186 
Short on the Botany of Illinois. 
companied by my brother, and one or two other individuals, 
who took a considerable interest in the objects which mainly 
prompted my journey; and traveling in a light covered wag¬ 
on, well prepared for making extensive collections, and vigi¬ 
lantly on the look-out for every object of interest, I may 
safely say that few such escaped our observation. Our visit 
to this interesting region was made in the latter part of sum¬ 
mer, and extended so late into the fall, that severe frosts had 
put an end to vegetation before our return; so that my re¬ 
marks must be considered as referring to the autumnal Flora 
of the Prairies, and may not be applicable to that of the 
spring, or early summer. We entered the State of Illinois 
from Terre Haute on the Wabash river, near the line dividing 
that State from Indiana; thence we traveled in nearly a 
north-western direction to Peoria, on the Illinois river; through 
Paris, Urbanna, Bloomington, and Mackinaw: and returning 
we took a more southern route through Tremont, Springfield, 
Hillsborough, Maysville, and Lawrenceville to Vincennes; 
where we recrossed the Wabash, which here forms the boun¬ 
dary between the States of Indiana and Illinois. This trace 
extending over a distance of nearly 400 miles, led us through 
the central portion of the State in two different lines, at a 
considerable distance apart, and gave us an opportunity of 
seeing and examining the face of the country and its produc¬ 
tions under a great variety of aspects. 
In a Geographical point of view, the surface of Illinois 
may be very appropriately, as it is naturally, divided into 
three districts. First—The heavily timbered tracts which 
for the most part occupy the southern portion of the State, 
bordering on the Ohio river, and which, extending into the 
middle and northern portions, are found in detached bodies 
surrounded by prairies, and in these situations are called 
‘Groves.’ These groves are, for the most part, contiguous to. 
and often bounded by water-courses, which have preserved 
them from the action of fire. Secondly—The open prairies, 
of from one to twenty miles in diameter, entirely destitute of 
