November, 1922. | 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



151 



enabled to examine carefully all the rocks, v ith 

 no better results than on a former occasion (al- 

 ready reported), when nothing but the Bulblet 

 Bladder Fern (Cystopteris bulbifera) could be 

 found. The only item of interest was the locating 

 again of a few plants of the Harebell, which my 

 younger son had previously informed me he had 

 seen in 1919. The following day (July 31) I 

 went to Ayer's Cliff, and searched the rocks all 

 around that part of Lake Massawippi known as 

 Elmwood Park on the southern shore. Here 

 again the Bulblet Bladder Fern was the only one 

 in evidence, and as I unexpectedly had the oppor- 

 tunity of a ride to Burrough's Falls, I decided to 

 visit that locality again, and explore the sides of 

 the river to the south of the Falls. This w^s a 

 lucky move, indeed, for I eventually came upon 

 several large patches of that delicate little fern, 

 the Slender Cliff-Brake (Cryptogranima Stelleri.) 



I had almost forgotten to mention that, previous 

 to my visit to Burrough's Falls, I spent the day of 

 July 21st on the eastern shore of Lake Massawippi 

 \isiting Perkin's Point and the site 6f that rare 

 little fern, the Smooth Wcodsia (Woodsia glabella), 

 which I discovered in 1920. Imagine my feelings 

 on finding that a landslide had taken place since 

 then, and had swept most of the largest plants 

 away. The elevation of this site is about 550 

 feet above sea level, or barely half that of Woodsia 

 ilvensis found on Mount Orford on June 26th. 

 At one point on the shore I came across quite a 

 large colony of the so-called var. obtusilobaia of the 

 Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis), with leaves in 

 all stages of transition. As these leaves merely 

 represent the transition from the usual sterile leaf 

 to the fully fledged spcrophyll, they should ob- 

 viously bear no distinctive name. 



It was not until September 19th that I again 

 took the field in a systematic hunt for rock ferns, 

 the locality this time being the big gorge at Coati- 

 cook. Here I came across Cry^)togramraa Stelleri 

 and Woodsia ilvensis, and again three days later 

 obtained Asplenium Trichomanes. In my last 

 paper I find I omitted to mention Owl's Head 

 '2484 feet) as being a likely place for rock ferns. 

 This mountain is situated on the western shore of 

 Lake Memphremagog about eighteen miles to the 

 west of Hatley, and is of a rocky nature, but 

 unfortunately I have not been able to visit it so 

 far. The shores of this lake are also rocky in 

 places, and would no doubt yield good results if 

 properly worked. I think the foregoing notes 

 about sum up the principal events of the seasons 

 1921-1922, so I will now proceed with the an- 

 lotated list of the new species discovered, which 

 ive only been casually referred to so far. 



Spiny Shield Fern (Thelypteris spinulosa). 

 This species was really discovered on August 27, 

 1919, but omitted from the 1920 list pending exact 

 determination. 



Thelypteris Boottii var. multi flora Dav. This 

 variety of Boot's Shield Fofn was likewise dis- 

 covered on August 27, 1919, but was not sufficient- 

 ly identified for inclusion in the 1920 list. It was 

 described by Davenport and is a robust form of 

 the ordinary T. Boottii, which Dr. Philip Dowell 

 (who kindly verified it for me) considers under 

 less favourable conditions would not differ from 

 the less robust. 



The Lance-leaved Grape Fern (Botrychium 

 lanceolatum var. angustisegmentum) . ^Although 

 this species has not yet been found by myself, 

 there is a record of i^ from Magog (Goode), and 

 as this place comes within my area it has been 

 included: see Catalogue of Canadian Plants, John 

 Macoun, 1890, pt. 5, p. 255. 



The Rusty Woodsia (Woodsia ilvensis) .The 

 first sight of this woolly little species is not likely 

 to be easily forgotten. Often it is found on the 

 exposed crests of precipices and similar dangerous 

 places, growing in the full glare of the sun. Luck- 

 ily for me, however, the site on Mt. Orford where 

 I first found it on June 26, 1922, was a very easy 

 one to reach, being a ledge of rock about my own 

 height, on the top of which were several young 

 plants growing together in close mats, the young 

 croziers being covered with silvery white hairlike 

 scales, which were in pleasing contrast to the 

 darker green of the more mature fronds. The 

 ledge was in a shady spot just off the trail, and 

 roughly about 1,200 feet above sea level. Time 

 would not allow of a systematic search being made, 

 so I am unable at present to give any idea of its 

 abundance or otherwise, but judging from the 

 look of the surrounding rocks it may eventually 

 be found in some quantity. On this occasion I 

 located only about half a dozen plants, or rather 

 mats, as no single plant grew separately. The 

 site in the gorge at Coaticook was a very different 

 one from that on Mt. Orford, being a cleft in the 

 rock at the very top of the ,gorge, and in the full 

 glare of the sun, the elevation being roughly about 

 800-900 feet above sea level. There was only one 

 little cluster or mat consisting of about half a 

 dozen very small plants, none of which exceeded 

 four inches in height, and which I at first took to 

 be Woodsia alpina. How we all like to imagine 

 we have found the rarer of any two species which 

 nearly resemble one another! 



The Slender Cliff-Brake (Cryptogramma 

 Stelleri). This frail and delicate little fern was 

 discovered growing on the banks of the river 

 Nigger, about half a mile to the south of Bur- 



