Natural History of District of Columbia — McAtee i)l^ 



fringed orchids, and Poly gala lutea. A list showing the 

 great variety of trees occurring in the vicinity of Laurel has 

 been published by Robert Ridgway.*^" 



A little toward >Yashington from Laurel are Contee, Muir- 

 kirk and Ammendale, all profitable spots for botanical ex- 

 ploration. The first-named also has been quite productive of 

 both plant and animal fossils. 



Passing the Beltsville vicinage which has already been 

 described, it may be noted that at Hollywood there is a boggy 

 swamp, notable for Dryopteris simulata, and an extensive 

 colony of Unifolium canadense. Branchville is adjacent to 

 a large wooded swamp which harbors various hawks and a 

 larger than usual number of small mammals. 



Riverdale and Hyattsville are notable chiefly for their 

 Magnolia Bogs, the character of which has previously been 

 discussed. The former locality is noted for best stocked 

 climbing fern locality and the latter for colonies of Iris 

 verna and of Parthenium integrifoVnuii. Excavating opera- 

 tions in the Hyattsville bog have resulted in its having more 

 and deejjer water than the remainder of these bogs. This 

 favors the development of aquatic insects, among which 

 Pelocoris and Notonecta uhleri are rarely collected else- 

 where. 



Bladensburg is an old place, with many historical asso- 

 ciations, and its environs offer good collecting. Formerly 

 it was a favorite resort for collectors. It is an especially 

 good place for the small vernal beeflies {Bomhylias pyy- 

 maeus and B. pulclwllus) and for the interesting autumnal 

 robber fly {Xicoles politus). Such good, although not rare, 

 bugs as the Nabid {Carthasis decora tus) and the Mirid 

 (Cylapus tenuicornis) have more than once been collected 

 at this point. 



Somewhat farther down the Eastern Branch, below the 

 Pennsylvania Railroad, is Licking Banks, the hill behind 

 which is one of the "high spots" most frequented in spring 

 by migrating birds. An exposure of an indurated sandy 

 deposit at the foot of the hill furnishes nesting sites for 



o'Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 17, 1894, p. 417. 



