64 ESSAYS. 



and Tennessee on the other, with a great ocean of mountain 

 raised into tremendous billows immediately about him. It is 

 the pasture ground for the young horses of the whole country 

 about it during the summer. We found the strawberry here 

 in the greatest abundance and of the finest quality, in regard 

 to both size and flavor, on the 30th of July." x 



At sunrise we had fine weather and a most extensive view 

 of the surrounding country. In one direction we could count 

 from eight to twelve successive ranges of mountains, and 

 nearly all the higher peaks of this whole region were dis- 

 tinctly visible. Soon, however, we were enveloped in a dense 

 fog which continued for several hours, during which time 

 we traversed the southwestern summit and made a list of 

 the plants we saw. The herbaceous plants of this bald and 

 rounded summit are chiefly Aira Jlexuosa, Juncus tenuis, 

 Carex intumescens, festucacea, aestivalis of Mr. Curtis, and a 

 narrow-leaved variety of C. Pennsylvania, the latter consti- 

 tuting the greater part of the grassy herbage, Luzula campes- 

 tris, Lilium Philadelphicum and Canadense, which here 

 only attain the height of from four to eight inches, Sisyrin- 

 chium anceps, Smilacina bifolia, Hdbenaria (Plataniherd) 

 peramcena, Veratrum viride, Helonias (Chamcdirium) dioi- 

 ca, Osmunda Claytoniana, Linn. (O. interrupta, Michx.), 

 Athyrium asplenioides, Pedicularis Canadensis, mostly with 

 purplish-brown flowers, now just in blossom, Trautvetteria 

 palmata, Ranunculus repens, Thalictrum dioicum just in 

 flower, Geum radiatum in the greatest profusion (it was 

 here that Michaux obtained this species), Potentilla triden- 

 tata and Canadensis, Frag aria Virginiana, the fruit just 

 ripe and of the finest flavor, Pubus villosus now in flower, 

 Castilleja coccinea, Geranium maculatum, Clematis Viorna 

 about eight inches high, Sanicula Marilandica, Zizia aurea, 

 Heracleum lanatum, Hypericum corymbosum, with larger 

 flowers than usual, a more upright and larger-leaved variety 

 of Iledyotis serpyllifolia, CEnorthera glauca /?, Senecio 



1 Professor Mitchell of the Chapel Hill University, in the " Raleigh 

 Register " of November 3, 1835, and in the " American Journal of 

 Science and Arts " for January, 1839. 



