MARCH, igoo. PLANTS UTOWANTE MILLSPAUGH. 9 



We landed at Pedernales Point at 3 p. M. of the i6th, and 

 worked over the coastal field (14.07-1445} until evening, when we 

 left for the extreme western point of Cuba Cape Corientes. Reach- 

 ing the anchorage off the cape at 8 A. M. we went ashore and began 

 our search of the coast for a mile or so each side of our landing- 

 place. The coast here is of sharp, flinty coral, dry and forbid- 

 ding, and the vegetation parched and almost characterless at this sea- 

 son. Exhaustive search until evening only resulted in twenty-two num- 

 bers (1446-1467}. Leaving on a course S. W. ^ W., we made a 

 delightful sail of 150 miles to the Island of Cozumel, 10 miles from 

 the east coast of Yucatan, and dropped anchor off the village of 

 San Miguel at noon of Saturday, February i8th. We found the 

 conditions about as they were four years before when with the 

 yacht " Ituna" we visited the island. In the afternoon I made 

 an exhaustive search of the open woodland along the coast north of 

 the village (1468-1508}. The igth was spent in field work at the 

 Caleta, a bight in the coral coast about three miles south of San 

 Miguel, where the woodlands are moist (1509-1537^). 



In the evening our vessel rested as if in dry dock on the still, 

 transparent waters of the only quiet anchorage on the whole Yuca- 

 tan coast, and we enjoyed a calm delightful night of refreshing 

 sleep. Early the next morning I started for an extended trip to 

 the interior of the island accompanied by a Maya guide, an intelli- 

 gent fellow who proved of great assistance in recalling to my 

 memory the Indian names of such plants as I had collected here 

 before, and- in naming new ones as they were gathered (1538-1575). 

 Our anchorage was shifted in the evening to the shallow waters off 

 the north shore in preparation for the next day's work. 



Soon after sunrise of the 2ist the entire party, well equipped 

 with food and water, disembarked from the steam launch at the 

 northeast point of the island for one of the most severe tramps of 

 the cruise, a journey over ragged coral and deep sand, and through 

 tangles of Sabal, Coccoloba, Suriana and Ernodea, to a ruined 

 Maya temple eight miles down the east coast, which we under- 

 stood had never before been visited. This coast is of great interest 

 to the botanist, as the Gulf Stream sweeps its sands leaving masses 

 of driftwood even to great tree trunks scattered along its beach, 

 and would doubtless offer many interesting ecological lessons to 

 one who could spend a month here during May, June or July 

 (1576-1612}. ' 



In order that a full day's work might be done at Mugeres 

 Island, 10 miles north from our anchorage, our captain was instructed 



