142 The Flora and Fauna of the Florida Keys.  [March, 
States. The bear does not extend so far —I think only to Mata- 
cumbe—and is probably only a visitor at the time when the 
turtles lay their eggs, of which he is said to be very fond; there 
would be little food for him at other times. Key Largo which 
is connected by a narrow isthmus with the mainland has the 
mammals of the latter, opossums, squirrels, ete. A burrowing 
rabbit, according to Colonel Patterson, is found on Rabbit Key, 
a very small and isolated islet in the bay or sound between the 
mainland and the keys. To reach Key West from Key Largo, 
some fifteen or more channels (some of them three or four miles 
wide) have to be crossed in passing from island to island. The 
want of fresh water is the probable inducement for the under- 
taking! The absence of North American mammals from Cuba 
and the Bahamas would seem to give a great antiquity to the 
present course of the Gulf Stream which has proved an impass- 
able barrier. 
Of birds little can be said on account of their wandering 
habits. After hurricanes, birds from Cuba are often taken here, _ 
which are not seen at other times. A list of the regular breed- 
ing birds would be interesting. 
For the batrachia and reptiles I can only give a list for Key 
West, kindly made up for me by Mr. Garman from the collec- 
tion in the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy. The batrachia 
are Hyla cinerea and Scaphiopus solitarius; the snakes, Zro- 
pidonotus compressicaudus, Coryphodon constrictor (Tortugas), 
Elaphis obsoletus and guttatus, Liopeltis cestivus, Crotalus ada- 
manteus ; the saurians, Plestiodon quinquelineatum, Cnemido- 
phorus sealineatus, Anolis principalis, and Spherodactylus nota- 
tus. The chelonians are represented by Thyrosternum Penn- 
sylvanicum ; the salt-water terrapin is said to be found at the - 
Marquesas, between Key West and the Tortugas, but I have 
never seen a specimen. 
All of these, with the exception of Spherodactylus, from 
Cuba, are North American species. The batrachia are said by 
Wallace to be very seldom represented in insular faune, being 
rapidly killed by salt water. The two species mentioned above 
may have been transported with soil from the mainland, which 
has been sometimes brought to enrich the gardens. - 
Of the insects I cannot speak. There will be probably found : 
here a considerable mixture of North American, Cuban, an 
1 While on the subject of- mammals I would mention that a very imperfectly 
known West Indian seal is found occasionally in numbers on the Dog rocks, noth: 
east corner of Salt Key Bank, about one hundred miles from Key West. : 
