THE oliNITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



91 



seen. Its two light green leaves re- 

 semble those of a small plant of Clin- 

 onia borealis, while the scape is much 

 shorter and more slender. The flowers 

 are usually about six in number, but in 

 my specimen there were only five. These 

 are rather small, not much more than 

 half an inch long and of a greenish- yel- 

 low color. 



In rich moist woods near the foot of 

 Laurel Hill I found a few specimens of 

 Carex cestivalis. In the old manual the 

 only Massachusetts station given is 

 Saddle Mountain, where it was found by 

 Prof. Dewey. It is a summer species as 

 its name indicates ; it being hardly fit 

 to collect by July first. 



On the "soiithern; side of a high rocky 

 Jiill, sometimes called Pine Hill, from 

 the pines growing on its summit, though 

 on the southern slope there are no pines, 

 but butternuts, birches, and other de- 

 ciduous trees and a profusion of huge 

 granite boulders, grow the greatest va- 

 riety of ferns that I have ever observed 

 in a place of equal area. Here I found 

 two rather scarce species, Camptosorus 

 rhizophyllus, Asplenium Ruta-muraira 

 and seven or eight more common spe- 

 cies. All but the A. Ruta-muraira 

 were growing within a radius of five 

 feet. The walking fern literally cover- 

 |.ed some of the large mossy boulders 

 while the Aspleniuin. found a more con- 

 genial home in the crevices of the ledges 

 higher up the hill. 



THE AMERICAN BITTERN. 



BY B. S. BOWDISH, PHELPS, N. Y. 



Up to the present year from all I had 

 read and seen, I had always been led to 

 suppose that the bittern was a very rare 

 bird in New York state. During the past 

 season however 1 found that it was 

 common enough in some locations. 



It was not until June that we made 

 our first real acquaintance with the bit- 

 tern. On the 2nd of that month we 



went into camp in the marshes of Cay- 

 uga county, and from the time we row- 

 ed our baggage to the camping ground 

 until we boarded the train to leave, the 

 "pumping" of the bittern was a famil- 

 iar sound. 



It was here that the famous " Monte- 

 zuma Marshes "" are at their widest, as, 

 having followed the course of the Sen- 

 eca river for several miles, they here 

 come in contact with Cayuga Lake. 

 Nowhere perhaps can there be found a 

 more perfect paradise for water birds, 

 inland, than this vast expanse of marsh, 

 twenty miles long by over a mile in 

 width. 



In this strip the marsh wrens were 

 breeding in large numbers. Least bit- 

 terns were often seen out near the lake, 

 while the larger American bittern flew 

 across the marsh often and his hoarse 

 cry frequently broke the stillness of the 

 night. 



The first nest we found in a dry part 

 of the marsh in the midst of flags. It 

 was merely a few dry flag leaves loosely 

 plaited together, and raised but little 

 from the ground. It contained five eggs 

 in which incubation varied from nearly 

 fresh to advanced. The color of these 

 eggs is a beautiful drab, some speci- 

 mens showing a slightly mottled appear- 

 ance. 



The next day while collecting rail's 

 eggs, in the marsh, we flushed another 

 bird fi'om her nest and secured her and 

 the eggs. This nest exactly resembled 

 the other as to construction, but the set 

 which were also five in number were 

 nearly ready to hatch. 



It was a noticeable fact that the 

 American bittern breeds in a much dry- 

 er place than the least bittern and nests 

 low while the others fasten their nests 

 to the flag-stalks at a good height above 

 the water. 



The bittern as we saw it while there, 

 is certainly a very interesting bird. In- 

 dependent of man, he is not altogether 

 shy. As a musician he is hardly to be 

 recommended, yet he furnishes music 

 according to his abilities, is a quiet fel- 

 low as far as other people are concerned 

 and if everyone was as willing to mind 

 their business with regard to him as he 

 is with others, it would enable him to 

 live a much more happy life. >^ 



1. 



