40 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL'. 68 



going" by the way of the Westside and Gulfside trail, which passes 

 near the high peaks of Clay, Jefferson, and Adams. The return trip 

 to Lakes-of-the-Clouds hut was made on the third day, descending' 

 3,000 feet through the Great Gulf by the I^uttress trail and ascending 

 again by the Six-Husbands trail to the Alpine Meadow. On the 

 fourth day the descent was made by way of Huntington Ravine over 

 a little used and difficult trail. 



There are nine species of grasses that may be considered to be 

 alpine. A few others extend from the lower zones into the alpine 

 region. ^^lost of the alpine species are circumpolar and extend south- 

 ward in the mountains, one to the high peaks of western North 

 Carolina, and two through the Rocky Mountains even to South 

 America. One species, Poa laxa, is abundant on the upper cone of 

 j\It. Washington, extending quite to the summit, and comprises almost 

 the only vegetation of this area. This is a European species which 

 is found in North America only in the region of Mt. Washington and 

 on a few of the higher peaks of New England. 



The forest flora of the mountains consists mainly of white pine, 

 white spruce, larch, aspen, and white birch. Toward the summits 

 of the peaks the dominant tree is the balsam flr, which near timber' 

 line becomes a straggling shrub. 



BIOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS IN CUBA AND HAITI 

 In recent years Mr. John B. Henderson, a Regent of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, has made numerous collecting trips to the West 

 Indies usually accompanied by some members of the Museum staff, 

 exploring new and little-known localities with special reference to 

 the mollusk fauna. 



In 191 7, Mr. Henderson and Dr. Paul Bartsch, curator of the 

 division of Marine Invertebrates, spent the month of March ex- 

 ploring the region about the (iuantanamo Naval Station in eastern 

 Cuba. This is a semi-arid coastal zone with a complex of hills differ- 

 ing faunally from the more elevated and humid Sierras of the interior. 

 They subjected the region to a process of intensive collecting, securing 

 a large cjuantity of very interesting land shells, birds, reptiles, plants, 

 fossils, and marine invertebrates. Particularly fine series of the very 

 interesting Cepolis ovuniregidi and Polymita versicolor were secured, 

 which are shown in the accompanying photographs. 



Dr. Bartsch also made an exhaustive study of the ship worms 

 (marine boring mollusks) of this region. A report thereon has 

 been published in co-operation with the Corps of Civil Engineers, 

 U. S. Navy. 



