EXCURSION TO THE WEST. 661 



magnificent leaves. The treatise will be pub- 

 lished by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm ; 

 I hope to send you a copy a few months hence. 

 This flora is remarkable for its resemblance to 

 the European Miocene flora. The liquid am- 

 ber, as well as several poplars and willows, 

 cannot be distinguished from those of Oenin- 

 gen ; the same is true of an Elm, a Caspinus, 

 and others. As Alaska now belongs to the 

 United States, it is to be hoped that these col- 

 lecting stations, which have already furnished 

 such magnificent plants, will be farther ran- 

 sacked. . . . Hoping that you have returned 

 safely from your journey, and that these lines 

 may find you well, I remain, with cordial 

 greeting. Sincerely yours, 



Oswald Heer. 



Shortly after Agassiz's recovery, in July, 

 1868, he was invited by Mr. Samuel Hooper 

 to join a party of friends, tired members of 

 Congress and business men, on an excursion 

 to the West, under conditions which promised 

 not only rest and change, but an opportunity 

 for studying glacial phenomena over a broad 

 region of prairie and mountain which Agassiz 

 had never visited. They were to meet at Chi- 

 cago, keep on from there to St. Paul, and 



