56 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [March 



mountains, with patches of snow near their bare heathy summits. 

 As we paddled upwards above this place the scenery was very 

 beautiful, — each bend in the winding river presented some new 

 and enchanting combination of water, meadow, wood, and moun- 

 tain, in varying shades and colours. Along the river bank, which 

 was bordered with green and hoary alders, beaked hazel, red 

 dogwood {Cormis stolon if era), and other species of Comus, I 

 picked up the Water Horehound (^Lycopus Europceus), Mouse- 

 ear Chick weed (^Cerastium vulgatum), and Small-flowered Crow- 

 foot (^Ranunculus ahordvus'). 



About twelve miles from the month of the river the Balm-of- 

 Gilead Poplar (Populus halsami/era), gi*ew in clumps along the 

 stream and in their shade the Cow parsnip attained an immense 

 size. On the alluvial flats bordering the river the magnificent 

 Ostrich and Cinnamon Ferns (^Strutliiopteris Germariica et Os- 

 munda cinnamomea) , spread out their luxuriant fronds in the form 

 of great green vases among the high cranberry bushes (Viburnun 

 opalus), and the water and straight yellow-leaved avens shot up 

 their wiry stems amongst the grass and sedges. Quantities of 

 several species of Pondweeds formed tangled masses in the quiet 

 pools, on whose surface floated the round shining leaves and 

 yellow flowers of the Spotted Dock. In some places along the 

 river the ground in the wood was covered with a thick soft carpet 

 of various mosses, {Hijpnum Boscii, crista-castrensis, splendens 

 et delicatulum), and the trunks of the trees were matted with 

 tufts of Nechera pennata. In these rich damp woods the sweet, 

 little one-flowered Pyrolas (J\'Ioneses uni/iora), hid their single 

 white blossoms in the mossy carpet, and the False Beech-drops 

 (Monotropa hypopiti/s) pushed up their wax-like stems. Here, 

 too, the smaller Lady's Slipper (Ct/pripedium parviflorimi) 

 nodded its mocassin-like flowers to its plainer cousins, the Dwarf 

 and Northern green Orchids (^Flatanthera ohtusata et dilatatd), 

 and the many flowered Coral-root {CoraUorrhiza nmltiflora). 

 Among the many ferns observed were the Lady Fern (Asplenium 

 filix-foemina) and the New York Shield-Fern (Aspidmm Novce- 

 horacense), with numerous bushes of the swamp Gooseberry 

 (^Rihes lacustre), wild Red Currant (^Eibes ruhrum), Few-flowered 

 Arrow wood (Vihurnum paucijiorum) , the Swamp Fly-honey- 

 suckle [^Lonkera ohlongifolmm), Low and Alpine Birch {Betula 

 pumila et nana), while the tall wild nettle gave a sharp reminder 

 of its presence with its pungent hairs. 



