164 
The Ohio Naturalist. 
[Vol. II, No. 2 , 
or two whorls near the top. Besides it there are several species 
of Cereus and another small Opuntia similar to the common prickly 
pear, together with a species of the same group cultivated for its 
fleshy branches which are eaten. All through this dry region 
agaves or century plants are very common. There seem to be 
several species, but they are such terrors to botanists that it is 
hard to tc 11 anything about them. 
From this brief sketch it will be seen what a diversified flora 
Porto Rico offers to the student. There are opportunities for 
several ecological studies of surpassing interest, and on the sys- 
tematic side the work has only been begun. At present there are 
scant facilities for the student, but with the fuller occupation of 
the island by American government and customs, we may hope 
that some of our enterprising universities will establish there a 
school of tropical agriculture and botany, fields now white for the 
harvest but almost without workers. 
Washington, D. C., October 30, 1901. 
SALAMANDERS TAKEN AT SUGAR GROVE. 
Max Morse. 
On May 25, 1901, Prof. Mine, while collecting in the hills at 
Sugar Grove, Fairfield County, O., found a salamander under a 
piece of pine log on the slope of a hill, about a hundred yards 
from water. It was, for the time, put in a jar along with several 
individuals of Desmognatlnis fusca Raf. , which were taken in, or 
within a few feet of the rivulets which flow down the valley. 
Aside from this specimen taken on the hill-side, all the specimens 
were found not farther than a half dozen feet from the water. 
When the collections were examined in the laboratory it was 
found that the single specimen just mentioned differed in many 
respects from the others. This led to investigation and it was 
found that it corresponded closely with the description of D. 
ochrophaea Cope. Thus, the posterior portion of the mandible was 
edentulous ; no tubercle in eanthus ocelli ; belly paler than in 
any of D. fusca taken ; length nearly three-fourths of an inch 
shorter than the others ; a light bar from eye to corner of mouth ; 
tongue free behind ; parasphenoid teeth separated behind. The 
specimen was kindly examined by Dr. J. Lindahl, of the Cincin- 
nati Society of Nat. Hist., who is acquainted with the form. He 
agreed that it corresponded with the description of Cope. 
Whether the characters as given above are sufficient to place the 
specimen under ochrophaea is a matter hard to decide. Cope 
gives the range of ochrophaea as “in the Alleghenies and their 
outlying spurs.” Dr. Lindahl has a specimen from Logansport, 
Ind., taken November 10, 1900. 
