 Bethel, Maine.
1899.
Sept 22 to
Oct.4
  I went to Bethel on September 22nd and
returned to Cambridge on October 4th spending the
interim, with the exception of one day and a portion of
two others which I devoted to a flying trip to Umbagog,
with my friends the Gehrings, and giving most of my
time to a careful study of the plants of the region 
although the birds were by no means neglected.
[margin]Plant life[/margin]
  The flora, like that at Umbagog, proved comparatively
meagre and disappointing. It lacks variety and one 
quickly tires of the monotony of finding everywhere the
same species in excessive abundance and small variety. 
This was especially true of the ferns of which the list
 was surprisingly small. Aspidium spinulosum & its varieties
was by far the commonest form and in most places
it filled the woods to the practical exclusion of everything
else. A[spidium] cristatum was fairly common, however, as was also
Phegopteris polypodioides. Phegopteris hexagonoptera I found in only one 
locality. Of course there were the Osmundas (of all three
species if I remember rightly) as well as Aspidium thelypteris &
A. [Aspidium] novaboracense. I did not find any species of Asplenium
or Woodsia and Aspidium marginale, Aspidium acrostichoides,
Polipodium vulgare and Adiantum pedatum were also apparently
wanting. Pteris aquilina was abundant everywhere of course.
A pine swamp eastward of the village was filled in places
with Ledum and Abies nigra. Chiogenus [Chionogenus?], Linnea, &
Coptis were everywhere abundant and most of the other 
common northern-growing lowly plants present in fair 
numbers. Red pines grew by thousands along the river
road west of the bridge that crosses the Androscoggin &
I saw a cluster of pitch pines on the outskirts of the
village. I drove a little & walked a great deal. On my
return to Cambridge I brought many plants for my wild garden.
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