112 Muhlenbergia, Volume 7 



enough to prevent further erosion, and catch for their nourish- 

 ment the small particles of silt and decayed vegetation. 



The exposure is nearly always to the north where the snow 

 is late in melting and indeed often perpetual. It is also well 

 protected from dry hot winds and the summer sun. 



From these observations we gather that under artificial con- 

 ditions a gravel and peat soil among rocks with plenty of moist- 

 ure, and on the northern side of a rockery, w'oi.ld be most suit- 

 able for its successful cultivation. In horticultural literature it 

 is frequently considered under the genus Andromeda. 



Figure 20. Cassiope Mertensiand ( Bong. ) Carr. 



The original plant was collected b\- Mertens while on a 

 tour around the world, on the island of Sitka, Alaska, at a time 

 when the naturalist was in constant danger owing to the hostile 

 character of the aborigines. It was described by M. Bongard as 

 a new species in a paper entitled "Observationes sur la Vegeta- 

 tion de L'ile de Sitcha," which was read before the Academy of 

 St. Petersburg on May 4, 1831. The date of its publication in 

 the Memoirs of the Academy is August, 1832. 



In August, 1907, in the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collec- 

 tions, Piper has reviewed this species, and finds that the plant 



