137 
ing the valleys. The broad fertile valley of Rio Cayaguateje 
became a vast lake-like body of débris-covered water; the 
railroad was washed out and communication with the outside 
world cut off for over a week, consequently active field work was 
delayed until the 22d. Guane was made headquarters until the 
end of the year, during which period frequent excursions were 
made into the surrounding region, in which there are several 
distinct formations. 
The palm- and pine-barrens to the northwestward are a rolling 
country of clay, quartz and sandstone. It is very barren except 
in the depressions at the head of and along the many small 
brooklets, the wet places and margins of which are very rich in 
moisture-loving plants, such as Pinguicula, Utricularia, Drosera, 
Xyris and some arborescent plants such as “palma cana” Sabal 
sp., ‘‘manaca’’ Geonoma sp., “‘cana prieta”’ Paurotis sp. As the 
brooklets unite into arroyos and rivers, the royal palm becomes 
conspicuous in the resulting rich valleys, in which small farms 
(vegas) are developed; these are devoted principally to the 
cultivation of tobacco, a very precarious crop, of which it is said 
that but one paying crop in five years is secured. The higher 
dryer portions are mostly covered by small wiry grasses and low 
shrubs with “cana blanca” Copernicia sp. as the predominating 
feature. On flat, higher elevations, the surface of which is 
seen and these are usually short, much contorted individuals 
representing very few species. 
orthward and westward toward Mantua the hills become 
higher and rougher, shale and more quartz is seen, the pine 
trees are larger, often forming small forests, in which a three- 
leaved species occurs sparingly, and in the Cop icesions which 
are not large enough for cultivation the “palma cana’”’ is 
usually replaced by the “‘ palma barrigona” Colpothrinax Wrightw. 
This often occurs in large groups composed of plants of 
all ages, from the young with cloth-covered trunk to the 
