ST. JOHN: SABLE ISLAND. 43 



leave this problem, then, having advanced no farther than the stat- 

 ing of the difficulty. These wet dune hollows support the most abun- 

 dant vegetation of any part of the island. The first plant to appear 

 and the quickest to spread is Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait., and it 

 forms a thick carpet in all of the wet hollows, though it is sometimes 

 obscured by taller-growing plants. Conspicuous among its compan- 

 ions in such places are Lycopodium inundatum L., Car ex canescens 

 L., var. disjuncta Fernald, Juncus balticus Willd., var. littoralis En- 

 gelm., J. articulatus L., var. obtusatus Engelm., Sisyrinchium gram- 

 ineum Curtis, Calopogon pulchellus (Sw.) R. Br., Hypericum mrgin- 

 icum L., Viola lanceolata L., Lysimachia terrestris (L.) BSP., Lycopus 

 uniflorus Michx., var. ovatus Fernald & St. John, and Agalinis pau- 

 percula (Gray) Britton, var. neoscotica (Greene) Pennell & St. John. 



FRESH- WATER PONDS. A mere stage beyond the wet dune hollows 

 are the fresh-water ponds which occupy all of the deepest dune hol- 

 lows. Some are only seasonal and disappear during any dry spell, 

 but a considerable number are permanently maintained by the rain 

 water. 



Most of these ponds have a pure sand bottom, but a few of the deep- 

 er and more permanent have accumulated a layer of black muck over 

 the bottom. Around their shores they have the cranberries and most 

 of the other plants characteristic of the wet dune hollows, but they 

 have many additional species, as Eleocharis palustris (L.) R. & S., 

 Juncus bulbosus L., Iris versicolor L., Rumex Britannica L., Polygo- 

 num hydropiperoides Michx., var. psilostachyum St. John, Tillaea 

 aquatica L., Potentilla monspeliensis L., var. norvegica (L.) Rydb., P. 

 palustris (L.) Scop., Lathyrus palustris L., vars. macranthus (T. G. 

 White) Fernald, and retusus Fernald & St. John, Epilobium molle 

 Torr., var. sabulonense Fernald, Centaurium umbellatum Gilib., Men- 

 yanthes trifoliata L., and Teucrium canadense L., var. littorale (Bick- 

 nell) Fernald. 



In one area, that part of the "old land" bordering the fresh-water 

 ponds near the Marconi Station, conditions have been stable enough, 

 and the vegetation vigorous enough, to form a deposit of loamy soil. 

 It does not exceed a few acres in extent and nowhere is it more than 

 a foot and a half in thickness. It lies directly on the white sand that 

 forms the rest of the island. The vegetation on this loamy area is 

 more vigorous, but not different in character from that around the 

 borders of other fresh-water ponds. In the shallow borders of the 

 ponds is another series of species, not to be found in the wet dune hoi- 



