VaUey of the Mississippi. 



of the Mississippi, and hence it is not remarkable that the reverse 

 is also true. Examples abound in every systematic botanical work. 



Granting however for a moment to this fact, abstractedly con- 

 sidered, all the importance which Mr. Jefferson has ascribed to it, 

 let us proceed to a particular notice of the plants and animals, 

 which he enumerates as examples. 



1 . The Catalpa* This tree is said to be a native of Japan ; 

 and according to Mr. Nuttall, a botanist of great accuracy, is rare- 

 I v to be met with decidedly indigenous, in the United States. Hp 



gincs ; hence, its name is 4 Catawba,' derived from a tribe of In- 

 dians residing on the Catawba river. In most of the habitats of 

 this tree, given by the younger Michaux in his " Arbres Fores- 

 tiers, 77 which I have visited, if existing at all, it had evidently been 

 introduced. I am informed, however, by Governor Harrison of 

 the indubitable existence of this tree in very considerable quanti- 

 ties in the forests of the Wabash, Illinois territory, where its wood 

 is even split for rails ; still even here it is extremely local, and I 

 have never once met with it, either on the banks of the Ohio, the 

 Mississippi, or the Missouri rivers, which I have ascended or de- 

 scended thousands of miles. In the warmer states it does not ap- 

 pear to grow with any degree of vigour. "t In Dr. James' account 

 of Major Long's Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, we find the following remarks : "About half way between 

 the mouth of the Cumberland and Tennessee, near the old desert- 

 ed settlement, originally called Smithland, are several large Ca- 

 talpa trees. They do not, however, appear to be native, nor have 

 we here or elsewhere been able to discover any confirmation of the 

 opinion, that this tree is indigenous to the United States." J I can 

 also myself corroborate the facts stated by Mr. Nuttall and Dr. 

 James ; for although 1 have travelled over a considerable portion of 

 the states of Illinois and Missouri, and ascended and descended 

 the Ohio, Mississippi, and Illinois, I have never observed this tree 

 except in situations where it was evidently introduced ; such as 

 the immediate vicinity of towns, villages, or settlements. From 



