286 BOTANICAL INFORMATION. 



tains, and following the course of a rivulet from the low 

 meadow we step into one of the poplar groves, already men- 

 tioned ; the dry parts of which bear shrubs of Acer 616, a 

 small shrub-like tree with several stems from one base, or 

 rarely simple, never averaging more than 15 — 20 feet high, 

 and 4 — 5 inches diameter of trunk in that region. Under 

 its shade grow Pyrola secunda and 427, and Linrwea borealis 

 with Viola 602, Asarum 598, and Claytonia 321. In the 

 muddy bed of the rivulet is seen the Arum 327 with its pale- 

 sulphur-yellow spathas. Later in the season (August) appear 

 its large ovate-lanceolate leaves from 12 to 18 inches long, 

 resembling a full grown tobacco leaf, then the berries begin 

 to ripen, taking a scarlet colour, as in many species of this 

 genus.* Higher up, where the rivulet runs in rocks, the 

 banks are dressed with Smilacince, as Streptopus 524 and 

 611 ; Smilacina 325, also with Thalictrum 622, and Tiarella 

 623, Luzula 318 and Circcea alpina. 



Right and left we now find spacious, open, grassy woods, 

 ornamented with the largest specimens of Pinus ponderosa, 

 up to 180 feet high, and 8 — 10 feet diameter of trunk, so 

 full of resin that they will burn in a moment from the foot 

 to the top, if fire is set to them on a dry day. These 

 localities are elegant natural parks ; they bear a resemblance 

 the more as they are crossed in every direction by narrow 

 foot-paths, leading to the lodges of the Indians, hidden 

 behind the large pine-trunks. Between grow thickets, each 

 composed of a few shrubs of Crataegus lucida, Spiraa aria- 

 folia, Cerasus 288 and 496; or Khamnus 522 and Acer, 

 over which twines gracefully the two Clematides 615 and 617? 

 the former blooming early in May, resembling the C. gran- 



* This takes place towards the latter part of summer, when the brown 

 and black Bear feasts on the many berries which this region affords. 

 Then he also visits these shady cool recesses to partake of those of the 

 Arum which he manages with great care; eating (according to the 

 information derived from hunters and the Indians) every time, but little, 

 and returns as many days as these berries last, using the same probably 

 as a digestive. They have a very acrid and pungent taste. 



