1895. ] Notes from My Herbarium. 495 
On a short visit to York Harbor, Maine, July 15, 1893, I 
took no press with me, for social duties made collecting out 
of the question. Walking along the cliffs with some friends, 
I noted the many plants about me, with the inward satisfac- 
tion that they were all duplicated in my herbarium. That 
feeling is always one of great gratification to me. Presently 
we reached a spot where we stopped to rest. It was close 
to the breaking waves and some ten feet above them, and as 
we sat down to enjoy the view, I noticed in the fine sand, 
which filled a shallow spot on the rock, some very small 
plants with purple flowers. The little fellows averaged an 
ered them floating on a pond. Starved they were most cer- 
tainly, and so was my loosestrife in the sand. An impro- 
vised baby press secured for me plenty of specimens. Con- 
trary to the ordinary description of the species the flowers 
were very conspicuous. Indeed it was this that attracted 
my attention. The little roots had worked their way down 
an inch or two into the sand in search of the much needed 
moisture. On the following Aug. 13th, I received from my 
friend, who was spending the summer at York Harbor, per- 
fect fruiting specimens of the plant from the same spot. The 
fruit was well developed, though the plants had not increased 
in size a bit. Fortunately the rains had given them moisure 
enough to sustain life. In fact for several days the little 
plants were entirely under water. My herbarium specimens 
of this species show the plant to vary in height from six to 
twenty inches. 
I do not tell these little incidents, so interesting to me, to 
claim any credit. Far from it. Perhaps many others do the 
same things too. It is open to all who will take the trouble, 
and if the account of what I am doing will stimulate any col- 
lector to do the same, I know that it will give added zest to 
his work, and will enrich his herbarium with material which 
he cannot get in any other way. 
Cambridge, Mass. 
