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In July 1818 Dr. John Torrey and William Cooper reached 

 Quaker Bridge after driving through a "labyrinth" of little 

 roads. In a letter Dr. Torrey says, "we found a considerable 

 number of plants that were new to us, indeed, there were few 

 plants but what we found here." Then he tells about finding 

 Schizaea which pleased them more than any other plant they 

 found. That was more than a hundred years ago and except for 

 the proximity of deer hunters' camps, Quaker Bridge is still a 

 happy hunting ground for those of us who love the Pines. Of 

 course the old hostelry where they stayed is gone. 



I have found Curly Grass at Warren Grove at the edge of 

 the Plains in a hollow where rainwater collects. It was in the 

 region where that other strange plant, Corema Conradii, grows. 

 People always want to tell about finding Curly Grass. One 

 autumn a good botanist and I took a train to Chatsworth, New 

 Jersey. Upon arrival we back-tracked about a half mile, so eager 

 to find Schizaea that we passed Gentiajia Porphyrio without 

 stopping! Reaching the designated place we searched on our 

 hands and knees under cedars for an hour or so without luck; 

 then gathered some cranberries which had escaped from a bog, 

 ate our lunch and from a pile of railroad ties surveyed the land- 

 scape. Crossing the railroad we found a patch of the pert little 

 fern, enough to justify taking a few specimens. The fertile frond 

 is stiff and brown having at the end four or five pairs of pinnae 

 folded close together over the spore cases on their inner surfaces. 

 The locality was open and comparatively dry. On returning to 

 the railroad station the rare lovely gentian had disappeared 

 but we had found Schizaea pusilla! 



Scattered through the Pines is Thelypteris Thelypteris but it 

 is not plentiful. Thelypteris simulata is more often seen. This 

 fern is considered to have boreal afifinities. It was named in 

 Massachusetts. Its stalk and pinnae are hairy, sori large. It 

 grows in low woods and thickets where sphagnum is abundant. 

 Creeping rootstocks send up fronds in early summer. The fertile 

 fronds come in late July. Fronds are tender and hurt by early 

 frosts. Mr. W'itmer Stone lists Aspleniiun Jelix-foemina (Athyr- 

 ium asplenioides) and Phegopteris Dryopteris as occurring at 

 Calico in the Pine Barrens. The Christmas fern is rarely found 

 in the Pines but has been seen at Cape May. Asplenium platy- 

 neuron occurs in suitable locations like Speedwell and Dover 

 Forge. 



