Journal of the New York Botanical Garden

              Vol. XIV MAY, 1913 No. 161
JOURNAL
ov
The New York Botanical Garden
EDITOR
ARLOW BURDETTE STOUT
Director of the Laboratories
CONTENTS
rAGB
Wild Plants Needing Protection— 7. Pink Moccasin Flower { Cypripedium acaule
Aiton) 97
Cactus Studies in the West Indies 99
John Innes Kane ,09
Insurance of Greenhouses IID
Conference Notes II0
Notes, News and Comment i: 4
Accessions " 7
PUBLISHED FOR THE GARDEN
AT 41 NORTH QUBBN STREET, LANCASTER, PA
BY TUB NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY
O F P I O B R S 1913
PRESIDENT—
VICE- PRESIDENT— ANDREW CARNEGIE
TREASURER— JAMES A. SCRYMSER
SECRETARY— DR. N. L. BRITTON
B O A R D OF- M A N A G E R S
1. ELECTED MANAGERS
Term expires January, 1914
EDWARD D. ADAMS JAMES A. SCRYMSER
ROBERT W. DE FOREST HENRY W. DE FOREST
Term expires January, 1915
N. L. BRITTON W. J. MATHESON
ANDREW CARNEGIE W. GILMAN THOMPSON
Term expires January, 1916
THOMAS H. HUBBARD FRANCIS LYNDE STETSON
GEORGE W. PERKINS MYLES TIERNEY
2. EX- OFFICIO MANAGERS
THE PRESIDENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC PARKS
HON. CHARLES B. STOVER
THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
HON. WILLIAM J. GAYNOR
3. SCIENTIFIC DIRECTORS
PROF. H. H. RUSBY, Chairman
PROF. EDWARD S. BURGESS PROF. WILLIAM J. GIES
DR. NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER PROF. R. A. HARPER
THOMAS W. CHURCHILL PROF. JAMES F. KEMP
PROF. FREDERIC S. LEE
G A R D E N S T A F F
DR. N. L. BRITTON, Director- in- Chief ( Development, Administration)
DR. W. A. MURRILL, Assistant Director ( Administration )
DR. JOHN K. SMALL, Head Curator of the Museums ( Flowering Plants )
DR. P. A. RYDBERG, Curator ( Flowering Plants 1
DR. MARSHALL A. HOWE, Curator ( Flowerless Plants )
DR. FRED J. SEAVER, Curator ( Flowerless Plants )
DR. ARTHUR HOLLICK, Curator ( Fossil Plants)
ROBERT S. WILLIAMS, Administrative Assistant
PERCY WILSON, Assistant Curator
GEORGE. V. NASH, Head Gardener
DR. A. B. STOUT, Director of the Laboratories
DR. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, Bibliographer
SARAH H. HARLOW, Librarian
DR. H. H. RUSBY, Honorary Curator of the Economic Collections
ELIZABETH G. BRITTON, Honorary Curator of Mosses
DR. WILLIAM J. GIES, Consulting Chemist
COL. F. A. SCHILLING, Museum Custodian
JOHN R. BRINLEY, Landscape Engineer
WALTER S. GROESBECK, Clerk and Accountant
ARTHUR J. CORBETT, Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds
JOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN PLATE CXVI
l^ t-. tiXn.
JOURNAL
OF
The New York Botanical Garden
VOL. XIV May, 1913 No. 161
WILD PLANTS NEEDING PROTECTION*
7. " PINK MOCCASIN FLOWER" { Cypripedium acaule Aiton)
WITH PLATE CXVI
From the middle of May to the middle of June the " Stemless
Pink Moccasin" or " Two- leaved Lady's Slipper" may be found
blooming in moist woods and on the borders of swamps or on
drier hillsides in pine woods. It comes when the orchards are in
bloom, beginning with the violets, anemones and wake- robins
and in colder, more northern, hilly regions may still be found when
the laurel and the roses are just unfolding.
It is probably the most common of all the Cypripediums,
having the greatest range, extending through British America
from Newfoundland to Winnipeg and North West Territory,
and is even supposed to have been one of the species recorded by
Dr. Richardson from Arctic America. It also occurs sparingly
in the United States from Minnesota to Kentucky and Tennessee.
