1891.] ESSAYS. 103 



tunity to keep a record of tlie first appearance of each of our 

 native tiovvers, the beaked hazel and the common hazel were 

 among the earliest, the fringed gentian and the witch-hazel were 

 the last. Between them came about six hundred species, the 

 territory covered being quite small and only a limited time being 

 allowed to devote to it. 



Some of our native plants have an especial interest, from the 

 fact that they have played an important part in the history of 

 botany. Three illustrations must suffice. The first, pipewort, 

 the only European representative of an especially American 

 order, attracted the attention of Robert Brown, the most dis- 

 tinguished botanist of the first half of this century, and caused 

 his life to be devoted exclusively to the service of botany. The 

 discovery of that somewhat rare and curious moss, buxbaumia 

 aphylla, directed the attention of Sir William J. Hooker, the 

 organizer of Kew Gardens on its present high basis, toward 

 botany and fixed the bent of his long and active life. It was 

 the Spring Beauty that Asa Gray, who studied medicine, early 

 watched. 



An account of our native flora would be incomplete without 

 some reference to those plants which produce edible fruits. 

 About 24 species produce edible berries and 40 inedible berries. 



Our flora is rich in the number of its forest trees and shrubs. 

 Counting the evergreen plants that form a part of the forest 

 flora, we have about 140 species, a noble list. Our knowledge 

 of the local flora can scarcely be said to be ever complete. 

 New species are being introduced in manifold ways, and many 

 escape even watchful eyes. 



Al)out seven years ago the Worcester Natural History Society 

 published a preliminary catalogue of the plants of the County, 

 giving 812 species. I remember distinctly this circumstance 

 connected with it. I often used to walk along the road from 

 Millbury to Sutton. A slightly longer walk than usual one day 

 resulted in the finding of two species not there recorded, arabis 

 canadensis, sickle pod and water parsnip, then referred in the 

 manual only to Pennsylvania around the Pocono mountains and 

 to Connecticut. The additions to the flora since 1883 amount 

 to 150 species, contributed by a considerable number of inter- 



