﻿24 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 59 



about 35 miles east of Colon. Afterwards they made a trip up the 

 Chagres River, and also to the Island of Taboga in the Bay of Panama, 

 and finally to Cabima, a place on the Pacific side of the Chagres 

 River region. 



At the inception of the Smithsonian Biological Survey of the 

 Panama Canal Zone, the botanical part of the investigation was 

 entrusted to Prof. Henry Pittier, of the U. S. Department of Agricul- 



Fig. 26. — Tropical jungle, along Panama R. R. Photograph by Hitchcock. 



ture, who was detailed for this work by the secretary of that depart- 

 ment. Prof. Pittier, who was for many years Director of the Institute 

 Fisico-Geografico Nacional of Costa Rica, was regarded as peculiarly 

 fitted for this position by reason of his familiarity with the flora of 

 Central America and his wide knowledge of the physiography and 

 plant associations of the region. He left Washington for the Canal 

 Zone in December, 1910, and remained in the field for more than a year. 

 On February 3. 191 1, he was joined by Mr. William R. Maxon, of 



