ber of trees in that neighborhood. The black smoke killed them off. I was 
reminded of the hills about Pittsburg, which, as some of you may have seen, 
are denuded of trees on account of the smoke. The same thing is seen 
about some of the western smelters, where vegetation may be killed for 
niles, and poisonous deposits, especially of arsenic and copper, cover vegetia- 
tion for a still greater area. 
From the roundhouse I walked along the Wabash river, still looking 
for plants. The river is shallow and has a limestone bottom. Once or 
twice a year there is high water and that means to wash out everything 
loose before it. Seed brought down may lodge along the banks, especially 
at the flood lines, and every now and then new plants may be found. Some 
lay grow hear the water, but the next flood is very apt to wash them out. 
There are no gravel banks and some plants characteristic of other places 
are absent, as, for instance, plants found along the White Water river, 
where I used to collect, such as Saponaria officinalis, Polanisia grayeolens 
and Cuphea viscosissima. The former, however, is to be seen more and 
more frequently above high water mark; the second, Polanisia grayveolens, 
is occasionally seen; but I have not seen Cuphea at all.. 
Leaving the river I went west along the Wabash railway. This at 
first runs on a high fill with gravelly sides, later becoming level and prairie- 
like. Here in the course of time I have found a number of adventive 
plants, both European weeds and western species, the latter as a rule lasting 
only a season or two and then disappearing. Lower down I crossed the 
river on the railway bridge and followed up the Vandalia track northward. 
This runs over a deep fill. At one place the steep embankment was coy- 
ered with cinders. I was immediately reminded of the cinder and lava 
slopes of Vesuvius. I was not at all surprised to see only a single plant 
srowing among the cinders, the sheep sorrel. At once my trip up the 
Vesuvius came vividly to mind. I had zone up on borseback with tliee 
companions and a guide. At first we passed through towns and highly 
cultivated fields, bub we gradually left these behind and came to a desert 
region of black cinders and lava, going upward all the time. Finally al! 
vegetation disappeared, the last plant to disappear being sheep sor- 
rel. On the descent IT made a collection of plants, beginning with the 
first one to re-appear, Rumex'. Next came a shrubby Spartium. Gradually 
1 Whether the species is acetosella or scutatus I do not know. My Italian 
botany, moreover, speaks of a variety under the last species that grows among yol- 
eanic scorie. 
