INTRODUCTION. j v,* /", \ : , j ' ; ,r >v 



IN the summer of 1913, the writer made a botanical collecting trip 

 to Sable Island, Nova Scotia. The journey was taken at the sugges- 

 tion of Prof. Merritt L. Fernald, without whose continued inspiration 

 and practical assistance, its results oould scarcely have been brought 

 together in the present report. There are many other acknowledg- 

 ments to make, especially to Dr. B. L. Robinson, who arranged to 

 have the writer go as a collector from the Gray Herbarium, and who 

 has forwarded in every way the completion of the work. Miss Mary 

 A. Day Librarian of the Gray Herbarium, has frequently been of 

 great assistance, especially in bibliographical matters. The writer 

 wishes particularly to express his thanks to the responsible Canadian 

 Government officials because of their constant readiness to make the 

 expedition possible and pleasant. Unless a shipwrecked waif, one 

 may not land on Sable Island without a permit from the Government. 

 Mr. A. Johnston, Deputy Minister of Marine and Fisheries, of Otta- 

 wa, and Mr. C. H. Harvey, Agent of Marine and Fisheries, at Hali- 

 fax, gave permission to visit the island and arranged for transporta- 

 tion on Government steamers. The Superintendent of Sable Is- 

 land, Capt. J. U. Blakeney, both officially and personally, was help- 

 ful in every way possible, as were the members of the staff of the Life 

 Saving Stations, the Lighthouses, and the Marconi Station. In Hal- 

 ifax by good fortune it was possible to meet Mr. Robert J. Bouteillier, 

 former Superintendent of Sable Island. His unusual intelligence and 

 keen powers of observation had given him during his long period of 

 residence 28 years, an unrivalled knowledge of Sable Island and its 

 phenomena. This knowledge he has frequently shared. To the 

 late Mr. J. M. Macoun of the Canadian Geological Survey and to Dr. 

 H. T. Giissow of the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, thanks are 

 extended for the loan of specimens. Mr. Edwin R. Jump has kindly 

 read part of the manuscript and checked it with his intensive knowl- 

 edge of the history of Sable Island. The accompanying plates were 

 drawn by Mr. F. Schuyler Mathews. 



