200 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.52. 



Its fauna and flora are, on the whole, of a northern type, the dominant 

 forms being those which are characteristic of southern New Enghmd 

 or northern Pennsylvania. The Blue Ridge also shows some traces 

 of northern influence, but its lower altitude (1,500-2,500 feet) and 

 wide separation from the main Appalachian mass makes its fauna 

 and flora less distmctive, many austral forms extending into it from 

 the adjoinmg Piedmont. Observations in the Shenandoah Valley 

 have been too meager to enable the writer to make any final asser- 

 tions, but all signs indicate the transitional character of its biota. 

 In the Piedmont region as shown at least in the latitude of Charlottes- 

 ville two sections can be distinguished. That bordering the Blue 

 Ridge, which we may speak of as the Upper Piedmont, is consider- 

 ably more rugged and diversified than the section farther east, which 

 is nearly flat or at most gently rolling. In general the line of the 

 Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad between Gordons viUe and Orange marks 

 the bomidary between these two sections. In the upper section the 

 fauna and flora are predommantly austral in character, but there is 

 also a considerable infusion of northern elements. The lower sec- 

 tion has so far been but little studied by the writer, but the vegeta- 

 tion at least shows an influx of certain Coastal Plain elements which 

 apparently do not occur in the upper section. Thus in the region im- 

 mediately east of GordonsviUe occur such trees as sweet gum {Liqui- 

 damber styracijiua) and wfllow oak {Quercus pliellos) which do not 

 appear to exist in the more rugged country about CharlottesviUe. 

 Farther east the line of domarkation between the Piedmont and Coas- 

 tal Plain is clearly indicated only along the large rivers where the 

 usual falls occur, but elsev/nere the transition from the one to the 

 other is gradual. This is a decided contrast to the abrupt passage 

 between the two in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey region where the 

 faU-line marks a decided break in both topography and biota. In 

 Virginia no such break occurs, the typical Coastal Plam elements 

 spreading uiland to a varying extent, some, such as the loblolly pine 

 {Pinus taeda) and the holly {Flex opaca) extending only a dozen or so 

 miles west of the fall line, others, like the sweet gum and wiUow oak, 

 to the western limit of the lower Piedmont, while such trees as the 

 Spanish oak {Quercus falcata) and persimmon {Diospyros virginiana) 

 spread clear across the entire Piedmont to the base of the Blue 

 Ridge. 



In Virginia the Coastal Plain presents certain weU-marked con- 

 trasts to the same province as represented farther north in New 

 Jersey. In general, it may be said that the soil, although prevaflingly 

 sandy, is of a decidedly finer texture than the New Jersey sands and 

 is consequently more suitable for cultivation. In Virginia nothing 

 comparable to the New Jersey pine barrens has so far been observed, 

 the country on the whole having much the same appearance as the 



