FERN-HUNTING IN PANAMA 13 
village of El Boquete is situated at an altitude of about 
4000 feet at the foot of Chiriqui Voleano and about 
forty miles from the Pacific Ocean. The Chiriqui 
railroad, extending from the seaport, Pedregal, to 
Boquete, ascends gradually through dry prairies to 
the forest-covered mountains, following first the Rio 
Chiriqui and then one of its most important branches, 
the Rio Caldera. 
With the Hotel Lino, two miles above the village of 
Boquete, as headquarters, I spent the greater part of 
the month of February botanizing among the moun- 
tains. Four or five trips of one day each were made 
along Holecomb’s trail up the Rio Caldera for a distance 
of ten to twelve miles; four trips up the valley of the 
Rio Piarnasta and over the newly-cut Roballo trail 
to the east of Boquete; one along the Horquete Range; 
‘one of three days along Holcomb’s trail to the summit 
of the Divide and down the Atlantic side; and one of 
three days to the top of Chiriqui Volcano, 11,000 feet 
high. 
The valleys of the Caldera and Piarnasta lie in a 
very wet belt. Almost every afternoon a fine mist 
blows over the Divide and keeps this region in continual 
moisture and epiphytic ferns naturally are in very great 
abundance. Although the volcano lies in the dry belt, 
south of the main cordillera, a number of very inter- 
esting ferns were found on the way up and on the barren 
rocks at the summit. 
From the fern standpoint the most interesting trip 
was that over Holcomb’s Trail to the Divide. This 
trail was originally planned to extend from Boquete 
to the United Fruit Company’s property at Bocas del 
Toro, but after reaching the top of the Divide and 
extending a short distance down the Atlantic side, was 
left uncompleted. The trail is not kept open and the 
two camps—one situated some twelve miles from Bo- 
