218 Rhodora [OCTOBER 
Carex oligosperma without getting his feet wet. Such “dry barrens” as the 
author seems to have in mind are dry, in the ordinary sense, only during 
periods of drouth. 
The prosperous people of “the Aroostook” who are making their fortunes 
out of the soil (see Ruopora, xii. 111, 115) would be amazed to know that their 
region (“the great valley of the St. John River and its tributaries”) is a “dry 
barren.” However, Harshberger is right in stating that the region has a 
more southerly flora than some other places, but surely not than “northern 
New Brunswick,” for two of the most important tributaries of the St. John — 
the Madawaska and the St. Francis — rise north of northern New Brunswick. 
The list of “more southerly” plants given (p. 366) to illustrate this point 
contains, furthermore, such unfortunate examples as Aspidium aculeatum, 
var. Braunii (Polystichum Braunii) which is unknown in New England south 
of the hills of western Maine, the White Mountains, and Mt. Greylock; 
Thalictrum dioicum and Anemone virginiana, which reach their northeastern 
limits in the lower Penobscot Valley, 100 miles southwest of the St. John 
(see Ruovora, i. 50, ii. 232; Gray, Man. ed. 7); and Vaccinium caespitosum, 
which occurs on the mountains of Labrador and northern New England, 
but is quite unknown south of the northern New England states. Had the 
author listed Cyperus esculentus, Waldsteinia fragarioides, Panax quinque- 
folium, Sanicula gregaria, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Scrophularia leporella, 
Phryma Leptostachya, Triosteum aurantiacum and Lobelia siphilitica, his 
illustrations would have been convincing.] 
[p. 366] “Several plants are peculiar to this river [the St. John]: 
Oxytropis (Aragallus) campestris, Astragalus alpinus, Hedysarum 
boreale, Tanacetum huronense.” 
[This statement represents the condition of our knowledge in 1861 and indi- 
cates that the author who today perpetuates it has ignored or never known 
of the perfectly authenticated occurrence of one or more of these plants along 
other valleys of the New Brunswick Area — for instance, the St. Lawrence, 
Bonaventure, Donglastown, Grand and Grand Cascapedia in Quebec; the 
Eel, Nepisiguit, Petitcodiac and Restigouche in New Brunswick; the Kenne- 
bec in Maine; and the Connecticut in New Hampshire and Vermont. Real 
illustrations of plants confined to the St. John valley would have been Kobresia 
elachycarpa (see RHoDORa, v. 251; Britton, Man. ed. 2; Gray, Man. ed. 7), 
Pedicularis Furbishiae (see Gray, Syn. Fl. & Man. ed. 7; Macoun, Cat.; etc.) 
and Prenanthes mainensis (see Gray, Syn. Fl. and Man. ed. 7).] 
[p. 366] “The rare plants of the New Brunswick phytogeographic 
area are Dryopteris (Aspidium) fragrans, Woodsia glabella, Woodsia 
hyperborea, Oenothera (Onagra) Oakesiana, Hieracium praealtum, 
Goodyera pubescens, Tanacetum huronense, Viola primulaefolia.” 
[Just why this meagre list should be selected it is difficult to see unless 
perhaps the author was compiling from such papers as he happened upon 
without getting any real insight into his subject. But in passing it may be 
noted that Oenothera Oakesiana is unknown east of Massachusetts (see Vail 