The flower is large and showy, pendent on a long stalk, about
a foot high, with two large basal leaves: they taper down to and
clasp the base of the flower stalk and are in turn enclosed in a
thin brown bract; there are five prominent parallel veins and
both surfaces of the leaf are pubescent with short glandular
hairs. Arching over the flower at the top of the scape is a single
lanceolate bract, about 2 inches long, covering the ovary
* Illustrated by the aid of the Stokes Fund for the Preservation of Native
Plants.
[ JOURNAL for April, 1913 ( 14: 79- 95). was issued April 26, 1913. I
97
98
which is curved, strongly ribbed and glandular hairy; the
large brown calyx is composed of two united sepals, the
two lateral petals also are brown, narrow and twisted. The
lip is a large showy pouch, 2- 3 inches long, of a bright
purplish pink color veined with darker lines, it is deeply split
above with the aperture closed by the downward and inward
curving of the sides; there are also minute short glandular hairs
on the outside, but within the hairs are white and longer, becom­ing
rigid and bent downward as they approach the anthers,
serving to attract and direct the movements of insect visitors
who come in search of nectar. When the insects reach the
anthers, the two viscid sacs adhere to their backs and are thus
carried off to some other flower, where they are brushed against
the roughly papillose stigma and thus accomplish cross- fertiliza­tion.
One sterile stamen is expanded into a heart- shaped bract,
which is bent downward and inward covering the stigma and
effectually preventing all exit, except by the apertures on each
side of the anthers. The capsules when mature, are large,
about 1- 1.5 inches long and produce numerous small seeds, but
they are nowhere very abundant, as the very showiness which
insures fertilization by insects, defeats its obj'ect through the
greediness of children and some selfish older people, who pick
all they can find no matter how few there may be!
Cypripedium acaule was named by Aiton in a catalogue of the
plants grown at Kew in 1789 from plants introduced by Wm.
Hamilton, Esq., in 1786, from North America. He cites Pluke-net's
figures and description published in 1769 who described
it as " Helleborine Calceolus Mariae dicta Caroliniensis, bifolia."
Catesby in his Natural History of North Carolina in 1748
figured it in colors and says of it: " This plant produces the most
elegant flower of all the Helleborine tribe, and is in great esteem
with the North American Indians for decking their hair, etc.
They call it the Moccasin Flower, which also signifies in their
language, a shoe or slipper."
It was formerly found in the wilder portions of Greater New
York, on Staten Island and in Van Courtland Park, but is
becoming extinct, on account of its showy flowers, which are
99
usually picked close to the root, as in the accompanying illustra­tion.
ELIZABETH G. BRITTON.
CACTUS STUDIES IN THE WEST INDIES
To THE SCIENTIFIC DIRECTORS.
Gentlemen: Pursuant to permission given by you, I was absent
from the Garden for the period between January 25 and April 17,
1913, engaged in further studies of the West Indian flora, with
special reference to the cacti, in continuation of our cooperation
in the cactus researches of the Carnegie Institution of Washing­ton.
It has become necessary, in the progress of these investiga­tions,
that a more complete and accurate knowledge of the West
Indian cacti be obtained, and my own studies of the general
flora of the West Indies required further field work.
The expedition was organized jointly with Dr. J. N. Rose,
research associate of the Carnegie Institution, and after con­sultation
with Dr. D. T. MacDougal, its director of botanical
research. Dr. J. A. Shafer accompanied me as a field assistant;
Mrs. Britton and Miss Delia W. Marble were also in the party
and rendered valuable assistance in collecting, preserving and
recording specimens; Dr. Rose was aided by Mr. William R.
Fitch, and also by Mr. Paul G. Russell, of the staff of the United
States National Museum.
