56 PROCEEDINGS: BOSTON SOCIETY NATURAL HISTORY. 



very high winds and all the leaves are more or less blighted, and some 

 of the gooseberry and currant bushes are stripped. As I have mention- 

 ed before shelter is necessary here to success." 



Supt. Bouteillier in the succeeding years continued to report on 

 the condition of the young trees. Each year his report was more and 

 more like a list of casualties due to the wind or the drought. In 1910, 

 he made a careful census 1 of the survivors, finding 72 live. 



During my visit to Sable Island in 1913, I was naturally much in- 

 terested in the result of the tree planting, and carefully inspected 

 each of the sites. I found 77 individuals. In all cases Supt. Bou- 

 teillier and I did not identify the trees as the same, but this is easy 

 to understand as all of them are little dwarfed, blasted sprigs which 

 never flower or fruit and which have very abnormal foliage. In all 

 the important details we do agree, that out of the original planting 

 in 1901 of 81,345 trees, as well as 50 pounds of seed of Pinus maritima 

 there are now but 75 or so individuals alive, none of these exceeding 

 the height of the sheltering Beach Grass. The attempt to forest 

 these sand dunes was an absolute failure. 



After a review of all the circumstances connected with this tree 

 planting, no error in planning, no omission, no carelessness or acci- 

 dent in the planting is apparent. Large numbers of the trees that 

 have successfully reclaimed similar areas were used, as well as a great 

 variety of other possible trees and shrubs. It would seem that, al- 

 though a few trees probably did grow on the island as late as 1633 

 the decreased size and height of the island since then had so reduced 

 the amount of shelter from the fierce winds and storms that at pres- 

 ent no trees could be made to stand the extreme climatic conditions. 

 This remains, however, a distinct challenge to the foresters. It is 

 hoped that sometime they may be able to meet it successfully. 



CATALOGUE OF THE VASCULAR PLANTS. 



In the following catalogue different fonts of type are used to dis- 

 tinguish the different elements of the flora. 

 Native plants are indicated by full-faced type. 

 Adventive plants are indicated by large and small capitals. 

 Discredited records are enclosed in brackets. 



1 Dominion Experimental Farms, Report of the Director, Results of Exper- 

 iments in Tree Planting on Sable Island, 54-55 (1910). 



