REPORT OF THE STATE BOTANIST, 1 898 659 



friend when for the first time liis eyes rested on the open summit of the 

 mountain as he stood upon the brow of the i^recipice which he had just 

 dimbed and which till that moment had kept the suggestive sight from 

 his view. It does not need an extended examination to confirm the 

 truth of the assertion so confidently made at first sight. Mosses and 

 lichens at the present time are showing that they can grow on the bare 

 surface of rocks. The boulders of the summit are variegated by the 

 different colors of the lichens growing on their hard and almost naked 

 surfaces. If we attempt to chip off a specimen we sometimes find the 

 rock beneath the lichen more soft and scaly than elsewhere. Its pres- 

 ence seems in some way to have aided in the softening and disinte- 

 gration of the rock. If we pluck a tuft of moss from the rock we 

 find the lower part of the interspaces of the stems and leaves filled 

 with dirt and sand, apparently composed of particles of disintegrated 

 rock mingled with the decomposed remains of stems and leaves of 

 mosses. This process of growth and decay of organic matter and the 

 disintegration of inorganic matter aided by the action of the ele- 

 ments would in due time furnish sufficient soil to support the 

 growth of small herbaceous plants. These in turn by their growth and 

 decay would aid in increasing the quantity of soil covering the rocks 

 till there would be sufficient to permit the growth of larger herbs and 

 finally of shrubs and small trees. In this condition vv^e now find the 

 summit of Mt Marcy. The soil in most places is but a few inches deep 

 and its appearance and texture indicate a large percentage of humus. 

 This and other conditions due to the altitude of the place must neces- 

 sarily have some influence in determining the character of the plants that 

 grow there. 



Only plants of the most hardy character could endure a climate in 

 which frost occurs in every month of the year. No tree could grow 

 many feet high without being overturned or broken down when exposed 

 to such fierce winds as sweep over this mountain. A few plants grow 

 here which grow no where else in the state except on the top of other 

 mountains high enough to have open summits. Some grow here which 

 grow also at lower altitudes, but they are so changed by their unfavor- 

 able location that they scarcely appear to belong to the same species. 

 The balsam fir of the valleys is a most beautiful and symmetrical tree, 

 but here it is without symmetry, a low shrub-like growth with long 

 crooked branches, often covered with lichens and closely interlocked 

 with those of neighboring trees. The branches are sometimes nearly as 