Our first stop was at St. Thomas, of the Danish Islands, which
we reached on the steamer " Guiana" on January 31. Dr. Rose
and his assistants proceeded south on the " Guiana" to the
British Island Antigua, where important collections were made
by them, the plants of Antigua being but poorly represented in
American museums; they also made studies and collections on
St. Kitts and St. Croix, rejoining our party on St. Thomas on
February 25, bringing with them living specimens of all the cacti
found, together with other kinds of living plants, and many
museum and herbarium specimens.
We made St. Thomas a base for the botanical exploration of
100
the Virgin Islands; the ladies stayed at the attractive town,
Charlotte Amalia. I chartered the sloop " West Indian" and
cruised with Dr. Shafer to windward as far as Tortola; we spent
five days on St. Jan and visited several of the smaller islands of
this beautiful archipelago, still almost unknown to tourists.
The charming views of islands and sea had from the higher
elevations— about 1,500 feet on St. Thomas, somewhat less on
St. Jan, and about 1,800 feet on Tortola— are well worth all the
time required to reach them and the winter climate at sea- level
is perfection; for those fond of sailing or fishing, time can be
spent delightfully; there are a number of sloops available, and
as all the trade among the Virgin Islands is by sail, expert
boatmen are readily secured.
One of our objects was the study and collection of the interest­ing
little round cactus known to botanists as Mamillaria nivosa,
which inhabits certain headlands and cliffs in these islands. We
were guided to one of the localities known for it, Little St. James
Island, by the Rev. A. B. Romig, of the Moravian mission at
Nisky, St. Thomas, who has much interest in botany; we are
indebted to him for valuable aid and advice and for delightful
association. We subsequently found the Mamillaria nivosa on
other islands, and shipped many to the Garden for public exhibi­tion
and scientific study.
Reaching Tortola February 13, we passed from Danish to
British jurisdiction, separated by only a narrow waterway. We
were cordially received by Mr. W. C. Fishlock, agricultural
instructor for the Virgin Islands in charge of the Botanical
Station at Roadtown. Five days were given to exploration and
collecting on Tortola and on smaller islands nearby, including a
visit to the small area of primaeval forest remaining on that
island at " High Bush," where many rare and characteristic
species of the native flora are still preserved; I was much pleased
to learn that steps may be taken toward the permanent preserva­tion
of this high altitude flora and the possible reforestation of
denuded areas adjacent; on St. Thomas there is scarcely any
virgin forest remaining, and but little on St. Jan; reforestation
work on all these islands would be of great advantage to their
inhabitants.
101
Leaving Dr. Shafer to make supplementary collections on
Tortola, Mr. Fishlock and I started on February 18 on the mail
schooner " Lady Constance" for a five days' cruise farther to
windward, the " West Indian" standing by; of how the Danish
sloop scandalously outsailed the mail boat, leaving us to transfer
to the foreign sloop off Virgin Gorda at three o'clock the next
morning this is no place to narrate, but it will doubtless go down
in the unwritten history of Virgin Island sailors. Our goal,
the botanically little- known island Anagada, farthest of all the
Virgins to windward, was thus reached before midday on Feb­ruary
19.
Anagada, physiographically and geologically, is totally dif­ferent
from all other islands of the archipelago; it is an essentially
level coral- limestone and limestone sand cay, at no point over
30 feet in altitude above the ocean. Its native flora contains
many species not known to occur on the other Virgin Islands,
and, as a whole, it is strikingly Bahamian in relationship,
paralleling its geological structure. We spent two most interest­ing
days here and collected specimens of 123 species, but we
examined only small areas. A complete botanical survey made
by means of visits of ten days' or two weeks' duration at intervals
of three months would reveal most of the species, and would be
a notable contribution to geographic botany; the flora is highly
specialized, and very few specimens from Anagada are preserved
in any museum or herbarium. Two kinds of palms exist wild,
whose botanical affinities are as yet unknown, inasmuch as
neither flowers nor fruit of them have been scientifically observed;
we took specimens of their leaves and brought away young plants
for growing at the Roadtown Botanical Station. One is a
palmetto { Sabal), the other a thatch- palm ( probably Thrinax).
