Elysian Fields 149 
phacelias and the tall sturdy white species seek 
dry and rocky places, and in such localities 
were encountered in serried ranks: but this 
smaller blue phacelia would have soon per- 
ished in such a spot. Some flowers have 
a preference for roadsides, others for trails; 
some for cliffs and others, again, for meadows 
or swamps. There are preferences for north 
or south slopes, for different soils, for the 
proximity of hardwoods or for coniferous 
trees, for damp or for dry atmospheres. 
Illustrations of this whimsicality in plants 
presented themselves now and again on the 
steep descent of the San Marcos, until finally 
I came to one of the delightful little oak flats 
which distinguish the topography of the 
Santa Inez country. 
These oak flats constitute the chief charm 
of the Santa Inez Valley, contrasting as they 
do with the semi-arid ranges among which 
they are hidden. The best of them lie to the 
east of the San Marcos, scattered along Blue 
cafion, Mono, and the Santa Inez itself, where 
never a road has been known and the trail, 
zigzagging up some rough chaparral-covered 
ridge, reveals from the summit a wondrous 
little park lying below on the other side, 
untouched by the hand of man—a gem set in 
