January 2, 1909 



HORTICULTURE 



Rocky Mountain Rambles 



A beautiful specimen o£ Abies concolor in the Wasatch Mountains, Utah. 

 Elevation 8500 feet 



In two previous numbers I referrred to some of the 

 interesting features of tlie east slope of the Rockies. The 

 west slope contains many interesting physiographic fea- 

 tures, besides a great ^\ealth in plants. It was my pleas- 

 ure during the summer of 1900 for the first time to gaze 

 iipon tlie rugged scenery in the Black Canon of the Gun- 

 nison, west of Gunnison. 



The railroad making its way through the narrow de- 

 file, the steep sides of the gorge with a sparse growth of 



spruce, Douglass fir, pines and cedars, and the broken 

 rock piled in all conceivable forms, the water dashing 

 over the rocks and passing swiftly down the canon, was 

 a sight not soon to be forgotten. I have several times 

 fince gone over the same region with as much delight 

 last summer as the first time. At Cimarron the gorge 

 becomes so narrow and the rockj' cliSs so abrupt that the 

 railway leaves the Gunnison and passes up the Cimar- 

 ron and over the divide to Montrose. The region over 

 the divide is mostly covered with a scrubby growth. For 

 tlie first time one meets in these woods a native apple, 

 the PeraphyUum ramosissimum , wliich is a low shrub 

 growing over the hills. Everywliere throughout the 

 region a form of our eastern Lobadium, the Rhiis Cana- 

 densis var. irilobata and a form of the dwarf white oak 

 (Quercus undulata) is common, and on these hills it 

 forms thickets. The common service berry of the west 

 is also abundant ( Amelanchier alnifoUa). The western 

 C'leome (Cleome lutea) is also more plentiful along the 

 roadsides in the Montrose country and in waste places. 

 In these oak woods one finds a great deal of painted cup 

 (CastiUeia miniata). 



Leaving Grand junction we pass down the valley of 

 the Grand River which here and there opens up into 

 broad expanses where one finds such familiar trees as 

 the Cottonwood (Popuhis deltoidcs), a few willows like 

 the Sandbar AAlllow (Salix interior), the Buft'alo Berry 

 ( Shrplterdia argentea), and tlie Silver Berry (Eleagnus 

 argcntea). 



The region beyond is a high undulating plateau with 

 the familiar Western Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), 

 Greasewood (Surcohatus vermiculattis ) in alkali flats 

 and Salt Grass (Distichlis spicata). The ascent up the 

 valley from Helper, Utah, is ratlier abrupt. The dry 

 hillsides contain a great deal of an interesting Wild Fox- 

 glove (Pentstcmon barbatus) with ample racemes of 

 bright scarlet flowers which is worthy of a place in any 

 garden. There are also blue-flowered species which 

 should find a place in our gardens. The ascent up the 

 valley to the summit of the divide is marked by open 

 meadows and dense thickets of willows. This feature is 

 characteristic of all the mountain peaks. 



An American Rival to the Bar- 

 badoes 



Visitors to the Barbadoes are wont to bring home 

 photographs of a certain palm drive leading to the 

 home of the Empress Josephine. 



As a matter of fact, away up in north-central Cali- 

 fornia at Sacramento, there is a street, leading toward 

 the eapitol, which is almost a duplicate of that one. 

 It is shown in the accompanying picture. 



The palms are not quite so tall, but with these on the 

 one side of the walk and the more deciduous shrubbery 

 on the other hand, the effect is even more beautiful. 



FELIX J. KOCH. 



Cincinnati, 0. 