The " West Indian" raced across the Anagada Channel under
the full moon of February 20, and the next day was given to
study and collection on Virgin Gorda, an island also botanically
little known. Our time being limited, most of it was taken up
at lower elevations in the vicinity of the Valley Settlement,
among the great masses of granitic rocks which here form a
striking and unusual physiographic feature; cleavage and erosion
102
have left these rocks in rectangular pieces as large as houses, so
that from the sea, the impression of approaching a ruined city is
easily obtained and a nearby cay of the same structure bears
the name " Broken Jerusalem," said to have been given by
buccaneers. The flora proved interesting, and we found speci­mens
to collect all the day, and wished that we might at some
future time explore the forest at the higher altitudes, previously
visited by Mr. Fishlock. A critical botanical survey of this
island is also very desirable.
Returning to Roadtown, Tortola, in the evening of February
21, we found that Dr. Shafer had succeeded in making interesting
collections, aided by Mr. B. R. Fouseca. The next day was
given to the care and packing of plants and specimens and to
observations at the Botanical Station. A pleasant and instruc­tive
interview with Commissioner Jarvis concluded our delightful
exploration of the British Virgin Islands, and on February 23
we set sail for the west, touching at the east end of St. Jan, and
also at Lamosure, on the south side of that island, to call on
Mr. A. White, owner of the " West Indian," to whom we are
indebted for cooperation and hospitality. We reached Char­lotte
Amalia, St. Thomas, the next morning. During our absence,
the ladies had made collections at the higher altitudes and on
the north side of St. Thomas, using donkeys for transportation,
and the combined accumulation of living plants and of prepared
specimens was extensive; this was much further augmented the
next day by the arrival of Dr. Rose and his assistants from St.
Croix, when the members of the expedition were again united.
Several days were now required for care, study and packing;
short trips were made, for special purposes, and nineteen boxes
were delivered to the steamship company for shipment to the
Garden.
Dr. Rose and I concluded, after consultation, that the cactus
investigations would be most effectively prosecuted by a second
subdivision of the party; I therefore proceeded on March 1 with
Dr. Shafer on the " West Indian" to Fajardo, Porto Rico. The
others came to San Juan on the steamship " Prasident" on March
5, Dr. Rose and his assistants continuing on the same vessel to
103
Santo Domingo, while Mrs. Britton and Miss Marble went
across Porto Rico on the motor- bus to Coamo Springs.
The flora of Porto Rico is, in general, better known than that
of the Virgin Islands, and, with the exception of that of St.
Thomas, much better represented in museums and herbaria.
Previous to the annexation of the island by the United States,
it had been studied by Spanish and by German botanists, and
its botanical literature is considerable, culminated by the publica­tion,
between the years 1903 and 1911, of the valuable " Flora
Portoricensis'' written by Professor Urban of the Berlin Botanical
Garden, a critical list of the flowering plants and ferns only,
but without descriptions of the plants, and thus not applicable
to general use. Soon after the American occupation, visits
were made by botanists from the New York Botanical Garden,
the Field Museum of Natural History, Yale University, and the
United States Department of Agriculture, and collections made
between 1899 and 1906, which added much to the earlier Spanish
and German work. More recently resident American botanists
have supplemented these collections and it has become apparent
that Professor Urban's list is not a complete catalogue, while
there is no comprehensive publication dealing with the lower
cryptogams except Professor A. W. Evans' studies of the liver­worts.
The recent establishment of the College of Agriculture
by the University of Porto Rico, and the diffusion of knowledge
by it and by the schools, make the preparation of a descriptive
flora of Porto Rico an educational necessity, and further field
work highly desirable; the same considerations apply to the
zoology and to the geology of the colony and a complete physical
and natural history survey would be of great value, not alone to
Porto Ricans but as an important contribution to scientific
knowledge.
Dr. Shafer and I gave five days to studies and collections in
the vicinity of Fajardo, reaching the mountain forest above Rio
Arriba, where, among many trees of interest, we found the spiny
coyure palm { Bactris) bearing clusters of its beautiful bright red
fruits, a quantity of which was secured for germination at home
and at the Agricultural Experiment Station at Mayaguez;
104
another palm of eastern Porto Rico was found on the wooded
hills near Ceiba, but with leaves only; this is a silver thatch
{ Coccothrinax), previously studied here by Sintenis, who also
failed to obtain either flowers or fruit, so the actual botanical
affinity of the species still remains to be determined. The night-blooming
climbing cactus of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands
{ Hylocereus trigonus) is very plentiful on coastal bluffs at the
Fajardo playa.
