Cat- Ta il Ma rshes 



91 



Cat-tail Marshes — In the region of great lakes every 

 open area of water up to ten feet in depth is likely to 

 be invaded by the cat-tail flag {Typha). The ready 

 dispersal of the seeds by winds scatters the species 

 everywhere, and no permanent wet spot on the remotest 

 hill-top is too small to have at least a few plants. Along 



Fig. 26. An open-water area (Parker's Pond) in the Montezuma Marsh in 

 Central New York. Formerly it teemed with wild water fowl. It is sur- 

 rounded by miles of cat-tail flags (Typha) of the densest sort of growth. 



the shores of the Great Lakes and in the broad shoals 

 bordering on the Seneca River there are meadow-like 

 expanses of Typha stretching away as far as the eye 

 can see. Many other plants are there also, as will be 

 noted in a subsequent chapter, but Typha is the 

 dominant plant, and the one that occupies the fore- 

 front of the advancing shore vegetation. It masses its 

 crowns and numberless interlaced roots at the surface 



