58 
except regions at the north in meadows and deep forests where there 
is much humus, and at the south only in moist meadows at high eleva- 
tions. There seems to be no causative connection between red- 
tinted flowers and the soil as to acidity or alkalinity in the soil. 
All such flowers at the north turn bluish on drying in ordinary paper. 
The white flowers have less yellow in them at the north. There are 
very few creamed-colored flowers at the north. From southern Idaho 
and Oregon to Mexico the white flowers are never pure white, or 
rarely so in A, Pattersoni, but variably cream-colored but never 
yellow, ‘This indicates alkalinity. The 1cd-tinted species at the 
south vary somewhat in the tendency to turn blue. A. coccineus 
remains bright red on drying, but its nearest relative A. funereus and 
Utahensis either remain red or turn blue on drying which indicates 
acidity in the flowers part of the time. Many of the red tinted flowers 
are brilliant pink, such as A. funereus, Utahensis, Toanus, Woodruffi, 
Preussii, amphioxys, Bigelovii, Zionis, and they all turn bluish-purple 
on drying, and are therefore acid when in bloom and all grow on 
decidedly alkaline soil. Practically all the species of the Arizona- 
Mexican region (mostly Tropical) are either white or dull bluish which 
would indicate an alkaline condition of the soil. The same is mostly 
true cf the California Tropiczl region. On the other hand many species 
cf Astragalus growing in humus and presumably acid soils are bluish 
such as agrestis, crassicarpus, elegans, Bourgovii, argophyllus, sim- 
plicifolius, montanus, debilis, andinus, etc, Iron in the soil seems 
to highten the colors. Lime is almost everywhere at the north as 
limestone, but is at best a neutral alkali and not active as are 
those of the Great Basin and the south, 
TOPOGRAPHY. 
The map published with this shows the topography of the United 
States. The British American portion of North America is the same 
continuation of low elevations on the east, spruce forests of the 
Upper Temperate life zone, to the Arctic. 
The region east of the mountains in Alberta is a continuation of 
the Montana Plains region to the Saskatchewan, thence northward is 
the Spruce region to the Arctic. 
West of the Plains there is a low valley here and there which has 
the Middle Temperate flora, particularly the branches of the Columbia, 
and the Fraser river region. All else is Upper Temperate, with 
the alpine on all the ranges of mountains, 
The Mexican region is a continuation of the Arizona floor at 
about 2000 to 3000 feet altitude nearly to Mexico City. On the western 
edge of the floor about in a line south of Tucson Arizona to Deming 
New Mexico the floor rises into a vast plateau from 6000 to 8000 feet 
altitude and about 30 miles wide and 300 miles long, called the 
Sierra Madre mountains. West of this the country breaks down into. 
immense barrances or canons to the sea and with a Tropical climate. 
This barranca condition of the west slope continues nearly throughout 
Mexico southward at least beyond Colima. East of the Sierra Madre 
. Plateau from the floor of the country rise scattered and low ranges 
of mountains in Coahuila San Luis Potosi etc. to tha Qulf of Mexico 
water shed. This whole region is a very hot and barren country with 
very little rainfall In the Zacatecas region it rises to 8000 feet altitude 
| but with little change in the vegetation, South of Zacatecas it drops 
_ down again and a wide area of desert runs out to Guadalajara. South 
