3o8 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 we 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 as a whole. Eriogoman 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 



