226 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA 



castellated islands in the green sea of the valley 

 and are richly clothed in the characteristic sierra 

 flora. They bear the local name of "Los Mogotes 

 de la Gran Vega." 



Approaching the first of the series nearest the 

 road, we divided our party of four into two parts, 

 each taking one side of the mogote and working 

 around to meet at the farther end, thence to pro- 

 ceed to the next and repeat the encircling process, 

 and so on to the final end of the last elevation. 

 In this way, proceeding slowly and deliberately, 

 we gathered a harvest of specimens from each one. 



There had been some rain at Vinales, but it was 

 very apparent that the wet season was not nearly 

 so far advanced as we had found it to be farther 

 west in the cape region. The mollusks had 

 scarcely emerged as yet from their winter's hiber- 

 nation and had to be searched for more diligently. 

 The sky above was deep blue and the air felt 

 dry and exhilarating, contrasting agreeably with 

 the moisture-laden atmosphere of San Antonio, 

 although the temperature was quite as high. 



The catch from the Vega mogotes represented 

 but few species; their specific affinities are wholly 

 with the main range north of Vinales, showing the 



