THE HEATHER IN AMERICA. 



Mass., adding the remark that "It may have been in- 

 troduced, unlikely as it seems, or we have to rank 

 this heath with Scolopendrium officinarum, Subularia 

 aquatica, and Marsilea quadrifolia, as species of the 

 Old World so sparingly represented in the New that 

 they are known only at single stations perhaps late 

 lingerers rather than newcomers." And when, in a 

 subsequent volume of this journal, Mr. Rand, after 

 exploring the locality, gave a detailed account of the 

 case, and of the probabilities that the plant may be 

 truly native, we added a note to say that the prob- 

 ability very much depended upon the confirmation of 

 the Newfoundland habitat. As to that, we had been 

 verbally informed, in January, 1839, by the late David 

 Don, that he possessed specimens of Calluna collected 

 in Newfoundland by an explorer of that island. Our 

 friend, Mr. C. J. Sprague, however, after having in 

 vain endeavored to find in any publication of Pylaie's 

 any mention of this heath in Newfoundland, and hav- 

 ing ascertained that no specimen was extant in Py- 

 laie's herbarium or elsewhere, that he could trace, 

 naturally took a skeptical view, and in the proceed- 

 ings of the Boston Natural History Society for Feb- 

 ruary and for May, 1862, he argued plausibly, from 

 negative evidence, against the idea that any native 

 heath had ever been found in Newfoundland or on 

 the American continent. It is with much interest, 

 therefore, that we read the announcement of Dr. Hew- 

 ett C. Watson (in the Natural History Review for 

 April last) that: 



"Specimens of Calluna vulgaris from Newfound- 

 land have very recently come into my hands, under 



39 



