33 
yuiet water, seem to be entirely lacking in the Bay of Panama. 
Animal life, too, in the littoral zone, at least, is poorly represented, 
as compared with the Caribbean region. However, one or two 
kinds of coral were occasionally conspicuous just below the low- 
water mark. In connection with the question of the influence 
of the tides in the development of a tropical marine flora, it is of 
interest to note that a Swedish botanist, Dr. Nils Svedelius, has 
recently reported that at Galle, on the south shore of Ceylon, 
where there is a rich development of littoral and sublittoral life, 
both animal and vegetable, and where a marine biological station 
has been established, the range of the tide is only about three 
feet. Whether the deeper waters in the Bay of Panama would 
yield any considerable number of algae, I am unable to state, so 
far as results of any attempt at dredging are concerned. I went 
to Taboga Island equipped with a biological dredge, but the 
general dearth of visible algae and the rough character of the 
sea-bottom, combined with rather unsatisfactory experiences with 
dredging operations under apparently more favorable conditions, 
deterred me from unpacking the dredge —a circumstance that I 
now regret. 
The harvest of algae being scanty at Taboga Island, I here, as 
also later during the expedition, gave some attention to securing 
photographs of botanical interest and to collecting mosses, 
Hepaticae, fungi, lichens, fresh-water algae, and occasional seed- 
plants. The annual rainfall on the Pacific side of the Isthmus is 
much less than that on the Caribbean side. The average yearly 
rainfall at the city of Panama is given as about 72 inches, while 
at Colon it is about 128 inches. On Taboga Island, judging 
from common report and the character of the vegetation, the 
yearly rainfall is less than at the city of Panama. While we were 
there—the second week in December — there were frequent 
showers and the vegetation in general had an intensely green and 
luxuriant aspect. The higher plants were less frequently found 
n flower or fruit than would doubtless have been the case a little 
later, in the drier months of January, February, and March. But 
‘he rains were favorable, on the whole, for the growth, and also 
‘or the detection, of the fungi, mosses, and‘ lichens. Taboga 
