48 The Ottawa Naturalist. [J^^nr 



abundant, Cypripediuni parviflorum, and the beautiftil species 

 C. hirsutum {C. .speciabile), common and Pogonia ophioglossoides 

 and Calopogon pulchelliis, frequent. At Port Franks, on the 

 borders of old river beds, long ago abandoned by the Aux Sables 

 River, the pitcher plant still exists, and in wet boggy spots the 

 buckbean is abundant. 



Mesophytic. 



In this habitat may be included by far the largest part of 

 this region. Perhaps less than seventy years ago Lambton 

 Count}^ was covered with an almost impenetrable forest. At 

 that time conditions were such that it retained for nearly the 

 whole summer season large amounts of water received in the 

 form of rain and snow. The small rivers and creeks, being more 

 or less clogged with rubbish, drained the surface very slowly 

 and the forest was then known as "wet woods." Since that 

 time a radical change has taken place. At present the whole 

 region is fairly well drained, and most of the timber cut, there 

 being left here and there "wood lots," partially showing former 

 conditions, although generally very heavily pastured. The 

 Indian reservations near Kettle Point, below Sarnia and on the 

 Delta Islands, having undergone a less radical change, although 

 parts are fairly cultivated, show and prove better than any 

 other localities what the original vegetation was. From an 

 examination of woods near Sarnia, Port Franks, Rock Glen, 

 Wyoming, Watford, Alvinston and the Indian reservations, 

 especially on the Delta Islands, these several ])laces extending 

 fairly well over the county, it appears that the original tree 

 growth was as follows in order of abundance: American elm, 

 black ash, white ash, red maple, basswood, beech, sugar maple, 

 ironwood {Ostrya virgin iana), blue beech {Carpinus caroliniana), 

 silver maple, Cratczgus punctata, red oak, bur oak, cottonwood, 

 yellow birch, shagbark hickorv, butternut, sycamore, peach- 

 leaved willow\ red ash, rock elm and slippery elm. Pin oak is 

 the dominant tree on the Delta Islands in spots and here or 

 perhaps in parts of Kent County reaches its northern limit. 

 One large tree of the mocker nut hickorv was noticed on Squirrel 

 Island, probably its extreme northern limit for this region. In 

 such wet forests the species of plant undergrowth are not very 

 numerous. Among others were noticed the spice bush, moose- 

 wood, red-berried elder, lizard's tail, jack-in-the-])ulpit, wild leek 

 (formerly very abundant), wild garlic, ground nut (Panax trifo- 

 /mm), spikenard, wild sarsaparilla, Circaca alpina, wood nettle, 

 Cardamine douglassH. Claytonia virginica. Much of the prairie- 

 like land of the Delta Islands naturally falls within this division. 

 Hundreds of acres there are covered with Hahenaria leucophaca, 



