208 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XX. i-io. 502. 



the aspen and the white birch. Bordering 

 the Bngelmann spruce stands are the west- 

 ern lareh-Doiiglas spruce societies, so called 

 because they are the predominating trees. 

 The western larch-Douglas spruce type of 

 a forest is decidedly mesophytic. In places 

 where the soil contains nearly as much 

 water as that in the spruce society, the 

 silver pine {Pinus monticola) , the lowland 

 fir {Abies grandis) and the western arbor- 

 vitffi are found. The lodge-pole pine is 

 scattered all through the mesophytic area, 

 sometimes forming almost pure stands in 

 it. There is but little doubt that its pres- 

 ence in the region is due to the influence of 

 forest fires. It is a tree that fruits well at 

 an early age. This gives it a decided ad- 

 vantage over the other trees, because when 

 frequent fires occur it is likely to be the 

 only one with fruiting trees on the burned 

 areas. 



In places in the forest formations there 

 are 'sandy pockets.' These are likely to 

 have prairie vegetation. The absence of 

 trees is probably due to the fact that the 

 sand is not capable of holding the water 

 sufficiently long to enable trees to get a 

 start. Closely associated with these ' sandy 

 pockets' and bordering the prairie forma- 

 tion are the bull pine-Douglas spruce so- 

 cieties. The bull pine {Pinus ponderosa) 

 is the most xerophytic of the conifers and 

 thus extends further out into the prairie 

 region than any of the others. 



A collection of the other plants of the 

 region was made and their ecological dis- 

 tribution Avas noted. This collection has 

 been deposited in the herbarium of the 

 Field Columbian Museum at Chicago. 

 Careful studies were not undertaken in the 

 alpine regions, though in hasty trips made 

 into these regions some problems were 

 noted for future studies. 



Extensive botanical collections were 

 made in 1901. The station and the New 



York Botanical Garden worked conjointly 

 during the season from June to September, 

 Dr. D. T. MacDougal and "Wilson P. Harris 

 gathered nearly a thousand numbers, the 

 latter looking particularly after the lichens 

 and mosses. The lichens have been iden- 

 tified by Carolyn W. Harris, the mosses by 

 Mrs. Elizabeth G. Britton. Duplicates are 

 in the collections of the University of Mon- 

 tana and the New York Botanical Garden. 

 A check list of lichens and mosses has been 

 issued, giving twenty genera and sixty- 

 seven species of lichens and nineteen genera 

 and thirty-seven species of mosses, a total 

 of thirty-nine genera and one hundred and 

 four species. 



The collection of flowering plants was 

 gathered from territory much of which 

 had never been visited by a botanist. The 

 Mission range, fast becoming known on 

 account of its grand scenery, was examined 

 almost from end to end, a distance of 

 nearly a hundred miles. The valleys at 

 the base of the range are from 2,300 to 

 3,000 feet elevation, while the summits 

 reach 10,000 feet. Excursions were made 

 with pack horses into the Swan range, 

 where specimens were gathered from snow- 

 banks and the edge of glaciers. The alpine 

 willow was found abundantly at 7,500 feet, 

 the stunted trees, but a few inches in 

 height, bearing flowers. Days were spent 

 in crawling over steep mountains, with a 

 heavy pack as an encumbrance, without 

 road or trail, in search of specimens. The 

 large series shows the result. Each num- 

 ber was taken in duplicate, one set being 

 deposited in the herbarium at the New 

 York Botanical Garden, the other at the 

 University of Montana at Missoula. The 

 identifications were by P. A. Eydberg, the 

 well-known authority. 



Some observations on the forests are 

 worthy of notice. The alpine fir, Abies 

 lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt., is found at a 



