CULEBRA EXFEDiriON 119 



AN EXPEDITION TO CULEBRA AND PORTO RICO. 



URING the winter Professor N. L. Britton, 

 director of the New York Botanical Garden, 

 organized an expedition to Culebra and Porto 

 Rico and very kindly invited Professor W. M. 

 Wheeler to accompany him for the purpose of 

 studying the terrestrial invertebrate fauna of the islands. The 

 party reached San Juan, Porto Rico, March i, when Professor 

 Britton, Doctor Marshall A. Howe and Professor Wheeler left 

 the remainder of the party and were conveyed on the U.S. naval 

 tug "Peoria" to Culebra, a dry, hilly island with an area of 

 about 12 square miles, half way between the eastern end of 

 Porto Rico and the Danish island St. Thomas. Capt. B. F. 

 Walling, commandant of the naval station at Culebra, courteously 

 provided quarters for the party on board the U. S. supply ship 

 "Alliance," at anchor in the beautiful land-locked harbor, and 

 furnished a temporary laboratory on the adjacent shore. Capt. 

 Walling and Capt. T. F. Lynn, commanding the marines at 

 Culebra, did everything in their power to assist the party in 

 their exploration of the island. Launches and small boats were 

 provided for w^ork along the shore and horses for reaching the 

 remoter parts of the island. Ten days were spent in a careful 

 biological survey of the region, Professor Britton working on 

 the land plants, Doctor Howe on the marine algse and Professor 

 Wheeler on the terrestrial invertebrates. A practically complete 

 series of the myriapods, spiders, ants and other insects was 

 secured for the American Museum. 



On completing the work at Culebra the party returned to 

 San Juan and on March 13 joined the other members of the 

 party, Mrs. Britton, Miss Delia Marble and Mr. John F. Cowell, 

 director of the Buffalo Botanical Garden, at Arecibo on the 

 northern coast of the island. Carriages were obtained at Arecibo 

 and the whole party traveled across the mountains on the fine 

 .new turnpike through scenery of exquisite beauty, in the direc- 

 tion of Ponce. The little mountain town of Utuado on this 

 route was selected as an appropriate base for a week's collecting. 

 Many specimens were taken in the cafetals and platanals of the 

 ravines along the Rio Grande, a charming mountain stream 



