24 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 59 
about 35 miles east of Colon. Afterwards they made a trip up the 
Chagres River, and also to the Island of Taboga in the Bay of Panama, 
and finally to Cabima, a place on the Pacific side of the Chagres 
River region. 
At the inception of the Smithsonian Biological Survey of the 
Panama Canal Zone, the botanical part of the investigation was 
entrusted to Prof. Henry Pittier, of the U. S. Department of Agricul- 
x“ * ie 
Fic. 26.—Tropical jungle, along Panama R. R. Photograph by Hitchcock. 
ture, who was detailed for this work by the secretary of that depart- 
ment. Prof. Pittier, who was for many years Director of the Instituto 
Fisico-Geografico Nacional of Costa Rica, was regarded as peculiarly 
fitted for this position by reason of his familiarity with the flora of 
Central America and his wide knowledge of the physiography and 
plant associations of the region. He left Washington for the Canal 
Zone in December, 1910, and remained in the field for more than a year. 
On February 3. 1911, he was joined by Mr. William R. Maxon, of 
