150 



Where these meadows dip toward swamp level, areas with a higher 

 moisture and humus content in the soil, Aletris farinosa and Habe- 

 naria ciliaris are conspicuous. The Andropogon-low shrub areas 

 may be succeeded by an open stand of pitch pine or red cedar, or 

 a mixture of both. On the other hand the succession may lead to 

 the blueberry meadow characterized by a rather open stand of 

 various species of Vaccinium associated with Pyrus arbutifolia, 

 Pyrus melanocarpa, Kalmia angustijolia, Myrica asplenifolia, Quer- 

 cus ilicifolia, and Amelanchier canadensis. 



That highland known as Great Neck extending from the north 

 to the margin of Worden's Pond is covered by the oak associa- 

 tion that characterizes most of the hill land of South County. For 

 the most piart a mixture of white, black, red, and scarlet oaks with 

 occasional hickory is the dominant cover. Chestnut tree skeletons, 

 stumps, and sprouts indicate that before the chestnut blight the 

 principal cover was chestnut-oak. Shrub growth is primarily Kalmia 

 latijolia and species of Gaylussacia. Representative plants in the 

 ground cover are Chimaphile maculata, Pyrola americana, Lyco- 

 podium complanatum, Cypripedimn acaule, and very thick stands 

 of Gaultheria procumbens. At the foot of the hills at the line of 

 mergence with the swamp vegetation, and in those ravines which 

 run into the swamp, the oaks give way to beech, yellow birch, sassa- 

 fras, and red maple, with an under-story of witch hazel, spice bush, 

 rhododendron, and inkberry. 



The "island" where the forces of King Philip were defeated 

 by the colonies is an island only in the sense that it is a small 

 area of land slightly elevated above the surrounding swamp. That 

 this was a location generally above the high water mark, and thus 

 suitable for a permanent campsite, is evidenced by the fact that 

 pitch pine is the dominant tree, although the oldest and largest 

 of the trees perished during the hurricane of 1938. The Indians 

 overlooked the possibility of the pioneers invading their supposedly 

 impregnable fortifications during the winter when progress through 

 the swamp was made relatively easy over the thick ice. There are 

 probably many regions in the Great Swamp today which have 

 been penetrated only during the winter when footing is compara- 

 tively secure. 



Botany Department, 

 Rhode Island State College, 

 Kingston. R. I. 



