157 



In the dusk the tiny insects fly about and are even caught on the 

 wing. When the flying insects are scarce, the pulvinus actively 

 lowers most of the leaves except the very young ones so that 

 they lie almost flat on the ground and are so enabled to catch 

 the little crawlers. 



I know whereof I speak, because in *24 being temporarily 

 lame as the result of an accident there were no more long tramps 

 through woods fields and marshes for me. So I became the 

 disciple of the lame Epictitus and spent philosophically and 

 happily most of the pleasant spring and summer days on the 

 sand in thesunshine, re-reading Darwin's "Insectiverous plants" 

 and watching this particular colony of Drosera, the clouds and 

 sea-^ — and all the lovely g'owing things a-ound me. The-e is no 

 other spot near by where so many amusing thi*^gs g'ow in so 

 confined an a'ea. After carefully noting Da win's expe iments 

 — and repeating some of them, it seemed to me that leaves — cut 

 *from the plant o' glued — could ha'dly react natually. That is 

 why I determined to watch the natural reactions of D ose a. 

 This highly organized protein-loving little plant seems so much 

 nearer to Homo-Sapiens then most of the insectivorae, that as I 

 watched I marveled, for it seems to hold the vcy secet of life 

 and our relation to the vegetable kingdom. Even one tiny cell 

 may hold this hidden "iddle of the wo Id! 



In studying this Tapis Vegetal I have ca'efully noted all the 

 interesting species that grow in the tufts of Sphagnum, and 

 some of these seem to indicate a primitive cha'acter of the 

 vegetation. 



Among the Drosera — just beyond them from June 10th to 

 July 20 — flowers the lovely Orchid (Pogonia ophioglossoides) . 

 The fragrant rose and white pogonia. 



In the early spring, the long leaved red stemmed white vio- 

 lets {Viola lanceolata) are there also. Even Xyris {Xyris 

 flexuosa) itself thrives in the moist sand, and sundry primative 

 lycopods, Lycopodium alopecuroides notably, crawl out from 

 clumps of growth, like great green worms from among the 

 mosses and sun dews. 



A tiny hypericum seems to live in peace with its taller rela- 

 tive {Hypericum canadense) . 



The graceful, long stemmed marsh fern {Dryopteris tholyp- 

 teris) proudly lifts its feathery foliage high above these lowly 



