74 
species being known from the different islands, and several of 
them are prized for cultivation in tropical gardens, though they 
do not flower freely nor grow very vigorously in northern green- 
houses; a supply of young plants was taken, however, for experi- 
mental purposes. On these cliffs, the Cuban melon-cactus 
abounds; we were somewhat surprised at finding this on cliffs 
three or four miles from the coast, because our previous knowl- 
edge of it had been confined to its occurrence on coastal rocks 
further east. Previous attempts to introduce this Cactus Har- 
lowii into cultivation with plants taken from the naval station 
at Guantanamo Bay had met with failure, so a large number were 
dug out from among the rocks at this point and very carefully 
packed in sacks to avoid any bruising and thus transported to 
the Garden. Coastal woodlands west of the port proved very 
interesting collecting grounds, to which we were guided by Mr. 
H. J. Nix, electrician of the sugar company. Here large cactuses 
abound, growing intermixed with hardwood trees. One of them 
belongs to the genus Leptocereus, and is related to the one de- 
scribed above from near Daiquiri; ripe fruits of it were obtained, 
but the plant was not in bloom at the time and its flowers are 
still a desideratum. One of the most interesting trees of this 
woodland is Phlebotaenia, of the milkwort family, with showy 
purple flowers something like those of our northern herbaceous 
gay-wings, and another flowering tree related to our fringe tree, 
with similar narrow white petals, is abundant. In another 
wooded thicket just east of the port, we were pleased to find the 
leafy cactus, Pereskia cubensis, hitherto known to us only from 
the vicinity of Guantanamo Bay; this small spiny tree would not 
be taken for a cactus without a knowledge of its flowers, for it 
‘belongs to one of the genera which bear leaves much like those 
of many other flowering plants, and in this respect very different 
from the great bulk of the cactuses, which are leafless; cuttings 
of this were also taken, their spiny armament rendering the 
process difficult. I am glad to be able to report that the two 
cuttings which I brought from Guantanamo Bay three years ago 
are growing vigorously; they are nate the most interesting of 
all cactus plants in the Garden collection 
Our next stop was at Manzanillo, ae little time was spent 
