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April 26-

Bill and I spent the morning out at the Research Department, where Dr. McIndooand Dr. Tengwall work with problems of plant introduction.  We saw large pineapple fields, palm nuts, young rubber, and papaya, as well as trial beds of beans, cucumbers, sweet corn and other vegetables from temperate climates.  Cucumbers do very well here, and are surprisingly crisp and firm.

In the afternoon we went over to the rice shed, and made some final pictures of the animals that are to be shipped on the next boat.  The four little chimps are in fine shape, even "Libby" who was so sick on the way back from Belleyella is strong and husky now, the only difference between her and the others being that she still has to be fed with a syringe, while the other three drink their milk from a big pan, all of them diving into it together.  Two of them have the same trick as our two little ones at home, walking about together with their arms around each other, and unhappy if they are separated.  One male chimp is quarrelsome, but the four live in one big cage together - when they are not roaming about at liberty.  The little Diana from Kakata is a darling; Bill took a movie of her sitting on my shoulder pulling out my hairpins.  

April 27-

All day the house resounded to the strains of Rigoletto.  George had offered to loan the Club his set of records, and to discourse briefly on the opera, if they wanted a musical evening.  We went over at eight o'clock, and George told the story of the opera and how it came to be written, and then played the whole score through on the phonograph.  It was interesting in itself, of course, but doubly so as showing how versatile George is.  Only yesterday he was deep in discussion of poultry farming with Dr. Campbell, and drawing up plans for a new club house with one hand and a chicken house with the other.  He knows almost as much about ancient Egyptian history as he does about rubber; he reads Freud and books on Communism; he understands broadcasts in Dutch and German; and writes book reviews and editorials for Planter's Punch.

April 28-

Dr. Fuszek, the Hungarian doctor who has spent twenty years practicing in Monrovia, came out to see our animals, so that he can give them a clean bill of health when we sail.  He had palm butter chop with us at the house.  In the evening we went over to the Club and saw the movie "Three Blind Mice" with Loretta Young and Joel McCrea.

April 29-

We were down at the waterside at nine o'clock, just as the first truck load of animals arrived from the rice shed.  Dr. McIndoo drove down with a load of bananas, avocados, pineapples and greens.  Roy came in another truck, with his tin trunk, and several rice bags full of souvenirs - devil masks, country cloth, and native knives.  

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