COUNTRY AND HISTORY i6r 



by the name of juniper. All of them grow to a very fair 

 size, and the timber obtained is of rather unusually good 

 quality owing to their slow growth. Poplars are numerous 

 in certain districts, especially near rivers. Of the hard 

 woods the birches are most abundant. Maples are also 

 found, but not commonly of very great size. 



Just as in parts of Canada and the northerly States, the 

 trees are covered with a remarkable growth of mosses, the 

 most conspicuous being the usnea, or old man's beard, which 

 clings to the trunks and hangs from most of the branches in 

 graceful masses and imparts a curious effect to the woods, 

 the grey colour looking almost like frost under the shade of 

 the branches. Moss seems to grow on everything that is 

 more or less shaded, so that the ground in the woods is a 

 carpet of the thickest and richest mosses, which cover each 

 stump and fallen tree, completely concealing them in a green 

 shroud. Even stones and rocks are covered, so that moss, 

 and moss only, is seen in the woods, and the forms of the 

 prostrate logs and standing stumps are but faintly visible. In 

 the autumn when the golden leaves of the birches bestrew 

 the rich, green ground, the effect is wonderful, especially 

 after a rain, when the vividness of the colours is so greatly 

 enhanced. 



Unfortunately, walking through the woods of Newfound- 

 land is not altogether a joy, owing to the denseness 

 of the vegetation, the unevenness of the ground and the 

 great number of fallen trees. Only along the erratic Caribou 

 roads can one hope to make one's way with comparative ease 

 and comfort, and even on these trails it is always difficult to 

 carry a load, on account of the low-growing branches, which 

 form a regular network of wiry twigs. The best walking 

 may be found in the open marshes and barrens. Most of 

 these are formed of peat in its various stages. When it is 



