244 Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



not at all conspicuous. It is not until the latter part of August, or 

 the earlier portion of September, when the bristles of the head begin 

 to develop and show themselves, that it reaches its stage of at- 

 tractiveness ; then the large white silky heads, each at the top of a 

 tall slender stalk, appear, when looked at from a level, to be poised 

 in the air above the marsh. Few bits of nature, except it be the 

 delicately poised leaves of the aspen, bring to mind so forcibly and 

 continually a sense of the reality and restlessness of the air. The 

 heads of the patch are somewhere at all times swaying or bobbing, 

 and of several attempts to photograph them, none was quite satis- 

 factory. 



As the marsh in which these plants grow is surrounded by an 

 almost impenetrable thicket and is itself much like a wet sponge 

 to walk on, the splendor of this attractive patch is unknown to 

 most of the inhabitants of the vicinity or the people who visit the 

 lake. The only place where any view at all satisfactory can be 

 had of it is from one of the hills in Hawk's field which over- 

 looks the marsh, and here the view is too distant to give an ade- 

 quate notion of the attractiveness of these plants at close range. 



Eriophorum gracile retains its attractiveness until the snow 

 comes to be its rival. If the plants are collected late in August or 

 early in September before the seeds ripen, the bristles remain tight, 

 and it makes an attractive dried bouquet, quite as attractive as pam- 

 pas grass, and contrasting with it in its compact cottony ball. The 

 bristles are usually snow-white but sometimes are a rich tawny. 

 The heads can be collected ever after rains have given them a 

 bedraggled look, as after drying out they easily can be fluffed up. 



In addition to the patch at Hawk's marsh, some was seen in a 

 tamarack near Fletcher's Lake. 



129. TALL COTTON-GRASS 



ERIOPHOKUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM Roth 



Not particularly abundant in the neighborhood of the lake. A 

 number of plants were seen in the tamarack west of the lake on 

 May 22, 1901, but none was seen nearer the lake. This cotton grass 

 does not form as nearly compact patches as E. gracile but the 

 plants are scattered among other sedges. The bright white of the 

 delicate drooping tassels takes the eye at a considerable distance 

 and the effect is more striking than that of most flowers — the ap- 

 pearance being that of great snowflakes lodged here and there 

 among the knee-high grass. This sedge is in its glory in the early 

 part of the season — in the latter part of June or during July — and 

 during the latter part of the summer. In the autumn these tassels 



