The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-01-09
FLORA OF TWO NATIONS.
That Of Eastern North America
Much Richer Than That
Of Europe.
Etfect Of the Glacial Period In
Changing the Location Of
Vegetation.
Poverty OF Ensiand's Flora Not Due to
Conditions of Soil and Climate
Buffalo Grass.

Mr.. "A. r. Wallace contributes to the
current Fortnightly Review the second OF
his articles on English and Americah
flowers. He finds the vegetation OF the
United States to exist in four
divisions. The first of these divisions, OF
which he gave an account IN MS ocsooef
article, includes the varieties of vegetation
east OF tbs Mississippi river. mo
other divisions are those extending from
the Mississippi to the base Of the ROCKY
mountains; the vegetation OF the nlgner
wooded portions Of the Rocky mountains.
and, lastly. tho California regions. no
seems 10 have found difficulty in seeing
our eastern wild flowers.
Three hundred years ago the whole OF
the eastern portion of the United states
was covered with u vast forest, n the
herbaceous towering plants were nearly All
such as grew in the shaded depth OF the
woods, or in marshy places, or on the banks
Of streams, or IN a few open glades. The
aboriginal forests have been almost all
cleared away, and with this destruction
many plants have disappeared or have been
driven W IcAACtc 1HoUo
The many %hedgerows and lanes of rural
England have afforded protection to the
ancient Towering plants OF That country.
But these are wanting in America, with the
result that in the ne~ighborhood OF towns
the ancient American vegetation has dlsap-
peared and has been succeeded BY weeds OF
European origin. In order TO see the rear
American wild flowers, or, at any rate, the
rarer ana most beautiful Of them, Mr.. wal
lace found it necessary to take long Walks
over rough and painless fields.
tt is we'll known that the flora of the
eastern part of the United States is lar
richer than that of Europe: Inc same IS
true of tho fora of eastern Asia. Prof. Asa
Gray's explanation OF these facts as due to
the Glacial epoch is accepted BY Mr.. Wal
lace as the true one. That explanation is
given IL. Prof. GraY's Botany Of the
Northern United States" The same the
ory is also strongly. supported ny Froi;
Wright in his recent book, '"The Ice Age"
II is known that before the glacial period e
climate much like tha which We now enjoy
prevailed about the north pole. and along
with the climate there of course existed a
vegetation such as We now have. Inc land
about the north pole is grouped within a
small geographical area, and is. therefore,
yery similar in character. This similarity
by the way accounts for the likeness of veg
citation between eastern North America and
eastern Asia, q likeness which does not at
all exist in the southern hemisphere be-
tween Africa and South America.
With the beginning of the glacial period
the vegetation on all sides of the north
uole was driven southwark, and was thus
forced downward into both the eastern and
western h~emispheres. In Europe. with the
advance of the ice, this vegetation was
driven against the Alpine range which
traverses Europe from east to west, and
much of il no doubt was there DESTROYED.
That which passed the Alps was stopped by
the Mediterranean, upo the shores OF
which all but the hardest, plant life was
DESTROYED. When the ice receded, the veg
citation again moved north"ard. but that
only could follow which survived, and
hence the poverty of European flora. In
this county, however, the mountain
chains run north and south, and the gulf
of Mexico was far to the south of the Med
iterranean. Hence vegetation had more
room to retreat before the advance OF the
ice, and far more of it escaped destruction.
In Asia there was still moro room for the
retreat southwark of plant life. and hence
the fact that in eastern Asia there is still a
greater richness of fora than even in east
ern North Anne lea.
Mr.. Wallace consoles himself with the re-
Election that. if the native English botan1st
finds much to regret in the poverty of the
fora of his island, this want is made up to
the simple lover OF flowers in the beauty of
color of the English varieties. He Instances
the rich golden yellow Of the eorse bushes,
Isle of Wight or Cornwall, is SO "superla-
lively glorious rs to Justify the enthus-
ism OF the great Linnseus, who, on behold
ing it, knelt down and thanked God for 30
much beauty. The European poverty of
flora, by the way, ls not due to inability to
grow our vegetation, but to the fact that 1t
did not survive the ice age. Prof. Gray
says that Great Britain alone can grow
double or treble the number of trees the
United states can. The Atlantic states can
scarcely grow one tree of the Pacific coast,
but England grows them all. 1t has been
proposed to take advantage Of this capacity
of the English soil and climate to make
Epplng forest representative of the veReta-
tion of the temperate regions of the earth.
Mr.. Wallace's paper contains an inter
esting suggestion az to the disappearance
of buffalo grass III our Western regions.
He ascribes it to the disappearance OF the
buffalo, saying that it is probable that this
uniform hardening Of the surface by the
tread of these animals, together with the
regular manuring, favored tho growth Of
this grass. The finest object which he saw
in his American tour was the California
forest, consisting of the two big trees
Neither the laundering waters of Mag
ara" he adds, nor the sublime precipice:
and cascades of Yosemite, nor the vast e1
panse of the %prairles, nor the exquisite de
light of the alpine flora of the Rocky noun
tains-none of these seem to me so uniqu,
in their grandeur. so impressive in their dis
play of the organic forces of nature, as th'
two magnificent big trees of California
We should have been glad to hear VIVA
Mr.. Wallace would have had to say abou
the specimens Of the eastern primevnl for
ests still to be seen in east Tennessee an;
Kentucky, but he did not visit those parts
His pleasure in the California big trees j
qualified by sad an%ticipations Of their de
gtructlon.