ST. JOHN: SABLE ISLAND. 43 
leave this problem, then, having advanced no farther than the stat- 
ing of the difficulty. These wet dune hollows support the most abun- 
dant vegetation of any part of the island. The first plant to appear 
and the quickest to spread is Vacdnium macrocarpon Ait., and it 
forms a thick carpet in all of the wet hollows, though it is sometimes 
obscured by taller-growing plants. Conspicuous among its compan- 
ions in such places are Lycopodium inundatum L., Carex canescens 
L., var. disjuncta Fernald, Junctis haUicus Willd., var. littoralis En- 
gelm., J. articulatiis L., var. ohtusaius Engelm., Sisyrinchhim gram- 
ineum Curtis, Calopogon jmlchelliis (Sw.) R. Br., Hypericum virgin- 
icum L., Viola lanccolata L., Lysimachia trrrcstris (L.) BSP., Lycopvs 
uniflorus Michx., var. omtus Fernald & St. John, and Agalinis pau- 
percula (Gray) Britton, var. neoscotica (Greene) Pennell & St. John. 
Fresh-watek Ponds. — A mere stage beyond the wet dune hollows 
are the fresh-water ponds which occupy all of the deepest dune hol- 
lows. Some are only seasonal and disappear during any dry spell, 
but a considerable number are permanently maintained by the rain 
water. 
Most of these ponds have a pure sand bottom, but a few of the deep- 
er and more permanent have accumulated a layer of l)lack muck over 
the bottom. Around their shores they have the cranberries and most 
of the other plants characteristic of the wet dune hollows, but they 
have many additional species, as Elcocharis palustris (L.) R. & S., 
Juiicus hulbosus L., Iris versicolor L., RuDiex Britannica L., Polygo- 
num, hydropiperoides Michx., var. psilostachyum St. John, Tillaea 
aqtiaiica L., Potentilla viouspeliensis L., var. norvegica (L.) Rydb., P. 
palustris (L.) Scop., Latfryrus p(dustris L., vars. viacranthm (T. G. 
White) Fernald, and refvsus Fernald & St. Joliu, Kpilobiuni moUe 
Torr., var. S(d)uloneuse Fernald, Ceniaurium innheUaium Gilib., Meii- 
yanthes irifoliaia L., and Tcucrium caiimlvnse L., var. liitorale (Bick- 
nell) Fernald. 
In one area, that part of the "old land" bordering the fresh-water 
ponds near tiie ^Marconi Station, conditions have been stable cnoiigli, 
and the vegetation vigorous enough, to form a deposit of loamy soil. 
It does not exceed a few acres in extent and nowhere is it more than 
a foot and a half in thickness. It lies directly on the white sand that 
forms the rest of the island. The vegetation on this Kainy area is 
more vigorous, but not diU'erent in character from that around the 
borders of other fresh-water i)on(ls. In the shalhnv borders of the 
ponds is anotlici' scries ol" sju'cies, not to be found in tiic wet dune liol- 
