4 TH E®A:U-D- Ur Bi ON] -BsU Il aii 
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Continuing down the road, we came to a farm and tried to find out 
where we were, but without success. The farmer knew where he was, but 
he did not know where we were. At least he could not find the path on our 
road map nor direct us by means of the map to the nearest town. I have 
not yet found where it was we saw the warbler family. 
It is in the plants and trees that the most obvious indication of unspoiled 
prairie is seen. The soil is generally sandy, and the patches of woods are 
filled with black oak whose dark green leaves glitter in the bright sun. 
There are places where the sassafras is abundant along the hedgerows, 
mixed with wild grape and berry bushes, hawthorne and crab. The sassa- 
fras trees make a beautiful flame-colored display of orange and yellow in 
September. Although it is mostly shrubby in growth, there are several 
trees that attain a good height and a basal diameter of 10 inches. 
The open fields vary from sparsely covered, dry sandy places to wet 
meadows. Here the flora is unique in species, variety and profusion. As 
my interest in botany is more recent than that of bird study and confined 
principally to learning how to identify plants, my sense of discrimination 
may not always be the best. I believe, however, that the following flowers 
are worthy of comment because of either their uncommonness or their pro- 
fusion. 
On April 23rd, we found the moss phlox growing abundantly. This is 
the native species which has been developed with a pink bloom for rock 
garden use. In the wild state, the bloom is pale blue turning to white. On 
June 4th the air was full of the fragrance of grape blossoms. Yellow puc- 
coon was found in great abundance and also large patches of lupine. The 
false white indigo was in bloom then, and we noticed clumps of yucca which 
grow wild here as they do further downstate. We found, too, the orange- 
flowered Krigia, or dwarf-dandelion. Along the road to the marsh we iden- 
tified the tumble mustard (Sysymbrium altissimum). In the wet meadows 
we found the yellow water loosestrife in bloom and a saxifrage with a spike 
of small greenish-white flowers (Saxifraga pennsylvanicus.) 
As binoculars are an inestimable help in bird watching, so is a magni- 
fying glass to the study of botany. One of the most interesting discoveries 
of the day came, however, through the use of binoculars. After passing 
through the marsh to the west, we came to a barren sandy field with a 
sparse growth of insignificant plants. We used our binoculars to look over 
the field just on the chance of finding something of interest, and im- 
mediately there sprang into view a spread of brilliant blue color about the 
shade of chickory. Without the binoculars, the color vanished. Upon closer 
inspection we found the plants to be the oldfield toadflax (Linaria cana- 
densis). This slim plant was about six inches high and bore small blue 
blossoms about a third of an inch long. Even close up the flowers looked 
prettier through the binoculars, being eight times closer and the color 
that much more concentrated. 
In the latter part of June we found the grass pink (Colopogon pulchel- 
lus) a beautiful orchid with several magenta-pink flowers about an inch 
across on each stem; alum-root (Heuchera richardsonii), a plant similar 
