8 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO STUDIES 



climatology would throw a flood of light on many difficult problems. 

 This has been alluded to with reference to timberline studies and also 

 with regard to questions of plant zones. Not only temperature and 

 rainfall are of consequence but the rate of evaporation at different 

 stations and altitudes is worth investigating. Evaporation is seldom 

 studied by meteorologists but should be worked out by botanists if they 

 are to get at the real climatic factors affecting plants. 



Ecologically, Colorado offers an almost virgin field for study. The 

 collection and arrangement of formation herbaria is valuable work. Such 

 collections, representing the work of a number of seasons, are particu- 

 larly useful for teaching purposes. If distributed as exsiccati or published 

 as lists with suitable notes the information becomes available to botanists 

 generally. Plants of pondsides, of meadows, of rock ridges, of alpine 

 desert, of the forest floor, etc., may be thus collected and the specimens 

 so arranged as to show relative abundance, time of flowering, relations 

 to soil and moisture. Here again accurate studies of climate and of 

 the factors involved in the soil should be made to determine why the 

 different habitats have such different floras. 



Flower ecology has been but little studied in America and almost 

 nothing in this line of work has been done in Colorado. Entomologists 

 and botanists working together should here find a rich field of study. 

 As a matter of fact the insect visitors of our flowers are little known and 

 still less is known in regard to their value in bringing about pollination. 

 Plants of the high mountains, of the foothills and even of the great plains 

 offer many probblems in pollination and adaptations to insect visits. 

 Some of these are perennial problems, the same everywhere. Of how 

 much importance the colors of flowers are in attracting insects; to what 

 extent the scent of the flower served in alluring them — these are by no 

 means settled questions. But putting aside these greater problems there 

 are many smaller ones awaiting solution by the student in the field. 

 Individual species of plants, not thus far studied from the view-point 

 of flower ecology, are everywhere at hand ready for the student. 



Facilities for distribution possessed by plants, and their ability to 

 establish themselves on unoccupied ground are subjects for investiga- 

 tion. Many species enjoy a wide distribution because of devices for 



