CO BIG SPRING PRAIRIE. 



frequently on the other portions of prairie. This may 

 be a natural hint to the onion growers of this section. 



Other species occurring less frequently are Verbena 

 hastata. (Blue Vervain) ; Euthamia graminifolia (Bushy- 

 fragrant Goldenrod); Solidago canadensis (Canada 

 Golden-rod); Aster novae-angliae (New England Aster); 

 Aster puniceus (Purple-stem Aster); Aster paniculatus 

 (Tall While Aster); Mimulus ringens (Sessile Leaf 

 Monkey Flower); Penthorum sedoides (Ditch Stone- 

 crop); Asclepias incarnata (Swamp Milkweed); Lobelia 

 kalniii (Brook Lobelia Kalm's Lobelia); Lythrum da- 

 tum (Wing Angled Loosestrife); Eupatorium perfolia- 

 tum (Boneset); Eupatorium maculatum (Spotted Joe 

 Pie Weed); Parnassia caroliniana (Grass of Parnassus); 

 Coreopsis tinctoria (Garden Tickseed); Helenium aut- 

 umnale (Sneezewort); and Isnardia palustris in the 

 lower places. Along over-arching south-bank of a 

 ditch jflowing east, about % mile south of the divide, 

 there occurred patches of Marchantia, Conocephalus, 

 and along the north bank, amid some shrubb}^ cinque- 

 foil Geaster minima was very common. Various other 

 species of Geaster also occur on the prairie. 



As we advance northward and eastward from the 

 Ox Spring, the shrubs become less abundant and are 

 also less rank. As the shrubs are low, and the grasses 

 and sedges tall, this field looks like a grassy plain, simi- 

 lar to that shown in fig. 12, which represents breaking 

 of virgin prairie for Celery farm. The taller grasses 

 are Chrysopogon, the lower shrubs chiefly Potentilla 

 fruticosa. Around immediate vicinity of some of the 

 prairie springs Cephalanthus occidentalis (Button Bush) 

 commonly occurs. 



Near the Mound Springs occurs the most extensive 

 natural meadow still extant and here also the portion 

 near the series of springs is several feet higher than 

 the prairie west and north of it. On this higher por- 

 tion, near the margin of prairie the bog conditions are 



