T36 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



fore, so we received little though courteous attention. The only 

 serious disturhers of the peace were the scorpions. 



A farewell visit to La Vallee, a few days' wholesale packing, and 

 the ever-recurring hotel sickness — finally we were on our way to 

 Port au Prince, to be on time for (jur much delayed reservations for 

 New York. 



We called, in Port au Prince, on Dr. Freeman and Dr. Barker of 

 the Service Technique, and found Dr. Barker busily experimenting 

 with a new palm nut procured from the vicinity of Cap Haitien. He 

 had succeeded in extracting two oils ; that from the kernel, white 





'ki^i '"U 



*i 



Fig. 118.— Arid hills in the vicinity of Bassin Bleu. The distant mountain 

 is Morne Haut Piton. 



and semi-digestible, the other, from the fleshy orange covering, 

 wholly indigestible. " Have you found these nuts in your travels ? " he 

 asked us. " The natives extract both oils for cooking." No ; we had 

 not seen the nuts, but the sight of the orange oil — the predominant 

 sauce in all of Madame Chee Chee's dishes — was only too familiar ! 

 We reached New York May 31, with 16 cases and trunks. In addi- 

 tion to our equipment, these contained insect collections, a quantity of 

 shells, 160 wood samples, and approximately 15,000 plant specimens, 

 the last a valuable addition to the growing Haitian collections in the 

 U. S. National Herbarium. 



