472 



accomit of the small raiiitall and tlu' season of droiijiht, farming, as a 

 rule, is not payiii;^" ami the settlers liave been forced to rely on stock 

 raisin^-. Tlie little lia\' needed is cut alonu' tlie streams. The principal 

 hay tirasses are: 



I'liii'uHin riryaliiiii. .htdrojioijuii iirnriiicialii. 



Aijropijrtim rejienn <ilainnm. Phalarla nriindinavra. 



J-'lifiniis lanadi'iisii. Calainanroslis caiiadeiinis. 



EhimiiH rirtjiiiicHH. Calamaiirvulin iwiilecta. 



J'oa iicmoralix. I'liii'icnlnrid iicrrata. 



At Hot Sprinjis a new Poa was lound. described in tliis report under 

 the name of Poa jtsttidoprafeKsis. and here also Snra.stan<( odorata 

 occurred. 



MINNKIvAir 1 A I'l.MNS. 



Tlie Minnekahta Plains are not jdains such as we lind in central 

 Nebraska, but a hij;]i, rollin«i' table-laiid. between the foothills to the 

 south and the Harney IJanui' to the north. (Jeologically they are made 

 ni» of two formations. The southern jiart isan exi>ausion of the so-called 

 •'Race Track'" pnxhiced by the outcroi»pin>;' of the Ked r>eds, which is 

 here wider than in any other part of the Hills.' As the vegetation 

 uowheie fully covers the ground the whole landscape receives a pecul- 

 iar reddish color. In tlie northern part the undeilying carboniferous 

 limestone comes to the surface. As the strata are lying comparatively 

 undisturbed in their natural relation, the surface is less rugged than in 

 other parts of the Black Hills, and there is here little ditlerence in 

 surfiu'e condition between the limestone formation and the lied Beds 

 s<»uth of it, except in the color of the soil. 



The Minnekahta Plains are crossed by the Burlington and ^lissouri 

 Iviver Kailroad from a few miles .south of the Minnekahta station to 

 Pringle, where the road enters the mountain range. The plains are 

 covered with grass and are mostly used as pastures, but part is under 

 cultivation. The region .seems to sutler somewhat from drought. I 

 collected there in August, but found very little of interest. Woody 

 l)lants were scarce. On the hills grew some i)ines, dwarf sumacs or 

 skunl< brush, and san<l cherries; in the draws some box elders, cotton- 

 woods, gooseberries, and plums. xVniong herbs of interest there oc- 

 curred two stragglers from the South, viz: Aschpios rrrfidllatti pitiiiihi, 

 and Acentlrs <tiiriciiliiti(, and the following were abundant on the rail- 

 road end>anknient : 



.lmiiiuiitliii--< hyiliiiili ". Solaiiiim trijloriim. 



Svtar'm liridix. Siipoiiaria vaccaria. 



Besi«le the common upland grasses, a few of special interest were 

 collected, vi/ : Poa /rit<llrri((naj Sporohohis lictimlepis, Danthonia spi- 

 catu. The first is of a more western range and the others are from the 

 East. All three were found in the neighborhoo«l of Pringle. Other- 

 wise the tlora was luuch the same as in the footliills. 



'On till' fast siih' it is nurrow and its tioia dot-s not (Utl'er from that of the foothills. 



