Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2002

Because of a topography that ranges from mountainous highland to sandy plain, with marked differences in soil and climate, New Jersey has a variety of wild life surprising in so small an area.

The greater part of the Coastal Plain, covered with deposits of loose sand and gravel and a growth of stunted oak and pine, with some white cedar survivors, is only the "Pine Barrens" to most residents of New Jersey. But for more than a century botanists have considered this region one of the most interesting in the United States. Swamps, drained by brownish cedar-tinged streams, are veritable marine gardens. On damp sandy spots near cedar swamps at 30 known places through- out the pine barrens is found the little fern, schizaea pusilla (curly grass), the outstanding rarity of the State. Since its discovery in 1805 at Quaker Bridge it has attracted naturalists from Europe and elsewhere. The fronds, seldom more than five inches in length, are identified readily only by those who know that the plant bears little resemblance to a fern.

Known to but a few is a sandy pocket, on an old wagon road in southern New Jersey, where the passionflower blooms profusely. It is perhaps the only sight of its kind in the State. Vast stretches beneath the pine trees are covered with the trailing pyxie plant, smallest evergreen shrub in the world, growing only one-half inch high and putting forth white star-shaped blossoms in April. Woods of the Coastal Plain are green at all seasons with swamp magnolia, laurel, and holly, in addition to the pines and cedars. The northern forest growth is in general similar to that of New England. Almost 20 varieties of oaks are common in the State, and the maple, beech, locust, and birch are found in large numbers. Chestnut and hickory trees, once abundant, are practically all gone. Old elms to match those of Connecticut towns are found along village streets. In the northern swamps the red maple and pin oak are typical. Ferns grow in greater profusion northward.

Spring comes in New Jersey when the snowy wreaths of the shadbush -- so named because it blooms when the shad are running-appear on the hillsides and in the dry open woods, along with trillium, hepatica, and the eggshell-white blossoms of bloodroot. In the pine barrens a rare April flower is that of the sand myrtle, a little plant with dark leaves somewhat like those of box, and a smother of white blooms lasting many weeks. Arbutus is found in the woodlands and on sunny slopes as well. In late March and early April the pale yellow blossoms of the spice bush, and in autumn its scarlet berries and brilliant gold leaves, add color to the wet woods and marshes.

The staggerbush, with delicate, pinkish-white, nodding flower clusters, blossoms from April to June. Wild azalea grows almost anywhere, scenting the air with its bright pink flowers. The plant is known also as the pinxterbloom because it is seen on Whitsunday, for which the Dutch word is Pinkster. On dry soil exposed to the sun is the birdfoot violet. The showy Virginia cowslip, with pink buds opening sky-blue, takes root in low meadows and on stream banks, blossoming throughout the summer.

Along roadsides near the shore the beach plum puts forth pure white blossoms in May. The deep red or purple fruit of this low straggling tree is much used for preserves; the Indians prized it. Throughout the State the spring green of most woodland is beautified by the delicate white of the flowering dogwood. Woods and highways in nearly all parts of New Jersey are graced by the mountain laurel, with pinkish-white blooms and evergreen leaves. On the borders of swamps and moist woods the fragrant creamy-white flowers of sweetbay, or magnolia, are seen early in May. Also found commonly on damp ground is the mayflower, or mayapple, with umbrella-shaped leaves.

In late June and early July the partridgeberry, with delicate pinkish- white blossoms, brightens the oak and hemlock woodlands of the north- ern counties. Neighbors of this plant are the wintergreen, with drooping white bells; the pipsissewa and pyrola, with waxen blossoms touched with red; the dainty yellow ladyslipper, of the orchid family; and the rattlesnake plantain, also an orchid, with a short spike of tiny white florets rising from a rosette of mottled leaves.

Sunny swamps are the wild-flower strongholds of mid-July, with turkscap lilies, the meadowrue, and pitcher-plants; tiny, glistening sundews, unrolling white spikes; the rose-pink orchid; and the fringed orchises in purple, yellow, and white. A patch of brilliant orange milkwort will be seen on a sandy dike; near it bladderwort raises yellow blossoms above the shallow water where its fringelike leaves float. Turkeysbeard, the odd plant of the southern swamps, abounds in sandy bogs. Its short stiff leaves curve upward, almost exactly like a turkey's beard, and there is a golden gleam from its yellow spikes. Seed capsules are reddish-brown; the stalks and bracts, buff.

Handsomest wild flower of its color is the rich orange butterflyweed, seen in sandy fields and along roadsides throughout the summer. Blossom- ing in July also are the false indigo, with violet-blue flowers; the yellow indigo; Jersey-tea, a shrub with plumy white flowers seen in dry open woodlands and along gravel banks (used by Colonial housewives as a sub- stitute during the British boycott) ; the fringed bleedingheart; the pink turtlehead; the brilliant blue closed gentian of the pine barrens; the blue cornflower of the northern fields; and of course the daisy, which turns some northern pastures into an almost solid white. Constant companions of the daisy are the buttercup, red and white clover, and yellow mustard.

In August, roadside fences and waste places are covered with matrimony-vine and its purple blossoms. The vine is a runaway, having escaped from New England gardens. Honeysuckle scents the air in many places from the northern counties to Cape May. Another fragrant plant is the sweet pepperbush, with snowy spikes, seen on stream banks. The sweetspire has spikes of bell-shaped white blossoms in summer, and brilliant crimson foliage in autumn. In low moist ground grows the cardinal flower, brightening the woods with its deep red torchlike spikes.

