250 THE PLANT LIFE OF MARYLAND 



often coarse like fine conglomerate, and therefore having a pure 

 white sand or fine gravel, as the soil constituent of the bog. Most 

 of the bog plants already mentioned are found here, but one addi- 

 tion to the tree list is of value. In the forest near one bog on the 

 eastern face of the mountain, between Buena Vista and Pen Mar, 

 a single specimen of the Holly which is rare in the Midland Zone 

 was seen. 



Hagekstown Valley. 



In the deep soil of the alluvial bottoms of the wider valley there 

 is a considerable amount of the Mertcnsia virginica in the thickets 

 near the Witch Hazel and Hornbeam. The Dogwood is abundant 

 upon the slopes, and the Beaked Hazel occasional along the roads. 



Cavetown. — A little to the west of the end of the Kidge, at Cave- 

 town, there is a considerable outcrop of limestone, which is asso- 

 ciated with some few changes in the flora of the region, but these 

 changes are not of such a character as to introduce new species, but 

 rather repeat what has already been seen upon the limestone areas 

 of the Frederick Valley. It is chiefly of interest through the 

 occurrence there of Asplenium ruta-muraria, the previously recorded 

 station for which is the road to Harpers Ferry, on the west slope of 

 Elk Ridge. Large quantities of Locust are associated with the cal- 

 careous soil, as about Westminster, but there are few modifications 

 in the plant-cover of the hills. 



The Valley Floor. — The region from Cavetown west to North 

 Mountain has little interest to one looking for the original plant- 

 life of the state, for the wide valley between the two bounding 

 ridges is almost wholly in cultivation, and the woodlots, which were 

 quite a- feature of the upper Frederick valley, are much less fre- 

 quent here. The grassy roadsides, remarked upon previously, con- 

 tinue through this section and reduce the land surface upon which 

 the wild plants are to be found in other regions. Where there are 

 strips of uncultivated land they are usually occupied by the Yellow 

 Locust as the first tree, and by such shrubs as the Sumacs, Choke 

 Cherry, and in low spots by the Alder. The Elm is somewhat more 

 common than is the case in the other parts of the state and the 

 Ailanthus is occasionally found as an escaped tree. 



