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species of hibiscus (Kosteletzkya Virginica), with large pink flowers, 

 which would make a beautiful ornamental garden plant. 



In the immediate vicinity of New Orleans, between the river and 

 Lake Pontchartrain, where tho New Orleans and Jackson Railroad 

 passes, the soil is that of the Mississippi alluvion, aud is well culti- 

 vated in cotton, sugar and corn. North, between Lake Pontchar- 

 train and the city, there are extensive gum, cypress and oak swamps, 

 which are valuable only for their timber; and east and southeast 

 arc the marshes exteuding to Lake Borgne. 



RAILROAD TRIP TO PONTCHATOFLA AND AMITE CITY. 



After having visited the surrounding country about New Orleans and 

 ascertained its botanical resources, I proceeded on the New Orleans 

 and Jackson Kailroad to Amite city, which is about ten miles from 

 the State line. Between Kenner and Frenier there is a large tract 

 of swamp prairie, where the Rose-mallow and the Arrow-leaved 

 Ipomaea form, as far as the eye can reach, a carpet of flowers, 

 variegated with pink, white and crimson. A few miles from Pont- 

 chatoula, where the pine woods commence, the land on both sides 

 of the railroad are gum and cypress, or willow and cypress swamps, 

 which give to the country a very monotonous appearance, unless 

 interrupted by a few miles of swamp prairies. From Bayou de 

 Saules to Deseret's station the railroad tract is but a short distance 

 from Lake Pontchartrain. Tangipahoa parish is, as I am told,, 

 about sixty miles long, and from three to five miles wide, and is, in 

 point of soil, perhaps one of the poorest parishes in the State. The 

 soil is sandy, without much intermixture of clay or gravel, and the 

 farms are principally on the water courses, where the land is low 

 and enriched by the deposits produced by high water, and which 

 alone can impart some fertility to the low lands. The prevailing 

 growth of the forest is the long and short-leaved pine, post oak and 

 black jack, and near the Tangipahoa river water oaks and beech 

 are not uncommon. The prevailing weed is the bitter- weed, which 

 grows here in rank luxuriance. The gneral characteristics of the 

 plants which flourish here are similar to those of the pine woods 

 of Rapides. Amite city is the largest town of some note in this 

 parish. It has a fine hotel and a number of respectable dwelling 

 houses. I also stopped one day at Pontchatoula, and the numerous- 



