Upon the monolithic monuments of Copan and Quirigua in 

 Honduras and Guatemala, the majestic procession of the planets 

 has been recorded for twenty centuries. From the recent dis- 

 coveries of Sylvanus G. Morley, who has been able after years of 

 research partially to decipher the intricate glyphs of the Mayas, 

 it is scientifically proven that these ancient inhabitants of Yuca- 

 tan had so perfect a knowledge of astronomy that their records 

 compare with our most modern calculations with but a negligible 

 fraction of variation. 



The superstitions of the past, while curious and interesting, 

 are often disturbingly similar to our own ignorance. How much 

 more wonderful it is to find that our advanced knowledge in 

 astronomical lore, as in other things, is but a step beyond that 

 of the ancient, little known, and less appreciated "barbarians," 

 who dwelt in the tropical forests of Central America many cen- 

 turies ago. Long before us they possessed positive and definite 

 astronomical and mathematical knowledge of the highest order, 

 and this was finally recorded by them in granite, for the benefit 

 of history and the glory of science, about the time the Christian 

 era dawned upon Europe. 



/LUPINUS MOLLISIFOLIUS spec. nov. 

 By Anstruther Davidson, C. M., M. D. 



Shrubby perennial 3-4 ft. high branching freely, stems pubes- 

 cent and fistulous petioles 1-2 in. long; leaflets oblanceolate, ob- 

 tuse and mucronulate, 2 in. long, softly pubescent on both sides, 

 midrib prominent beneath; racemes rather dense 10-15 in. long, 

 stipules linear setaceous, flowers dark blue 6-8 lines long becom- 

 ing subverticillate, standard with white spot changing to red, 

 pedicels 2 lines long; upper calyx with open notch 1 line deep, 

 lower slightly longer, entire, bracts fugacious ovate acute two- 

 thirds the length of the sepal at falling; keel ciliate from above 

 the middle to near tip with a few scattered cilia on lower half; 

 pods softly pubescent 6-8 seeded ; seeds black. 



Sierra Madre Los Angeles. Collected by T. Payne in sandy 

 wash near that town. May 20, 1918. Type No. 3310. Also 

 found at Crescenta, Los Angeles Co. 



57 



