534 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM. 



visible and one could readily imiagine himself in the midst of a 

 vast wilderness. Its height above the ocean is between 150 

 and 200 feet, accordinig to the Geological Survey. The region 

 is bisected by the north and south road I have mentioned, by 

 the side of which the usual low matted patches of Corema ai>pear. 

 Btit on leaving' the road to examine the extent of its distribu- 

 tion we become amazed at the expanse of territory more or 

 less covered by it. We followed over the rising swells of ground 

 already alluded to, both to the east and west of the road, to the 

 extent of at least half a mile each way, and for a like distance 

 in the opposite direction without entirely losing sight of the 

 Corema-, and we probably did not' reach its limits. To say that 

 there are hundreds of acres of it is a statement 'which my com- 

 panions thought to be far short of the truth. In some places 

 the patches were separated by intervals of some rods, but often, 

 scores of them were seen at once, and in many places they 

 became confluent in large masses, reminding one of the appear- 

 ance of the plant at Plymouth, Mass. Besides the thick, scattered, 

 stunted pines, little shrubbery was seen, other than occasional 

 very small specimens of Quercus ilicifolia, but the sandy spaces 

 were often partially covered with A'rc^staphylos Uva-ursi, and 

 the whole region reminded one of the; clowns of the interior of 

 Nantucket, where the Arctostaphylos is so very abundant. Occa- 

 sional carpets of Pyxidanthera were near, but rarely with the 

 Corema. 



"Though our visit was made before April had expired, the un- 

 usually advanced season had carried the Corema beyond its 

 flowering stage, and its stamens were mostly withered, though 

 not fallen. Staminate and pistillate plants seemed equally 

 abundant. 



"When Mr. Merrill first discovered this locality it was, I 

 beheve, unscathed by fire, but at the time of Dr. Britton's first 

 visit the region had been burned over, so far as it was possible 

 to burn so sparse a growth, and the low pines had been singed 

 and mostly killed. Now, am|ong the blackened trunks fresh 

 sprouts of these pines are appearing. But what most excited 

 our surprise was to see myriads of young seedling plants of 

 Corema springing out of the sand in the intervals between the 



