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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



notably ant-thrushes and toucans, have 

 species confined to it. The larger 

 mammals, especially deer and peccary, 

 range into it from below. 



The fourth subdivision undoubtedly 

 merges into the second, but over great 

 areas it consists of an open growth of 

 pine in a nearly pure stand. There 

 are occasional open meadows in the 

 depressions at high level, but these may 

 not be natural. The pine forest extends 

 to the tops of the mountains. It is 

 through this area that the southward 

 extension of the more characteristically 

 North American forms take place; 

 cougar, coyote, grey fox, and rabbits 

 are among the larger mammals. The 

 appearance of lizards of the genus 

 Sceloporus sets it off rather sharply 

 from the lower districts. 



The Pacific area is notable for the 

 considerable cactus and agave element 

 in its flora, the absence of the Cohune 

 palm, and the appearance of other 

 species of palm. Its fauna appears 

 to be largely influenced by that of the 

 mountain area, for Sceloporus variabilis 

 descends at least to 500 ft. on this slope. 



III. PRESENT BIOTA 



A large part of the valleys of the 

 Chamelecon and Ulua Rivers is under 

 cultivation for sugar-cane, bananas, 

 or grass-land. In the interior, the chief 

 agricultural industry is cattle-grazing. 

 The original fauna, even in the cleared 

 areas, seems to have been relatively 

 little modified. Deer are remarkably 

 abundant in the neighborhood of San 

 Pedro Sula. Great areas of the country 

 are absolutely primeval. 



IV. GUIDE AREAS, EASILY ACCESSIBLE 

 FOR STUDY 



San Pedro Sula, reached by rail from 

 Puerto Cortes, offers an ideal base for 

 field work in Honduras. It is only a 

 five hours' climb from San Pedro, at 

 200 ft., to the cloud forest, on the tops 

 of the mountains to the west, which 

 reach a height of 6000 ft., and such a 

 climb carries one through the pine- 



oak zone. Small lakes on the plain 

 swarm with water birds and are note- 

 worthy for the abundance of crocodiles. 

 By rail and auto, it is possible to reach 

 Lake Yojoa, where hotel accommoda- 

 tions are to be found. The shores of 

 this large lake offer conditions of un- 

 usual ecological interest. 



Squier, E. G. 



1855. Notes on Central America; par- 

 ticularly the states of Hondu- 

 ras and San Salvador: their 

 geography, topography, cli- 

 mate, population, resources, 

 productions, etc., and the 

 proposed Honduras inter- 

 oceanic railway. New York: 

 Harper and Brothers. 8vo. 

 p. 397, pi. 11, maps 3. 



5. THE REPUBLIC OF SALVADOR 

 By Paul C. Standley 



Salvador is a small country, having 

 approximately the same area as the 

 State of Vermont. Unlike the other 

 Central American states it has no 

 Atlantic slope, and for that reason its 

 fauna and flora are less diversified than 

 those of the neighboring countries. 

 The seasonal distribution of the rainfall 

 also has an important influence, upon 

 the plant life at least. The rainfall is 

 very moderate for a tropical country, 

 varying in different parts from 58 to 

 98 in., the average being about 70 in. 

 As elsewhere upon the Pacific slope of 

 Mexico and Central America, the year 

 is divided into two seasons, a wet one, 

 beginning about the middle of April 

 and lasting until the end of October, 

 and a dry one, covering the rest of the 

 year. In the dry season no rain falls, 

 but in the rainy season there may be a 

 period of a week or more without any 

 rainfall, and on the other hand there 

 are occasional temporales, when rain 

 falls almost continuously for one or 

 even two weeks. During the dry season 

 many of the plants wither, some of the 

 trees drop their leaves, and the small 

 herbaceous plants disappear. 



Salvador is the most densely populated 



