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the manj^roves, and found the water only sHghtly brackish. A belt 

 of pondweed, Potauiogcto)! {-•cct'mafus, occu]iied the oi:icn water 

 just beyond the mangroves. These two s])ecies (the mangrove and 

 the pondweed) seemed to be tlie only vegetation. The straight 

 course which I took back to the yacht cut through masses of loose- 

 lying lava rocks, which slid about when stepped u])on. Every- 

 where deep crex'ices were in evidence, and it was with a feeling of 

 relief that I reached the edge of the cliiTs and saw the Noiinnalial 

 below. Comjjared with Tower Island, the desert portion of In- 

 defatigable is a well-develoj^ed forest. 



Our next stop, on the way northward, was at the well-watered 

 Cocos Island, a small island not more than three or four miles 

 across. Numerous waterfalls lea]) out from among the thickly 

 forested slopes. The enormous trees were covered with great 

 masses of bromeliatls, ferns, and orchids; the reddish masses of 

 bromeliads es[)ecially standing out. The sandy beaches were 

 bordered by cocoanut ])alms. Thousands of small fish were at- 

 tracted to the lights of the boat in the evening. For a whole day 

 Hay and I made a reconnaissance of the stream which flows into 

 Wafer l^ay, ])rocecding inland (tmtil the stream became a mere 

 trickle) to a height estimated at between 1000 and 1200 feet. 

 We did not have time to reach the ])eak, which rises to about 

 2800 feet, but found no change in the character of the vegetation 

 as far as we ascended. Ferns were here in profusion, chiefly the 

 omnipresent tree fern, Hrmiti'lia, with a trunk often 8-12 feet 

 in height. Slender lianas, oO— 10 feet in length, reached down to 

 the water from the lowest branches of the great forest trees. 

 Wdien pulled suf^ciently these lianas came down like great coils 

 of telcgrai:ih wire, sometimes bringing masses of bromeliads, ferns, 

 and orchids. The broad-leaved sedge, Hypolytriiin nicaraguense, 

 .and various re[)resentatives of the Melastomaccae were es]:)ecially 

 representative of this brook area. Wild hogs have made addi- 

 tional trails which are sometimes easily followed. A lean, long- 

 tusked fellow crossed the bri)()k only fifteen to twenty yards ahead 

 of us. 



W'e returned at dusk and in the evening sailed for the Perlas 

 Islands otif the coast of Panama. This extensive group of islands 

 we a]ii)roached in the midst of the dry period, and they were at 

 the time bare of leaves and lacking in interest. 1 lowever, in an- 



