When we cross the summit we come upon a different sort of vegetation; cacti take the place of tree ferns, and instead of wet jungles we have dry scrub brush full of spiny and thorny shrubs with almost every sort of prickle one can think of. One who has never encountered them can scarcely appreciate the abundance and effectiveness of tropical thorns. These thickets of brush extend over most of the undisturbed portion of the south side. Everywhere through them there are scattered cacti of several sorts; but near Guayanilla, a few miles west of Ponce, these become relatively much more numerous so as to form a veritable cactus desert. Only here is the largest form present. It is a large Opuntia with a bare stem and long arms radiating in one 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 tell 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 systematic 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. Hine, 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 Desmognathus 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 hillside, 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. ochrophæa Cope. Thus, the posterior portion of the mandible was edentulous; no tubercle in canthus 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 Cincinnati 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 ochrophæa is a matter hard to decide. Cope gives the range of ochrophæa as “in the Alleghenies and their outlying spurs.” Dr. Lindahl has a specimen from Logansport, Ind., taken November 10, 1900.
FISHES TAKEN NEAR SALEM, OHIO.
E. B. Williamson.
The present short list is published, not because of any records of special interest, but in order that a record may be made of the fish known certainly from the headwaters of Beaver Creek. In the case of fish the most logical and significant way to indicate distribution is certainly by streams, and a very small contribution to the ichthyology of the above named stream is here presented.
About three-fifths of Columbiana County is drained by Beaver Creek, one-fifth by the Mahoning River and streams leaving the county to the west, while the remainder enters the Big Yellow and Little Yellow Creeks. Beaver Creek is practically confined to Columbiana County, though it empties into the Ohio River in Pennsylvania at Smith’s Ferry, just above the state line. The relation of Beaver Creek to the Mahoning River is interesting, the two being in general, arcs of concentric circles with the Mahoning outside. A person going directly west from Salem crosses Middle Fork of Beaver Creek first, then the Mahoning, and the same is true if he goes directly north or directly east. South-west of Salem the small streams empting into the Mahoning have not been seined. From one of these Herman McCane has taken a specimen of Ichthyomyzon concolor which is preserved in the Salem High School collection with the other species here recorded. All the other streams in close proximity to Salem are part of the system of the Middle Fork of Beaver Creek, with the exception of Cold Run, which flows almost directly south into the West Fork of Beaver Creek, the stream thus formed soon being augmented by the waters of the North Fork.