A Botanical Expedition to Nicaragua. 359 



tepe is apparent here, both Termites and the excessive moist- 

 ure no doubt hastening their decomposition. 



Inasmuch as numerous specimens were collected along the 

 La Juana and Los Sabalos rivers, and hence these names fre- 

 quently occur in the locality lists, a brief description of the 

 streams may be desirable. 



The La 'Juana River is a small tributary which empties 

 into the San Juan from the north about one mile below Cas- 

 tillo. It is navigable by canoes for less than two miles from 

 its mouth, and along this portion its valley is a rather wide, 

 high (i. e. not swampy) river-bottom, the hills nowhere ap- 

 proaching to the banks, which are mostly muddy. Its valley 

 is covered with dense jungles, its waters literally flowing be- 

 tween high walls of vegetation. Numerous trees lean out 

 from the banks, and from their branches hang great festoons 

 of vines, which often meet and form an archway over the 

 dark, sluggish stream. 



The JLos Sabalos River empties into the San Juan about 12 

 miles above Castillo. Like the La Juana it flows from the 

 north, but it is a much larger stream, and near the mouth is 

 very deep. A short distance from its mouth the hills approach 

 quite to the water's edge, and in the five miles of its course 

 which were explored the river valley is quite narrow, and 

 the banks are muddy, or rocky. The adjacent hills, so far 

 as could be judged, are similar in their vegetation to those 

 near Castillo, and the jungles of the river-valley are even 

 more dense than those along the La Juana, being occasionally 

 broken however by a banana-plantation or a cattle-ranch. 



The largest of these, the cattle-hacienda "Los Sabalos" 

 situated at the mouth of the river, is the property of Captain 

 John S. Augustine, of the river-steamer "Managua," to whom 

 the party is indebted for much valuable information, and many 

 other courtesies. On this ranch, on the low bottom-land only 

 a short distance from the mouth of the Los Sabalos, is found 

 an interesting warm spring whose waters seem to be impreg- 

 nated with sulphur, and in which were collected numerous 



