à 76 
tered through the fields. As we traveled further out into the val- 
ley the lupines became less numerous and the fields took on a 
yellow tinge from the primroses. Still further the lupines and 
yellow evening primroses were left behind and the ground was 
flecked with patches of white or pale pink from a large flowered 
Oenothera, O. caespitosa, the flowers two to two and a half inches 
in diameter, spread flat on the ground. With it there were a few 
wiry grasses and dwarfed plants of crane’s bill, Erodium cicu- 
tarium, probably the commonest weed in this part of the state. 
These plants did not cover the ground completely, but let the soil 
show between everywhere. As we drove along somewhat parallel 
to the base of the mountains we found an area dominated by a 
peculiar plant that strongly resembled a very woolly thistle. From 
a rosette of white, spiny-toothed leaves grew a stem a foot to a 
foot and a half high, bearing from two to four globular flower 
clusters each surrounded by a circle of spiny bracts. The two- 
lipped flowers were violet or light blue, an inch long, with the 
lower lip delicately fringed. The odor of sage at once suggested 
the common name—thistle sage—which in the scientific form be- 
comes Salvia carduacea. Further along the lupines became abun- 
dant again but with them were two composites of the Cicho- 
riaceae with attractive large flower heads. One of these, Mala- 
cothrix californica, frequently grew in such quantities as to form 
large yellow blotches in the sea of blue. 
Il the flowers mentioned, except the Brodiaea, which grows 
from bulbs, are annuals. If there are sufficient rains in January 
and February they develop and cover the ground with the dense 
carpet of blue, violet, yellow or pink as we had seen it. In a few 
weeks seeds mature, the plants die and the region is a desert un- 
til the following spring. If rainfall has been scanty, but few plants 
develop and they flower and set seed when only a few inches 
high. 
In the notices in the papers it had been suggested that flow- 
ers should be picked in moderation. Most of the people we = 
had picked flowers, but none had large bunches, and though the 
total number picked must have run into hundreds of thousands 
on a single Sunday, no thinning of the masses was noticeable. 
A few weeks later in other regions there were equally por! 
ful displays of California poppies that other thousands from = 
cities visited. It is inspiring to find such interest in and love !° 
the flowers and note that the idea of conservation has such 4 
‘strong hold on the people. 
