IN A SULTRY SWAMP 
103 
alight while they cannot see what peculiar creature is 
moving through the dense underbush* The Veery 
and Song Sparrow blend their familiar notes. The 
attractive seclusion must tempt these little home- 
makers, but there is no immunity from their natural 
dangers. The harsh Jay flies above the trees and 
sends his threatening shadow through the interlaced 
branches, warning the inhabitants of the menace of 
a nest-robber. The Catbird in the lower branches 
varies the sweetest gurgling melody with the threaten- 
ing call that has given him so peculiar a name, and 
the Brown Thrasher, a rival in song, sings from the 
pointed top of a Cedar. 
The usual marsh vegetation is enriched by flowers 
that only the Sphagnum can sustain. The Sun-dew 
lays down its leaves like open hands ready to clasp 
and hold any unwary fly, and there is abundance of 
insect life for its carnivorous propensities. The 
richest treasure of the Sphagnum swamp is the 
Showy Lady's Slipper, the most beautiful of our 
wild Orchids. Deep in the secluded and protected 
recesses, where stooping, climbing, and straining 
overcome the barriers of interlaced branches, these 
flowers hide the beauty that threatens their destruc- 
tion. Their sturdy, leafy stems bear large, rich 
moccasins, waxy white with dainty markings of pink. 
This is a beauty of nature that no cultivation 
could improve, and when discovered repays the 
