BIG WHORTLEBERRY 



Vaccinium memhranaceum Douglas 



Snow slides are not to be desired, but after they have mowed down 

 the forest of the mountain slopes, exposing the ground to the full sun- 

 light, a bushy growth springs up, three or four feet tall, with young 

 trees interspersed. Among these shrubs we find whortleberry bushes. 

 Rocky Mountain rhododendron, and other plants that love similar 

 conditions of soil and exposure. Here in late summer a delightful 

 feast is spread for the traveler, for the big whortleberry bushes are 

 loaded with dark purple berries, some of them as large as small cherries. 

 A large quantity may be gathered in a short time. The black bears 

 also appreciate them, and often are met in these localities, sitting on 

 their haunches and sweeping the ripe fruit into their mouths with 

 their great paws. In autumn the leaves turn a deep red. 



Big whortleberry is found occasionally in the Rockies, but reaches 

 greatest perfection in the Selkirk Mountains, and is especially abund- 

 ant at Rogers Pass and in the vicinity of Glacier House at Glacier. 

 It ranges from California, Wyoming, and Michigan to British 

 Columbia. 



The specimen sketched was obtained near Hector Station on 

 the Canadian Pacific Railway, British Columbia, at an altitude of 

 5,000 feet. 



PLATE 7 



