124 
1897.
June 7
  Cloudy with occasional showers of light rain.
  Jim and I went to Curtis Meadow this morning
returning to dinner at noon. On the north side
of the meadow just beyond the forest of dead larches
we found a floating bog, probably an island, and
at least 100 acres in extent! It was an immense raft
of vegetation everywhere literally floating on water six
or eight feet deep and bearing not only thickets
of large alders but hundreds of short, stunted, scraggy
but living larches heavy with brackish Usnea. These
trees, 6 or 8 to 15 or 20 ft. tall, were scattered about
irregularly, singly, or in clusters. Over most of its
extent, however, the island bore nothing other than Kalmia
glauca, Andremoda polyfolia and Rhodora. The last
was not abundant but the other two grew in a 
profusion & to a perfection that I have never before
seen equaled. All thick and in full bloom but 
the Kalmia made the finest show forming, over spaces
of many square rods in extent, solid masses of color.
Under & among these shrubs were growing a firm white fringed
orchid and thousands of Calthia palustris, the latter
only just coming into bloom. There were other
plants that I did not recognize.
[margin]Big floating
island.[/margin]
  The whole island was literally swimming with
Swamp Sparrows & there were two males and three
or four female Red-winged Blackbirds, two Maryland
Yellow-throats, one Song Sparrow and two Savanna
Sparrows (singing in a bare space covered with
orange-brown moss) besides a Bittern. The last was
doubtless the same bird which I heard from
[margin]Birds breeding
on
floating id.
Swamp Sp.
Red wing B.
Maryland Yl. T.
Song Sp
Savanna "
Bittern
Black Duck[/margin]