176 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part I- 



MATERIALS FOR THE CATALOGUE. 



AUTHORITIES. 



which sweep over them, do not probably 

 quite reach the true limits of trees, and 

 possess only a few of the alpine plants of 

 the Wliite Mountains, whicli are about 

 80 miles distant to the eastward." The 

 only truly alpine species found on these 

 mountains are, perhaps, Juncus trijidus, 

 and Hicrochloa alpina. Other species, 

 almost alpine, are Poa alpina, Empetrum 

 nigrum, Salix Uva-ursi, Bartsia pallida, 

 Lycopndium Srlago,&c. 



The materials upon which the present 

 Catalogue is founded, are the following. 



The Catalogue of the plants of Middle- 

 bury, publislied in 1821 in Professor Hall's 

 " Statistical Account ot'the town of Mid- 

 dlebury," and which was subsequently 

 republished in tlie first edition of the pres- 

 ent work, with the addition of the com- 

 mon cultivated plants, and about 30 indi- 

 genous and naturalized species, some of 

 which were probably collected in other 

 parts of the state, making in the whole 

 569 indigenous and naturalized species. 

 The author of this Catalogue was Dr. Ed- 

 win James, tiie well known botanist in 

 Long's Expedition to the Rock}' Moun- 

 tains. It was probably made almost en- 

 tirely from his own collections, and 

 though literally a mere list of names, it 

 bears the marks every where of the great 

 accuracy and research of its author, tlien 

 a young botanist. It is still the only au- 

 thority for several rare species. 



The collections made by James W. 

 RoBBiiNs, M.D., of U.xbridge, Mass., who 

 in the year 1829 examined withtiie great- 

 est care and success the whole western 

 border of Vermont, from Massachusetts 

 to Canada. Dr. Robbins entered the state 

 at fownal, on the 20th of May, and pass- 

 ing slowly along the western border to 

 tiie Canada line, examined tlie large isl- 

 ands of lake Champlain, and afterwards 

 visited Camel's Hump Mountain, leaving 

 the state at Windsor on the 10th of June. 

 On the 20th of July he again entered the 

 state at Guildhall, and after examining 

 the southern border of lake Mcmphrema- 

 gog, and the towns in that vicinity, he 

 visited Mansfield Mountain. From tlience 

 he proceeded to Burlington and Colches- 

 ter, where he first discovered the remark- 

 able botanical region at High Bridge and 

 Winooski falls, so rich in rare and inter- 

 esting plants, and after examining the 

 shores of the lake and the islands of South 

 and North Hero, he visited tiie mouth of 

 Otter Creek, and, proceeding along the 

 western range of towns from Shoreham to 

 Pownal, left the state at Brattleboro' on 

 the 23d of August. Dr. Robbins found 



* Heiglit uf .Mansficlil mountain 4,979 feet, and of 

 Camel's Hump 4,163 feet, aOovo tide water. 



and collected a vast number of rare and 

 interesting speries, a large part of which 

 were additions lo the Flora of New Eng- 

 land, and many of them were also new to 

 the United States. 



Tlie collections of John Carey, Esq., 

 of the city of N(;w York, well known to 

 Botanists by his contributions to the Flo- 

 ra of Torrey and Cray, who resided at 

 Bellows Falls during the five years pre- 

 ceding 1836, and who also made frequent 

 visits to the northeastern counties of the 

 state. Though Mr. Carey's examinations 

 were principally confined to the eastern 

 part of the state, which is very inferior as 

 a botanizing region to the western border, 

 yet he collected very many rare and inter- 

 esting plants, among which we may men- 

 tion Calypso bullosa, Listera convallurioi- 

 dcs, and Equisctum varicgatum. Mr. Ca- 

 rey has also added to the catalogue a 

 large number of common species, espe- 

 cially Grasses and Cyperacese. 



The collections of W. F. Macrae, Esq. 

 of Montreal, Canada, who, while resident 

 at Burlington a few years ago, as a stu- 

 dent 'in the University of Vermont, 

 examined with great zeal the Botany of 

 that vicinity, and besides the more com- 

 mon plants of that region, collected ma- 

 ny rare and interesting species, among 

 which were Pteris gracilis, and Draba 

 ariibisans, the first new to New England, 

 the last collected'there only by Michaux. 

 Mr. Macrae also, in 1839, in company 

 with Edward Tuckerman, Jr., Esq., the 

 author of several valuable papers on the 

 Lichens of New England, visited Camel's 

 Hump and Mansfield mountains, where, 

 besides other rare species, they collected, 

 on the sides of Mansfield, Jlspidium iicule- 

 alinn, found in the United States only by 

 Pursh, and by him in the same region. 

 Mr. Tuckerman has also communicated 

 other species collected by him in various 

 parts of Vermont. 



Several very interesting species were 

 added to the Flora of Vermont by the late 

 J. Chandler, M. D., of Bennington, Vt., 

 who also accompanied Dr. Robbins du- 

 ring a part of his first tour, and several 

 are given on the authority of Isaac 

 Branch, M. D., of Abbeville District, S. 

 C, Jeremiah IJurge, M. D., of Drews- 

 ville, N. H., M. M. Reed, M.D. of Jack- 

 sonville, HI., and P. T. Washburn, Esq. 

 of Ludlow, Vt. 



All the rarer species collected by Dr. 

 Robbins, and many of the common ones, 

 are ascertained from specimens received 

 from him — the remainder rest on the au- 

 thority of his journals in my possession, 

 which were made daily during his tour. 

 From his thorough acquaintance with the 



