dge of the platform, the middh 



nd other plants c 



ear. Within a few hundred 



if over thirty miles an 



o the apex of a curve ai 



he wheels climbing th( 



:et ahead, and a very s 



t with feet dangling from the front 

 e being occupied by agaves, cacti :' f 

 e the crew formed a fringe to the 

 I yards the car would gain a speed 

 vhich rate we would dash down 

 :liff, which we would round with 

 ■ail, the track visible only a few 

 it drop below us. 

 The slopes examined during our frequent stops were replete 

 with interest. Crassulaceae were abundant, the sago-palm, Dioon 

 edule, was found in the ravines, a Beaucarnea was abundant on 

 the northern slopes, while in one place we faced a great hillside 

 thickly covered with tetetzo {Pilocereus tetetzo), the individuals of 

 which were as large as the giant cactus of Arizona. 



Tomellin was reached in the evening, where we found shelter 

 in the staff house of the railway by the courtesy of Mr. Morkill. 

 Portions of two days were spent here in securing additional ma- 

 terial and shipping all of our collection to Tehuacan. At this 

 elevation we found the principle giant cactus to be Cereus Weberi, 

 a huge form which divides a few feet from the ground into a 

 cluster of thirty to fifty branches which may be eight or ten 

 inches in diameter. This species, growing at an elevation of 1 ,200 

 feet in latitude 19 N., is perhaps the most tropical of the massive 

 forms. Here was also to be found the much-branched slender 

 Escontria chiotilla, also a tree. 



Arriving at Tehuacan on September 8 we began immediately 

 to complete our observations and prepare living specimens for 

 shipment. A gang of laborers, a team, and a carpenter were 

 kept busy for a week measuring standing cacti, by which suit- 

 able wooden jackets could be built, and packing all securely 

 for the journey. The entire lot was assembled on a vacant piece 

 of ground near the baths of El Riego and from there was taken 

 to the freight station at Tehuacan on a tram car from which a 

 transfer was made to a freight car. The latter was sealed and 

 sent despatch to Vera Cruz. To this point. Dr. Rose proceeded' 

 to attend to matters of clearance and shipment, and when the 

 plants where safely aboard the S. S. Monterey they were accom- 



