Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-04-27
THE FLORA or vERMONT.
I.-Somc Introductory Notes.

does Vermont certainly TINS Is True II we
10 iis extent of surface into the account.
Here arc found many rare plants aud many
curious plants, as well as many OF great
beauty, some of them siyiy hi4dtn The-2
only the most dilircnt collector can find
them, some scattered far and wide in view
Of all who take their walks abroad,
The reasons for this great richness liz Cur
flora arc not all of them easily discovered.
Undoubtedly the geographical position and
physical features of Vermont favor the
growth of large variety of plants but there
mist Lc other reasons than these. When
ever We Study the distribution Of animals or
plants, even though the area Investigated
be a limited one, We very soon find ourselves
confronted with perplexing and battling
problems, and study of the flora Of Vermont
furnishes its full share Of illustrations OF this
principlr. We find most Of the Towering
plants that grow In any part Of New England
in this State, as we might expect that we
should, but besides we find quite number,
over thirty species that are found IN no other
New England state. From the Canadian
dora ON the North many stragslers have
wandered across the border. Some with the
b i'd impudepcc and irreprcssibil,ty Of the
Canadian thistle have made themselves quite
rs much at home as if they had been urgcnt-
" invited to come and when they had arrived
everything possible done TO make them COM
Portable others that came more timidly and
with less assurance at the outset have yet
become fully established. Our western Dor
der furnishes home not only 10 tine typical
New England species, but to small colony
of western forms not found elsewhere IN New
England, and on the shores of the lake are
marine species, such as usually grow only
by the sea coast. Long ago, when Lake
Cha mplain was part Of the great ST. Law
renee gulf, its shores were sea shores and
upon them grew salt-loving plants, but as
changes gradually took place and the land
slowly rising cut off the communication with
the sea which had been 80 long established
most of these plants persisted, leaving only a
few as relics and reminders of the bygono
days.
On the SUBMITS of Mansfield, Cancels
Hump and other high mountains we have
another group of deserted strlgglcrs LETT be-
hind by their friends and relatives. These
last call to mind the time when alter the
retreat of the grCa, ice sheet that so wonder
fully planned the surfaces Of our lodges, fur
rowed our valleys, ground to sand large
masses of rock and even rounded our noun
tains so that now the northern slopes, against
|, ,,,ni,, tNrpn IF thu Glaciers came
are much less steep and angu lar than the
SOUTHERN when after this had retreatcd
norhwart and the climate moderated, though
still fright and much colder than now, plants
of the northern region covered Vermont.
These hardy little plants grew so high upon
the mountains that they did not notice the
increasing warmth of the climate nor that
their companions down on the plains were
slowly creeping northward and so they
STAYED until the climate was so changed that
they could no longer live away from their
lofty home and its clear, cool air, and thus
they were imprs med. Up there they thrive,
but about them is drawn dead line To cross
which were sure destruction. We find the
same species now in Labrador and Greenland
at the sea level, but not south OF those cold
iegions. II is well that these few were LEFT
behind, for they are very pretty little plants
| and very interesting TO Do'anlsts, ana u u
very much less trouble to climb Mansfield
alter them than 10 make pilgrimage To- the
Undesirable regions of the north. There
will be mors 70 tell Il these Alpine plants by
and by.
another reason why the fora OF Vernon;
is so varied and so extensive is found IN tht
r,eat variety of soil and location which
plants may find The rocks Of Vermont arr
| legion as to kinds and as these decompost
| they produce caei. its particular sort OF sol
suited to d particular kind or group oil
| plants,
Then there are the cold boys and the
warm, sandy plains, the mountain brooks
with their eoo,, fresh spray, ellis and
| ledge, lakes shore and river meadow, noun
tain gorces with their deep shaqes and sunny
hillsdes. In enc or another of these tlversC
local ions the spGcies of Canadian, Southern
and Western iloras find congenial homes
which they brighten and beaniify from early
sDiiugtiue until late autumn.
! Some Of the most emirent names in Amer.
lean botaay vii! always be associated with
| the flora Of Vermont So long ago as 1921
DR.. James, one of the pioneers of botany in
America, published list, which, although II
professcd to include only the plants of Mid.
dlebury, probably INCLUDED most that were
then known from the entire state. AT any
rate, whether local or general, this Is the first
| list of Vermont plants that can find.
| Several years later DR.. j. w. Robbins
came from Massachusetts and very carefully
collected and studied the plants of Vermont
and discovered many rare species
In 1881 another wel-known botanist, Mr.,
| John Carey, moved TO Bellows Falls from
| New York, and during n residence there OF
| five wears, collected many plants and added
much to tue knowledge of our fora especial.
| ~ of the grasses and their immediate allies
of which groups Mr., Carey was special stu
dent.
Three or four years after this Mr. W. F,
| Macrae came TO Burlington TO attend college
and while here was very Jealous in his study
| of the botany Of the immediate region, and
subsequent collectors have been very greatly
indebted to his labors.
Later still Mr.. William Oakcs of Ipswich,
Mass, took up the work Of investigating the
plants of Vermont, and his list, which was
| first published in Ih0mpS0n's Vermont in
1912, was tie first really complete catalogue
of our plants ever published.
In 1858 Mr.. Oakes's list was supplemented
by list prepared by Prof. Joseph Torroy,
aided by Mr.. G. c. Frost OF Brattleboro.
DIR. James's list contains 500 species, while
the combined lists of Mr.. Oakcs and Prof
Torrey contain 1856 species, aud the latos
published list, that issued by tho writer IL
The report of the Board Of Agriculture for
| 1882. contains nearly 400, Of which few
more than 1900 are Towering plants and the
rest ferns and club-mosses. or the Towering
plants about fifty are large trees and about
as many more shrubs and small trees. Lists
published at different times will necessarily
differ not merely in number of species, ou
in the species themselves, because species