158 Umi River taken from a cave not far from the village, also one Uromys caudimaculatus. An Emballonura shot at the north bridge this evening, and others down and not recovered. Monday, November 23. More sun today but not much wind. Weather muggy, but no threat of rain this evening. Plants on hand made me late getting into field this morning and I botanized close to camp. Still getting a few good plants by poking into corners not seen before. One Melomys in traps. One Pipistrellus (new for camp) shot, one Macroglossus in the nets. Nothing brought in by natives. The Markham natives have rich garden lands and this is one of our best camps for fresh food. It comes in quantity at 1d. a pound for native stuff, 2d. for produce of European type. Small white English potatoes, at least two kinds of taro including "taro konkon" or mamai of eastern Papua, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, very good pumpkins, pitpit (Saccharum edule), pumpkin greens, Chinese cabbage, excellent cucumbers, snake gourds, tomatoes, pineapples smooth and rough, pawpaws. We enjoyed pawpaws for their freshness whenever we could get them on the Highlands. Here they are full flavored and good. Not so the water melons, which like all native-grown melons I have seen, are run out and of poor quality. Also on the list should be bananas, the staple crop of the Markham people. Most are primitive, boiling kinds, but a few are "white man bananas", probably Cavendish. One boiling banana has scattered seeds about 3 mm in diameter on which one could break a tooth. Tuesday, November 24. Weather as yesterday; no rain from all the clouds. Botanized up the Ofim into the garden area of Tsingitrompon village. Not more than 200-250 ft. gain in altitude in distance of nearly 2 miles above the road. Travel mostly in seral forest on a low river terrace; some of this very tall Albizzia, etc. up to c. 80 cm diameter and with open scattered woody undergrowth and some abundance of large ferns. At my far point passed through a big garden mainly of sweet potatoes on the terrace, fenced again pigs, and there met some women and child- ren. Two of the women very old; all pleasant. Kids not scared, but they knew no pidgin. This small community of Markham Valley people has been on the Ofim long enough to have bearing coconuts in their village. Much travel on the motor road -- for thisroad. Two vehicles passed through in the direction of Kainanut before 6 a.m. In an hour or so one of the drivers walked back to our camp. The steering gear of the Land Rover he was driving gave way on the climb out of the Umi Gorge and the vehicle went off the road and partly over the edge. John with our Land Rover pulled the other back onto the road, spent most of the day fixing the steering, and we had the two men (Ken Rehder and Cliff of Kainantu) for lunch. About dark Joe Collins of Goroka turned up with some flour and sugar I had ordered from Buntings of Goroka by radiogram on Nov. 9. He was onthe way to Lae with 2 trucks (via the Umi Ford) to pick up machinery for the Collins Bros. new sawmill on Mt. Kerigomna. The new mill at 8600 ft., one hour by Land Rover by new road from Goroka. Road up the mountain built at Collins' expense on Forests Dept. survey. Timber lease is 900 acres carrying an estimated 20 million super feet, mostly conifers, some beech. Principal conifer seems to be a Dacrydium. New areas available on the mountain when this one is cut out. Steam boiler (4\frac{1}{2} tons) being installed for mill power. Not enough water (or fall) for a pelton wheel. About 10 cusecs available for hydro power but cost of transmission line and estimated 30% loss of power against this. Dieseline costs 5/10 a gallon