150 
FIFTEENTH REPORT. 
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BOTANY OF MICHIGAN. 
NO. 9. 
THE FLORA OF PARKEDALE FARM, WITH SPECIAL REFER- 
ENCE TO STONY CREEK VALLEY. 
BY OLIVER A. FAR WELL, CURATOR OF HERBARIUM FOR PARKE, 
BA VIS & CO. 
Stony Creek is a tributary of the Clinton River and derives its name 
from the large numbers of boulders and stones which make up the bed 
of the river; it takes its rise in the northeastern corner of Oakland 
County and flows southeast into Macomb County, then south, southwest 
and west into Oakland County again, thence south into the Clinton 
River about a mile east of Rochester and not far from the east central 
boundary of the county. 
Oakland County is in the southeastern section of Michigan, being the 
2nd county in the 3rd tier. It is thirty miles square and lies approxi- 
mately between 42 3 26' and 42° 52' north latitude and 83° 5' and 83° 42' 
west longitude. The surface of the county is very diversified but of 
moderate relief, being from 100 to 600 feet above the surface of the 
Michigan-Huron basin; it abounds in small lakes, streams, marshes and 
sand hills. The county lies entirely within Dr. Merriam’s Alleglianian 
life area, but close to its southern boundary. The flora is qharacteris- 
tically transitional, the southern and northern meeting and well repre- 
sented. 
The topography is rolling, the highest points on either side of the 
stream are about % a mile apart and reach an elevation of 820 feet or 
120 above Stony Creek river. The section of the valley collected over lies 
between the first ranges of hills on either side and is about % of a mile 
in length in a north and south direction, by of a mile wide. The 
first range of hills on the east side is rather steep and varies from 20 
feet to 80 above the river, and, like those on the west, are either under 
pasturage or cultivation; the range on the west side, for the most part, 
is a gradually rising slope. This section of the valley is on the north- 
east corner of Parkedale Farm, the stock-farm of Parke, Davis & Com- 
pany of Detroit. 
The hills are composed of gravel and sand. The low lands between 
the ranges and the river are mostly of a rich black muck and those 
parts of the soil saturated by the overflow from the numerous cold 
springs become mud holes which it is well to avoid; the water from 
these mud holes finally reaches the river by seepage, as there is no 
direct channel running into it. The flood plain of fhe river up to where 
the slopes begin is a flat stretch of land varying in width from 2 to 50 
rods. It is sparsely covered with trees, is free from undershrubs, and 
