60 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



eastern portion of this stretch of semi-arid country I saw many- 

 things to arrest my attention. It was a wonderful sight to me 

 — the barrenness of this region covered extensively at this time 

 with the leafless perennial stalks of the sage brush (Arte- 

 luisia). It seemed to have taken up a homestead on every por- 

 tion of the land ; for every direction one may look he sees it in 

 great numbers. Although growing very abundantly and dense- 

 ly covering the ground each plant seemed to preserve its indi- 

 viduality to such an extent that as far as eye could reach we 

 were able to pick out, as the train rushed on, individual speci- 

 mens and the approximate space covered by each. 



If the sight of the sage brush in winter was one to inter- 

 est a person how much more did it the next summer. Eagerly 

 I watched it from the time it put forth its first leaves in Feb- 

 ruary until it ripened its seeds late in the fall. As it begins to 

 get somewhat green it becomes a conspicuous plant at all eleva- 

 tions. I have seen it from the dry plains to the desolate regions 

 far up in the Rockies. I well remember finding hid among the 

 alpine rocks, as though doubtful as to the propriety of peep- 

 ing forth, the diminutive species. A. scopuloriim. At this 

 elevation (13,000 feet) it was abundant and partook of the 

 characters of the sub-artic flora found there. All the speci- 

 mens I secured were less than six inches long contrasting 

 greatly to the plant of the plains which is generally two feet 

 or more tall and branching sufficiently to cover several square 

 feet of ground. 



The general impression the sage brush makes on one is 

 resolved into a pleasant study as acquaintance proceeds. As 

 with other plants its adaptations for its existence amid its sur- 

 roundings is a cause for thoughtful study. We are often led 

 to wonder how this plant thrives where others succumb ; in 

 fact how it manages to live where many others die. If we are 

 observing we can easily find out. It secures and conserv'^es its 

 water supply by a long, thick, woody and somewhat branching 



