230 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 



ITINERARY. 



It will not be necessary to refer at length to the stops made at 

 Alma, Oxford, or Hastings, all in Nebraska. Grand Island, 

 Nebraska, was reached on the 23rd of June and the day was spent 

 collecting, chiefly along the Platte River. New Castle, Wyoming, was 

 reached on the 24th. At Sheridan, Wyoming, on the 26th, I was 

 joined by Mr. E. M. Stanton. The remainder of the day was spent 

 collecting in and about Sheridan. On the 27th, in company with Mr. 

 Stanton and J. V. Crone, we started with camping outfit for Dome 

 Lake in the Big Horn Mountains. The night of the 27th we camped 

 on Dome Lake Road near a spring at an altitude of 5,500 feet. The 

 road proved excellent as it is much traveled by those who are inter- 

 ested in the summer resort at Dome Lake. We reached Rapid Creek 

 Park by 12 m. on the 28th at an altitude of 7,500 feet, and Dome Lake 

 in the evening of the same day, altitude of 9,200 feet. We camped in 

 the vicinity of Dome Lake for two days collecting in the vicinity of 

 the lake and mountain. On June 30th we made a detour to the west 

 branch of the Big Goose on the road to Shoshone Basin. This proved 

 a most excellent place for collecting. We returned to Sheridan on 

 July 3rd. On July 4th and 5th some time was spent collecting in the 

 vicinity of Sheridan. On July 7th the writer spent a day collecting 

 at Broken Bow, Nebraska. A few grasses were also obtained at 

 Ravenna, the same state, where the train stopped for half an hour. 



TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES AND ECOLOGICAL NOTES. 



The flood plains of the Platte River in and about Grand Island are 

 admirably adapted for grazing purposes. The wide flood plain of the 

 river makes it evident that the stream once carried large bodies of 

 water from the adjacent prairies and the mountains beyond the plains. 

 It now carries large bodies from the spring freshets. The fact that 

 such water comes from the adjacent hills indicates that it must bring 

 with it large quantities of loose and very excellent soil. The soil is 

 of a sandy loamy nature and along the river edges of the flood plain, 

 plants have easy access to moisture. The adjacent hills are cut by 

 small valleys. Through Box Butte and Dawes counties the country is 

 more broken and the western pine, Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum, 

 makes its appearance. This ruggedness is much more pronounced in 



