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Bash-Bish. The western side of the town is dotted, here and 

 there, with a number of treacherous bogs varying from one to 

 ten acres in area. In these places many interesting forms of 

 plant life are found while the vicinity of Bash-Bish Falls, to the 

 east, abounds with rare ferns and mosses.* 



This area comes within the local flora and in visiting it two 

 or three times yearly since the spring of 1904, the writer has 

 noted the coming, now and again, of plants heretofore only found 

 considerably to the east, in Massachusetts. This leads him to 

 the belief that it is one of the points where plants find a natural 

 crossing over the Taconic Mountains, and thus down into eastern 

 New York helped along by Bash-Bish and Hillsdale (Jansen) 

 Brooks. 



The gap is winding, stretching from east to west, with the 

 highest mountains on its southern side. This makes the location 

 cool and moist, and it is not uncommon to find spring plants in 

 bud and blossom after the summer has far advanced. 



Some years ago, when the iron mines were in operation, the 

 neighboring hills were practically denuded of their timber for 

 use as supports in the shafts, and a second growth of formidable 

 size stands in its place. Chestnut formed a good percentage of 

 the lower level growths and yearly yielded large crops until the 

 disease made its appearance some five or six years ago. Since 

 then not enough nuts have been gathered to market and these 

 beautiful trees, two to three feet in diameter, are now decaying 

 masses. Pines, cedars, hickory, maples, oaks and large stands 

 of white birch now form the major part of the woods, and great 

 difficulty is experienced in keeping the latter from cleared farm 

 land. 



As a botanical hunting ground it is ideal. Numerous soil 

 formations with a perfect water supply from innumerable small 

 brooks make all forms of plant life possible, and the dry ridges 

 on the northwest furnish specimens of stunted growth valuable 

 for comparison. The following list, which excludes weeds, is by 

 no means complete and is only intended to convey an idea of the 

 flora. 



* The Rare Mosses of Bash-Bish Falls. Elizabeth G. Britton. Torreya i: 9. 

 1901. 



