Frairie-Flowers. 133 



York, removed to the left bank of our little river, and you have the thing. 

 Bluffy, boggy, broken, rocky; rich in accumulated debris and alluvium ; with 

 deep ravines full of springs and bubbling brooks, all in the shadow and 

 gloom of enormous growths of venerable arborvitaes {Thuja occidaitalis); 

 with uneven formations of shelly limestone, full of leafy petrifactions, sepa- 

 rating the numerous water-ways ; the lower slopes near the river o\'ergrown 

 with lofty deciduous trees and luxuriant undergrovvths quite Eastern in 

 character, — to the prairie habitant, the aspect of this unique locality is novel 

 in the extreme. So peculiar is the flora of this place, that botanizing en- 

 thusiasts find it a tempting resort all through the season. 



With August, the composite flowers become more plenty : a coarser, 

 sturdier race, yellow and blue, with a large element of white, are the pre- 

 vailing hues. To the botanist, all that pertains to plants, through the entire 

 period of their growth and development, is matter of undiminished inter- 

 est. His zeal never flags, and his labors never stop. But the amateur, 

 who cares little {ox sp:cunciis, and to whom forms of beauty, tints of coloring, 

 and delicacy of aroma, are everything, will find less to interest him during 

 the remainder of the season. 



What gives character more than any other to the rich and dry portions 

 of the prairie at this period is the presence of the rough and sturdy family 

 of the rosin-plant. These monstrous growths are plentifully distributed over 

 areas of miles in extent, and in all directions. Silphium laciniatum and 

 S. ijrebint/iiiiaceum, with their big, rough leaves and large corymbose-panicled 

 yellow-flowered heads, are perhaps most numerous ; but the whole family is 

 everywiiere properly represented. Of the others, ^. pcrfoUatiim is perhaps 

 most noticeable for its peculiarity of leaf and stalk.* 



Another family, whose stately upright forms and rosy-purple bloom are 

 conspicuous at this time, are the blazing-stars and gay-feathers. One 

 {Liatris spicata) loves the rich and damp places, where, in cluste- ed and 

 extended array, the cylindrical, elongated, spiky heads have a trul} gay ap- 

 pearance. L. scariosa needs dryer soil. L. squarrosa and Z. cylindracea 

 are not so aspiring, but adorn effectively the dryer and semi-barren places. 

 All may be used with decorative effect in portions of our pleasure-grounds. 



* S. laciniatum is called the compass-plant, because the edges of the leaves staiid approximately 

 north and south ; varying, however, as widely as twenty degrees. 



