44 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 



/- 



country. Thousands of little mounds are to be seen on every hand, 

 some hemispherical and grass-covered, some more elaborate, with 

 stones or masonry. 



The agriculture of China is intensive and in some ways much in 

 advance of ours. The rice fields show usually a perfect even stand, 

 and the amount per acre is the maximum. It represents a large amount 

 of labor as every stalk is set out and harvested by hand. 



The botanical results of the trip were very satisfactory, a large and 

 valuable collection of grasses having been made. 



BIOLOGICAL EXPLORATION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 



In November, 1920, Dr. W. L. Abbott revisited the Dominican 

 Republic, working in both the Samana Peninsula and the region lying 

 between Sanchez (at the head of Samana Bay) and Puerto Plata, 

 on the north coast. Already familiar with much of this territory, he 

 was able to investigate a number of new and very interesting localities. 

 Two weeks was spent at Sanchez ; three weeks in the vicinity of 

 Samana, a town on the south coast of the Samana Peninsula about 

 20 miles east of Sanchez, and on the mountain known as Pilon 

 d'Azucar ; seven weeks at several stations along the railroad connect- 

 ing Sanchez and Puerto Plata, among which were Villa Riva, Pi- 

 mentel, Cotuy, Mao, and Navarrete; two weeks in the easternmost 

 portion of the peninsula, in visiting Las Cacaos, Rojo Cabo, and Cape 

 Samana; one week on the south coast of Samana Bay in the vicinity 

 of San Gabriel ; and one week in the region of Old Heart River, in 

 the north-central part of the peninsula. 



Contrasting with the remaining part of Hispaniola, the population 

 of the Samana Peninsula is chiefly English-speaking, due to the fact 

 that Samana was settled by a colony of Philadelphia negroes under 

 President Boyer of Haiti in 1820-22. The region is well watered 

 and has a luxuriant vegetation, and provisions are plentiful and rela- 

 tively cheap. The hills extending north to the coast from Pilon 

 d'Azucar are covered with unbroken forests. 



The Yuna River forms a vast swamp, which occupies the entire 

 region at the head of Samana Bay and extends along the railroad 

 for a distance of 12 miles. West of this swamp region, in the vicinity 

 of Villa Riva, Pimentel, and Cotuy, are vast stretches of grassy 

 savannah. The soil is fertile, and the inhabitants are industrious and 

 prosperous. Beyond this region the land, except along the streams, 

 becomes arid and the towns, such as Guaybin. Navarrete, and Mao, 

 are small, poorly provisioned, and lacking in enterprise. 



