The Plant World 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY. 



Vol. II. JANUARY, 1899. No. 4. 



SPRING IN THE SHINNECOCK HILLS. 

 By Willard N. Cliite. 



THERE has already appeared in these pages an account of a trip 

 to the sand-barrens of Long Island in mid-summer. The re- 

 membrance of the striking contrasts which its flora presented, 

 in comparison with more favored localities, inclined us to visit 

 the region again in spring, and accordingly a trip was planned cover- 

 ing late May and early June. The locality selected was that part of 

 the barrens known as the Shinnecock Hills. It is situated on a narrow 

 strip of land between vShinnecock and Great Peconic Bays, and about 

 thirty miles west of Montauk Point. The country here is little better 

 than a desert. It consists essentially of immense sand-dunes over 

 which the wind has free play and upon which the sun beats with undi- 

 minished force. Onlowery days, the wind drives the spray from the sea 

 up across the rolling surface in gray sheets that shut one in and limit 

 his vision to less than a mile, and on foggy mornings the mists lie late 

 in the hollows, but the thirsty ground quickly sucks up the moisture. 

 In half a day after a rain, the earth is dry enough to sit upon. 



In spite of all these adverse conditions, a considerable number of 

 plants manage to exist in the sterile soil. Foremost of them must be 

 placed the Reindeer Moss ( Cladonia). When the sun shines, its ex- 

 istence seems to stand still. It crunches under the foot like crusted 

 snow. But a day of moist air revives it, and it becomes soft, pliant 

 and full of life. With the Cladonia in the sandiest spots may also be 

 found the stolid Prickly Pear ( Opuntia). Summer's heat and winter's 

 cold seem alike to it, and it always is something of a suprise when at 

 the height of the season it unbends enough to put forth its magnificent 

 golden blossoms. In some way, such splendor does not seem in keep- 

 ing with this dull plant. 



It is generally supposed that spring comes later to the sand-bar- 

 rens than to inland regions, or rather that the sand-barrens do not 



