Flora and Fauna 



(Cystopteris bulbifera), Shield-ferns of various species (Aspi- 1901 

 dium Noveboracense, A. Thelypteris, A. spinulosum, A. crista- ay 

 turn, A. Goldianum, A. marginale, A. Lonchitis), and the 

 Christmas-fern (A. achroslichoides) ; the Beech-fern (Phegop- 

 teris Dryopteris) , only found at the Devil's Hole; the Walking- 

 fern (Camptosorus rhyzophyllus) , four Spleen-worts (Asple- 

 nium Trichomanes, A. ebeneum, abundant at Lewiston, A. 

 achrostichoides, and A. Filix-faemina) , scarcely to be excelled 

 in grace by any species; two Cliff-brakes (Pellaea gracilis and 

 P. atropurpurea) , the Common-brake, world-wide in its dis- 

 tribution (Pteris aquilina) ; the American Maiden-hair (Adian- 

 tum pedatum), and the common Polypody (Polypodium vul- 

 gare) , peering, in many places, over the edge of the chasm into 

 the depths below. 



Of the fauna of Niagara very much cannot be said. All the 

 larger Mammalia, which abounded in the region whilst it was 

 still the possession of the red man, have long since disappeared. 

 It seems almost as though they could never have resorted, 

 habitually, to Goat Island. The access to it of the elk, the red 

 deer, the bear, the panther, the lynx, the fox, and the wolf, com- 

 mon enough in the neighborhood, must always have been difficult, 

 and their return to the mainland almost impossible. At the 

 present time the quadrupeds inhabiting the island are propably 

 only three, the Black-squirrel, the Red-squirrel, and the Striper- 

 squirrel or Chipmunk. These may be seen, almost any spring 

 or summer day, disporting themselves, without regard to the 

 presence of man, in their leafy coverts. 



The birds affecting the island and the gorge are not to be 

 distinguished, in species, from those of the mainland. But, as 

 would be expected, environment makes some species rare and 

 others plentiful. The Robin (Turdus migratorious) , the Oriole 

 {Icterus Baltimore), the Blue-bird (Sialia Wilsonii), and the 

 Gold-finch (Carduelis tristis), find so much of their food supply 

 in door yards and cultivated land, that they are to be seen less 

 frequently upon the island, or within the gorge, than elsewhere 



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