178 Muhlenbergia, Volume 2 



Pollasky is in the lower foothills of the Sierra, the hills in 

 the immediate vicinity being low and rounded and devoid of 

 woody growth; but only a short distance up the river scattered 

 oak trees are found, and pines gradually appear as the elevation 

 increases. My explorations were mainly confined to the Madera 

 county side of the river to a point well up in the hills four or 

 five miles from Pollasky, but nine numbers were collected en 

 the Fresno county side between Pollasky and the old river 

 bridge. 



The most notable find was the long lost Monolopia minor^ 

 collected many years ago by Douglas and unreported from his 

 time to the present. The strange thing about the matter is 

 that Douglas obtained the type somewhere in the southern 

 Coast Range. 



On the return trip three numbers were obtained at Fresno, 

 and two near Tracy, Contra Costa county, one of these latter no 

 doubt typical Phacelia tanacetifolia. 



The larger part of the collection is from northern Inyo 

 county on the east side of the Sierra. Headquarters was estab- 

 lished May 4th at Laws, the railroad station for Bishop, on the 

 Carson & Colorado railroad, where one month was spent in ex- 

 ploring the surrounding country. 



Owen's valley is about fourteen miles wide at this point, 

 lying between the White mountains on the east and the Sierra 

 Nevada on the west. The upper end of the valley extends into 

 Nevada, gradually rising to an elevation of over 5000 feet at the 

 upper end where a cross ridge extends from the White moun- 

 tains toward the Sierra. The elevation of the summit of this 

 ridge is between 7000 and 8000 feet. The elevation at Laws is 

 4100 feet, 



The floor of the valley is sandy, but differs considerably in 

 composition. The White mountains, at least near Laws, are 

 mostly of slate and shale formation, while the Sierras are prin- 

 cipally granite, and as a consequence the sand is much looser 

 under foot than it is on the east side. 