A roadside favorite during August and early September is joe-pye-weed, its tall stalks crowned with dull pink clusters. Often seen near it are the deep purple blooms of ironweed, and the familiar goldenrod. Queen Anne's lace with its clusters of tiny white blossoms faintly tinged with green, black-eyed-susan, and sunflowers, are also common along high- ways. In swampy sections the marshmallow, a shrub with large pale-pink flowers, mingles with reeds and cattails. Damp roadside ditches are preferred by the handsome tiger lily, whose spotted orange blossoms add bright color throughout the State.

Colder weather brings out the bright hues of berries of vines and shrubs. Perhaps the most generally admired is the bittersweet, with orange-red berries, seen in thickets or against stone walls. Sumacs are a rich red with foliage and fruit. In a few swamps and woods the rare witch hazel puts forth clusters of golden blooms among its dying leaves, making a weird but astonishingly beautiful effect after the first frost.

Vandals and Christmas peddlers have placed the native holly in danger of extinction. The tree is still found in many sections of the Coastal Plain (a grove of fine old trees is in the Sandy Hook military reservation), dwarfed and misshapen by repeated stripping of its branches. Last and brightest color display of the year is made by the black alder, whose scarlet berries, densely crowding the branches, light up swamps and thickets long after the surrounding foliage has turned brown.

The State has many varieties of both shore and land birds. The long line of coast with its series of indenting bays and rivers invites a variety of species. Most familiar is the herring gull, found in great numbers. This bird picks up clams along the salt river banks and drops them from a height on rocks or hard-packed sand to break them open. Sandpipers flit along the beach, skillfully evading the incoming waves. They take flight suddenly in a body and catch the sunlight on silver wings. In the shallows of inlets and marshy lakes the great blue herons stand as if on stilts, patiently waiting for a catch. The little green heron is common; the night heron and the least bittern are also found. In stunted trees along shore roads are seen the crude nests of the American osprey or fish-hawk, poorly built structures of sticks to which the birds return year after year. The osprey circles over the waves until it sights a fish; then it plummets downward with closed wings, and carries the flapping prize off to its nest. The Barnegat Bay region is famous for ducks, which give good sport to hunters every season. In southern New Jersey, bald-headed eagles select the tops of tall trees for their vast and weighty nests. These birds live as long as 125 years.

The Delaware River provides a route for migratory birds, and favorable homesites along its wooded banks. Up and down its length the bobolinks pass. The males, in shining black and white, arrive first. When the females join them, nests are made in upland meadows and the male pours forth the maddest and merriest of all bird songs. Summer over, their bright colors change to dull brown and the song becomes a sharp "chink." Many southern species follow the river north. Among them are the mockingbird and the summer tanager, the first with its rare song, the second with its splotch of brilliant color.

Birds of the Allegheny zone cross the northern border of the State to nest in the hills. These include the blue-headed vireo; the hermit thrush, one of the best singers; and the veery, or Wilson's thrush. Some of the rarer warblers, such as the hooded and the brilliant Blackburnian, are also summer residents. Thousands of wood warblers cross New Jersey each spring and fall, on their long journey between Alaska and Patagonia. It is a great moment for a bird lover when he glimpses these tiny birds of pas- sage, beautiful in color, courageous in flight.

In New Jersey orchards bluebirds sing, and purple finches dance on apple-tree boughs. Goldfinches match their colors with the yellow thistle. Wood thrushes by the roadside "sing each song twice over" in the evening; quail answer one another from the fence rails, while a brown thrasher in a tree-top sings alone.

Urban areas are dominated by the ubiquitous English sparrow; starlings are also numerous. Robins, common in suburban regions, roost together in the country in flocks of as many as 2,500 for protection against owls. Flickers and other woodpeckers, wrens, catbirds, song sparrows, orioles, brown thrashers, flycatchers, swallows and brilliant blue jays nest on the fringes of cities, as well as in the country. The ruby-throated humming- bird is a frequent visitor to flower gardens, and the night-flying whippoorwill is often heard.

Foe of other birds as well as of small rodents is the shrike, which kills for pleasure. The great northern shrike has been known to kill robins. Captured mice are jammed onto thorns, or wedged tightly into crotches. The barn owl is frequently seen, and the screech owl is commonly heard; occasionally the white Arctic owl is found in New Jersey. At Mountainville in Hunterdon County is a buzzard's roost where from 75 to 100 buzzards gather every summer.

Rose-breasted grosbeaks, which feed on potato bugs, were numerous in New Jersey in 1907; since then, for reasons unknown to ornithologists, they have been comparatively scarce. Evening grosbeaks were seen at Belvidere in 1916, and have been reported at other times.

Largest of New Jersey mammals is the deer, found in both northern and southern woods. Virginia deer are stocked by the State fish and game commission. Bears are occasionally reported in the northern woods, and a few wildcats are left. Foxes have become so numerous in the southwestern marsh area that marine hunts have been organized to check their depredations on the valuable muskrat population. A few mink remain at large; others are raised for their fur. Raccoons are still common, and so are woodchucks and opossums. The porcupine is gradually becoming extinct, and the beaver has all but vanished.

The skunk, perhaps the most dignified and fearless of all animals, has withstood the march of urbanization and, along with the weasel, is a source of annoyance to poultrymen. Squirrels, chipmunks, and rabbits are seen even in suburban areas; the flying squirrel is common in the northern counties.

The rattlesnake and copperhead, both relatively common in northern parts of the State, are the only poisonous reptiles. The great mountain blacksnake, entirely harmless, attains a length of eleven feet. Among the handsomest of New Jersey snakes are the yellow and brown-banded king-snake, and the pine snake, with a whitish body marked with brown black- margined blotches. As the name implies, it is a native of the pine barrens. There are many types of turtles, including the giant sea turtle, the snap- ping turtle (chief ingredient of a prized New Jersey dish, snapper soup), and the mud turtle (stinkpot) of wood and marsh.

Print Edition Now on Sale at Amazon Read Online at Google Book Search