48 
interesting of the islands visited during the voyage. Some species 
of woody plants which are shrubs on the other islands here attain 
the size of trees. A more thorough exploration of this region at 
some future time would undoubtedly yield results of much scien- 
tific value. We were obliged to return to our schooner late in 
the afternoon of the same day, wading a part of the distance over 
banks that had been left nearly dry by the ebbing tide. 
On the nineteenth a stop of a few hours was made on the 
the island of Providenciales, in the vicinity of Malcolm Road; 
ood collections of marine algae were made here, but little 
to exploring the the island of West Caicos. A large portion of 
this island is under cultivation and its flora, probably for that 
reason, seemed rather less varied and rich than that of some of 
the other islands of the Caicos group. There is a large planta- 
tion here for the cultivation of sisal (Agave sisalana), the prop- 
erty of a London company incorporated under the name of “ Pita 
Ltd.”” About 1,600 acres are fully planted with sisal, over 1,400 
acres are partially laid out and planted, and 700 acres in addition 
are now being cleared and burned over. An interior salt lake or 
pond contained several algae of particular interest, one of them 
eae the plant that has commonly been identified with Valonia 
egagropua, originally described from the lagoons of Venice, 
Bie itis said to be very abundant. This Valonia was common 
of the manager of the estate of the Pita company, Captain 
Henry T. W. Holdsworth, and his accomplished wife, and we are 
much indebted to Captain Holdsworth for assistance and helpful 
suggestions in our investigations of the flora of the island. 
art of December 21 was spent at Little Inagua, which was 
explored for the Garden by Mr. Nash and Mr. Taylor in 1904, 
and on the afternoon of the following day, we went ashore for a 
few hours on Castle Island, near the south end of Acklin’s Island, 
while on our way to the Ragged Islands group, which we reached 
