BELOW NIAGARA iii 



down a root from its point and produce a dependent 

 offspring, climbs up on the moss-covered rocks in 

 all kinds of inaccessible places. The delicate little 

 Pellaea prefers the high, overhanging face of the cUff, 

 where it secures a footing in the Uttle holes bored by 

 the cataract in earlier days. The Bulbed Fern, with 

 its interesting, seed-like appendages, is quite common, 

 and the tall, imposing Goldiana has found a habita- 

 tion in the perpetual rocky shade. The Maiden-hair 

 Fern demands admiration, and many other varieties, 

 rare and common, enrich the hollows and crevices 

 with almost tropical profusion. An Indigo Bunting's 

 nest hanging in the fronds of a fern was an interesting 

 discovery. The anxious father came around in his 

 handsome blue coat and chirped excitedly while the 

 mother hid in the Witch-hazel bushes ; but only one 

 of the four nestlings was sufficiently confiding ta 

 raise his open bill for food. All the wild flowers 

 of the district, from Hepatica to Golden-rod, grow 

 confidingly, the sturdy Painted Trilliurti and the 

 dehcate Herb-Robert being most abundant. Nature's 

 dominion is supreme in the glen, and her handi- 

 work is there, from salt water molluscs to conifer 

 trees. Vegetation is splendidly neglected and at the 

 same time safely protected from landscape gardeners, 

 and other vandals. 



