San Ignacio - Los Escamiles, Dep't Chalatenango, El Salvador March 6, 1942. 4 hours muleback ride, we came out onto an open plain margined encircled to the east & west by mountain ridges, that to the east being the chain making up Los Escamiles. From this plain it was easy to see the irreparable damage that has been, & is being done, to the original forest cover. The oaks and pines have been virtually stripped off to make room for wheat fields, and this clearing has extended deep into the cloud forest, which, on this west side of Los Escamiles, is confined to the top part of the ridge. Stinton said that it extended much lower down the slopes when he and Van Bossem were here some 15 years ago. A few small clumps of pines have been left, showing what the original cover was like. Most of the plain and mountain slopes are bare grassland, al- though there are patches of fern, blackberries, and small scrubby bushes here and there. Numerous slides have oc- curred as a result of the thorough stripping. Most of them are bare, although some fern and scrub growth has taken place along the slide margins. Ridge after ridge is sliding into the canyon. A wheat field planted on a canyon wall one year will have slid to the bottom of the canyon the next, and another wheat field will be carved out of the forest to take its place. This reckless use of the land is rapidly causing the rapid disappearance of forest conditions. We rode to the south west, around the main range of Los Escamiles, and then doubled back to the