89 



After dinner the spacious grounds of camp attracted us. Nests of 

 five species of birds were pointed out ; several table mountain pines, 

 Pinus pungens, about fifteen feet high, with mature, nearly round, 

 heavy cones persisting and branches crowded with short, bluish 

 leaves, most picturesque trees ; also thyme-leaved sandwort, Are- 

 naria serphyllijoUa; and narrow-leaved vervain, Verbena angusti- 

 jolia. 



In the evening Professor Green gave an illustrated lecture on 

 "Forestry." Many of his pictures were taken at camp. Later, the 

 stillness of night was occasionally broken by the hooting of barred 

 owls from the mountain sides. 



Saturday morning under the leadership of Professor Green and 

 his staff we followed the Johnson Trail into the forest. Here a 

 chorus of cicadas, the seventeen-year locusts, attracted our atten- 

 tion. They were abundant also about camp and in many places the 

 dead terminals, particularly of the oaks, showed evidence of their 

 egg-laying. Pine and coral-winged cicadas were also identified. 



The trees were studied in detail, with particular attention to the 

 bark formation. They were mostly butternut, American linden, 

 tupelo, oaks, the cucumber tree Magnolia aeiiminata, and farther 

 on hemlocks. Many mosses were identified. A red-bellied brown 

 snake was found and examined. A long snake-shed, discovered on 

 the trunk of a large white oak, about seventy feet from the ground, 

 caused all to marvel why a snake should climb to such a place to 

 shed its skin. Upon further examination a smaller shed was found 

 a little higher on the tree. Presently, a long pilot black snake was 

 seen slowly and carefully coming down the tree head first on the 

 upper side of the very slightly sloping trunk, depending entirely 

 upon the roughness of the bark to descend, there being no branches 

 or other irregularities. All gathered around and cameras began to 

 click. When the snake came within reach Professor Green caught 

 her and found she measured four feet six inches long. He opened 

 her mouth to show the double row of upper teeth and the single 

 row below, characteristic of non-poisonous snakes. When released 

 she seemed not at all frightened by this demonstration. 



There were few flowering plants here, Mifchella repens, Mono- 

 tropa nniflora, and Circaea alpina in bloom ; plants of golden saxi- 

 frage, CJirysospleniuin amcricaniini ; and ferns, maidenhair, and 

 two spleenworts, ebony and narrow-leaved. 



