18 Remarks upon the Geographieal 



shews itself, tlie chain must nxn to the southward of Lake Supe^ 

 rior, crossing westward to Eed Eiver, and from that by the west 

 side of Lake Winipeg and the northern tributaries of the Sas- 

 katchewan to the waters of Peace River, 



The two species of Act^ea, or Baneberry, common enough in 

 Canada and the northern States, and so conspicuous in autumn 

 by their cylindrical bunches of red and white berries, occur some- 

 times in woods where there is depth and richness of soil ; but 

 while the A. Ruhra^ according to Hooker, travels as far north as 

 60^y the A. Alba, I imagine, does not pass the latitude of 53° or 

 54°. This seems surprising, the "Alba" being so near akin to 

 the " Rubra " in every respect, excepting the color of the fruit 

 and the thickness of the pedicels, that hj Pursh they were taken 

 as varieties merely of the same species, 



Thalictrum closes the number of the genera of the order,, 

 which have come under my observation within the temperate 

 climate of British North America. The T. Dioicum, called in 

 the United States " Early Meadow Rue," although possessing no 

 affinities with Rutacese, and little in common with the Rue plant, 

 except a sort of resemblance in the leaf, is a hardy subject of our 

 northern climes. Sir John Richardson states it to be in latitude 

 67°, on the grassy banks of the McKenzie, and American bota- 

 nists give South Carolina as its southern bounds. It spans there- 

 fore nearly the whole breadth of the Temperate Zone, It enjoys- 

 a very short summer in its close look at the Arctic circle, and on- 

 the other-hand can have very little winter, as a neighbour to the 

 Magnolias and Agaves, and such tropical plants as stray a few 

 degrees north, out of the torrid zone. Like the Thalictrum 

 Cornutiy it springs up among the rich herbage along the banks 

 of rivers, and seems to prefer limestone districts. In Lower 

 Canada I have found the T. Cornuti frequently ; and it is, I dare 

 say, the most common species in that Province, and countries of 

 the same parallel of latitude westward to the Pacific. It comes 

 up north as far as 56°. If Hooker be correct, it takes a bound 

 across the prairies of Central America, clears the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and seats itself again in the woods of the Columbia and 

 the western portion of our continent. 



Before finishing this paper, I may mention that of the 39 fall 

 genera of the order, noted by Lindley, Torrey has 21, as existing, 

 natives of North America, some of these genera displaying many 

 species, such as the Ranunculus, Clematis, Anemone, and Del- 



