ae 
Botanical Excursion to the Mountains of North Carolina. 37 
the night. We re-ascended the summit the next morning, and 
devoted several hours to its examination, but the threatening 
state of the weather prevented us from visiting the adjacent 
ridges, or the southern and eastern faces of the mountain, and 
we were constrained to descend towards evening to the humble 
dwelling of our guide, which sehetabaaecery sine ond belied 
Bo. hy storm commenced: 
~ Our next excursion was to the Risen Metin a portion of 
. ehis elevated range which forms the boundary between North 
Carolina and Tennessee, distant nearly thirty miles southwest 
from our quarters at the foot of Grandfather by the most direct 
path, but at least sixty by the nearest carriage road. We trav- 
elled for the most part on foot, loading the horses with our port- 
folios, paper, and some necessary luggage, crossed the Hanging- 
rock Mountain to Elk Creek, and thence over a steep ridge to 
Cranberry Forge,.on the sources of Doe River, where we passed 
the night. On our way, we cut down a Service-tree, (as the 
Amelanchier Canadensis is here called,) and feasted upon the 
ripe fruit, which throughout this region is highly, and indeed 
justly prized, being sweet with a very agreeable flavor; while 
in the Northern States, so far as our experience goes, this fruit, 
even if it may be said to be edible, is not worth eating. As‘ Sar- — 
vices’ are here greedily sought after, and are generally procured 
by cutting down the trees, “the: datterare are becoming soenee-an Se 
vicinity of the ‘ plantati a 
versally called. Along t the streams we met. with the mountain 
species of Androm ,) doubtless Pursh’s A. axillaris ; 
but whether the original. A. axillaris of the Hortus Keecssie 
pertains to this, or-to the species of the low country, I cannot at 
‘this moment ascertain. A portion of Pursh’s character seems 
also to belong to the low country rather than the mountain spe- 
cies, and the two are by no means clearly distinguished in sub- 
Sequent works. The leaves, in ‘our specimens, are. oblong-lan- 
ceolate, finely acuminate, the margins closely beset throughout 
with. spinulose-setaceous teeth; and the rather loose spicate ra- 
cemes,. (the corolla having fallen, ) are nearly half the length of 
_ the leaves. 
Hitherto we had searched in vain for the Astilbe decandra ; 
but we first met with this very interesting plant in the rich and 
‘Moist mountain woods between Elk Creek and Cranberry Forge, 
