lesBl LOOMIS: BARRO COLORADO t27 Busman'sHoliday on a Tropicallsland -- BarroColorado H. F. Loours it As we came down the jungle trail to land. Sometime after this happened Colorado the clearing in the late a{ternoon a band was give,nthe name of Barro o{ howling monkeys was feeding in the in re{erenie to the red clay soil compos' top o{ the huge cuipo tree growing at ine most of it. con- the edge of the clearing near the boat Whett the needarose for an easily research landing. Iy'e had come to Barro CoIo- trolled and accessiblewildlife efforts rado Island in the Panama Canal Zone area in the American tropics, the Dr' that March morning for a week's staY of many scientists, particularly Zetek, and almost the first sound that greeted Thomas Barbour and Mr. James o{ the us was the astonishing howls of these resulted in having the Governor Colorado great monkeys perhaps a quarter oJ a Canal Zone designate Barro 1923' Since ;ile away. Now all were quiet as theY Island a wildlife preservein biologi- browsed on the lea{ buds sweliing on then it has beenmaintained as a nearly a natural the bare limbs nearly opposite our van- cal study area in as 1946 has tage point of the dining hall porch and state as possible, and from hardly more than a hundred feet {rom been administered by the Smithsonian scientistsob- us. It was unbelievablethat theseshaggy Institution through which and its black animals, ,appearingalmost as big tain permissionto use the island in natu- as humans, could move about so freely facilities for their investigations there is on slender branches that sagged peri' ral history subjects. Probably in tropical lously but never broke beneath their no area of like size or larger phases of weight. America wherein the various are io Here a mother, with newborn babY the endemic plants and animals many publica- clinging to her, hung head down by her well known and have so tail while snatching buds with either tions devotedto them. hand, taking a bite and letting the rest The island can be reachedby railroad isth- fall. Other mothers had older babies, and launch from either side o{ the one large enough to make sallies of his mus in about 90 minutes. It is very ir' rises own but holding to his mother when she regularly circular in outline; changedbranches. The old males, larg- sharply from the shore to the highest 430 feet est of the band, looked p,articularlyfear- point near the center, about three some but we watched them all with fas- above the lake; is aPproximately 4,000 cination until the light began to fade miles across and contains nearly jungle which the and they moved into the forest for the acres covered by of it can- night. secondgrowth is old enoughthat The island we were on was once a not readily be distinguished from the tremendous hill in the lower Chagres virgin forest. jungle o{ten a Valley but, with the building of the Beneath the canoPy, Panama Can'aland the damming of t]le hundred and fifty {eet or more above well- ChagresRiver, the rising waters of Ga' one's head, run some 25 miles of part tun Lake, which was thus {ormed, sur- marked trails by which nearly every dozen rounded and isolated it from the main- of the island, including over a PRINCIPES [Vol. 2 points on the shore,may be reached.The of palm leavesin the forest where their names of the trails read like a roster of wilder relatives lived. naturalists and indicate a few of the fa- Becausethe writer has been interested mous people who have tramped along for many years in both millipeds, com- them. Commemoratedin this fashion are monly known as o'thousand-legged Allison V. Armour, Thomas Barbour, worms", and palms, our visit to Barro Frank M. Chapman, David Fairchild, Colorado had a two-fold purpose in ad- Barbour Lathrop, Raymond Shannon, dition to celebratinehis retirement from Paul Standley,William Morton Wheeler, years of plant wo-rk with the Federal JamesZetek, and a number of others. Government. First was the hope of col- The only permanent habitations on lecting more specimensof a tiny pill-like the island are those of the Resident milliped of which a single female, Naturalist and the staff of laborers niho thought to representan undescribedspe- act as guides, boatmen and woodsmen cies, genus and family, was found there in addition to maintaining the grounds, in 1923. Our second objective was to laboratories.andquarters. A dormitory- gather fresh seedsof its palms for plant- dining hall and severalsmall cabins pro- ing in Florida as only a few of them had vide living facilities for visiting workers been introduced there. while a well equipped laboratory and For an entire rveekalmost every wak- library also are available. The buildings ing moment was spent on or near the are concentratedin a small clearing on trails searching