174 Rhodora [SEPTEMBER 
by all who visit it, yet upon its seemingly naked slopes, in the crevices 
of the rock, and among the decomposing boulders, many plants are 
spread which in the first grand view of the region make little appeal 
to the eye. As already seen, 21 alpine plants are, so far as known, 
found south of the St. Lawrence only on the serpentine of Mt. Albert. 
Other species whose identity is still in doubt carry the number of these 
distinctive plants well toward forty. Several species also (32), un- 
known upon the strongly calcareous cliffs and mountains, but abound- 
ing on the slopes characterized by potassic rocks — Betula glandulosa, 
Empetrum nigrum, Rhododendron lapponicum, Vaccinium uliginosum, 
etc.— are equally abundant on the serpentine; 6 others, — Selaginella 
selaginoides, Cerastium arvense, A renaria verna, var. propinqua, etc.,— 
are common to the limy rocks and the serpentine; and 12 species are 
found growing in many stations upon all three groups of mountains. 
It is, however, important to note that, while the coniferous trees occur 
as luxuriant forest upon the north slope of Mt. Albert nearly to the 
summit, reaching an altitude of 3300 feet (1000 meters), and form 
extensive forests on the high tableland at 3500 to 4000 feet (1050 to 
1215 meters) of Table-top Mt.; they are on the serpentine of Mt. 
Albert only as scattered and uncharacteristic dwarf trees and shrubs, 
and no forest of appreciable character is seen in the area above the 
level of Ruisseau à la Neige at an altitude of about 1900 feet (570 
meters), where the forest consists of meagre and valueless Bog Spruce 
(Picea mariana). In its meagre appearance the Bog Spruce on the 
serpentine of Mt. Albert is paralleled by Rhododendron lapponicum, 
Vaccinium uliginosum, Ledum groenlandicum, and other species, 
which, having their great development on potassic rocks, are on the 
serpentine of Mt. Albert very dwarfed and of a starved aspect. The 
more distinctive plants of the mountain, however,— Adiantum pedatum, 
var. aleuticum, Polystichum scopulinum, Festuca altaica, Lychnis 
alpina, Arenaria arctica, Statice sibirica, Artemisia borealis, etc.— 
are, especially in damp hollows or along water-courses, luxuriant to a 
surprising degree; the stipes of the Adiantum often exceeding a foot 
in length, the fronds of the Polystichum eighteen inches long, the 
handsome clumps of Festuca with culms two to three feet high, and 
Artemisia borealis, ordinarily only a few inches high, attaining in its 
var. Wormskioldii a height of twelve or fifteen inches, with wand-like 
inflorescences eight inches in length. From these observations it is 
concluded that, of the large group of plants which abound upon the 
