in a radio message from Port Moresby says our New York and Singapore cargo is on the Shansi. An international telegram signed, cryptically to me, "Rus Fifmac Sydney" asks if help can be given on "certain Archbold gear being held in Sydney." I expect from Russ Peterson, in Phil Spalding's business-like wording..It gives one a nice feeling to have friends rally around when they hear one is in a bit of trouble. A very nice letter from Cogswell & Harrison, the London suppliers of our .410 ammunition, informs us that the person whose high-power rifle ammo we got is "a gentleman in British Somaliland." Our proper shells would be shipped on the first boat to Hong Kong. As the day closed, and Van and John were going out bat shooting, they met old Zenag with a big d Phalanger maculatus and a bigger female. Paid him 6 sticks tobacco, 2 tins meat, and 10/- in "marks". He had used only 2 of the 4 #4 shells Van gave him a couple of days ago. Shot tonight were a Pipistrellus, and a Hipposideros new to the collection. Both well infested with ectoparasites. Several pips flew in front of the house, low after mosquitoes. Tried to knock them with a stick. My one butterfly net was away in the Land Rover. Thursday, April 16. Fine, hot day; good breeze up valley - 2-5 PM. Botanized up the W slopes of the valley, in Schultz' area, to 300-400 feet above camp. Good primary forest, not much disturbed by logging, on the creek and basal slopes. In the dipterocarp zone, beginning c. 200 ft. above the valley bottom, cutting has been very heavy. The forest was wrecked 3-4 years ago by the Forest Dept. in taking out 2 1/2 million feet of timber from 400 acres all told.