60 BIG SPRING PRAIRIE. 
frequently on the other portions of prairie. This may 
be a natural hint to the onion growers of this section. 
Other species occurring less frequently are Verbena 
hastata. (Blue Vervain); Euthamia grammifolia (Bushy- 
fragrant Goldenrod); Solidago canadensis (Canada 
Golden-rod); Aster novae-angliae (New England Aster); 
Aster puniceus (Purple-stem Aster); Aster paniculatus 
(Tall White Aster); Mimulus ringens (Sessile Leaf 
Monkey Flower); Penthorum sedoides (Ditch Stone- 
crop); Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed); Lobelia 
kalmii (Brook Lobelia Kalm’s Lobella); Lythrum ela- 
tum (Wing Angled Loosestrife); Eupatorium perfolia- 
tum (Boneset); Eupatorium maculatum (Spotted Joe 
Pie Weed); Parnassia caroliniana (Grass of Parnassus); 
Coreopsis tinctoria (Garden Tickseed); Helenium aut- 
umnale (Sneezewort); and Isnardia palustris in the 
lower places. Along over-arching south-bank of a 
ditch flowing east, about 4% mile south of the divide, 
there occurred patches of Marchantia, Conocephalus, 
and along the north bank, amid some shrubby cinque- 
foil Geaster minima was very common. Various other 
species of Geaster also occur on the prairie. 
As we advance northward and eastward from the 
Ox Spring, the shrubs: become less abundant and are 
also less rank. As the shrubs are low, and the grasses 
and sedges tall, this field looks like a grassy plain, simi- 
lar to that shown in fig. 12, which represents breaking 
of virgin prairie for Celery farm. The taller grasses 
are Chrysopogon, the lower shrubs chiefly Potentilla 
fruticosa. Around immediate vicinity of some of the 
prairie springs Cephalanthus occidentalis (Button Bush) 
commonly occurs. 
Near the Mound Springs occurs the most extensive 
natural meadow still extant and here also the portion 
near the series of springs is several feet higher than 
the prairie west and north of it. On this higher por- 
tion, near the margin of prairie the bog conditions are 
