28 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXXVI, 



the Cauca Valley and flowed indefinitely north and south along the base 

 of the main range of the Central Andes, which arose impressively across 

 a plain-like valley to the east. From this point we had superb but brief 

 views of Santa Isabel and Tolima. 



We passed the night at Finlandia and the following morning crossed 

 the valley to the east. At the end of an hour we entered the first primeval 

 forest through which the trail had passed and from this point to the summit 

 of the ridge which overlooks the Quindio River, with the Boquilla at its 

 base, there is much Subtropical Zone forest. Here we saw Hypopyrrhus 

 pyrohypogaster for the first time. After fording the Quindio River, a rapidly 

 flowing stream, at the Boquilla (alt. 6100 ft.), the trail rises steeply through 

 an open country to Salento, which is reached in a thirty-minute climb of 

 900 feet. 



Salento (alt. 7000 ft.), standing on a shelf at the base of the main range 

 of the Central Andes, is the last town through which the traveller to the 

 Magdaleria Valley passes until he reaches Ibague at the eastern base of the 

 chain. 



Although one has gained an altitude of about 3500 feet above Cartago, 

 the grade is so low that one has done no real climbing, and the ascent of the 

 Andes may be said to begin definitely at Salento or, to be more exact, at 

 the Quindio River, 900 feet below Salento. 



In an hour after leaving Salento we felt that we were in the heart of 

 the Andes. Below lay the Quindio Valley, carpeted with grass and with a 

 scattered growth of tall palms fringing the stream which winds through it; 

 above was an endless array of mountains leading up to the brown paramo 

 and gleaming snowfields of Santa Isabel. 



Until we reached an altitude of 9000 feet there was little growth near 

 the trail and Allen's detailed description of the collecting station near 

 Salento must be consulted for information in regard to the nature of the 

 primitive vegetation at this point. At the altitude named, we reached the 

 lower limits of the Temperate Zone and coincidentally the upper limits at 

 which the land had been cleared for agricultural purposes. In consequence, 

 forests now bordered or were near the trail. At first they were composed 

 of large, open-branched trees among which fine oaks were conspicuous. 

 As we ascended they became much lower and more finely branched, with 

 small, close-set rigid leaves, and a profusion of .white moss. 



This Temperate Zone forest thickly covered the mountains to the 

 mouth of the Pass. At Laguneta (10,000 ft.) it was fully developed and 

 the abundance of bird-life induced us to select this place as a collecting 

 station for Miller and Allen who, three months later, made a most valuable 

 collection there particularly noteworthy for the number of Grallarias it 

 contained. 



