INTRODUCTION 



the old forest, but the process is so slow that 

 for all practical purposes the primeval forest 

 once destroyed is gone forever. 



This makes it most important to preserve 

 some areas of the original forest both on 

 account of its beauty and interest and be- 

 cause many species of birds and animals can 

 be preserved in no other way. The Canal 

 Zone having been a thickly settled region for 

 some centuries, now possesses very little of 

 such forest and what remains needs careful 

 protection when this is practicable. 



The establishment of the Barro Colorado 

 Island reservation has been a great step in 

 this direction. Barro Colorado is an island 

 formerly the upper part of a large hill con- 

 verted into an island by the rising of the 

 waters of the Chagres River, on the comple- 

 tion of the Gatun dam. The birds and animals 

 at that time fled to safety on the higher 

 ground and as a result are concentrated in 

 the more limited area of this refuge. 



Topographically the island is very hilly, 

 with ravines containing streams flowing down 

 into Gatun Lake. It is in part covered with 

 primeval rain forest, and though the Jarger 

 portion is only second growth, much of it was 

 cleared so long ago that it has again become a 

 dense and heavy growth of trees of consider- 

 able size. The shore line is broken by 

 numerous deep indentations or coves, and 

 along the shore are great numbers of dead 

 trees killed by the rising of the water and 

 covered with parasitic vegetation. 



Due to the efforts of Dr. Thomas B arbour 

 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 



