HUCKLEBERRY FAMILY 



shores of Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean, it seems 

 to gain size and flavor out of the very conditions that 

 dwarf and destroy its less hardy competitors. For 

 there it is acid, not acrid, and pronounced to be the 

 equal, by those who have eaten it there, of the Cran- 

 berry. May not something be due to the appetite of 

 the eater in that northern clime ? 



" It is true, however, that on the north shore of the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence the fisher folk gather it in large 

 quantities for their own use, calling it the Low-bush 

 Cranberry. 



" In some places together with Empetrum nigrum it 

 forms the sole food of the larger migratory birds as 

 they return to the north in the spring. In the spring 

 it is eagerly sought by the black bear, and on the 

 islands in Hudson Bay and along the Arctic coasts the 

 polar bear spends much of his time in tearing up the 

 low evergreen plants in order to get at the fruit more 

 easily ; for it is on the under side and almost touching 

 the earth that the berries are found in greatest num- 

 bers. Immense patches of ground covered with the 

 dead plants may often be found, telling where bruin 

 has been at work. All summer long the last season's 

 fruit may be found mixed with the flowers or with the 

 green berries, and is then eaten by many birds in pref- 

 erence to anything else." 



338 



