October. 1920.1 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



137 



THE FERNS OF HATLEY. STANSTEAD COUNTY. QUEBEC. 1920. 



By H. Mousley. 



In my second paper on the orchids of Hatley. 

 "The Canadian Field-Naturalist," Vol. 

 XXXIV, 1920, No. 3. p. 44, I intimated that 

 probably about forty species and varieties of ferns 

 had been collected here in 1919, and that these 

 would be dealt with in a separate paper. This it had 

 been my intention to do early this year, but from one 

 cause or another the matter has had to be postponed. 

 This delay, which at first appeared vexatious, has 

 really been beneficial, as it has given me another sea- 

 son in which to further prosecute my studies and at 

 the same time add some new species to the list. For 

 the benefit of those interested in ferns only, and who 

 may not have read any of my previous papers on 

 the birds, orchids and butterflies of the district, it 

 seems almost necessary to again say a few words on 

 the nature of the country surroundmg Hatley. The 

 village itself lies at an elevation of about 1.000 feet 

 above the sea level, being backed on its eastern side 

 by a ridge of hills rising some three hundred feet 

 higher. The ground on the western side eventually 

 slopes away until it reaches the level of Lake Massa- 

 wippe (about 530 feet) a fine sheet of water nine 

 miles in length, with an average breadth of about one 

 mile. On its western shore, another ridge of hills 

 known as the Massawippi Hills rises some 900 feet 

 above the level of the lake. The country all round 

 is well wooded, and there are numerous small streams 

 most of which eventually find their way into the lake. 

 In the deciduous woods, the prevailing trees are 

 maple, birch, ash, elm, beech, cherry, butternut and 

 poplar, whilst the coniferous ones consist of spruce, 

 fir, hemlock, pine, tamarack and cedars. The geo- 

 logical strata for the most part consists of a fine- 

 grained sedimentary rock, containing pyrite in some 

 cases, whilst slightly calcareous in others, with veins 

 of quartz appearing here and there, as well as gran^ 

 ite. As in common with the rest of the Eastern 

 Townships, the soils have been almost entirely 

 formed during the glacial period, which is the most 

 recent outstanding geological event in the history of 

 this district. Any soils which previously existed, were 

 apparently largely carried away by the movement of 

 the ice, and even the solid rock was deeply eroded. 

 On the retreat of the glacier, there was left a blanket 

 of unconsolidated materials, composed of a hetero- 

 geneous mixture derived from both far and near, and 

 including probably a small proportion only of old 

 soils, together with a much larger proportion of rock, 

 fragments ranging in size from a flour to huge 

 boulders of a ton weight. Following the retreat of 

 the glacier, this blanket has, until the present day, 

 been subjected to the ordinary physiographic pro- 



cesses of weathering and transportation by frost, 

 streams, etc.. resulting in a decomposition of the 

 materials, and a tendency for the smaller particles to 

 be continually moved downhill, and deposited as 

 alluvium, etc. While the area south-east of the 

 Massawippi valley is underlain by somewhat cal- 

 calcareous slates slightly metamorphosed, and the 

 area to the north-west by highly metamorphosed 

 volcanics and sediments, these rocks, as indicated 

 above, have had a general rather than a detailed in- 

 fluence on the composition of the overlying soil. 



As with the butterflies and orchids, most of my 

 collecting has been done on the western side of the 

 village, although there are some famous localities 

 on the eastern side, one of which contains the only 

 known station for Braun's Holly Fern, Polystichum 

 Braunii. On this side lies also Barnston Pinnacle, 

 a rocky bluff rising almost sheer out of Baldwin's 

 Pond for a height of 600 feet. Mount Orford 

 (2,860 feet) to the north is another rocky locality, 

 but both of these places are some distance from my 

 home and have only been visited once some years 

 ago, when ferns were not being taken into consider- 

 ation. Some of the smaller Aspleniums I think ought 

 certainly to be found in these two localities, and per- 

 haps the Male Fern, Thelypierh Filix-mas. 

 Burrcugh's Falls to the south, and the gorge through 

 which the river runs at Coaticook on the east, and 

 the shores of Lake Massawippi in places are also 

 rocky, but even these it has been found quite im- 

 possible to so far work properly, which may account 

 for the scarcity in my list of purely rcck-loving 

 ferns. Of the other species enumerated most of them 

 occur in more or less profusion, but there are some 

 that seem to call for special attention, and these I 

 propose to deal with in the order in which they 

 appear in the list, which is that of Gray's Manual, 

 seventh edition, the nomenclature of which, however, 

 has been altered in accordance with the more ad- 

 vanced ideas, as set forth in Mr. C. A. Weatherby's 

 paper. "Changes in the Nomenclature of the Gray's 

 Manual Ferns." "Rh:dora." Vol. XXI. 1919, No. 

 250. pp. 173-179. Most botanists. I believe, are in 

 agreement with these changes although some will not 

 admit the priority of Thelyplcris for the Shield Ferns, 

 and still use the name Dryopieris for this family. 

 Hcwever. as Mr. Weatherby says on page 174, 

 "Thclyptcrh remains the earliest valid name for 

 Aspldium of ;he Manual, and much as one regrets 

 adding another to the numerous names this genus 

 has already borne, it must be taken up. Rules are 

 of no use unless conscientiously followed." It seems 



