8 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1925 



I'Lase uo fruit, vegetables, eggs, or meat. At Songpan it was impossible to go 

 west or north, where large mammals were found in abuntlance, so that the only 

 place we could go was east to the Yellow Dragon Gorge. Even there we had 

 to have an escort of six Chinese soldiers and had of course to pay all their 

 expenses. * * * 



The reason we could not go north of Songpan or west of that place was 

 that the Bolotsi aborigines are so savage and so inclined to murder and 

 brigandage that the Chinese can not control them and are afraid of them, 

 and tho officials could not protect us in those regions. Just before we returned 

 from Songpan the Bolotsis attacked a company of Chinese soldiers, killed sev- 

 eral of their number, stole several rifles, and drove the scared and defeated 

 soldiers back to their barracks. I have not heard that the Chinese have 

 dared to go into the Bolotsi country with a punitive expedition. 



The catch of mammals is not large. We are very sorry about this. It is 

 due primarily to the fact that the mammal-catching districts around Songpan 

 were closed to us. Yellow Dragon Gorge was a fine place for birds and 

 insects, but a great festival had just been held there, in which aborigine and 

 Cliinese hunters from all directions had joined in the chase, and woodcutters 

 were busy in the woods cutting timber for the new temples that are being 

 constructed. The mammals had been scared away. 



Mr. Graham also sent native collectors out to work in other 

 rcorions, and regarding their work he says : 



This year's catch is bigger than that of last year. There are 50 boxes of 

 specimens on hand, and I expect to send them off by parcel post as early as 

 possible. Besides the 50 boxes just mentioned, there is the entire catch of the 

 netter Ho for at least three months, who has been collecting about Beh Luh 

 Din, Chengtu, and Kuanshien during the summer, and specimens now being 

 secured by two collectors on Mount Omei, one at Shin Kal Si and one on the 

 higher altitudes. 



The collections resulting from the season's work include about 

 5.000 insects, notably two-winged flies, butterflies, and moths; 558 

 birds, of which at least a dozen proved to be new to the Museum 

 collections ; about 250 mollusks ; and a smaller number of mammals, 

 fishes, reptiles and batrachians, earthworms, and plants. 



BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN PANAMA AND COSTA RICA 



Mr. Paul C. Standley, associate curator of the division of plants. 

 United States National Museum, engaged in botanical exploration 

 during the latter part of 1923 and the first four months of 1924 in 

 Panama and Costa Rica. The work in Panama was carried on with 

 the cooperation of the government of the Panama Canal, and had 

 for its purpose the collection of specimens and data for a report on 

 the plant life of the Canal Zone which will be published later. 

 Regarding the exploration in Panama, Mr. Standley writes : 



Part of November, December, and most of January were spent in botanical 

 exploration in and near the Zone. Nearly all parts of this area were visited, 

 and 7,000 numbers of plants wore obtained, repi'csented by about twice as 

 many specimens. These collections are now being studied and have been 

 found to contain a number of species new to science, besides many not col- 

 lected previously in the area. 



