OVERLAND TO LA ESPERANZA 17 



As the train approaches the city of Pinar, a more 

 abrupt change in the vegetation occurs. Occa- 

 sional pine trees appear, and the palms, already 

 noted, give place to the extraordinary *' bottle 

 palms" which are confined to the narrow geo- 

 graphic range of the western central portion of the 

 Vuelta Aba j o . These palms ( Colpothrinax wrightii) 

 carry to laughable exaggeration a swelling in the 

 trunk which to a far less degree is characteristic 

 of many other species. This bulbous swelling, 

 however, is absurdly out of proportion to the 

 otherwise spindling stem, and the tuft of leaves at 

 the top is straggling and insufficient, making the 

 tree seem very grotesque. Simpson's tender 

 reverence for all palms often involved him, as their 

 champion, in heated arguments for their defense, 

 against the claims for beauty or usefulness we 

 urged for other types of trees, yet even he 

 declared that the sight of these bottle palms 

 was enough to excite the risibles of a sphinx. 

 This species flourishes only in a soil too poor for 

 royals. 



No very important use for the soft porous wood 

 of palm trees has yet been found, and their dead 

 trunks are left to decay. We speculated as to their 



