276 



louncl along the shore near Marblehcad, which may cany its 

 limit a little farther east. At any rate, it seems not a plant 

 of much frequency, and its appearance at Nahant is Avorth 

 noticing. 



Similarly, remark is due to the Downy Hudsonia, which is 

 quite abundant on this beach, though I have never detected 

 it elsewhere in the vicinity. Strictly speaking, this is not a 

 rare plant, if we take the vrholc coast of the Northern States 

 into accou]:t ; but it does not appear within some miles of 

 Nahant, cither way. 



It was stated at one time with much confidence, that a 

 species of Pink, (^Dianthus deltoides') had been found native 

 on Little Nahant. The circumstance created no little sur- 

 prise among ])otanists; for it is a species almost or quite 

 confined to the l^ritish Islands, and this, if it were really here, 

 would be the only instance of its detection in the Northern 

 United States. Whether it is true that this plant is estab- 

 lished on the island, I think it unsafe for me to say. I cer- 

 tainly liave not found it, though I have searched carefully. 

 Still, it may be here. It is ahvays easier to assert a negative 

 than to })rove it, and it would be no trifling botanical honor 

 to both Nahant and the fortunate collector, if its presence 

 could be ascertained, and thus a choice associate be joined 

 with the solitary wild Pink we now have, enriching the Flora 

 of Nahant and that of the country at the same time. 



I Avill only notice one other plant in this connection, which, 

 though it is common enough in many places, falls into a 

 habit here Avhich seems a little irregular, as well as very 

 curious. The Scarlet Pimpernel {AnagnUis arvcmis,') is 

 said by Gray to affect " waste sandy fields." This is correct 

 enough : it may with us more generally, j)erhaps, appear in 

 gardens and cultivated grounds. But at Nahant this adven- 

 turous little thing, whose sensitive petals promptly close to 

 presage the coming storm, stations itself, as if for this especial 

 duty, on the bare rocks and outer crags, almost, with which 

 the shore is everywhere fortified. Fain to forego the pleas- 

 ure of a fat and fertile soil, it starts in the little crevices and 

 chinks of the stone, where there may be a very little earth, 

 and there it grows and flourishes, with the wind tossing its 

 herbage about, and the salt spray dashing over it at every 

 easterly tempest. Perhaps the like is done by it elsewhere ; 

 at any rate it is a curious departure from ordinary habits. 



It may not be useful to extend these considerations further. 



