19231 PALMER, THE RED RIVER FOREST, AT FULTON. ARKANSAS 11 



of the Edwards plateau was published in a former issue of this Journal 

 (i. 233-239), although the list was an incomplete one; in another number 

 (n. 216-232) mention was made of the interesting plants of the White 

 River valley, and in the present paper it is proposed to give some account 

 of the rich ligneous flora in the vicinity of Fulton, Arkansas. 



The village of Fulton is situated on the west bank of Red River a short 

 distance below the mouth of Little River. It is a station on the Missouri 

 Pacific railway about 28 kilometers (18 miles) from the thriving town of 

 Texarkana. In the steamboat days and before the coming of the railroads 

 it was a trading and shipping point of some importance on account of the 

 extensive cotton plantations in the fertile valley. During the civil war 

 it was fortified by the Confederates in an attempt to hold the river against 

 the advance of the Union gun boats. The trenches and gun pits on the 

 hills above the town are still plainly visible. The present population is 

 about five or six hundred, a large percent of which is colored. The village 

 is protected by a levee, as otherwise it would be completely inundated by 

 the river when it reaches flood stage, which usually occurs once or more a 

 year. The river here forms the boundary between Hempstead and Miller 

 Counties. It is spanned by a large railway bridge but for other crossing 

 only a ferry is available. In the life of the community the big muddy 

 stream is a dominating factor. To it is due the fertility of the valley and 

 the big crops of cotton, and prosperity when seasons are favorable. But the 

 flood demon in his angry moods is a constant menace to both planters and 

 townfolks, assailing and often carrying off large sections of the low silt 

 river banks and not infrequently devastating the whole wide valley with the 

 tremendous volume of water that come down from the spring freshets in 

 Texas and Oklahoma; and if in the immediate vicinity of the town he has 

 been baffled of his prey by the defensive works of man he takes mean 

 revenge in such small annoyances as mosquitos and malaria. 



Opposite the town, on the Miller County side, is an extensive bottom, 

 in places four to six kilometers wide. Much of the land has been brought 

 under agriculture and portions of it are protected by double courses of 

 levees, but there are still extensive tracts of semi-swamp lands covered with 

 characteristic forest. The higher portions are occupied by open woods 



if> 



if, 



Koch, C. ovata K. Koch, C. myristicaeformis Nutt., C. Buckleyi var. 

 arkansana Sarg., Quercus alba, L., Q. macrocarpa Michx., Q. rubra L., 

 Q. Shumardii Buckley, Ulmus american L., U. crassifolia Nutt., U. alata 

 Michx., Celtis laevigata Willd., Liquidambar Styraciflua L., Nyssa sylvatica 

 Marsh., Acer Negundo var. texana Sarg., Fraxinus americana L. and F. 

 pennsylvanica var. lanceolata Sarg. are most abundant. Some fine speci- 

 mens of Quercus Durandii Buckl. are occasionally found, usually occupying 

 slight elevations, and amongst smaller trees, growing where the domi- 

 nant species are less crowded or are an underworth in strict sub- 



