Chapter 7 – 1946

Start of Trips for Summer
1946

May 6, 1946
Tuesday afternoon. Sylvia and I went hunting for fertile fronds of Equisetum. We went in my car just to the railway tracks out by Eville Gorham’s house. Eville was working on his lawn. We got a few fronds but not enough. The next place we tried was the railway by Simpsons, but no luck at all, but we saw a man polishing tombstones. Then right out to Bedford rifle ranges. There by the targets there were large numbers of fertile fronds in perfect condition. On the way back we had a talk with the caretaker and nearly got eaten by his three dogs. We took the material back to the lab. It was good to get out again. Sylvia appeared quite serious.

May 9, 1946
Thursday. Sylvia and I went around to the Dingle [coordinates 44.62996, -63.596871] in my car to see if Clintonia was up. We picked up Janet at the corner of Robie and Morris. The Clintonia was up in certain warm sheltered spots, but the main crop had not appeared. The material when examined showed all stages of development of microspore mother cells.

May 10, 1946
Friday morning. Sylvia and I took a tour around Marlborough Woods^[1] [coordinates 44.628184, -63.585749]. The only Clintonia in evidence were in the shelter of the big rock. Apparently, it is a backward season.

May 14, 1946
Tuesday morning. Sylvia, Shirley Mason and I went to Birch Cove Lakes [coordinates 44.66567, -63.689193] to get Snowberry leaves. We went in the morning and came back before noon because I had to get ready for convocation. We parked the car in a man’s side driveway and the man said the road to the lakes was flooded. The road up to the lakes was pretty rough and wet. Sylvia had her big boots, so she was ok. I showed Shirley the conifers and some other plants. On the way up we could not find the Snowberry vine, but beside the brook we did find Yew (Taxus canadensis). The plants were staminate, and the naked stamens of the sterile flowers were in perfect condition. The level of the lake was higher than when Laura and I were there, and we reached the lake by taking a path through the woods to the right of the main road. We collected quite a number of things to show Shirley back in the lab. On the way back Sylvia spotted a patch of Snowberry vine, and we made our collection. We dropped Shirley at her home and then went to the lab, where Sylvia and I looked after the material.

May 23, 1946
Thursday. Sylvia, Shirley Mason, Eville G. and I went to Stewiacke region [coordinates 45.138517, -63.346097] hunting for spring flowers. Dave told me about the place. He and Roland had collected there. We left in my car at about 9:45 a.m. It was a fine day. At first when we arrived at Stewiacke, we could not find the place and landed out at “Sibley’s Corner”. There we were told to take Thurrott’s Road just outside the town. This we did, and finally landed at the correct spot on the St. Andrew River. It was an ideal place.  First, we ate and then all started down the north bank. The collecting was marvelous. Quite a way down we came to a log across the river. Eville and I went over on the log, but the two females stayed on the North bank. Eville and I returned along the south bank. There was nothing much on the south bank except some large patches of Anemones. The following are the flowers collected:

• Sanguinaria canadensis
• Panax trifolium
• Claytonia caroliniana (Spring Beauty)
• Viola eriocarpa var. leiocarpa
• Ranunculus abortivus
• Anemone quinquefolia
• Dentaria diphylla (one plant only)

We also observed a lot of spring flowers and ferns coming up. These included:

• Ostrich Fern
• Lonicera canadensis
• Christmas fern
• Oak fern
• Cinnamon fern
• Sarsaparilla
• Gold Thread
• Various Violets, etc.

A Mrs. Thurrott in one of the houses had a lot of these flowers in a bottle and said that there had been a lot of Hepatics in bloom along the river, but they had been over for about three weeks. Thus, we should go about the first of May for the Hepatics. The best collecting was in the hardwood thickets on the north bank. The flies were not bad, perhaps because there was quite a wind. Shirley could not drink all her fruit juice, so I drank it for her. Sylvia took an extra pair of pants for Shirley, but Shirley already had a pair. We had the press with us and Eville and Sylvia put the plants in press immediately. We got back to Halifax about 5 o’clock. In fact, we dropped Shirley at exactly four minutes and thirty seconds past five.  That evening I went over to the lab to try to identify the flowers we did not know but found Eville there with the job done. It was a very good day.

May 31, 1946
Friday. Sylvia, Shirley M., Eville G. and I went to Upper Sackville [coordinates 44.796149, -63.730859]. Shirley had found some pieces of Chondrus crispus in the bog, and I wished to investigate. Shirley took us to the home of her uncle and aunt, and her aunt guided us to the spot in the woods. It was an ordinary Sphagnum bog and no sign of Chondrus. Shirley’s aunt said some of the neighbours had brought up some Irish Moss to dry and sell, so my guess is that these men had taken some of the Irish Moss out to the bog to see if it would grow there. Mrs. Maxwell said she would let us know if any more was found. From Upper Sackville we went to Beaver Bank Station and then through the Old Cobequid Road to Waverly. On this road we went over a high hill with a good view. On the way home we made a number of collections of Sambucus. We pressed and preserved these when we got back to the lab.

