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previously mentioned, many of these small bodies of water may 

 contain practically pure stands of Dulichhnn arimdinaceum, Wood- 

 zvardia virginica, Equisetinn fluviatile, or Proscrpinaca pahistris. 

 Where the water is deeper and bottom attached plants are less in 

 number, Nyinphoidcs lacunosum may grow so thickly that the sur- 

 face of the water is practically obscured. Other pools, particularly 

 those that are more or less seasonal, have a ground covering of 

 sphagnum or sphagnum-cranberry. Commonly associated plants 

 in these boggy areas are Sarracenia purpurea, Pogonia ophioglos- 

 soides, Drosera rotundifolia, Eriophorum virginicum, Eriophorum 

 tenellum, and Lycopodium inundatum. Many of these sphagnum 

 areas have extended over water and muck of considerable depth, 

 furnishing good examples of quaking bogs. Jumping up and down 

 on the sphagnum sets up undulations capable of shaking sizeable 

 shrubs some distance away. Usually the first shrub to become 

 established in these bogs is Chamaedaphne calyculata. 



In the submerged lowlands the royal fern is usually the first 

 conspicuous plant to become established on the hummocks, and is 

 followed by various shrubs. As the bottom gradually builds up, the 

 shrubs become the dominant growth. Representative specimens in 

 this complex are Vaccinium corymhosum, Rhododendron viscosuni, 

 Clethra alnijolia, Lyonia ligustrina, Viburnum cassinoides, Alnus 

 incana, Ilex glabra, Ilex verticillata, Chamaedaphne calyculata, and 

 Salix Candida. The denseness of the growth coupled with in- 

 secure footing in water, muck, or loose sphagnum, makes travel 

 through these areas exceedingly strenuous. Even when following 

 the numerous deer trails that interlace the area, progress is none 

 too easy. 



Occasional trees that follow the shrubs are usually red maple, 

 black gum, Chamaecyparis, white pine, or oaks. This first invasion 

 of trees is not always successful. As one walks northeast along the 

 railroad from Kenyon he may get the impression that fire had swept 

 the area, an impression belied by the fact that with the exception of 

 the hummocks this region is in most places waist deep with water. 

 The scattered skeletons of dead trees are more probably the result 

 of a period of unusually high water following a rather prolonged 

 period in which the water table was sufficiently low to provide for 

 the aeration of the roots of the trees which had become established 

 on higher ground. However, there are extensive tracts where the 



