1910] Fernald,— Plants of Wineland the Good 35 
them(!)”! It is certainly true that, if the Grape alone or even the Cur- 
rants come into consideration, such an account should be discredited. 
But, as those who are intimate with conditions in Labrador, on the 
North Shore of the St. Lawrence or in the subarctic region of America, 
will inform us, spring is the very season of the year when the fruit of V ac- 
cintum Vitis-Idaea (Mountain or Rock Cranberry, Red Whortleberry, 
WINEBERRY of the Middle Ages) is in its prime. Thus, Sir John 
Richardson, crossing subarctic America in his search for traces of 
Sir John Franklin, writes: “Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea, cow-berry, or 
alpine cranberry is the....cranberry most plentiful and most used 
throughout Rupert's Land....and though inferior to the V. oxycoc- 
cus [the bog Cranberry of the North] in flavor in autumn, is far 
superior to it after the frosts; and, as it may be gathered in abundance 
in a most juicy condition when the snow melts in June, it is then a great 
resource to the Dog-ribs and Hare Indians, as well as to the immense 
flocks of water-fowl that are migrating to their breeding places at that 
date."? Dr. A. P. Low, Director of the Geological Survey of Canada, 
says: “Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea, Linn. (Cranberry, Pomme de terre) 
is the most important berry of the northern half of Labrador. South 
of latitude 51°, it is found only on the summits of barren rocky hills [In 
ancient Vínland, the “vínber” was found ‘wherever there was hilly 
ground"], or on barren islands in the larger lakes; but to the northward, 
as the open barren spaces increase, it soon becomes abundant, and about 
the Hamilton and Big rivers is very plentiful everywhere. . . Owing to 
the lasting qualities of the fruit and its improvement by frost, large 
quantities are gathered annually by the inhabitants, before the ground 
is covered with snow, for use during the long winter, throughout which 
the berries keep perfectly, and counteract the ill effects of the constant 
meat diet of the Indians and other inhabitants. The fruit is found in 
perfection, immediately after the disappearance of the snow in the 
spring, and continues good for several weeks, until the juices are dried 
up by the sun."? Again, Professor John Macoun, Naturalist of the 
Dominion of Canada, adds his evidence: “V. Vitis-Idaea, Linn. 
Cowberry. Mountain Cranberry. Very abundant from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific, producing enormous quantities of fruit, which are in- 
valuable as a spring food for birds on their return from the south." * 
1 Gustav Storm, Studies on the Vineland Voyages, 19 (1889). 
? Richardson, Arctic Searching Expedition, 432 (1852). 
3 Low, Report on Explorations in the Labrador Peninsula, in Geological Survey of 
Canada, Annual Report, n. s. viii. 39 L. (1897). 
4 Macoun, Catalogue of Canadian Plants, i. 293 (1884). 
