210 BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER.
Length 4 | inches, extent of wings 7 | ; bill along the ridge T \ , along
the edge tarsus £ J.
The Female resembles the male in colouring, but the bright orange
of the head and breast is replaced by yellow.
P H L O X M A C U L A T A , Wild. Sp. PI. vol. i. p. 840. Pursh, Flor. Amer. Sept. vol. i.
p. 1 4 9 . — P E N T A N D M A M O N O G Y N I A , Linn. P O L E M O N I A , JUSS.
Erect ; the stem rough, with purplish dots ; the leaves oblongolanceolate,
smooth, with the margin rough; the flowers in an oblong crowded
panicle, of a purplish-red tint, the segments of the corolla rounded ;
the calycine teeth acute and recurved. It grows abundantly in wet meadows,
from New England to Carolina. The flowers, although pleasing
to the eye, have no scent.
( an )
A BALL IN NEWFOUNDLAND.
Ox our return from the singularly wild and interesting country of
Labrador, the " Ripley"" sailed close along the northern coast of Newfoundland.
The weather was mild and clear; and, while my young
companions amused themselves on the deck with the music of various instruments,
I gazed on the romantic scenery spread along the bold and
often magnificent shores. Portions of the wilds appeared covered with a
luxuriance of vegetable growth far surpassing that of the regions which
we had just left, and in some of the valleys I thought I saw trees of
moderate size. The number of habitations increased apace, and many
small vessels and boats danced on the waves of the coves which we passed.
Here a precipitous shore looked like the section of a great mountain, of
which the lost half had sunk into the depths of the sea, and the dashing
of the waters along its base was such as to alarm the most daring seaman.
The huge masses of broken rock impressed my mind with awe and reverence,
as I thought of the power that still gave support to the gigantic
fragments which every where hung, as if by magic, over the sea, awaiting,
as it were, the proper moment to fall upon and crush the impious crew of
some piratical vessel. There again, gently swelling hills reared their
heads towards the sky, as if desirous of existing within the influence of
its azure purity; and I thought the bleatings of rein-deer came on my
ear. Dark clouds of Curlews were seen winging their way towards the
south, and thousands of Larks and Warblers were flitting through the
air. The sight of these birds excited in me a wish that I also had wings
to fly back to my country and friends.
Early one morning our vessel doubled the northern cape of the Bay
of St George; and, as the wind was light, the sight of that magnificent
expanse of water, which extends inward to the length of eighteen leagues,
with a breadth of thirteen, gladdened the hearts of all on board. A long
range of bold shores bordered it on one side, throwing a deep shadow
over the water, which added greatly to the beauty of the scene. On the
other side, the mild beams of the autumnal sun glittered on the water,
and whitened the sails of the little barks that were sailing to and fro, like
so many silvery gulls. The welcome sight of cattle feeding in cultivated
meadows, and of people at their avocations, consoled us for the labours
o 2