THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 1 43 



Munster Hills more than any other plant I recalled to memory. It 

 may be rare, for it was not seen elsewhere on the island. 



Although not a botanist, I may claim at least that I have always 

 been a fern collector or admirer. In Jamaica, in the West In- 

 dies, Newcastle, where I was quartered, and the Blue Mountain 

 Range, where it is situated, contain, according to Hooker and 

 others, no less than five hundred species of tropical or sub-tropical 

 productions. When I arrived at Anticosti and noted the humidity 

 and foggy atmosphere, the ravines and streams of Iresh water 

 shaded by the stunted pines, so characteristic of the coast line^ I 

 concluded it would prove remarkably productive in northern ierns. 

 I was, however, disappointed, nothing but such as the coarse bracken 

 and commoner kinds were obtained. 



The Pitcher Plant frequently covers patches in the swampy 

 places. On the sandy soil, above high water mark, between Eng- 

 lish Bay and the cliff called North Point, I noticed a wild pea, 

 which grows to a considerable height, and is quite robust. The in- 

 habitants use it as winter fodder for the few horses and cattle they 

 possess, and animals greatly relish it. It may be worth while to 

 ascertain whether it would flourish elsewhere. A small strip was 

 said to produce more food than an acre of meadow land. If this be 

 true, it may be a valuable crop. It may require the salt spray, how- 

 ever, for its full development. The wild strawberry, larger than 

 any in Quebec or Ontario, seems common where fishing stations 

 formerly existed, as also the raspberry and currant — red and black ; 

 two bushes of the white species were seen. All are apparently indi- 

 genous. Though confined to the clearings I do not think they could 

 have been introduced. Near Heath Point Lighthouse, in addi- 

 tion to the cranberry, blueberry and crowberry, I remarked a fruit 

 on the moss or swamp bearing some resemblance to a yellow straw- 

 berry. I was informed it was used as a preserve when ripe or fit 

 for gathering ; it presents a reddish color. I do not remember the 

 local name. 



Of the localities for Anticosti fossils Richardson's report on 

 the Field Geology of the island coast furnish on the whole a 

 very accurate description. True, he failed to notice the Post- 

 pliocene deposits, but when we reflect on the difficulty of as- 

 certainihg the heights ot cliffs, the dip of the beds and their 