Coming south and west on the coastwise steamer " Ramos"
we reached Ponce on the morning of March 8, a beautiful and
interesting trip, the ship touching at several ports; we were joined
again by the ladies on March 9. The dry cactus region from
Ponce to Guanica was studied for a week; specimens of all the
species were shipped to the Garden, and large collections of the
general flora were made at Ponce, Penuelas, Tallaboa, Guaya­nilla,
and at Guanica and vicinity, where we were efficiently aided
by Dr. Morse and Mr. Rubinstein, of the staff of the great sugar-mill,
and found many species of interest, including several addi­tions
to the flora of Porto Rico.
One day ( March 14) was devoted to studies of the mountain
forest at Alto de la Bandera, on the new carretera from Adjuntas
to Jayuya, at an altitude of about 2,000 feet, which we reached by
motor car from Ponce; this proved the banner- day of the trip,
for in this enchanting forest, made up of many kinds of trees
with the noble " palma de Sierra" { Acrista monticola) dominant,
we collected specimens of not fewer than 213 species, a result
submitted as a record- breaker in botanical field work. Orchids
festooned and clothed the tree trunks; ferns in great variety
and luxuriance were everywhere, from small filmys up to tall
arborescent species; mosses and liverworts carpeted the banks
and logs, lichens were abundant and fungi numerous, while the
kinds of flowering shrubs and climbers were unexpectedly large;
that we came out to the car saturated by a mountain shower, and
dried up in the subsequent sunshine were only incidents of this
joyous experience, and we came into Ponce at dinner time with
both the inside and the outside of the motor, full of packages of
spoils. For a view of the high altitude flora, we commend
105
subsequent collectors to the slopes and valleys of Alto de la
Bandera.
Leaving Ponce March 16, a further subdivision of the party
was made; Dr. Shafer went across Porto Rico to San Juan to
arrange for a Curacao trip, while the ladies accompanied me to
Coamo Springs; after passing Juana Diaz we espied a range of
rough limestone hills several miles to the north of the road, which
were capped by a slender palm, observation of which through
field- glasses indicated that it was of special interest; Mrs.
Britton subsequently climbed up to it and obtained its ripe
fruit, which shows it to be a species hitherto botanically un­known,
and one of the most interesting plants obtained during
the entire trip. Farther on toward Coamo, we restudied the
type tree of the beautiful purple- flowered '' palo de tortuga"
{ Phlebotaenia Cowellii) found by us here in 1906, and one of the
most elegant of all trees when in bloom.
Sailing from San Juan, March 18, on the steamship " Phila­delphia,"
Dr. Shafer and I reached the Dutch Island Curacao
in the early morning of March 20. For one fond of the ocean,
this voyage is delightful, but the trade- winds are strong and the
seas high, the southern course of the ship bringing the trade- wind
nearly abeam. The force exerted by the trade- wind on the
waters of the Caribbean Sea, constantly pushing the ocean's
surface westward and supplying the energy for the flow of the
Gulf Stream, was very impressive and the experience was one I
had long desired; the Gulf Stream is an old friend from the Straits
of Florida to the North Atlantic, and to view its origin in the
waves of the Caribbean was most interesting.
