30 
by vandals, and although forest fires have swept by a number of 
times, the progress of the colony has not been checked. No- 
where else in the surrounding deciduous woods is there a colony 
comparable to this. It is an excellent example of how a species 
will flourish and spread if it somehow happens to find a suitable 
environment. 
The Cardinal-flower (Lobelia cardinalis) was found along a 
brook slightly over the crest of the Second Mountain and in com- 
pany with it a number of plants of Green Hellebore (Veratrum 
viride). Lousewort (Pedicularis canadensis) is abundant in sev- 
eral localities, and the quaint saprophytic Indian-pipe (Monotropa 
uniflora) is frequently met. The Carrion-flower (Smilax her- 
bacea) was found in several places, but the discovery of an ex- 
tensive grove of large Sweet Gums ( Liquidambar styraciflua) at 
the edge of a marshy spot over the crest of the Second Mountain 
was somewhat of a surprise. Eight or nine species of violets 
can easily be collected during the course of a few hours’ walk in 
ay. 
But perhaps the most noteworthy discoveries were in the line 
of naturalizations and escapes. The Japanese Barberry ( Berberis 
Thunbergii) is to be found throughout the woods on both the 
First and Second Mountains in the vicinity of Watchung and 
also in thickets between fields and in copses along roadsides. This 
species has apparently become naturalized extensively through 
seeds carried from cultivated bushes by birds. In the wild state 
it seldom attains the proportions seen in cultivated plants, but 
is conspicuous because of its arching branches, sharp slender » 
spines, and red leaves and fruit in the autumn. The fruits re: 
main on the stems far into the winter and are very attractive 
to winter birds, especially when the ground is covered with snow. 
Elaeagnus umbellata is similarly to be found in widely scattered 
localities at the edges of the woods on both sides of the valley, 
and also in the woods themselves, especially on the eastern slope 
of the Second Mountain. In a number of fields and pastures this 
shrub has become so abundant that it is a nuisance and has to 
cut down continually. It refuses to be exterminated. In one spot 
a shrub was found which had attained a height of fully nine fee 
and a trunk diameter of several inches. With its beautiful silvery” 
scurfy branchlets, leaves, and flowers this plant produces @ strik- 
ing effect on the landscape when gently swayed by the passing 
