WILD, OK NATI]'E FLOWERS. 



53 



The bog of which I speak abounds in shrubs, among which we see 

 the narrow, dark-leaved Sheep-laurel, Kalmia g/aitca, with its rose- 

 coloured flowers ; the aromatic Sweet-Clale, Myrica Gale ; and Labrador- 

 tea, Ledum latifoliuin with its revolute, rosemary-like, narrow leaves, and 

 whitish flowers. Above all, for beaut}', is the White Peat Moss itself, 

 with its soft, velvety foliage, varying in shade from pale sea-green or 

 creamy-white to delicate pink and deeper rose. 1 know of nothing more 

 lovely than are these exquisite Sphaguunis : nor are they without their 

 value, for they are greatly used by the florist and gardener in packing 

 roots and plants for sale. 



There are more vegetable treasures to be found in the peat marsh 

 near Hurricane Point than I have noticed. A deer track leads beyond 

 this marsh to "Fairy Lake." This lake is like a mountain tarn ; it is 

 surrounded by lofty rocks,^and is not a mere inlet from Stoney Lake, as it 

 now appears, being encircled on all sides by a stony barrier of rugged 

 rocks, some rising from the water's edge, bare and precipitous, or clothed 

 with grey, hoary tufts of Cladonias and other lichens and mosses. In 

 the clefts may be found the somewhat rare Woodsia Ilvensis, Hairy 

 Woodsia, and the Rock Polypody, F. tndgare. The last named is 

 not, indeed, an uncommon adornment to the rocky bluffs and stony- 

 islands of our back lakes, and enlivens the rugged, grey, rocky surfaces 

 with its bright, glossy fronds and golden fruit dots. The rocks decline 

 to the' side facing the larger lake, and towards the western corner there 

 is a bed of the White Peat Moss, overshadowed by a forest of that 

 grand fern, Osmunda regalis, worthy of its regal name, for here, among 

 the soft Sphagnum, and towering to the height of five and six feet, it 

 bears above its light green leafage (or should I ?>^y frofidage ?) its rich 

 tufts of cinnamon-brown sporangia. Beneath the Osmundas, and rising 

 above the mosses, the crimson-lipped leaves and large, red flowers of 

 the "Pitcher Plant" Sarracema purpurea., may be seen in great perfection. 



These are but a few of the attractions of Fairy Lake, for there are 

 flowers and flowering shrubs, that grow in the wild, rocky soil, of many 

 kinds. The beautiful spikes of the rose-blossomed Spirea touieniosa, the 

 Hardback of the Indians, and the graceful white Spirea salicifoliay 

 wild Roses, and (iolden-rods, and Asters, with many others are scattered 

 round this lovely lakelet, rendering it a place of interest to the botanist 

 and to the j^leasure-seeking tourist. 



Pitcher Plant — Soldier's Drinking Cup — Sarracema purpurea (L.) 



Even the most casual observer, in passing a bed of these most 

 remarkable plants, must be struck by their appearance. Indeed, from 

 root to flower, they are in every way worthy of our notice and 

 admiration. 



