THE PLANT WORLD 173 



vive in the sense of haWng any greater efficiency in the struggle for 

 existence, but an increasing number of their offspring would have the 

 new character until it became universal in the species, or, in the event 

 of the existence of geographical or other barriers to cross-fertilization, 

 until tAvo species had been formed, the one with, and the other without, 

 the habit of dropping the leaves at the time of flowering. 



OUR VANISHING WILD FLOWERS. 



By L. H. Pammel. 

 (with five full-page plates.)* 



DURLNG the early days the Iowa prairies were covered with a large 

 number of native plants. It was a succession of bloom from 

 early spring to late autumn. The wild prairies are now in most 

 sections of the State a thing of the past. There are only small areas 

 left in the State where the original flora still remains in its primeval 

 condition. These areas are confined to the right of way of the railroads, 

 along roadsides, or on fields, where the ground is too moist most seasons 

 for the successful cultivation of agricultural crops. The roadsides now 

 offer the best opportunities in most sections of the State to obtain the 

 native plants. 



Of course, there are some protected localities. As an illustration 

 the flora of the bluffs along the Missouri are more favorable for the 

 preservation of the native flora, as the bluffs are too steep for cultivation. 

 Here one may find great masses of Oxytropis Lamhertii, Pentstemon 

 grandiflora, Mentzelia ornata and occasionally Yucca angustifoKa. 

 Another important factor in destroying our original wild plants is the 

 hard usage that our timber is receiving by over grazing. The farmer 

 who has 160 acres of land utilizes all of the land he can. All of the 

 good tillable land is used for farm crops, and the remainder when some- 

 what rough is pastured. In place of having a good mulch for the sup- 

 port of the tender jjlants, these woods are covered with a carpet of blue 

 grass to the detriment of these plants, and generally to the detriment of 

 the forest growth. A few illustrations maj be cited : At one time the 

 large white lady-slipper {Cypripedium spectabile) occurred on the moist 

 banks in oak woods in the vicinity of Ames. I have not seen the species 

 since 1890, although I have looked for it. The small white lady-slipper 

 (0. catulidum) was common in the marshes surrounding the many 

 swamps in Central and Northern Iowa. It has, however, became a rare 

 plant. A small patch was found a few miles west of Ames in the spring 



* For the use of the half-tones accompanying this article we are indebted to the 

 courtesy of the author. — Ed. Plant World. 



