CONTRIBUTIONS TO WESTERN SOTANY NO. 14 121 



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and yet Calles executes all bandits. Hear many birds singing here. 



February 27, 1928. Yesterday clouded up and looked like rain 

 cleared off tiiis mormng. Will be hot- Dead weeds in fhe streets i 

 that there is mucli rain in summer. Weeds mostly Malvaceous, 2-3* 

 liigh, with some Euphorbia, Therq is a little turtle dove here, about 

 the size of ours, with short and black bars on wings, and black t\\ 

 tail. The head is lighter than ^e body. They are very quick. Saw- 

 three Californian quail yesterday in the brush, I heard their call at 

 Tepic but did not see them. At Ixtlan there are tw^o kinds of buzzards. 

 I also saw crows. 



February 28, 1927. Went to the El Tigre mine on horseback. This 

 is some 26 miles east of Acaponeta, and the mine is 1,400 feet altitude, 

 but the mountain back of it goes at least as much Higher. It is at kast 

 10 miles to the crossing of theAcaponeta river. The water flowing there 

 being about 150 second feet, and dear. Then began along crimb up the 

 mountain. At first the region was somewhat mesa-like for a few mile<5 

 through rolling hills. Then up a long gulch with steep ades. ^ Tt was 

 very dry all the way, and hot, but the canon where shady was moist where 

 there wer^ ferns and Selaginella. "Stopped^ at a hut not far from the river 

 to get a bite to eat for breakfast, and also at another hut in the canon for 

 lunch. At the mine Mr. Kelso and tlie manager were very kind and gave 

 me every convenience to recover Trom the strenuous fide. 'Next morning I 



througli the mill with the manager, and 



way. Then 



Tapo 



getting a great stack of things. 1 saw a tree they call 

 branches they cut down and feed to the cows in dry spells to make them 

 give more milk. The tree is very tall, has bark like the shag-hark hick- 

 ory, and leaves like the elm. They say it will increase the lareasts of 

 women and is used for that purpose, and that the fruit is also eaten, and 

 tastes somewhat like the cherry. The bark is white or whitish. Oak^ 

 were everywhere on the way down about the hill but saw no pines tjiere. 

 Many plants thev call palmllla (possibly Sabals). Saw and got a very 

 peculiar Selaginella which was creeping and rooting. There was consider- 

 able Lygodium along tlie way in the brush. Got the fruit of the wartv- 

 spined Bomhax ( ?) tree. It Is like the truit of Malva, 'is 4 Indies wide 

 and 2 inches Uiick and stands erect andsingle. Saw a veiy narrow 

 Tuna ( ) like tjie big ond but joints only 2 inches wide by 6-8 inches 

 Ions and flowers yellow, ^aw a few 4-angled "Cereus with ^hort trunk 

 ?nd sprangling branclies, different from any seen hitherto. The epihytic 

 rereus is common and mostly 3-angled and grows in trees or on the 

 ground. The agent at Acaponeta was very obliging and "fixed up my bag- 

 -ajje so that I could leave on the train at niidnight Very liot and dry. 

 There was a fog in the morning, and dew every nighty The Cereus 

 1»ringlei is scarce here. The railroad agent gave me two 

 Kxp^iresa checks and so made 10 pesos out df roe. 



Reached Mazatlan at 8 a.m. and got no sleep on the ^X- No^ «« 

 train bound for litsne. Stratus clouds. Train with 6 cars loaded. Cora 

 ta'^seled cut. New vegetation ^bout 6 Inches high. Anfigonum kptopus n 



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