INTRODUCTION. 



I have found myself indebted to many authors of 

 botanical lists for the information I give regarding the 

 distribution of plants, and I have had frequently to 

 congratulate myself upon the possession of that excel- 

 lent work, Brainerd, Jones, and Eggleston's Flora of 

 Vermont. But it seems as though I am most indebted, 

 for many things, to the late gifted Dr. E. Newlin Wil- 

 liams, who, while this book was going to press, lost his 

 life in an excursion during a bitter cold wave in Febru- 

 ary among the White Hills we both loved so well. He 

 would have made his mark as a botanist if he had chosen 

 that profession, and he was more than well informed in 

 many other departments of knowledge. Not long ago 

 we trudged together on a botanical excursion over the 

 slopes of Mt. Washington, and I found myself depend- 

 ing upon him for the identification of many an alpine 

 species ; he knew them all at a glance, and their whole 

 history as well. From him I received the specimen of 

 Belamcanda which is drawn here, together with much 

 information regarding the flora of eastern Pennsylvania. 

 I had looked forward to the time when I should place 

 this book in his hands and say, " Here is one of the re- 

 sults of our pleasant mountain rambles together." 



I am also indebted to others for help in the writing of 

 this volume. I soon found my " wild garden " a field of 

 work too narrow to enable me to record all that might 

 be recorded regarding the visitations of insects ; hence I 

 was glad to turn to those remarkable essays on the sub- 

 ject by Prof. Charles Robertson which appeared in the 

 Botanical Gazette. Then, too, by the courtesy of Dr. 

 Robinson, Curator of the Gray Herbarium, practically 

 the whole magnificent collection of valuable specimens 

 and the splendid library have been open to me for 

 reference. 



One must always ask for the indulgence of the reader 

 and apologize if mistakes appear, but if they do it will 

 be in spite of great vigilance. Again, much of the de- 

 scriptive text may seem somewhat bald and brief through 

 the effort to sustain the portable character of the book ; 

 thus the brilliant and extensive Composite family suf- 

 fers for want of elbow-room. But, on the whole, I con- 

 xix 



