GENKRAI, ASI'Kcr ()F 'lUi: I I.OKA. 11 



Michx., ThaUdruin cldrdhun I)(". Xcmi- the l):i>(' <.f tli<- rnoiiiil- 

 ain, on limestone k'(ltr<.s, (r'tifcsia /afcrlnn.s (Jimv, (Ai/licurjjd 

 Americana L., Triosfcuin jjcrfo/iafiim, L., Sl/p/tiiun hr(irlu<itiun 

 Gattinger. The Cunihcrlniuls excel the Allc^rjiaiiies in a j:ivater 

 variety of ferns. Besides ail sjjeeies of the latter, we also find 

 here A splenium Brad/eyi Eat., ,1. jtinualijiduin Suit.j Li/godium 

 palmatum Swnrtz. , Scoloj)c)i(lr{i(iii /-///r/a/T Smith, and Trh h(nnniirs 

 1 tdicans Swartz. 



The third division embraces the valley ot' East Tenno-ee 

 and the entire area of Middle Tennessee. Contour of surfiic*' 

 and geological structure result in Hast Tennessee from thr com- 

 hined ])rocesses of folding and erosion, wherehv heterogeneijus 

 strata are placed in juxtaposition, the wliole valhy being an often- 

 repeated series of synclinals and anticlinas of calcarious and 

 siliceous rocks, while in Middle Tennessee erosion aloue had 

 been at play. 



A great fault connected with the upheaval ol" the i'iue and 

 Grab-orchard mountains, and in a line >outh of it, an eroded 

 anticlinal, the Sequatchee valley, designate in tlie Cumberland 

 mountain region the western terminus of those convulsions 

 whicli involve the ])r()blem of the stratograpiiv of tlic Alle- 

 ghani(\s in so great difliculties. AVest of this li!ie spread out 

 the liorizontal strata of tlie Cumberland table-laud, whicli ter- 

 minates witli an abrupt descent of about one thousand feet upon 

 the highlands of Middle Tennessee. These in turn overreaeh 

 and encircle the floor of the l)asin of Middh' Tennes>ee by five 

 to six hundred feet, either in a bluff or througli a gradual ilesccnt. 



The succession of strata is normal tliroughout : upperrno>t 

 subcarboniferous limestone and ciiert, followed by tlie l)ev(Mnan 

 shale, lastly the lower silurian. 



Increase in annual range of temperature and greater dry- 

 ness of air, as compared with the former regions, cause tlie 

 mountain flora to disaj)iK'ar and to yield to other designs in 

 nature's garb. A close botanical impiiry into the array of s|)e- 

 <jies soon discloses the fact tliat different assemblies of s|)ecu's 

 congregate in the limestone and argillaceo-siliceous region. The 

 former'includesthe glades, the latter the barrens of Middle Ten- 

 nessee. 



Glades are thinlv wooded, unarable land>. witli -hallow soils, 

 fit only for })astures. They ought to remain in their natural 

 state, undisturbed by cultivation. To clear them is to convert 

 them into deserts, "in some i)arts they are exclusively occupied 

 by the cedar, with a small percentage of deciduous trees inter- 

 mingled. In other j)laees prevails the Ohio buekeyc, (>f>c»//Mj< 



