170 



The Ottawa Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXII. 



with a small Gaspereau herring in the collection of 

 Mr. C. W. Nash, Provincial Biologist, there is no 

 reasonable doubt but that it belongs to that species. 

 Surprising as the conclusion is, there seems no 

 other possible explanation but that the fish were 

 carried from Lake Ontario, the shore of which is 

 approximately twelve miles from where the specimens 

 were found. 



A. CosENs, Toronto. 



Dirca palustris L. in New Brunswick. 

 In the summer of 1918, while visiting at Loggieville, 

 a small town at the mouth of the Miramichi river, 

 and four miles below Chatham, I met with a 

 strange shrub growing in small open spaces among 

 white spruce and balsam firs, which clothe densely 

 the low sandy plain, that everywhere skirts the 

 shore and extends many miles inland. It grew in 

 small dense hazel-like clumps, and rose to the height 

 of four or five feet. No flowers were to be seen, 

 nor was any fruit found, either on the bushes or on 

 the ground beneath. Samples were taken and sub- 

 mitted to Mr. J. M. Macoun, head naturalist to the 

 Geological Survey, who pronounced it this species. 

 The large ovate leaves of a pea-green colour, the 

 pale ashy bark, the stout stems branching freely and 

 tree-like, and the jointed branches themselves were 

 all somewhat universal and attracted the attention. 

 Familiar with the botany of northern New Bruns- 

 wick for many years, and having collected all over 

 it, I readily spotted the stranger. It must be very 

 rare. The light spongy snow-white wood and the 

 thick tough bark that easily separates into thin lace- 

 like layers of a delicate complex structure, recalling 

 that of the Lace Tree of the West Indies, to which 

 the Lealherwocd is a near relative, were exceedingly 

 interesting features whose examination afforded me 

 a very enjoyable afternoon. Authorities assign a 

 swamp habitat to this species, as its specific name 

 implies, but these slightly undulating plains are 

 largely dry, indeed very dry, in midsummer; at all 

 events the clumps I found were upon a parched 

 sandy soil. 



Though common in central and eastern Ontario 

 and in the valley of the St. Lawrence as far as Ste. 

 Anne, Champlain Co., it is rare eastward. In "Pre- 

 liminary List of the Plants of New Brunswick," 

 Bull. No. IV, Nat. Hist. Soc. of N.B., 1885, by the 

 Rev. (Dr.) James Fowler, professor emeritus of 

 Queen's University, Kingston, the author assigns two 

 s:ations to N.B., namely, Keswick Ridge, York Co., 

 and Hillsboro, Albert Co. In "Catalogue of Cana- 

 dian Plants," published the following year. Prof. 

 John Macoun was able to add no further stations 

 to its distribution in the Maritime Provinces. It 

 does not seem to have ever been reported from 

 Prince Edward Island or Nova Scotia. 



Philip Cox. 



University of New Brunswick, 

 Fredericton, N.B. 



A late record for horned larks. On 

 January 8, while on a C.N.R. train, I saw a crow 

 in a sheltered ravine about five miles east from 

 Ottawa. A little farther on I was surprised to see 

 two horned larks, feeding on seeds of exposed 

 weeds in the vicinity of a farm building. The larks 

 were plainly seen, both on the ground and in flight. 

 Later, near L'Orignal, I saw a more familiar bird 

 at this season, a horned owl. I have heard of no 

 crows in the vicinity of Montreal since Nov. 24, 

 although it is net unusual for a few to winter in 

 favourable localities, but the presence of horned 

 larks seems worthy of recording, as I have no record 

 of their occurrence at Montreal during December 

 and January. Possibly they remain later at Ottawa. 

 Of course I was unable to determine the subspecies, 

 but my notes show that the more northern birds 

 O. a. alpesiris never stay as late as our summer 

 resident O. a. praticola, and that late November 

 records of praticola are for single birds or couples, 

 while alpesiris has always been found in considerable 

 flocks. 



L. McI. Terrill. 



