Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 66.djvu/338

334 rare beauty. To the north lies the range of the Santa Catalina Mountains, extending through 40° of the horizon. Its rugged topography scarcely noticeable in the glare of the high sun, is thrown into bold relief when the shadows begin to lengthen. Then the dazzling purples and yellows of midday give way to the deep blues and purples of the valleys contrasted with the reddening tones of the higher slopes and ridges. The well-wooded and watered regions of this fine country are within two days' travel of Tucson, and excursions may be made thither with comparative ease.

To the east stands the rounded mass of the Rincon Mountains, the illumination of which by the afternoon sun is most remarkable. The vividness of details, the shimmer of heat, the blaze of reflected light modified by the merest veil of purple—these are faint expressions of what one quite fails to describe. To the west the desolate defiles of the Tucson Mountain, seen at short range, gives us, with the sun in the same position, a contrast picture of hard and rugged profile, dark browns and black shadows. To complete the panorama, one needs but to climb to the top of the hill, from which may be seen in

the far distance the deserts of Sonora and the malpais—the rendezvous of the few 'bad men,' now so hard to find.

Aside from the conditions for study offered by the Desert Laboratory as such, the matter with which the student is especially concerned is the plant life. In seeking for the right place to plant a laboratory for the study of desert vegetation, it is obvious that some practical conception of what such a vegetation is had to be formulated by the advisory board. It was necessary for this board to find a locality with a desert climate and possessed of as rich and varied a flora as possible,