182 
for comfort, but to those who were not accustomed to our north- 
ern cold the nights were extremely disagreeable. The temper- 
ature of the brook between our camp and the road was 70 
August 4 we started for San Michel, which is in the savannah 
region, arriving in the afternoon ; at this place we were the guests 
of the commanding general, so the camp was not necessary. This 
was to me entirely new territory, and I thor es enjoyed 
journeying souk it. e mountains of the pinelands gradually 
merged into foothills. The pine, Pinus occidentalis, continues 
down through these foothills, a associated with itis a species o 
Thrinax, a palm reaching a height sometimes of fifty feet. Indi- 
cations of this palm were first observed in the pinelands at Marme- 
ade. These were diminutive, but as one descended into the foot- 
hill region they became more and more numerous and of much 
larger proportions, until finally they were the dominating feature 
of the landscape in many places, giving to such spots a palisade 
appearance. A species of Agave also abounds, both in the pine- 
lands and in these foothills. Nos. 1373@~-1381 were collected 
on this tri 
These foothillé run out into what is known as the savannah 
region. This is a large level plain, many thousands of acres in 
extent, with a general elevation of about 1,500 feet. Its soil 
appeared to be a heavy clay loam. 1 was informed that it was 
well adapted to the growing of sugar cane. If so, there are 
wonderful possibilities for the sugar industry here when the new 
railroad, now in course of construction, reaches this place. This 
region is surrounded on the north, east and south by the foothills 
already alluded to. To the westward a descent is made into the 
plain of Gonaives, a region which I will describe later. The 
flora of the savannah proper is not an extensive one, as was to 
be expected, the conditions being too uniform. On the edge of 
this savannah, as we approached it from Marmelade, appeared 
what I have called a xerophytic belt or formation. It was char- 
acterized by scattered low shrubs, resembling much those later 
seen in the plain of Gonaives. A number of gullies were noted 
penetrating this, these evidently being the beds of streams which 
probably carry off the water in wet weather. The vegetation on 
