20 BOTANY OF IvA SALLE COUNTY. ' 



three plants and these are all within an 80 acre lot; 

 Habernaria Plantanthera of WoodPsycodes two or 

 three times and in widely separated localities. Good- 

 yera pubescens in two widely separated localities; 

 Antigrainma rhizophylla walking- fern --at three 

 places; Poterium canadiense--Sanguisorba Wood at 

 one place; Cypripedium we have found south of the 

 Illinois river only; Gentiana crinita in but four places; 

 Nymphia odorata three localities. This list might be 

 greatly extended, but the above will suffice to show 

 how strangely plants are distributed. 



About two miles west of the court house at Ottawa 

 is a tract of land presenting- a great variety of soil 

 rang-ing- from naked sandstone through loose sand to a 

 peat bog- and having- extending across it a bed of lime- 

 stone. Parts of it are very wet, others are dry, and 

 here we find a flora altogether different from that of 

 any other tract known to us. Again, several plants 

 flourish south of the Illinois river, which either are not 

 found at all or very sparingly, north of the river as 

 Quercup imbricaria, Gillenia stipulacea, &c. 



Many plants once common are becoming scarce. 

 Among these may be mentioned Spiranthes cernua, 

 and S. gracilis, Cypripedium pubescens, C. spectabile, 

 Jeffersonia diphylla, the L/iatri, once very common, 

 Orchis spectabile aud the Gentians. In some sections 

 of the country, especially where hogs have run at large 

 and where sheep have been pastured for some years 

 nearly all the flowering plants have vanished and the 

 woods have for the botanist a lonely and deserted 

 aspect. To many plants the L/iatri cultivation means 

 death, while the more hardy Silphii, if not benefited, 

 are at least not exterminated by the cultivator's efforts. 

 Oxalis violacea holds its own however much the soil 



