OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



161 



ences between them. The kinds of corn in cultivation about Gua- 

 najuato are described by Prof. Duges as the ma'is arribeno, with hard 

 sind shining kernels ; t7iais commun, softer and less shining, either yel- 

 low, black, or red ; ma'is molonco, resembling the last, but with smaller 

 kernels, growing in the " bad lands," and the difference probably due 

 to the poverty of the soil ; and a popcorn, mais rosero. All of these 

 are affirmed to be very unlike the ma'is de coyote, which appears to 

 be known only in a wild state. 



As shown by Dr. Sturtevant in the lleport of the N. Y. Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station for 188G, the varieties of corn cultivated 

 generally by the Indians of Mexico all come into the group desig- 

 nated by him as "soft corns" ("Zea* amyfacea "), in which the broad 

 flattened kernels are composed wholly of starchy matter in addition 

 to the embryo. A peculiar kind was found by Dr. Palmer at the 

 Indian village of San Padro, Guadalajara, of which Dr. Sturtevant 

 forms the distinct group of " starchy sweet corns " (" Zea^ amylea- 

 saccharata "), inteimediate between the sweet and soft corns, having 

 a wrinkled exterior and the summit of the kernel corneous. It is 

 evident that so far as the grain is concerned these have little resem- 

 blance to the ma'is de coyote. 



4. Notes ujyon a Collection of Plants from the Island of 

 Ascension. 



During the visit of the U. S. Eclipse Expedition of 1S89 to the 

 island of Ascension, Mr. E. J. Loomis of the Nautical Almanac Bu- 

 reau, Washington, made a collection of such plants as chanced to at- 

 tract his attention. Though very small, it adds some species to the 

 previously known flora of the locality, a full account of which is given 

 by Mr. W. B. Hemsley in the botanical report of the voyage of the 

 " Challenger." The vegetation of the island, as there stated, is re- 

 stricted almost wholly to " Green Mountain," an elevation of nearly 

 3,000 feet altitude, which condenses the moisture of the southeast 

 trades, and is consequently subject to frequent rains and fogs. At 

 about three hundred feet below the summit the peak is encircled by 

 a nearly level road, known as " Elliott's Pass," which generally fol- 

 lows the very irregular contour of the mountain, but is occasionally 

 carried through a spur by means of a tunnel. When these tunnels 

 are short, they are lined throughout, roof and sides, with the most 

 delicate and beautiful ferns, as are also the longer tunnels so far as 

 daylight extends. It was on this part of the mountain that much 

 of the collection was made. 



VOL. XXVI. (n. S. XVIII.) 11 



