Возву: RECENT BOTANICAL COLLECTING IN COLOMBIA 41 
to Girardot and took railroad train to Bogota. Circumstances 
interfered with collection work during my stay at this city, but 
Dr. Pennell, then and subsequently, did a large amount of work 
within a radius of two or three days' foot travel from the city. 
At Bogota, we separated, I returning north to visit the western 
mountains, while he descended to the great plains where the 
tributaries of the Orinoco and Negro Rivers take their rise. At 
Puerto Berrio I left the river and crossed the central range, where 
several days were spent. I had intended descending the Cauca 
River and possibly getting over into the valley of the Sinu, but 
adverse circumstances forced me to change my plan. 
Inasmuch as not even that part of the collection received here 
has yet been studied, it will be seen that only the most general 
statements regarding the flora can be made. Arrangements have 
been made by which Dr. Pennell is to remain for several months 
in Colombia, visiting and collecting in districts where little botani- 
cal work has been done. It is to be expected that his collections 
will be very rich and that their study will add greatly to our present 
knowledge of the Colombian flora. 
The Magdalena River flows through a broad, low, flat valley 
for at least half of its length. From the steamer, the mountains 
can be seen in the distance on both sides during most of the time. 
As we start our journey from the mouth of the river, we can see, 
near Santa Marta, the snowy summit of the highest peak in Colom- 
bia, said to have an altitude of more than twenty thousand feet, 
The river plain is covered with tall and luxuriant grasses, as well 
as sedges, and affords excellent grazing. The cattle industry 
here is large but is not a tithe of what is possible with an abun- 
dance of labor and economic methods. А great drawback to this 
industry is the extent to which young cattle are destroyed by the 
annual freshets, which occasionally inundate almost the entire 
plain. The most conspicuous features of the flora here are mag- 
nificent palms (called “palma real" by the people, and yielding 
very important useful products), bamboos, and pampas grass. 
Up to the time of this journey I had regarded the tree fern as 
being the most beautiful representative of the vegetable kingdom, 
but I am now disposed to accord this place to the bamboos of the 
Magdalena Valley. I can compare one of them to nothing more 
