4 BOTANY OF THE DEATH VALLEY EXPEDITION. 



and equally characteristic flora of the Mohave Desert. The chaparral 

 or dense shrub thicket of the south slope is replaced within a mile by 

 the open yucca forest of the plateau. From the summit northward and 

 eastward the surface of the desert descends with a gentle dip toward 

 the valley of the Mohave River. At Hesperia the junipers ceased and 

 were replaced by creosote bush (Larrea tridentata). 



January C and 7 we traveled from Victor to Daggett, camping at 

 Stoddard Wells. During these days we made our first close acquaint- 

 ance with the mountains of the desert, in this region perhaps better 

 called hills, for they were only a few hundred feet in height, rocky, 

 treeless, with only scattered creosote bushes visible from the plain 

 below, aud even these wanting on steep slopes. The often brilliant 

 coloration of the rocks was never obscured, for no moss nor lichens grew 

 upon them. 



January 7 to 9 we remained at Daggett, completing our supplies. 

 My personal outfit was made up according to the needs of the expedi- 

 tion. I wore heavy clothing, for the weather during the winter was 

 often cold, putting on over my coat a canvas hunting coat, and often 

 in addition an overcoat. My shoes were of a kind in common use, 

 but later in the season, when there was mountain climbing to be done, 

 it was found necessary to substitute heavy, thick-bottomed miners' 

 shoes, their soles and heels thickly set with hobnails. A wide brimmed 

 felt hat, or sombrero, is very serviceable in winter, while for summer 

 use a cork helmet or one of the manufactured equivalents, which will 

 shade the eyes, is cooler and pleasanter. An aneroid barometer was 

 used for measuring differences in altitude. The apparatus for collect- 

 ing and pressing plants consisted of a knife, a pick, a portfolio, and two 

 board presses. The knife was of the kind used by cotton inspectors in 

 the Southern States to slash open the sacking that covers cotton bales. 

 The pick was made after a pattern in common use among plant col- 

 lectors in the Southwest. It was forged from steel, with a slightly 

 curved blade about 5 inches long, 1 inch broad at the extremity, and a 

 head about 2 inches long, narrowing to a point. The handle was slender, 

 of strong, tough wood, and about 3 feet in length. For digging plants 

 in hard clay soil or gravel, or among broken stones, or for uprooting 

 cactuses and other spiny shrubs, this instrument is thoroughly satis- 

 factory. In loam, mud, or sand, the knife is better. The portfolio was 

 made of binders' board, covered with canvas, and was usually carried 

 tied to the saddle. Ordinary board presses were used, the pressure 

 applied by straps. The method of keeping held notes resolved itself, 

 after a few weeks experimenting, into three heads — a catalogue of spe- 

 cimens collected, a journal, and a slip system of special notes. 



January 10 to 13 we traveled from Daggett to Lone Willow Spring, 

 camping near the first summit north of Daggett, near Copper City 

 Spring, and at Granite Well. At Lone Willow Tanks we met another 

 party of the expedition, which had reached that point from the north. 