Almost as soon as the " Philadelphia" was tied up at the
quaint, clean and substantial city of Willemstad, the active
venerable United States Consul, Mr. Cheney, came aboard, and
we were introduced by him to Mr. Northcote, our Minister to
Venezuela, who was proceeding to Caracas. Mr. Cheney's
advice, and his introductions to prominent Curassavians made
our seven days' stay profitable and delightful. We visited many
parts of the island and were most hospitably received and
cordially assisted. The many miles of roads are in excellent
106
condition and motor cars took us rapidly from one point of
interest to another, enabling us to study many different hills,
valleys, cliffs and plains. Cacti'. exist here in almost countless
numbers of individuals, but in less than a dozen species. The
larger are great much- branched columnar kinds ( relatives of
Cereus), reaching 30 feet in height and formidably armed all over,
bearing edible fruits, and extensively planted for hedges and
fences, which are essentially impenetrable. The smallest is a
few- jointed little prickly pear inhabiting the surface of rough
limestone rocks { Opuntia curassavica), definitely known only
from here, but it has relatives in Porto Rico and in the Virgin
Islands. The rarest, and the plant which we most wanted to
find, is the one described by Linnaeus under the name Cactus
mamillaris, which has been lost to science for very many years;
it is a small, nearly globular species, the type of Haworth's
genus Mamillaria, of which over 100 species have been described
mostly from Mexico and the southwestern United States; to
recent botanists it has been unknown except from old descrip­tions,
and illustrations, and where it came from has been un­certain,
but after reading pre- Linnaean authors I was convinced
that Curacao was its home, and so it proved, for on March 23,
in the late afternoon, on scaling a steep craggy limestone hill,
we found the plant growing in large numbers in and among the
rocks at the level summit. Our excitement and our satisfaction
were great, for at last we knew the type species of Mamillaria.,
and it bore both its little cream- colored flowers and its bright
red little pear- shaped fruits at the same time, to welcome
us.
By rapidly moving to different parts of the island we were able
to obtain a general knowledge of its botanical features and to
collect herbarium specimens of about 250 species, and two large
boxes of living plants, including a representation of all the cacti
found; these I considered of sufficient importance to send Dr.
Shafer immediately to New York with, and he therefore pro­ceeded
north on the " Philadelphia," sailing March 27. I accom­panied
him to San Juan and spent the afternoon of March 29 at
the Experimental Station of the Sugar- growers Association at
107
Rio Piedras upon the invitation of Mr. J. R. Johnston, pathologist
of the station, a valued correspondent of the Garden, who has
made collections of Porto Rican plants for us and will continue
his botanical studies. Mr. Crawley, director of this important
institution, also assured me of his interest in our work. I met
Mrs. Britton and Miss Marble at Mayaguez on March 30; they
had made additional collections about Coamo Springs.
The establishment of a modern well- equipped Agricultural
College at Mayaguez, under the able direction of Professor F. L.
Stevens, adjoining the Agricultural Experiment Station, has
made this city the insular center of information about plants.
We remained there until April 10, making collections in western
Porto Rico, accompanied most of the time by Mr. W. E. Hess,
plant propagator of the Experiment Station, kindly detailed for
this service by the director, Mr. May, and part of the time by
Professor Stevens, who is making a special study of the parasitic
fungi. Our trips included a visit to the coast at Joyada, where
we saw the great groves of the hat palm, " palma de sombrero"
{ Inodes causiarum) and the hand- weaving of the Porto Rican
hats.
A two days' excursion to the mountains at Maricao and the
Monte Alegrillo proved fertile in results botanically, for 281
species were collected besides the many fungi taken by Professor
Stevens, and here we had another fine experience in the primaeval
forest dominated by Acrista monticola. A number of plants
endemic in Porto Rico grow only in this interesting region.
Professor Stevens and I agreed that this was the best site for a
mountain biological station and then events moved rapidly,
for at a meeting of the Trustees of the University which he
attended a few days later, he was awarded a preliminary appro­priation
for such a station, and at a fortunate interview with Mr.
Wilson, Commissioner of the Interior at Mayaguez, he was
promised the necessary land; this is surely unparalleled rapidity
in the establishment of a scientific station, which cannot fail to
add greatly to botanical, horticultural and agricultural knowledge
in Porto Rico; that our northern institutions will cordially
cooperate with Professor Stevens in its use and development goes
108
without saying. We also reached the mountains at Lares, and
between that town and San Sebastian visited the home of the
rarest and most beautiful of all Porto Rican palms, described
by Mr. O. F. Cook some years ago from foliage alone, under the
name Cocops rivalis. We were very fortunate in finding one
large tree bearing clusters of immature fruit, and from this the
relationship of this palm may now be determined. The Mesa
mountain at Mayaguez yielded specimens of several plants un­recorded
as growing in Porto Rico.
