Recent Appalachian Botanical Literature
Recent Appalachian Botanical Literature
During the past twelve years I have been engaged in a study of the flora of Mercer County and vicinity and have established a rather extensive herbarium of the plants of this region. Several of these plants have a somewhat limited distribution in the mid-Appalachian region. Among these may be mentioned:
When samples of algae taken from bodies of water in the various parts of the State of Kentucky were being examined it was noticed that some species were common in one or a few of the soil regions and were entirely lacking or extremely rare in others while other forms were common throughout the state. There are, in reality, ten rather distinct soil regions in Kentucky, but since five contain most of the algae only that number will be considered when making comparisons. In this discussion it is assumed that the nature of the water depends upon the type of soil present and that a chemical analysis of the soil gives some evidence concerning the qualities of the water.
Though no estimated loss to Macon County on account of weeds has been found in any of the literature reviewed by the author, the annual loss is enormous and would probably amount to well over on:, hundred thousand dollars. Much of this expense is caused by the need of extra labor; some is expended for the purchase of implements and chemicals for combating weeds; and part is spent for fertilizers to replace valuable nutrient materials removed from the soil.