174 



and unlike most of the things seen in the regions already men- 

 tioned. A pretty palm, seen only on these hills, is at times very 

 conspicuous, as is also a columnar cactus ; and an Agave often 

 occupies the summits. Singularly enough, the largest of the 

 very iew trees met with on these hills was a single specimen of 

 mahogany. The surrounding region for several miles is a rocky 

 savanna or palm barren in which but one species of palm, a 

 Copernicia, is very abundant. Many of the shrubs of the moun- 

 tain-sides occur here also and the frequent springs, rich swales, 

 and resultant streamlets are occupied or surrounded by groups 

 of trees, shrubs, and some herbaceous plants not seen elsewhere ; 

 these pass on and join broader river valleys, covered with rich 

 woods, royal palm groves or fertile plantations. Hanking these 

 eruptive formations are several series of limestone hills, the in- 

 tervening valleys being fertile woodland or barren palm-covered 

 savannas. 



" Gibara on the coast north of Holguin was visited and the 

 mouth of the bay examined. The flora here as a whole is 

 similar to that of other localities of a like nature, but as in the 

 case of all the others it was found to have some prominent ele- 

 ment not seen elsewhere. Here the tall slender stalks of Papaya 

 Carica were very peculiar, their small leafy tops high above the 

 surrounding scrub, among which it was sparingly scattered, 

 giving it very much the appearance of tall slender palms noted 

 elsewhere. 



" Cacocum and Alto Cedro, stations on the Cuba railway, were 

 given a hurried examination. 



" Paoso Estancia, toward Santiago on the Cauto River, was 

 made the last place from which extensive explorations were 

 carried on. The river, which is the largest in Cuba, here passes 

 between high bluffs made up of stratified limestone and clay or 

 sand. It has many turns, with gravelly bars and sandy or muddy 

 banks, and many things can be found here. The surrounding 

 country is a dense forest with a great variety of species ; from 

 here, too, one can see the pine-covered tops of the Sierra Nipe, 

 and an interesting but rough region of some fifteen miles is 

 traversed in getting to them. Much of it is a dense forest of very 