June 6, 1946
Thursday. Sylvia P., Shirley M. and I went to Purcells Cove [coordinates 44.612676, -63.574932] to get some young ovulate cones of Jack Pine.  We went to the quarry on back of the hill. The flies were terrible. The young red ovulate cones of Jack Pine were in perfect condition. We were going to make a collection of Huckleberry flowers for Botany 2, but the flowers were not quite out. We went on to the rock on top of the hill. It is now completely surrounded by young Jack Pine although in 1912 the rock at that spot was bare. We collected some flowers for Shirley to examine. A group of H.L.C. girls were coming in on a picnic when we got back to my car. At the brook from Williams Lake, we collected two gallons of water for the Sambucus cultures in the lab. On the way back we circled through the Dingle and gathered some Clintonia for Shirley. We brought all the material back to the lab.

June 20, 1946
Thursday. Silvia P., Shirley M. and I went hunting for Larch cones and Spirogyra. We took Marjorie with us. We left about 10:30 in the morning and went first to the Larch tree that Laura and I saw on the Meander Road. The cones were in excellent condition. I made a collection. We also collected some Spirogyra and some Cornus stolonifera. We then had lunch at Hantsport [coordinates 45.064005, -64.180837] and got some water from the pond there, but this did not have anything in it. At Wolfville, Marjorie went off on her own to meet us later in Kentville. Sylvia’s cousin Frances Knight showed us around the Biology Bldg. Shirley had a good look at the herbarium. And Frances showed us the brook where they collect their Spirogyra. We then took Frances Knight back to her house and started for Kentville. Enroute, we collected at Tannery Pond. The Euglena there were marvelous.  At Kentville I had a talk with Hockey and got my box of apple slides. We then picked up Marjorie at the Cornwallis Inn and went to Halifax. The brook back of Acadia had the best Spirogyra.

June 26, 1946
Wednesday. Shirley Mason and I went for fruiting Mnium to the spot located by Miss M. Brown near the “Owl’s Nest” on Mrs. Laurie’s property. We left about 9:30 and went down the Frenchman Road [coordinates 44.92145, -63.566914]. We took the turn to the left and landed at the wrong place. The turn to the right is the correct one. We hired a boat for the morning (50 cents) and Mrs. Rose who was living in the cottage let us use the verandah as a lab. The Mnium was in excellent shape, and we made quite a collection.  We had a microscope with us. I taught a little girl how to play the game with the marbles. We had lunch about 1 p.m., beside the car.

From there we drove into Col. Laurie’s place and Shirley inspected the cows. She was disappointed there were not more horses. We then walked out through the woods. It was mighty hot. At Indian Point we cooled off. On the way through the woods there did not seem to be as many flowers as usual, but the Twinflower was in bloom, also Speedwell and Bedstraw. On the way out, I had reported at Col. Laurie’s house, so on the way back I drove right past going through Bedford. I bought a garden chair ($3.00). We went to the lab and put the stuff away. The cleaning women had finished the offices. That evening I came back and identified three flowers. On the way out through Fairview I had collected very showy flower clusters from a bush by the roadside. It turned out to be Viburnum opulus var. Americanum. The Cranberry Tree. While at Indian Point we heard a woodpecker over our heads but could not see it. Finally, we saw it poking its head out through a hole in the side of the tree, the bird was really inside the tree.

July 7, 1946 (Preston, H.B. Bell’s property)
Sunday. Sylvia and I went to Preston [coordinates 44.715695, -63.434226] to compare conditions on July 7 with what we saw in 1945 on June 9th. We left a little before 11 a.m. The day was fine but sultry. The Preston Road was being fixed. When we parked the car at the usual place, we could hear the thunder starting. We got to the head of the stillwater O.K., and everything was at the height of its bloom, and had grown up and covered the rocks. The level of the water was not very high. The Poison Ivy was all over the place and at first Sylvia would not believe that it really was Poison Ivy. It was in full bloom. The Royal Fern was full grown in enormous mats and the fertile fronds were ripe. The blossoms of the Joe Pye weed were in bud, but none were out. I located the Milkweed bushes but there were no flowers showing. Through the woods, in the fields and on the edge of the lake there were all kinds of flowers in bloom. These included Speedwell, Wood Sorrel, Heal All, Twinflowers (lots of them), Yellow Rattle, Potentilla canadensis, Lobelia, etc. The fruits of Trillium and Cornus canadensis were forming. On the way to the outlet of the lake, I missed the path to the point and went too far. I beat it back through the underbrush to find the path and when I reached the shore of the lake my glasses were gone. We hunted for them but could not find them. We had barely eaten our lunch when the thunderstorm broke. I took the rubber sheet and kept dry under a tree. Sylvia took my old coat, which sheds water about as well as blotting paper and sat in the open with my coat over her head. When the storm was over, I was dry and Sylvia’s interior was dry, but her posterior was soaking wet. We waited for a while in hopes that the sun might come out.  When it did not come out, we started for home. Any dry parts became soaked on the way through the bushes. We returned via the south-western side of the stillwater.  The path there was grown up and the old cow path from the darkie’s house to the bridge has become one continuous bog. We got back to Halifax just before seven. Quite a day, but the right date for seeing flowers.

