HARTLAND VERMONT 
7 
fresh-water snail shell had ibeen discovered; and again, stooping 
down, he explained the formation of the swamp, and dug into 
the marl to show its whiteness and its depth. On the return 
trip he took us past his fern, known to the world of botanists 
thru him, and we received from his hands choice fronds from it, 
given as if the delights of nature were thereby made forever 
permanent to us. At such moments he showed the hidden 
springs of his joy in life. 
Another man of far reaching influence was the efficient 
town physician, Dr. D. F. Rugg. He was for several years 
Superintendent of Schools also, and during his official visits to 
classes he was able to transmit to appreciative students some¬ 
thing of his own rare gift of observing the unusual in both 
nature and literature. His son, Harold Goddard Rugg, possesses 
many of his father’s characteristics, and is a valuable club 
member. 
ITS ENVIRONMENT 
Yet, though there had been none of these leaders the 
Hartland Nature Club must have been. For few regions have 
greater gifts of beauty and diversity than are found in the 
thirty square miles which make the town of Hartland. And 
as for the state— 
“They ain’t too green, they ain’t too gray, 
They ain’t too high or dry or small; 
They’re awful pretty in the Spring, 
But prettier in the fiery fall; 
And they’re so smooth that you can farm 
Clear up to snow line if you want, 
Which isn't true of any hills 
In any place except Vermont.” 
And the varied features of the town, from its highest 
point, Garvin Hill, over 1,800 feet high, to the terraced plains 
of the Connecticut River, have been explored and partially 
charted by the Nature Club. 
Some of the features studied are: 
Water: 
Sumner’s Falls—Connecticut River 
Ottauquechee Falls—North Hartland 
