no BELOW NIAGARA 



decorations. Pines, Hemlocks, Cedars, Elms, Maples, 

 and Oaks now rise in the giant strength of permanent 

 possession, but the rich and delicate floral decorations 

 of the passing seasons are everywhere abundant. 



The history of nature's handiwork is lying open. 

 In the stratified rocks that tower overhead, or are 

 piled about in picturesque irregularity, the marks of 

 marine animal life show that the strata were deposited 

 when Niagara was reached by an arm of the Atlantic. 

 Then comes the wearing and abrasion of the cataract, 

 which searched out and bored into every soft or 

 yielding crevice. The ** pot-holes *' drilled in the 

 rock seem almost to imply human agency and the 

 use of accurate machinery. The threatening ** Great 

 Eastern's stern ** hangs ominously over the irregular 

 paths. It has been rounded and formed on good lines 

 by the whirling currents that cut farther and farther 

 beneath it, but found an easier and lower outlet 

 before the great projecting mass was sufficiently 

 weakened to break away from the cliff. Caves and 

 shelters are abundant, and paths are made between 

 rocks that meet overhead in natural arches. 



The varied profusion of vegetation among the 

 rocks is seldom equalled. The place is a natural 

 nursery for Ferns and Lichens. Almost every rock is 

 coated and covered, and the graceful, wavy fronds 

 rise from every crevice and recess. The Walking 

 Fern, that reaches out one long, graceful leaf to send 



