﻿26 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 59 



the Division of Plants in the National Museum, who had been detailed 

 to assist in the work with the main object of collecting ferns and lower 

 cryptogams. Extensive collections were made in the Canal Zone by 

 both these botanists, from Culebra as headquarters along the fifty- 

 mile stretch of the Panama Railroad, various trips being made into 

 the surrounding jungle and forest. Several days were spent also in 

 the region of Porto Bello, on the Atlantic Coast, to the east of the 

 Canal Zone. The most interesting trip undertaken was one of 

 between five and six weeks' duration to the mountain region of 

 Chiriqui, that portion of Panama adjacent to Costa Rica, and a region 

 almost wholly unexplored botanically. The month of March was 

 spent here, with headquarters at the small town of El Boquete which 

 lies at the immediate southern base of the interoceanic divide. From 

 this point several trips were made to the higher peaks, including 

 the ascent of the Chiriqui Volcano, an isolated peak of over 11,000 

 feet, not previously visited by botanists. The region is especially 

 rich in ferns, and much valuable material was secured, a considerable 

 number of the species being hitherto unreported from Panama. 



Mr. Maxon returned to Washington on April 18, accompanied by 

 Prof. Pittier, who returned to Panama about May i, and continued 

 his investigations there until Feb. 29, 1912. 



A large part of the work thus far accomplished has been necessarily 

 of a preliminary character. Enough has been done, however, to 

 indicate very clearly that an adequate investigation of the flora of 

 Panama as a whole must of necessity extend over a period of several 

 years. The reasons for this lie not only in the diversity of the plant 

 associations, but also in the great number of species encountered in 

 most localities and the need of studying many of these (particularly 

 the trees) at different times in order to secure specimens illustrating 

 seasonal changes. 



NATURAL HISTORY OBSERVATIONS IN LOWER CALIFORNIA 



The National Museum participated in another expedition to 

 Mexican territory in 191 1. Beginning in the latter part of the 

 winter of 1910-1911, the Bureau of Fisheries in conjunction with 

 the American Museum of Natural History, which paid a part of the 

 expenses, conducted an exploration along the west coast of Mexico, 

 the steamer Albatross being used for the purpose. By invitation, 

 the National Museum detailed two members of its staff to participate 

 in the expedition, Dr. J. N. Rose, Associate Curator of Plants, and 

 Dr. Paul Bartsch, Assistant Curator of Mollusks. 



