SANTA LUCIA TO AZUCAR 73 



the pines which we first noticed at Esperanza was 

 effected by the stripping of the leaves or by some 

 unknown process of electrocution is impossible to 

 say. The fact remains that millions of pines from 

 the sierra to the sea and over an east and west 

 extension of forty or fifty miles have been wholly 

 destroyed, and yet there are but few evidences of 

 the trees having been struck by lightning and but 

 comparatively few blown down. The live-oaks 

 here, always growing in patches, resemble closely 

 the Florida tree, but probably are specifically dis- 

 tinct. A melastomaceous shrub, with spikes of 

 white, and a Malpighia, with spikes of brilliant 

 yellow flowers, now in full bloom, are everywhere 

 found over the hills and form perhaps the bulk 

 of the vegetation. Two pines are reported from 

 western Cuba, but we were not able to distinguish 

 here more than one. The ground is carpeted with 

 a long wiry yellow grass. In general the flora is the 

 outcome of the very poorest soil. 



The hills become much higher as we approach 

 our destination. A last turn brings into view the 

 camp of the Matahambre mine, quite an impos- 

 ing settlement. With a background of barren 

 hills, it reminds one of mining camps among the 



