

1-2 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 22a A. 1902 



IT 



REPORT ON THE FLORA OF ST. ANDRHWS. NB. 



BY PROFESSOR JAMES FOWLER, LL. D., QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY, 



KINGSTON. 



INTRODUCTORY NOTES. 



On June 9, 1900, the writer arrived at the Biological Laboratory, at St. Andrews, 

 and devoted his time till August 18, to the study of the flora in the neighbourhood, and 

 to the collection of herbarium specimens. The special object of his visit was to collect 

 and study the marine alga- that might be found in that part of the Bay of Fundy. At 

 the time of his arrival the retreating tide had left the rugged shox'e bare for a consider- 

 able distance, and the rocks, covered with a dense growth of rock-weed (Fucus) pre- 

 sented an attractive field for exploration. After spending a couple of days among the 

 slippery rocks and mud, he discovered that very few species of alga; could be secured, 

 and only those of the most hardy species. The rugged character of the shores, formed 

 by the waves and tides from the red sandstone in some localities, and from volcanic 

 rock in others, renders it impossible to travel along the beach any considerable distance 

 in search of specimens. The aid of a boat is indispensable to the collector who wishes 

 to extend his re>ear.hes l^eyond the immediate neighbourhood of the station ; but 

 unfortunately the writer was precluded from more extended investigations. Disappointed 

 at the small number of species where the prospects seemed so bright, he endeavoured to 

 discover the reasons of their paucity, and is of the opinion that the following facts 

 explain the phenomenon : — 



1. The great tides of the Bay of Fundy produce currents which sweep away all 

 plants not firmly anchored to the rocks. The fucaceas, possessed of tough and flexible 

 stems, and attached to the rocks by holdfasts that cannot be separated from them by 

 any force tuggin^j at the stems and branches, are naturally adapted to resist the action 

 of waves and currents, while other more delicate species are swept away and carried 

 out to sea or thrown up on the rocky shores. 



2. At low water, a large extent of shore is left bare, and the alga? attached to the 

 rocks are exposed for several hours every day to the warm winds and drying power of 

 the summer sun. All plants unable to endure this ordeal must give place to the hardier 

 species. The delicate forms that inhabit the pools or marshy shores are consequently 

 unknown. 



3. The great rise and fall of the tides stir up the waters of the bay to a great depth 

 and as no broad areas of sand are exposed to the sun's rays to absorb heat and impart it 

 to the waters that cover them at the return of the tide, these waters are always cold. 

 Hence only algas capable of flourishing in the cold waters are adapted to these rugged 

 shores. 



The combination of these factors constitutes an environment which is fatal to all 

 but the most hardy species of littoral alg;e. All delicate forms must betake themselves 

 to retired creeks and sheltered inlets where many of them may doubtless be found ; but 

 they can only be reached by the collector who is fortunate enough to enjoy the advantage 

 of appropriate transit by water. 



Having failed, owing to the causes mentioned above, and the lack of necessary 

 facilities for identifying species, to secure the number of marine plants anticipated, the 



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