for palms or millipeds the northeast shore overlookine the or sitting silently absorbing the sights canal; the principal ones being on the and sounds of the unspoiled jungle. shoulder of a ridge more than a hundred Among our first impressions were the feet.abovethe lake and reachedby stairs height of the trees about us, their diver- beginning at the boat landing. sity and the varied plant life they sup- Our own cabin, a few stepsbelow the ported on roots, trunks and branches. dining hall, was in itself a tropical ex- While many of the smaller plants were periment as its woodwork and com- unknown, a surprising number were fa- pressed wallboards had been impreg- miliar as the house and patio decora- nated with a chemical mixture to repel tions of the north,'in but with what a dif- termites, the worst enemies of wooden ference! Here their natural home buildings and furniture in the tropics. grew bromeliads, monsteras, ant-hu- A note on the do,ornamed the compound riums, philodendrons and other aroids and warned against removing or replac- of a lushnessand size not equalled in ing any part of the building or otherwise cultivation. Another of the interesting irrterfering with the test without special and attractive plants frequently seen al- permission. most appressedto the ground had its iris-like As our bags were brought into the leavesspread in a single plane, the whole plant resembling cabin, a family of bats under the eaves, a fan palm leaf, probably accounting for its com- and clinging to the screen ventilator at mon name oI palmita, A second name the top of the wall, was disturbed and given us, and one we liked was mano de fluttered further down the roof with Dios - God's hand. Botanically the much squeaking. They never became plant is called Xiphid,iurn caeruleum. accustomed to our presence but still The vines, usually referred to as could not bring themselvesto give up lianas, hanging lea{less or nearly so this cool dry shelter for the undersides {rom great heights were a novel sight, r9sBl LOOMIS: BARRO COLORADO r29 especially one belonging to the genus the tops of smooth, relatively slender Bauhilia that was broad and flat, curi- trunks beginning eight or ten feet above ously bent and twisted and perforated the ground {rom supporting cones of with holes of different sizes. Except for rigidly str,aightspiny roots. This palm these holes it reminded one of the rib' is scatteredthroughout the woods, seem' bon candieswe found in our Christmas ingly not favoring damp locations, al- stockings as children. though the curious root systemhas been Everywhere we looked were literally thought an adaptationto allow growth in scores of plant species. A botanist suchplaces. The numerousbro'ad pinnae would have little trouble in counting with irregular tips project from the over a hundred kinds within a radius of rachis at several angles and are a rich a few rods if he could see and include dark green. The finest individual of this the epiphytes on the trees above him. palm we saw was on the Shannon Trail Most of these air plants are invisible in where also was found the largest Geo- the crown of leaves of the forest giants noma decurrens,the beautiful Iittle deep but fallen branches bring down a sam- shade speciesseldom exceedingsix feet pling of these upperstory treasuresand in height with all leaf pinnae completely rnake one envious o{ the birds and unitedto form a continuousblade nearly several times as long, monkeys that Pass so freelY among a foot wide and arch- them. deeply cleft at tip and gracefully And the palms! Members of this irg. {amily seemedmore numerous than of The morning spent on this trail was any other single family and several otherwise noteworthy. It showed that" kinds usually were to be seenby looking our choice o{ palms and millipeds fdr in any direction, beginning 'astiny seed- collectionwas a happy one, as Mrs' Loo- lings and progressing through various mis discovered,in a decaying palm in- agesand sizesto the imposing Scheelea florescenceon the ground, the only two zinensis, with clean two'foot-thick shafts specimensof the much desiredpill milli- rising thirty or more feet to the begin- ped we found on our visit. Shortly after ning of the leaf crown which adds at this find we spotted a band of white' least as much again to the height of the collared peccaries,or wild hogs, rooting palm. From the crowns of these palms, along the opposite side of a ravine. We which also gave footholds to ferns, vines watched them until they moved out of and other small ptrants, hung great sight while several of the marvelously clusters of tightly packed egg-shaped iridescent blue morpho butterflie's tit- fruits; those of the ripe clusters being tuped along in apparently aimlessflight dull orange in color.