54 Rhodora [Marcu 
time, and that it is still in existence is doubtless due to the protection 
which has been afforded it. Since its discovery here several other 
stations have been found for the Heather in New England. It has 
been reported from Cape Elizabeth, Maine, from West Andover, Town- 
send, and Nantucket, Massachusetts, and also from Rhode Island. 
In most of these locations careful investigation has failed to prove 
its introduction by human agency and this has led numerous writers on 
the subject to claim for it an indigenous origin. Although its early 
history in New England is shrouded in obscurity, and desirable as it 
would be to place the Heather on our list of native plants, it must be 
said, after a careful reading of the literature of the subject, that no 
satisfactory evidence has accumulated during the years that have passed 
since its discovery on this continent to substantiate its claim as a plant 
native to America. 
The circumstance that in some instances, as at Townsend, Massa- 
chusetts, it has been traced to the planting of seed, and especially the 
fact that although many wild regions in America seem favorable for its 
development it has never been found at points remote from human 
habitation, are much against the theory of its indigenous character. 
The occurrence of the Heather in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and 
Greenland has been adduced as strong evidence in favor of believing 
the plant native in America. But Nova Scotia was settled in part by 
Scotch, who would have been particularly likely to introduce the Heather 
accidentally if not purposely ; while in Newfoundland — a region of 
great stretches of open moorland and seemingly an ideal habitat for 
the Heather, — the plant has only been found in a few patches about 
the settlements on the southeastern coast, the most thickly populated 
part of the island. Finally the occurrence in Greenland, although re- 
ported, could not be confirmed by Lange, the author of the most com- 
plete flora of that region. It will thus be seen that these northern 
occurrences add little to the evidence, that the Heather is an indige- 
nous American plant. 
