624 MINNESOTA BOTANICAL STUDIES. 
THE SEASON OF 1899. 
Although Trestle island was visited during the winter of 
1898-99 and was also observed during the spring and early 
summer of 1899, I shall at once proceed to a midsummer sketch 
of it, as it appeared from August 14 to 16, 1899. 
Compared with the preceding season, the West section had 
this time changed most rapidly and radically. The mud flat of 
fourteen months ago was now a thicket of young peach-leaved 
willows (Salix amygdaloides). The cottonwoods (Populus 
deltoides) and the aspens (Populus tremuloides) so conspicu- 
ous last year were now hidden by the willows, which had grown 
so large that a herd of cattle or horses would have been com- 
pletely concealed. Although the high railroad embankment 
was not more than forty feet from the spot where I wrote up 
my notes, I could only get glimpses of it along the sky line. 
Within fourteen months there had grown from the tiny, wind- 
carried willow seeds a thicket of trees that were large enough 
to completely shade my paper and exclude the southwest 
breeze, while two of the young trees were stout enough to 
afford me a secure and comfortable back rest. One of them, 
by actual measurement, was 11 feet 3 inches high and had a 
diameter of 114 inches at a distance of four inches above the 
ground. All the larger trees of this species were approxi- 
mately of that size and showed a growth of about five feet for 
the season. A few of the cottonwoods not standing very close 
to any Salix amygdalozdes were about as tall, but not as thick 
as the Sadix, while the aspens and three or four other species of 
willow were much smaller and showed only a growth of about 
three feet for the season. It was clear that the peach-leaved 
willow would be the dominant plant on this section. It has 
clearly won the battle against the cottonwoods; and other trees 
and herbs will occupy a subordinate position. The West sec- 
tion is a willow island. 
Lack of space forbids to enlarge upon the herbs and grasses 
on this section, but it should be mentioned that a fringe of cat- 
tails (Typha latifolia) and arrowheads (Sagzttaria latifolia) is 
forming on the lake side of the West section. These plants 
grow there in 6 to 12 inches of water, where the whitish marl 
was not raised above low water level although it was elevated 
considerably. 
