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east slope of Chestnut Ridge. Before reaching this destina- 

 tion we stopped just outside Dover Furnace along Route 

 22 to inspect a field of Quaker Ladies nestled in a narrow valley. 

 About two to three acres were completely white as though 

 Spring's last snowfall still lay on the ground in thin drifts. 

 The patches which varied from white to violet blue bore a 

 delicious fragrance in the hot sun. Outcroppings of the late 

 Cambrian limestone along the valley bore many Columbines 

 and edgings of Early Saxifrage. Way up on the hillside Dogwood 

 bloomed at frequent intervals, and at another corner of the 

 little valley a group of Apple trees was in full bloom. 



A diminutive violet, probably Viola fimhriatula, bloomed 

 profusely among the Quaker Ladies and occasional patches of 

 Antennaria dioica were already commencing to present ripe 

 seed heads to the spring winds. The whole place seemed like a 

 little Alpine meadow according to one of the guests. 



One limestone outcropping was covered with walking fern. 

 Here and there were tufts of Campanula rotundifolia which will 

 later spread a tint of blue against the ledges of white. Some 

 plants of Columbine had possession of one portion, however, 

 and we all agreed that limestone is the best background for 

 these graceful red and yellow flowers. 



Driving on the party came to Seven Wells. We crossed west 

 over the railroad and a quarter mile further on parked the car 

 and began the steep ascent to the top of Chestnut Ridge. 



Seven Wells gets its name from the huge potholes which 

 have been eaten out by a glacial stream that followed one of 

 the numerous faults in this region. The waters tumble from one 

 pothole into another, some being connected by six foot wide 

 and thirty foot deep flumes. Most of the potholes are at the 

 head of the ridge. Lower down the waters rush noisily over a 

 series of falls and delightful little pools to the Ten Mile River 

 below. Hemlocks on both sides shaded and cooled the slopes of 

 the stream and plenty of laurel clustered around the dark green 

 conifers. 



Our most notable find was three flowering plants of Dirca 

 palustris, not a common plant in these parts. A few flowers of 

 Trailing Arbutus appeared as holdovers in this cool ravine. 

 Their odor was eagerly sniffed by the party. Clean fresh green 

 mats of Canada Mayflower were beginning to flower. Pink 



