13 



greens, spruce, and fir, which covered the surface of 

 our mountains, and first suggested for them the name 

 of Verd Mont, grow to a respectable size almost to 

 their highest summits, several of which exceed 4,000 

 feet in height. With the exception of seven or eight 

 species, our list of forest trees embraces all that have 

 hitherto been found in New England, and three, or 

 more, species, which have been found in no other New 

 England State. 



Aside from the marine plants furnished by the sea- 

 board, and a few alpine plants found on the White 

 Mountains of New Hampshire, Vermont is known to 

 produce nearly all of the indigenous plants of New 

 England, and in addition to these, some 40 or more 

 species which are not found in any other New Eng-r 

 land State. These 40 or more species, which are not 

 found to the eastward of Vermont, are mostly confined 

 to the western border of the State, and are, in general, 

 such as are common in the State of New York, and fur- 

 ther westward. As the botany of Vermont has yet been 

 only partially explored, there still being considerable 

 sections of the State which no skilful botanist has ever 

 visited, it is not unreasonable to suppose that many 

 new plants remain to stimulate and reward the labor 

 of future search. 



While the laborers in Vermont, in the fields of 

 geology and botany, have been very few, those engag- 

 ed in the investigation of the zoology of the State have 

 been still fewer. The meagre account of our animals 

 contained in Dr. Williams' valuable history of Vermont, 

 until very recently embraced almost all that had ever 

 been published respecting them. But that work was 

 written at a veiy early period, when the subject of 



