The Portland daily press., 1865-09-26
PORTLAND SOCIETY OF NATURAL
HISTORY

4 At the regular meeting Of the Society last
Monday evening, DIR. Wood presented for ex-
animation tuft of Heather which he had
found in the woods at Cape Elizabeth. He
gave the history of its discovery as well as
summary Of what is known of it as an indi-
genous plant of America. "a estts
1t appears that Mr.. Pickard, the gardener
Of Mrs. john N. Wood, visited this forest
in Cape Elizabeth year ago, in search of
ferns and trailing plants. Just as he was
leaving it he found two tnfts which he and
his assistant, Scotchman, both recognized
ed as Heaths, and took them home for cult
walton. Some time last winter he called the
attention of DIR. Wood to them, stating that
he had obtained them in the woods at Cape
Elizabeth, and that he regarded them as native
heaths. No doubt could be raised as to the
fact of their being true Heath, but as they
were not in flower their botanical character
could not be so well determined. Recently
Mr.. Packard sent some sprigs to DR.. W. in full
bloom, and the fact being established that it
was a true Heath, an arrangement was made
to visit the locality for the purpose Of finding
it IN stu. A week ago the exploration was
made, and after about an hours searching DR..
w. was fortunate enough to find tuft of the
plant in its natural position, surrounded by
the Linnea boreaIis, MitcheIIa repens &C.. in
the greatest profusion, this little patch of
heath being, apparently, as mucha veritable
denizen of the forest as were these plants. A
specimen was sent the next day to Prof. Asa
Gray Of Cambridge who also pronounced it to
be Heath, the Calluna vulgaris and remark
ed that its discovery near Portland ''would
tend very much to strengthen the opinion that
the plant was indigenous"
The Calluna ualgaris is the true Heather Of
Scotland, and in a botanical notice of its dis
,covery in this country, in Silliman's Journ-
al vol. XXXIL 1851, Prof. Gray remarks
"That America has no Heaths, is a botanical
aphorism. 1t is understood, however, that an
English surveyor nearly thirty years ago found
Calluna vulgaris in the interior of Newfound.
land. Also that De la Pylaie still earlier, emu.
merates it as an inhabitant of that island
But this summer Mr.. Jackson Dawson, a young
gardener, has brought us specimens and living
plants(b both Towering stocks and young seed
lngs) from Tewksbury, Massachusetts, where
the plant occurs rather abundantly over about
half an acre of rather Doggy ground, along
with Andromeda Calyculata, Azalea viscosa
Kalmia angustifolia, Gratiola surea &c, ap-
parently as much at home as any of these
Certainly this is as unlikely plant and as un
likely place for it to have been introduced
by man either designedly or accidentally, a.
can be imagined From the age of the plants
it must have been there at least dozen years
indeed it had been noticed ard recognized two
years ago, by Scotch farmer of the vicinity
well pleased to place his foot once more. upoI
his native heather. So that even In New
England, he may say, if he villas friend o
ours botanically renders the lines-that
'caliunu Dufgaris this ght shall be my bed g.
And Pteris aQuiiina the curtain round my head
1 1t may have been introduced, unlikely as it
seems, or we may have to rank this HEATH
with other species of the Old World so spar
ingly represented in the New, that they arr
known only at single stations, perhaps lat
hngerers rather than newcomers
Mr.. Edward s. Rand Jr. in subsequent ar
tlcle IN this same Journal, (voL XXXTII, 1852
upon the Tewksbury station of this Heath
concludes with the inquiries, "May not tn
heather have ones existed in profusion Oh
this continent and have gradually died gu
owing to some inexplicable, yet perhaps onl
slight climatic changer May not this be til
last vestige, or one of the last, of what wa
once an American heaths And If the beatbe
exists in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. ma,
we not expect that some intermediate station
may yet be discovered9" e 4
1t would seem as if this suggestion of Nj
Rand was likely to be verified in the discover
by Mr.. Piekard, Of one of these stations j
the vicinity of Portland. ~ &
Prof Gray in note appended to Mr.. Rand
detailed account of the discovery at Tewksbur
and of the probabilities that the plant migf
De truly native, gives it as his opinion th'
tne probability very much depended upon th
connrnstion of the Newfoundland habita
Ihls continuation seems to have beeu sati
lactorily received, though Mr.. c. J, Sp ragu
as late as as 1862, took a skeptical view Of Ii
subject and in an article published in the i7r'