16 Joint Bulletin 8 



inflection; or a low chuckle; and these together with other indescrib- 

 able squeaks, quavers and chudderings, I attribute to the rails. 



We probably found only a small part of the nests that this large 

 swamp actually contained, those that we did find being so cunningly 

 camouflaged. They ranged from six to 16 inches above water level 

 and were placed near the edge of the swamp rather than toward the 

 middle. 



Such eggs of the Virginia rail as I have seen show a ground color 

 of light buff or dirty cream color, while those of the soras were light 

 tan. The Virginia's eggs remind me of a small edition of the Florida 

 gallinule and the spots are smaller than those on the sora's egg«. 

 Also the Virginia's are shorter and blunter than the more elongated 

 eggs of the sora. 



We found a number of nests of the swamp sparrow, some in the 

 tussock grass and others in the bushes. All contained beautifully 

 marked eggs, more heavily blotched than usual. 



Altogether it is most desirable to slosh about in such a swamp 

 with the alluring hope and anticipation of the next possible find; but, 

 although I have thus sloshed about in a goodly number of swamps 

 hereabouts, I have found no rails in any other than those above 

 described. 



CHARLES C. FROST'S TRIP TO WILLOUGHBY 



MOUNTAIN 



W. W. Eggleston 



In November, 1852, John Lewis Russell published in the Magazine 

 of Horticulture (18:481-485) the following account of Frost's visit, the 

 latter part of July, 1852. Quite plainly railway travel was a new 

 diversion and as much appreciated by the botanists of Frost's time as 

 automobile travel is by present day botanists. It also seems that they 

 had no through trains from Boston to Montreal at that time. 



Some of the Rarer Plants of Vermont 



The substance of the following article I was kindly permitted to 

 use by Rev. A. H. Clapp and Charles C. Frost of Brattleboro, who, in 

 the latter part of the month of July, last, made an excursion to a re- 



