56 THE PLANT WORLD 



of the bunch on the ground, taking care not to extinguish the flame or to 

 ignite the adjacent dry grass or rubbish. 



On another trip to the cave a few days later I used my acetylene lamp, 

 which proved as interesting to my guide as his torch had been to me. 



At another time, after a hard day's work botanizing on El Yunque 

 mountain, I agreed to accompany two American boys and an ebony 

 Cuban patriot on a night expedition to a rocky mountain torrent for the 

 purpose of catching " camarones," a species of large crustacean common 

 in these cool streams. My special duty was to carry the game and inci- 

 dentally to get wet by wading in at times a few inches of cold mountain 

 water, and again at times to plunge into a depth of several feet. The 

 numerous boulders, the black night, and deeper pools added to the 

 charms of the situation. One of the boys carried a large armful of the 

 dried palm leaves, while at first I also had a goodly bunch. The other 

 boy carried the torch, an always wavering flame requiring frequent rub- 

 bings against the rocks to increase its brilliancy. The negro, bare-legged, 

 and with a machete in his right hand, searched through the pools, and 

 when a victim was seen deftly cut it in two or otherwise so disabled it 

 that I was able to secure it readily with my butterfly net. The black- 

 ness of the night, the wild rocky gorge, the cold, clear water of a tropical 

 jungle, the rapid movements of the negro and the still more rapid strokes 

 of his weapon, and the loud and constant vociferations of the eager boys, 

 combined to produce an effect at once startling and ludicrous to the 

 beholder, and one to be held long in the memory. My place in the rear 

 of the party gave me an opportunity to note the lurid effects as the bright- 

 ening torch lighted up the surrounding forest, and occasionally I was able 

 to stuff into my pockets some unusual or rare plant that I could reach. 

 It seems strange that while on a previous trip to dryer western Cuba, I 

 had been able to obtain a fair series of the Grass Fern iVittaria sp.). 

 But on this trip to a region much more moist, in which ferns were very 

 much more plentiful, I had seen none, though they were always sought 

 for, except on this one night. Now and then, as I rolled over the boulders 

 or waded in the pools I had an opportunity between the frequent captures 

 of the game to scan the trunks of the trees that grew at the edge of the 

 stream, and was finally able to sectne a good pocketful of this drooping, 

 unfernlike fern, much of which was gathered with the aid of that most 

 useful article, my butterfly net, the plants being scraped off the tree 

 trunks where they grew beyond the reach of my hand. 



Recent observations and experiments made at the Vermont Experi- 

 ment Station indicate that the common field horse-tail (^Equisetum arvense) 

 is poisonous to horses ; not, however, in the green state, but only when 

 in the form of hay. 



