(io8) 



fact, the floor of the forest is characteristically devoid of 

 vegetation, a feature shown by other forests of hemlock 

 situated further north. The contrast in passing from the 

 hemlock woods to the contiguous hardwood area which 

 borders them to the west and north, toward the museum 

 building and the herbaceous grounds, is at once apparent, 

 for here we see a luxuriant growth of shrubs and of herbs, 

 including many of our most interesting wild flowers. 



1 1 . The Gorge of the Bronx River 



The gorge of the Bronx River extends from the boulder 

 bridge at the north end of the hemlock forest southward 

 for about a mile, nearly to Pelham Avenue, and is a most 

 beautiful and picturesque natural feature, besides being of 

 great geological significance. Its depth from the summits 

 of the hills on both sides averages nearly 75 feet, and its 

 sides below the foot-bridge at the mansion are nearly ver- 

 tical rock faces. The hills on both sides are heavily wooded 

 with hemlock spruces and other trees. In the upper part 

 of the gorge the Bronx flows slowly, being held back by the 

 dam forming the water-fall at the mansion, and the ele- 

 vation of its surface is only a few inches higher at the 

 boulder bridge, than it is at the fall; after plunging over the 

 dam, however, the river runs in its unobstructed natural 

 channel with all the appearance of a mountain stream, 

 which at high water is exceedingly beautiful. 



12. North Meadows and River Woods 



The Bronx River enters the northern end of the Garden 

 from Williamsbridge and flows as a slow stream southward 

 to the water-fall at the mansion, its surface being nearly 

 level throughout this distance. It is spanned just inside 

 the northern boundary of the Garden by a concrete-steel 

 arched bridge with granite copings, which carries the main 

 park driveway across it near the Newell Avenue entrance. 

 The entire northern end of the Garden is formed of the 

 flood plain of the Bronx River, consisting largely of grassy 