Returning to San Juan April i o ' w e were able to visit the fruit
region between Bayamon and Vega Baja on the n t h and to
make a considerable collection on wooded limestone hills at
Candelaria, completing the field work of the New York part of
the expedition, which secured and brought to the Garden 3,152
separate collections of plants, including over 9,000 specimens.
We sailed on the " Caracas" from San Juan on April 12.
With additional field work and through the cooperation of
Professor Stevens, Mr. Johnston, and other insular botanists,
it will be possible to prepare a descriptive flora of Porto Rico for
publication within a few years. The botany of the small islands
Mona and Desecheo, west of Porto Rico and of Cayo de Muertos
off Ponce, is unknown, except for fine specimens of Mamillaria
nivosa and Phyllanthus Epiphyllanthus brought to me from Mona
by Messrs. E. D. Noble and Marc Lejeune; no recent collections
have been made on Vieques, but a few specimens from that island
are preserved in European museums. In the mountain forests
and coastal thickets, trees and shrubs doubtless exist which have
not yet been identified botanically, while the lichens and fungi
have scarcely yet been studied nor collected. The marine algae
are incompletely known, and the fresh- water algae not at all.
The botany of Porto Rico thus offers an inviting field for further
investigation.
Dr. Rose and his assistants made a successful visit to Santo
Domingo and secured large collections on the southern and
eastern sides of that island, making collections at Macoris, Azua,
and Sanchez. The region about Azua is extremely dry, the
annual rainfall in recent years being only about 8 inches; the
109
town is in the middle of a great cactus desert consisting of more
than a dozen little- known species.
Respectfully submitted,
N. L. BRITTON,
Director- in- Chief.
JOHN INNES KANE
Mr. John Innes Kane, a member of the Board of Managers
of the New York Botanical Garden since 1896, died at his home
in New York City on February 1, 1913.
Mr. Kane served the Garden continuously as Chairman of the
Membership Committee of the Board of Managers, and until
recently was a member of the Executive Committee. He was
much interested in botanical science, and prior to the establish­ment
of the Garden, he had taken much pleasure in botanical
studies at Columbia College. During the period of planning
and throughout the earlier construction work of the institution,
he attended nearly all the meetings of the Board and of the
committees of which he was a member, and made frequent visits
to the grounds in Bronx Park. More recently, his health pre­vented
active participation, but his interest was always main­tained.
He contributed liberally to special funds needed for
scientific and educational work, and qualified as a Fellow for Life.
Resolved: That the Board of Managers of the New York
Botanical Garden deeply deplore their loss in the death of their
esteemed associate, John Innes Kane.
Resolved: That this preamble and resolutions be spread upon
the minutes of the Board, and that a copy be sent to his bereaved
family.
Memorial and resolutions adopted by the Board of Managers
April 24, 1913.
N. L. BRITTON,
Secretary.
110
INSURANCE OF GREENHOUSES
It will be of general interest to know that the glass of the large
Conservatory Ranges Nos. I and 2 in the New York Botanical
Garden has recently been insured against all direct loss or damage
by wind- storms, cyclones, or tornadoes, covering also breakage
by hail, at its full value, including cost of resetting. The rate
is 134 Pe r cent, for a period of three years, and the policy is
issued by the Globe & Rutgers Fire Insurance Company.
N. L. BRITTON,
Director- in- Chief.
CONFERENCE NOTES
The April Conference of the Scientific Staff and Registered
Students of the New York Botanical Garden was held April 7.
The topics for this conference were presented by Dr. P. A. Ryd­berg
and Dr. F. A. Seaver.
Dr. Rydberg had thought it advisable to put in record some
of his observations during several trips to the Rocky Mountains
under the head of " Phytogeographical Notes on the Rocky
Mountain Region." He presented before the conference the
first part of his discussion of the alpine region of the Rockies.
