iio The Ottawa Naturalist. [September 



SUB-EXCURSION. 



A sub-excursion of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club was 

 held on Saturday, June 20th. It was the first fine day for over a 

 week. The few who took part in this outing", enjoyed it very 

 much. The meeting-place was at Victoria Park ; but it was some 

 minutes after three before a sufficient number of members were 

 assembled. As there were so few present, it was decided to have 

 no after-speeches ; and we were soon divided into groups, botan- 

 ical, entomological, etc. One of the first specimens to attract the 

 attention of the botanical group was the Wood Nettle. And not 

 far off from it was seen growing the natural antidote to its sting, 

 the Bitter Dock. In the same rich damp soil were found several 

 other interesting specimens : the Fringed Bindweed with its 

 racemes of white flowers and the minute cilia at its joints, the 

 Honewort with its irregular umbellets of tiny white flowers, the 

 creeping Hog Pea-nut, haidly yet in flower ; but we wander on, 

 seeking for rarer species. Many a treasure of earlier excursions 

 is now passed by as common, or is scarcely recognized, now that 

 it is seed-bearing, such as the Mitrewort and False Mitrewort, 

 the Jack-in-the-pulpit, the Star-flower, the Painted Trillium, and 

 several species of Violet, and of the more common Crowfoots. 



We cross some open fields and see some of the agricultural 

 weeds : the Common Milkweed with its drooping umbels of sweet- 

 scented purple flowers, the Common Gromwell, which is recogniz- 

 able all through the winter by its ivory-whfte sessile nutlets, the 

 Common Hound's-tongue, with its barbed nutlets, by which it is 

 so often carried away unconsciously by man and by beast. Then 

 there are some prettier weeds, such as the Ox-eye Daisy and the 

 Tall Buttercup. But the weeds are too numerous to be all 

 recorded, and we pass on. " We may find some interesting 

 specimens by that stream," says our leader. And, true enough, 

 each of us adds to his collection something interesting. There 

 are two Bedstraws, the Rough and the Sweet-scented ; in the 

 marsh is the Bur-weed, a close relative of the common Cat-tail ; 

 the Common Elder, which flowers rather later than the red-berried 

 one, was there with its flat cymes of a heavy sweet scent. The 



