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vehicles of any kind to be seen except a single street-car drawn 
by four mules, which was already filled to overflowing. Mer- 
chandise of all kinds is carried on the backs of men, ponies, or 
urros. The streets are roughly paved with large blocks of lava, 
the gutter being in the center, which is the condition found in 
most Mexican cities. 
Jalapa is a very old town and of the greatest interest botanic- 
ally, situated as it is in the midst of a primeval forest at an alti- 
tude that insures plenty of rain and moderate temperatures the 
whole year round. A number of medicinal plants, as well as 
many rare and beautiful orchids, have been collected in this 
forest in past years. Jpomoeca Jalapa, a powerful cathartic 
familiarly known as jalap, and Swelax medica, or sarsaparilla, 
were formerly exported in large quantities. 
By climbing the Cerro Macuiltepec, on the eastern slope of 
which the town is perched, a splendid view is obtained, wit 
Perote to the west, Orizaba to the southwest, the forest to the 
south as far as the hills above Pacho, and the gradual slope 
toward Veracruz far away to the southeast. It is believed by 
many that the reefs in Veracruz harbor are caused by lava from 
the giant Perote, which flowed down this long incline in past ages. 
Nearer by, five hundred to a thousand feet below, lies the town, 
embowered in tropical vegetation and surrounded by cultivated 
fields and dense forests. Excellent water, obtained from Perote, 
flows from fountains in the streets, after the manner of Swiss and 
Tyrolean towns, and the natives, dressed in their curious costumes, 
o 
filling their water jars at these fountains, make a very picturesque 
sight. 
Over a week was spent at Jalapa, daily excursions being made 
to various parts of the forest, which yielded rich collections of 
fungi, many of which were apparently undescribed. Polyporus 
xalapensis, described from this locality by Berkeley in 1849, was 
found in quantity. Certain of our own species, such as 7remella 
mycetophila, collected rather frequently on Collyiia dryophila, and 
Chitopilus abortivus, found for sale in the market, were rather a 
surprise to me. e woods were full of ferns, mosses, liverworts, 
and lichens ; while the lava walls along the roads and in the fields 