August 1, 1946 (Preston to hunt for my glasses)
Thursday. Sylvia Pentz, Shirley Mason, Bidwell and I went to Preston [coordinates 44.715695, -63.434226] to hunt for my glasses. We left in the morning. My three helpers started hunting for the glasses as soon as we arrived and Shirley Mason found them right away. We went in for a swim and had lunch. Shirley and Sylvia took it easy. Bidwell and I cut a path right back to the main path and then had another swim. The Joe Pye weed was in flower, but we forgot to get some. Lobelia was still in flower, but otherwise just the late summer flowers were out. We took Shirley down to see the Beaver hut and were home in time for supper.

August 13, 1946 (West Lawrencetown to study salt marsh plants)
Tuesday. Sylvia, Shirley and I went in my car to West Lawrencetown [coordinates 44.668104, -63.378699] to study salt marsh plants. Started about 10 a.m.  Shirley sat in back seat both going and coming. We drove right over to the beach opposite Rainbow Haven and the road scraped the bottom of the car for a long way. We then walked back and collected the flowers. They were in just the right condition. We then ate, had a rest then a swim and walked over to the place where the bridge used to be. The tide was too high and the current too strong to do any collecting, but we could see the big Laminarias. So, we went back and had some more sunbathing. Sylvia insisted on taking the isolated and distant position for her sun bath. Early in the day both Shirley and Sylvia were bitten by wasps. Sylvia’s language was choice. I burnt the wasps up. After about an hour we went back to the broken bridge, and I collected some Laminaria plants for Botany 2. After eating and drinking everything in sight we started for home. We dropped Shirley off on Barrington Street where she was to meet “Peggy”. Sylvia and I took the Laminarias, etc. up to the lab. It was a good day. Next day Sylvia was stiff, and I went over the flowers.

September 10, 1946 (Dingle & Herring Cove)
Tuesday. Shirley Mason and I went in my car around to the Dingle [coordinates 44.630561, -63.59855] to get fronds of the Rock Fern for Biology 1. We left about 3 p.m. and got the ferns just inside the Dingle gate. We then went through the Dingle up the steep hill through Jollimore and right through to the inner Herring Cove Road. From there we went on to Herring Cove. The tide was low and the water calm so the seaweeds showed up well. On the way home I bought some oranges (6) and back in the lab Shirley put the ferns in the press. I ate five of the oranges. Shirley ate one.

September 12, 1946 (Bayswater Beach & Chester)
Thursday. Marjorie, Peggy, Peter, Shirley Mason and I went to Chester [coordinates 44.541408, -64.242544] for Peggy to say good-bye and to take a chair to Dougie Morash. On the way down we went around by Bayswater to see if there was any kelp washed up on the beach. We had lunch on the beach halfway down the peninsula and when we got to Bayswater, it was not very comfortable for the sand was blowing along the beach. Shirley found two sand flowers of which we made collections. Peter fell in the water. We went on to Chester and East Chester and made a collection of Musk Mallow from Nora’s garden. We had afternoon tea with Constance and on the way home we bought some eggs from a man who said he was a Frenchman. In the evening, I took the plants over to the lab and pressed them. Eville identified them. The day was fine and although we did not get any kelp it was most successful.

September 14, 1946 (Copper Lake & Brora Lake)
Saturday. Eville and I went in my car to locate Nitella and Mnium. We left about 11:15, on the way through Truro we called at the farm to see Vera Facey, but just missed her. We ate our lunch outside Truro and arrived at Arthur Sutherland’s at Copper Lake [coordinates 45.401291, -61.984879] in time for supper. Eville and I collected a lot of berry-bearing bushes in fruit. While we were at supper the hens ate the berries off his specimens. I had to get a second collection. It was starting to rain while I was collecting. During the night a real storm developed.  Next morning Eville and I started off in the rain. The roads were awash and the rain was heavy at Brora Lake [coordinates 45.485414, -62.277088]. Eville showed me the location of the Mnium, and I collected some Peziza which were in excellent condition. We had dinner with Mr. John Johnston. We started for home shortly after dinner at about 2 p.m. Both going and coming, Eville drove between Truro and New Glasgow. At Sutherlands and Copper Lake, Eville and I occupied the same bed. We did not collect any Nitella but Eville showed me where it grew, and we found some. At Sutherlands I bought a bag of potatoes. We arrived back in Halifax at 5:20 p.m. Sunday evening September 15. The weather cleared after we left Truro.

September 20, 1946 (Sackville to hunt for Irish Moss in woods)
Friday. Sylvia and I left about 11 a.m. and after calling at various places for lunches, etc. We went out to Sackville [coordinates 44.760695, -63.672213] and arrived there a little after noon just when Shirley was having her lunch. Sylvia and I went down the Old Sackville Road and had our lunch, then we called for Shirley and went to her aunt’s place to hunt for the Irish Moss. We found it, and it turned out to be Clavaria cristata.

From there we went up to our property at Mount Uniacke and sat by the lake for a few minutes, then back to Shirley’s house where we had tea and then home. Before we started in the morning and when we were calling for Sylvia’s lunch, I met Sylvia’s “Uncle Fred.”