The specimen was not large and was sterile, hence more of it and with fruit 

 if possible, was most desirable. The locality given was "Mt. Wachusett," and 

 as the collection had come to the museum through the death of the owner, there 

 seemed to be nothing else to do save to hunt over the mountain from top to bottom, 

 a rather large task. Several months later, however, I learned that Mr. Morgan, 

 who had collected the specimen in question, in his excursions to the summit of 

 Wachusett always used the Mountain House trail. This simplified matters 

 immensely, so at the first opportunity, which did not come until late this fall, I 

 started up the Mountain House trail with high hopes of success. And I was not 

 to be disappointed. Well up towards the summit the moss was growing on the 

 wet rocks directly in the path. There was a lot of it, and some was in fruit, 

 though it evidently does not fruit freely there. The "path" is really a brook- 

 bed, save in the dry summer season. 



Unfortunately, I had forgotten my vasculum, and already had my hands 

 full of Rhacomttrium aciculare (L.) Brid., in unusually fine fruit, so I had to make 

 myself most unpopular with my companions by giving each the biggest oak leaf 

 obtainable, surmounted by a cold, dripping mass of the precious moss, something 

 which they. failed utterly to appreciate. But that is a small matter. I have the 

 moss, and I know where it grows! 



Worcester, Mass., Dec. 8, 1919 



SPHAGNUM IN GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA^ 



Paul C. Standley 



In the southern Rockies sphagnum bogs are of rare occurrence; consequently 

 the writer was much interested this past summer in finding them relatively com- 

 mon in the northern Rockies of Montana. No sphagnum bogs were noticed on 

 the east slope of the Park, whose flora is similar to that of the central Rockies, 

 but sphagnum was found in wet meadows above timber line. On the ^st slope, 

 where the flora shows a closer relationship to that of the Pacific Coast, several 

 bogs of considerable extent were visited. About Johns and Fish lakes, near 

 Lake McDonald, there are belts several yards wide densely covered with sphag- 

 num into which one sinks to the knees. Great masses lie along the edge of the 

 water, many of them floating and consequently unable to bear any considerable 

 weight. The most abundant species is Sphagnum teres (Schimp.) Angstr., a pale 

 green plant with long stems. It fills the wetter portions of the bog, while at 

 Johns Lake the outer, drier parts were filled with a springy carpet of 5. fuscum 

 (Schimp.) Klinggr., a handsome brownish plant, with short, densely crowded 

 stems. Other species collected here were S. squarrosum Crome and 5. suhse- 

 cundum Nees. These sphagnum bogs yielded a large number of interesting 

 plants, most of which are found also in the East, such as Lycopodium selago, 

 L. davatum, L. complanatum, Scheuchzeria palustris, Drosera rolundifolia, D. 

 longifolia, and Cicuta bulbifera. 



^Published by permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 



