The Great Ridge consists of a continued high forest; the soil fertile, and broken into moderately elevated hills, by the many rivulets which have their sources in it. The heights and precipices abound in rock and stone. The forest trees and other vegetable productions are the same as already mentioned about Little River: I observed Halesia, Styrax, Æsculus pavia, Æsc. sylvatica, Robinia hispida, Magnolia acuminata, Mag. tripetala, and some very curious new shrubs and plants, particularly the Physic-nut, or Indian Olive. The stems arise many from a root, two or three feet high; the leaves sit opposite, on very short petioles; they are broad, lanceolate, entire, and undulated, having smooth surfaces of a deep green colour. From the bosom of each leaf is produced a single oval drupe, standing erect, on long slender stems; it has a large kernel, and thin pulp. The fruit is yellow when ripe; and about the size of an olive. The Indians, when they go in pursuit of deer, carry this fruit with them, supposing that it has the power of charming or drawing that creature to them; from whence, with the traders, it has obtained the name of the Physic-nut, which means, with them, charming, conjuring, or fascinating. Malva scandens, Felix scandens, perhaps species of Trichomanes; the leaves are palmated, or radiated; it climbs and roves about, on shrubs, in moist ground. A very singular and elegant plant, of an unknown family, called Indian lettuce, made its first appearance in these rich vales; it is a biennial; the primary or radical leaves are somewhat spatuled, or broad, lanceolate, and obtuse pointed, of a pale yellowish green, smooth surface, and of a delicate frame, or texture; these leaves, spread equally on every side, almost reclining on the ground; from their centre arises a straight upright stem, five, six, or seven feet high, smooth and polished; the ground of a dark purple colour, which is elegantly powdered with greenish yellow specks; the stem, three fourths of its length, is embellished with narrow leaves, nearly of the same form of the radical ones, placed at regular distances, in verticillate order. The superior one-fourth division of this stem is formed into a pyramidal spike of flowers, rather diffuse; these flowers are of the hexandria, large, and expanded; of a dark purple colour, delicately powdered with green, yellow, and red, and divided into six parts, or petals; these are succeeded by triquetrous dry pericarpi, when ripe.