An Ecological Study of Buckeye Lake. 73 



VII. Bog-meadow association : The transect includes 1 5 

 feet of the b'og-meadow with a Sphagnum-Oxycoccus society. 



Dominant species : 



Sphagnum cymbifolium Oxycoccus macrocarpus 



Secondary species : 



Drosera rotundifolia, Scheuzeria palustre, Dulich- 

 ium arundinaceum, and Rynchospora alba are uniformly 

 distributed and here named in the order of their abund- 

 ance. Five feet from zone VI and in the eastern half of the 

 transect, are 49 Menyanthes trif oliata ; three feet from zone VI 

 are 13 Pogonia ophioglossoides not blooming. On the western 

 margin of the transect are two almost dead Rhus. The larger 

 is within two feet of zone VII, and has two shoots, of which 

 the taller is 18 inches long and six years old. The smaller has 

 2, 3, and 4 year old shoots from 6-10 inches tall. Near the 

 center is another Rhus with 2 two-year old shoots from 3-6 inches 

 long. In each case the terminal bud of the main stem is dead. 

 In the case of the largest Rhus the bud was killed at the end of 

 the fourth year, and the present shoots have developed from 

 lateral buds. This seems to be a prevalent condition of the Rhus 

 in the open bog. There are also three seedling maples as shown 

 on the diagram. In this zone the Oxycoccus is fruiting freely 

 and has done so in past years ; and the fruit has been gathered 

 by the cranberry pickers. The outer portion of the zone shows 

 a number of patches of diseased Sphagnum. By actual count 

 thirty-four small areas were found varying from 4 to 120 square 

 inches of diseased Sphagnum, from that which is just commenc- 

 ing to look wet and gray to completely blackened fronds. 



The most striking feature of this transect is the prominence 

 of the heath zone. It is here better developed than at any other 

 place on the island and extends farther into the meadow. At 

 other points the heath is confined to the shrub' zone. During the 

 past year (1911) the plants were much more thrifty than in 

 former years and the society has made a striking advance into 

 the meadow. 



