972. LEAFLETS OF PHILIPPINE BorANY [Vor. III, Arr. 54 
have long since been collected and consequently known. Al- 
though we know comparatively little of the entire area of the 
Philippine low country Rubiaceae, yet it can be expected that 
many additions of genera and already known species will from 
time to time be collected. Still more ignorant are we of the 
forested subalpine regions, and judging from past experience we 
ean fully expect that every mountain range still harbors its 
share of unknown species, At this time then, even an approx- 
imate complete list of the actual existing species of such an 
endemic family, can only be conjectured. The novel feature of 
our interior subalpine as well as the alpine regions will continue 
for many years to come. Just recently the writer spent a few 
month’s collecting on Sibuyan island, only a day’s trip south- 
ward from Manila, and in which collection there are three 
genera of Rubiaceae added to the Philippines and nearly thirty 
new species. 
There are two ways in which every collector falls short of 
obtaining the most from his explorations. First, the careless 
way most botanists collect, even those who have made a special 
study of certain groups. It is the weakness of the general collec- 
tor to gather the large or showy species first, and gradual- 
ly as he can eliminate them out of his mind can he ob- 
serve the smaller, more hidden or rare species. The second 
is mostly due to too short periods of explorations in definite 
localities. Even six months in a region of these tropics will 
hardly permit one to survey carefully into all the crooks 
and nooks, and naturally a portion of the vegetation will at 
least be out of season for either flower or fruit, or both. 
No matter how carefully exploration work is carried on, the 
paucity or abundance of certain groups -in localized areas, 
will always lend interest in every collection made. For in- 
stance, the ferns and orchids are abundantly represented on 
mount Halcon, Mindoro. On the mountains of Sibuyan island 
these groups are exceedingly scarce, although these islands are 
almost in sight of each other. So it also varies on different 
sides of the same mountain and even in different ravines on the 
same side of the mountain. 
