1864.] GEOLOGY AND BOTANY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 85 



more than fifty miles above the mouth of the river, and again at 

 the Two Brooks, from which a fine view is afi"orded of Blue 

 Mountain in the distance. About here I observed lying in the 

 bed of tjie stream a number of boulders of milk-white quartz, 

 highly crystallized within, but on the exterior much water-w^orn 

 and rounded. The soil is apparently fertile, and the river abounds 

 in rich intervale islands, sustaining a luxuriant vegetation. Be- 

 sides many of the plants already named, I gathered by the 

 side of the stream a single specimen of the Nodding Trillium, 

 TriVium cernuum, a plant which has not, so far as I know, been 

 found in any other portion of the Province — also Polygonatum 

 multijiorum. 



Higher up the stream a more distinct view of the Blue Moun- 

 tain range becomes apparent. Its central peak is sharply conical, 

 its sides making an angle of about 120". It rises immediately 

 from the river bank, and at its base is exposed high precipices of 

 thinly wooded trap. A portion of the mountain is undoubtedly 

 red sandstone, but the precipitous clifi"s and taluses along its flanks 

 distinctly indicate the trappean character of the summit. Near 

 its base are seen clifl's of bright red sandstone, which I found to 

 be calciferous like those farther down the river; but they did not, 

 like the latter, contain distinct geodes. 



Between the Blue Mountain and Nictau or Forks the land in 

 the vicinity of the river is low, and fertile, presenting to the geol- 

 ogist but little of interest. At one spot only, a ridge, composed of 

 dark, heavy, and compact rock, very much broken and distorted, 

 crosses the bed of the river. It is apparently grauwacke, but 

 lacks the mica of the latter. 



N^ar the Nictau or Forks several streams combine to form the 

 main river. The two main branches, flowing the one east and the 

 other west, after uniting turn abruptly, and pass ofi" to the south- 

 ward. The River Marmosekel also here joins the main river. 



After leaving the Nictau, and pursuing the left branch (so call- 

 ed, although geographically the right), the character of the coun- 

 try rapidly changes, becoming com par;', lively sterile, and support- 

 ing a much more Alpine vegetation than the district below. The 

 trees are principally pines, firs, and cedars, covered with a long, 

 pendant lichen {Usnea harbata, attaining a length of four or five 

 feet), and the ferns are generally low, presenting little variety. One 

 of the most common was Onoclca sensibilis. A few miles above 



