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Show P I{ E J:i, A C E . Tltc collrdion of pl;1nt, !'lthmitletl to nH' for examination , thow;h mack under unfavorable circum~tanrrc;, i'i a very int.-rcsting <'ontrib ution to r\orth American Botany. From the mouth of tRr. K nnzao.; river to the" Red Butk~" on the N orth fork of the Pl ~1ttc, lh<' tran'iportation wa'i •lfette<l in carts; but from that pl.tce to and from the mountain , the {''Xplorations w<·rc mad' on horsd>ark, and hy nrh rapid moveme nt..,, (whirh were n res ary, in order to accompli~ h the ohjeds of tho expedition) th:-~t but little opportunity wa afforded for collecting and .-lt·ying botaniral ~prc i rnens. Besid e~, th' party wac; in a ~ava~ · an1l inhog pitable country , omctimc:-; annoyed uy Ind ians, and frequently in :.!;r ':\t cli!->1 rcss from ·want o f provisions ; from which ci rc urnstancr<;, and the IJ)any p re'i~in g dutie'l that con'!tantly t•ngai;('d the attention of ll.e commander, he wa~ not :tblc to makr "<> la q~c a collection a'i he de ired . T o give some gt>nrral idea of the country c · plorNI by Lirut. frem ont, I recapitulate, from h is report, a brwf skrt ·h of hi!! route. The expedition ldtthc mouth of the Kanzas on thC' lOth of June, 1 84~, and procrcdi ng up that rivrr about one lw ndn•d miles, then continued ib cour' C gt• twro. lly alon; tlw "bottom. , of the hanza~ tributa ries, lmt 'iOlll tirncs pa 'iing over the upper pr~tir ie'i . Tht· 3oil of the r iver bottom"! is alway~ ri('h , antl g<'nerally \\ ell limbered; th ou;.;h the wltolt' re;ic .. 1 i what is called a prairie country. Tfw upper prairies :'lre an immen'ic dcpo ·ite of sand an I gravel, eovcr •d with a good, a nd, very g-rnenllly, u r ich soil. Along the road, on rcachit1g th ,~ little stream cal l •d Sandy creek (a tributar) of the Kanza ) , the soil b r amc more sandy . T he· rock-formations of thi'l region arc l ime~tone and sandstone. T he Jlmf)rpha callcscnl-!1 w ::>.'i t ht' ch:wactcri!:>tic: plant; it be ing in many p l ace~ a~ ahunc.l :wt as tl1c gra'!s. Cr ossing over from the waters of the Kanzas, Lieut. F . arrived at the Grea t Plattr, two hundred a ncl trn milcR from it j unrtion with the Mi!->souri. The valle) of thi'! river, from it·; mouth to the great fork:~, i about tom mil : broad, and thr ·c hund r 1l and fifteen miles long (L i'i rich, well-timbe red , and <'O>crcd with luxuri:wt ~ra scs. The purple l.iatris scmi.o.w, and , cvoral ~1~tt rs, wcr here conspicuou'i fc::~turc~ of the 'cgctation. l wa'i pleased to recogni.w among the ~porimcns coli c tcd nt~o.r the f1>rk'l, the fine la rg -flowered A'iclepia'l, that I d escribed m a ny years ngo in my a.r.count of hm<· 's Roc ky .Mountain Plant'!, und r the name of JJ. S]Uc-ifl:;a , and which Mr. ( 4('ycr a lso found in Nir o l lt~ l'•; e'Cp •dition. It sc me; to be the plant 3 Ub~eque ntl y described and figured by S ar W. Hooker, untler the name of JJ. no u.~la.~ii . On the Lowrt· 'Platte, nnd all the w:1y to the Sw ct Water, the showy Clt,)mt inle;rrifolitl occurred in abynrl ancc. l<'rom the Forks to Laramit rive r , a u istance of about two hundred mile-;, t~c count•-f ma y be called a sandy one. T he valley of the Not·th fork i~ without limb t' ; but the grn~9l"\ art> fmc, anJ the herbaccou~ plant · abundant. On the return of the c"pcdit ion in, eptomber , L ieu t. Fremont says the whole country r :icmblrd a vast garden; but the prevailing plant~ w ere two or three species of llclitmthu,s (sunflower). Between the main fork-i of the Plattr, f rom the junc tion, as high up a~ La mmic'~ fork, the formation consisted of marl, a soft earthy limestone, and a granite sand11tone. At the latter place, that singular leguminous plant, tb Ktnlrophyta montmta of Nutta ll wa~ fir') t seen, and then occurred, at inter vals, to the S wccl Wate r r iver . F ollowing up the N orth fo rk, Lieut. Fremont arrived a t the mouth of the S wc<!t Water river , one of the head wators of the P latte. Above L a ramie's fork to th is place, tb~ soil is gene rally sandy. The rocl<s consist of limestone, with a variety of sa ndstones (yellow, .gray, and red argillaceous), w ith compact gypsum ot alabaste r, and fi ne cong lomerates. Tho route along the North fork of the P latte afforded som~ of the hc3t plants in the collo<"t iog. T he Senecio mpifolia, N utt. , occurrctl in many places, quite to the S wee~ Wate r ; Lip]n.:s. |