60 



ROLAND M. HARPER 



This vegetation is more like that of the Grand Prairie of Prairie 

 County, and if that region were visited at the same season prob- 

 ably nearly all these species could be found there. Plants with 

 wind-borne seeds are evidently more abundant here than in 

 the small prairie first mentioned, a fact probably correlated 

 with the larger size of this one, which exposes it more to the 

 wind. Some of the plants in the last list have thick rootstocks 

 or corms, and probably would not be injured by an occasional 

 fire; and it is very likely that the frequency of fire in prairies 

 is roughly proportional to their size. No estimate of the bulk 



Fig. 2. Prairie about 9 miles southwest of Jonesboro, Arkansas. Laciniaria 

 scariosa conspicuous in foreground. August 25, 1915.. 



of the vegetation per unit area was attempted at the time, but 

 from comparisons with other types of herbaceous vegetation that 

 have been studied since I should judge that it would produce 

 at least three or four tons of hay per acre annually. 



Although the soil is of a comparatively recent alluvial forma- 

 tion, the area is not subject to overflow now, and it may have 

 experienced a slight uplift at a very recent geological epoch. 

 A mile or two from the larger prairie, and apparently on the 

 same level, is a roadside gully about five feet deep, showing 



