308 Contributions to Western Botany. [ZOE 
is rainy in that month, as is seldom the case, then the trees fruit 
abundantly, but if it is dry they seed but little or not at all. 
INDICATIVE PLANTS. 
Occasionally wé are regaled with accounts of these plants, and one 
poor species after another is put forth as an infallible index of min- 
eral. Amorpha canescens has recently been called the ‘‘lead plant,’’ 
and it is stated that it indicates the presence of lead. If that be 
true, then the whole State of Iowa, especially the prairie portion, is 
a vast lead field. Unfortunately there is but little lead known in 
Iowa asa whole. Friogonum ovalifolium is also made to do service 
for silver and arsenic in Montana. In Utah it is seldom found near 
silver mines, and when it so happens that they exist as low as the 
region that the plant frequents, then it is no more abundant there 
than it is over thousands of square miles that have no mineral. The 
plant abounds in all our valleys, and the color is either white or pink, 
and I dare say that arsenic has nothing to do with the coloring; it is 
far more likely that it is due to iron, which may or may not be near 
mines. 
UTAH NAMES OF LOCALITIES. 
In almost all the monographs and books giving localities of Utah 
plants the antique spelling of King’s Report is adhered to. Isn't it 
about time that those relics are given a decent burial? They were 
invented by some enthusiast in Indian dialects who felt it necessary 
to put an “‘h” on every broad ‘“‘a,” whether it belonged there or not. 
Southern Utah is still groaning under the burden of the outlandish 
names applied to well-known and previously better named valleys, 
plateaus and mountains. _It is no excuse for these that the names 
were given by the U. S. Geological Survey, for it has no right to 
change well-known names for those of its own creation. Some new 
names for well-known ones are as follows; Kaibab Plateau for Buck- 
skin Mountains, Tushar Mountains for Beaver Mountains, House 
Range for Swazy Mountains, Wheeler’s Peak for Jeff. Davis Peak, 
Toang Mountains for Toano Range, Mt. Emmons for Star Peak; 
among the outlandish names applied are Kaiparowits Plateau, Paun- 
sagunt Plateau, Markagunt Plateau, etc. 
Two of the bad spellings that I see most frequently in our botani- 
cal books are ‘‘ Wahsatch”’ for Wasatch, the latter the correct one, 
and ‘‘Uintah’’? Mountains for Uinta Mountains. Coulter’s Manual 
