IN A SULTRY SWAMP 103 



alight while they cannot see what peculiar creature is 

 moving through the dense underbush. The Veery 

 and Song Sparrow blend their famihar notes. The 

 attractive seclusion must tempt these little home- 

 makers, but there is no immunity from their natural 

 dangers. The harsh Jay flies above the trees and 

 sends his threatening shadow through the interlaced 

 branches, warning the inhabitants of the menace of 

 a nest-robber. The Catbird in the lower branches 

 varies the sweetest gurgling melody with the threaten- 

 ing call that has given him so pecuHar a name, and 

 the Brown Thrasher, a rival in song, sings from the 

 pointed top of a Cedar. 



The usual marsh vegetation is enriched by flowers 

 that only the Sphagnum can sustain. The Sun-dew 

 lays down its leaves like open hands ready to clasp 

 and hold any unwary fly, and there is abundance of 

 insect life for its carnivorous propensities. The 

 richest treasure of the Sphagnum swamp is the 

 Showy Lady's Slipper, the most beautiful of our 

 wild Orchids. Deep in the secluded and protected 

 recesses, where stooping, climbing, and straining 

 overcome the barriers of interlaced branches, these 

 flowers hide the beauty that threatens their destruc- 

 tion. Their sturdy, leafy stems bear large, rich 

 moccasins, waxy white with dainty markings of pink. 

 This is a beauty of nature that no cultivation 

 could improve, and when discovered repays the 



