46 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [july 



Mr. Edmund Heller made some explorations and zoological collec- 

 tions for the Field Columbian Museum, February-December 1902, 

 in which the western slopes of the Santa Catalina, San Pedro Martir, 

 or Calamuie Mountains and of the Hanson Laguna Mountains were 

 traversed. Mr. Heller crossed the main divide in about latitude 

 31 30', south of the main elevation of Calamahuie, to Parral, which 

 lies about 6oo m above sea level. One degree to the northward the 

 main range was again crossed at San Matias Pass and his expedition 

 reached the bay of San Felipe. The account of this work contains 

 notes on the occurrence of many important plants, including the giant 

 cactus and the Washington palm. 6 



The author organized an expedition to this region early in the 

 present year, under the joint auspices of the Desert Botanical Lab- 

 oratory of the Carnegie Institution, and of the New York Botanical 

 Garden. In accordance with plans made a year previously, Mr. G. 

 Sykes, civil engineer, of Flagstaff, Arizona, proceeded to Yuma in 

 November 1903, where the construction of a small sloop, g m in 

 length with 2.4 111 beam, was begun and which was brought to com- 

 pletion late in January 1904. This boat was of a flat-bottomed 

 design suitable for floating down the muddy shallows of the river, 

 and was furnished with a centerboard for use in sailing the rougher 

 waters of the Gulf, being rigged with a mainsail and jib. 



In addition to the camp equipment, which included means for 

 storing and carrying fresh water, and a special form of portable 

 canteen, provisions, compasses, binoculars, cameras, aneroids, ther- 

 mometers, hygrometers, and other material to a total weight of about 

 5oo kg was taken aboard. The party included Prof. R. H. Forbes, 

 Director of the Agricultural Experiment Stations of Arizona, and 

 an assistant, in addition to Mr. Sykes and the author. A general 

 narrative in which the detailed movements of the expedition are 

 given has already been published 7 and need not receive further atten- 

 tion in this article. 



6 Elliot, D. G., A list of mammals collected by Edmund Heller in the San Pedro 

 Martir and Hanson Laguna Mountains and the accompanying coast regions of Lower 

 California. Field Columbian Museum, Publ. 79. Zoological Series 3 : no. 12. 1903. 



7 MacDougal, D. T., Botanical explorations in the southwest. Jour. N. Y. 

 Bot. Garden 5:89. 1904. 



