112 
we moved camp a few kilometers to the bank of a small stream at 
Los Cocos, with the special object of exploring the beautiful 
Arroyo Cimarrones, 470-500 meters elevation, under his personal 
guidance and were well repaid by the opportunity to collect 
many species not heretofore seen by us, including two pretty 
Begonias, a beautiful composite, and here we first met with tree- 
ferns on this trip, though not in the luxuriance and abundance in 
which they were later found at the higher elevations; mosses 
were found here in great quantities and the splendid red orchid 
Stenorrhynchus speciosus was a brilliant floral feature. 
March 6 we traversed a ane! level gebgies of country to the 
village of Rio Negro (45 t tion), passing along swampy 
woodland containing some interesting bog ferns and other plants, 
with a luxuriant growth of the manaca palm, and made camp in 
an unused tobacco shed, where the tent was pitched and the 
hammock swung. From here a few hours’ tramp brought us 
into another wet valley, the Arroyo Trinitario, where some sixty 
different species of moisture-loving plants were collected, ferns 
and mosses being abundant again and varied. It is to be re- 
’ corded that the hills and hillsides at elevations up to 600 or 700 
meters through the region thus far traversed were at this time 
of year disappointing botanically, being very dry, and although 
quite heavily wooded, very few plants could be found in flower 
or in fruit; there had been no rain for several months; after the 
spring rains, we were told, the hillsides burst into bloom. 
amp no. 7 was made on March 8 under a large wild fig tree 
near a stream at Mananteales (about 450 meters altitude) but 
no very good collecting ground was found in the vicinity, dry 
hills and pastures surrounding it. Here we had opportunity of 
viewing an important Cuban industry, the raising of fighting 
cocks, one establishment having some one hundred and fifty of 
these birds, carefully labelled and variously priced up to high 
figures, and learned that the region was famed far and wide for 
the excellence of this product, which had the curious result of 
making eggs high-priced and difficult to obtain for culinary pur- 
poses, because they might be hatched out and yield cocks of 
great value! So the next day, March 9, we moved on and up to 
