THE FLORA OF MOUNT PULOG. 289 
the peak can be seen from cértain places in the China Sea, as conversely 
the sea can be seen from the summit of the mountain in clear weather, 
but from such points it would be more or less confused by the many 
neighboring peaks. The Agno Valley in earlier days was apparently the 
chief inland route of travel from Baguio northward. Owing, however, 
to the depth and narrowness of the valley and the high mountains 
bordering both sides, the mountain can be seen in only a few places, 
notably in the vicinity of the little village of Adouay. From higher 
points in the vicinity of Baguio, the summer capital of the Philippines, 
Mount Pulog, when the weather is clear, is visible as a somewhat bald- 
looking peak at a distance of about 45 kilometers to the northeast, but 
much of the time it is enshrouded in clouds. 
Magnificent views of the mountain are to be had, under favorable 
weather conditions, from a number of points on the mountain trail 
leading northward from Baguio along the range on the west side of the 
Agno River. Baguio, however, as a resort for Americans and Europeans, 
dates only from about the year 1902, and has only been easily accessible 
since 1905. During the period of Spanish occupation it is probable that 
the region north of Baguio was visited by only a limited number of white 
men, and it is also probable that the mountain trail leading northward 
from Baguio was used only to a limited extent by others than the Igorots. 
Under these conditions it is not surprising that the mountain so long 
escaped attention. 
Various peaks in this mountainous region have, from time to time, 
been credited with the distinction of being the highest in northern Luzon, 
although popular opinion usually attributed that distinction to Mount 
Data, a peak nearly 600 m less in altitude, near the boundary between 
the subprovinces of Benguet and Lepanto, some miles to the north of 
Mount Pulog. Mount Data doubtless earned its reputation from the 
fact that the earlier explorers entered the region by the valley of the 
Abra River, and probably did not penetrate sufficiently far to the south 
to secure a view of the peaks beyond the Data range. The northern 
slopes of Mount Data, as seen from the Abra Valley, are very abrupt, and 
the mountain is certainly the most prominent one as seen from the 
western and more accessible parts of that region. During the Spanish 
dominion, moreover, several scientists and collectors, such as Richard 
von Drasche, John Whitehead, and A. Loher, visited Mount Data, so 
that in a way the mountain became better known than the neighboring 
peaks, 
Mount Pulog was observed by Dr. FE. B. Copeland and E. D. Merrill 
in October, 1905, from the Agno Valley, near Adouay, and again in 
November of the same year from Pauai, on the range west of the Agno 
River. Doctor Copeland at the time expressed the opinion that the peak 
was the highest one in the region, but no instruments for making observa- 
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