Po^onias and Limodorums 87 



roof of the mill-house where little Merwin lives. But 

 the shadows of hill and mountain were growing longer 

 in the valley as the sun sank toward the west, and it 

 behooved me to waste no more time dreaming on the 

 hilltop. So I slowly descended to the valley, groping 

 my way between bushy young pines, passing a herd 

 of gentle, meek-faced Jersey cows feeding on the hill- 

 side. I found many cow-paths running around the 

 bog, and was led out into the swamp at a point nearly 

 opposite the little white schoolhouse of Barber District, 

 Number Thirteen. 



I did not find the place rose-purple with the little 

 orchids, as it should have been, but I did find a few 

 dozen plants of Grass-Pinks {Limodorum tuberosiint), 

 and six or eight delicate rose-pink blossoms of Snake- 

 Mouth {Pogonia ophioglossoides). I gathered a few 

 flowers of each, grateful that any remained to assure 

 me that they were not quite extinct here, and I ob- 

 served how very careful one must be in plucking the 

 flowers not to pull the little roots and bulbs out of the 

 moss at the same time. 



All my plants grew east of the stream that runs 

 through the centre of the swamp. When I tried to 

 cross this creek, I found it so broad and deep and 

 muddy that I could not get anywhere near it. Wan- 

 dering toward the road skirting the bog, I came to a 

 rude board bridge over the stream, indicating a path 

 formerly leading through the swamp to Barber's Mill. 

 Some high- water tide had twisted and turned the plank 

 about so that only by catching and clinging to small 



