ARCTOSTAPHYLOS UVA-URSI. BEAR-BERRY. 79 



apex of the branchlets in the autumn, and remain in readi- 

 ness to open as soon as the earliest call of spring is heard. 

 Though the flowers are generally of a smooth, waxy white, they 

 do not seem constantly so, for Mr. Coleman observes that the 

 "corolla and stamens are hairy, in specimens growing at Grand 

 Rapids and other parts of Michigan," and furthermore, that "the 

 margins of the leaves are ciliate, and the petioles and branches 

 pubescent." These facts are very interesting as indicating that, 

 although the plant has so great a geographical range and seems 

 always the same, it may break up in the course of time and form 

 several species. 



In its geographical relations there is much to interest the 

 student. Dr. Gray says it is found trailing over rocks and bare 

 hills in the North, and this is, probably, the experience of most 

 collectors. In New Jersey, however, where it is very common, 

 it is generally found growing in sandy pine barrens, and rarely, 

 if at all, on the hills. In Pennsylvania, it grows chiefly along 

 the Delaware, opposite to New Jersey, and in spots that have 

 evidently, from the number of New Jersey plants and the 

 geological character of the soil, been cut off in ancient times 

 from what is now that State, by changes in the river-bed. In 

 the West, it is also found on the sandy shores of the great 

 lakes. On the western side of Lake Michigan, it collects the 

 dry, blowing sands in winter, and the new growth pushes through 

 in spring, in this way increasing in size from year to year, at 

 length forming hillocks of many feet high. The effect in 

 spring, when these hillocks are covered with blossoms, must be 

 very beautiful, and the writer of this can testify to the unique 

 appearance in autumn when the holly-like berries upon them 

 have ripened. The Bear-Berry does not seem to be abundant 

 in Ohio, but has been found by Mr. Beardslee near Sandusky. 

 It is found along the Potomac, and though not referred to by 

 Chapman in his " Southern Flora," is reported from Hillsville, in 

 Virginia, by Dr. Haller, and, no doubt, exists much further 

 South. 



