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BELOW NIAGARA 
decorations. Pines, Hemlocks, Cedars, Elms, Maples, 
and Oaks now rise in the giant strength of permanent 
possession, but the rich and delicate floral decorations 
of the passing seasons are everywhere abundant. 
The history of nature's handiwork is lying open. 
In the stratified rocks that tower overhead, or are 
piled about in picturesque irregularity, the marks of 
marine animal life show that the strata were deposited 
when Niagara was reached by an arm of the Atlantic. 
Then comes the wearing and abrasion of the cataract, 
which searched out and bored into every soft or 
yielding crevice. The “ pot-holes '' drilled in the 
rock seem almost to imply human agency and the 
use of accurate machinery. The threatening “ Great 
Eastern's stern " hangs ominously over the irregular 
paths. It has been rounded and formed on good lines 
by the whirling currents that cut farther and farther 
beneath it, but found an easier and lower outlet 
before the great projecting mass was sufficiently 
weakened to break away from the cliff. Caves and 
shelters are abundant, and paths are made between 
rocks that meet overhead in natural arches. 
The varied profusion of vegetation among the 
rocks is seldom equalled. The place is a natural 
nursery for Ferns and Lichens. Almost every rock is 
coated and covered, and the graceful, wavy fronds 
rise from every crevice and recess. The Walking 
Fern, that reaches out one long, graceful leaf to send 