The alpine region roughly speaking is the region between the
perpetual snow and the timber- line. A perpetual snow- line cannot
be spoken of in the southern Rockies; even the highest peaks do
not have a perpetual snow cap, like for instance Mt. Shasta or
Mt. Hood. It is probably due to the amount of moisture and
precipitation.. Snow, if present, is in the form of snow- drifts or
small glaciers. The amount of snow does not always depend
upon the height of the mountain. The Snowy Range of Colorado
has more snow than the much higher Gray's Peak, Sierra Blanca,
or Mt. Massive. In the Canadian Rockies and the Selkirks the
conditions are different and more like the Alps. The peaks have
perpetual snow caps and glaciers extend far into the valleys. In
northern Montana is found the only glacier regions of the Rockies.
The lower limit of the alpine region is the timber- line, which
I l l
is really no well defined boundary line, but the transition zone
between the two regions. Different authors have fixed the
timber- line differently.
1. The Forest Line, that is where the continuous forest stops.
2. The Grove Line, where the tree ceases to form communities
of larger or smaller sizes.
3. Tree Line, where the arboreal species cease to form trees.
4. Absolute Timber- line, that is where these species disappear
altogether even as " krumholz."
It is superfluous to consider more than two of these lines, the
forest line and the absolute timber- line. The region between
these two is a transition zone, or better, a zone of strife. A
continuous warfare goes on between the forest and the alpine
grassland.
Then he treated the factors that are governing the timber- line.
The conditions that have been given as causing or modifying the
timber- line are;
1. The decreased temperature during the growing season. In
the Rockies there are no records of the lowest temperature that
the trees can stand, but in general the arborescent flora dis­appears
where the mean temperature during the warmest month
of the year does not reach 5° C.
2. Short growing season. In the arctic region this factor acts
parallel to the preceding, but not so in the alpine region. In the
heads of the valleys where the snow drifts are formed during the
winter and melt late in the summer and along glaciers and perma­nent
snow, the frost is kept longer in the ground and the growing
season is naturally shortened. Therefore, the timber- line is
much lower in the valley heads than on the slopes.
3. Late frost on account of lack of protection from the snow.
Late frost often kills large tracts of conifers which seldom
produce a second crop of shoots in the same season.
4. Strong desiccating winds. This feature is much more
important than usually estimated. The trees of the timber- line
and especially those few isolated stragglers above the real forest-line
show great effect from the wind. The trees are not only low,
stunted, ragged, with enormously elongated branches spreading
112
on the ground, but conspicuously one- sided, telling at a glance
the direction of the wind. On the wind- swept sides of the
mountains the timber does not reach by far as high and in many
places there is no timber at all. In the Abajo Mountains of
southwestern Utah, for instance, there is no timber above the
semi- arid cedar- pinon belt of the foot- hills.
5. Deep snow. As the desiccating winds lower the altitude
on the wind- swept regions, so does the snow in the heads of the
valleys, not only by shortening the growing season, but also
by smothering the tree vegetation. Herbs and low shrubs can
stand to be covered over by snow much better than trees, for
their growing season does not begin before the snow is practically
off the ground. While the tops of the trees may be above the
snow and exposed to the summer heat much before the snow-covered
roots and lower branches have been melted, the lower
portion of the tree is cut off from the air while the upper portion
is already in vital activity. It is easier to distinguish trees
stunted by the action of wind than those stunted by the smother­ing
snow. In the former the lower branches are enormously
developed compared with the upper, while in the latter the lower
branches are dead or covered by fungi or their mycelium. The
usual condition in the Rockies is that wherever there is a large
valley head where the snow has chance to lodge, this is always
devoid of trees, except in places of higher ground where the
snow drifts have not been so deep.
6. Form of precipitation. In high altitudes it is too rare to
hold much moisture and the rain falls at the least lowering of the
temperature. The rain falls, therefore, in the form of mists or in
light and fine showers which only wet the surface. Nowhere in
the Rockies is the moisture very great. In the foot- hill region
and on the surrounding plains, the temperature in the summer is
too high to allow any precipitation. These zones are also arid.
It is at middle elevation that the precipitation is the greatest.
The air here is dense enough to hold more moisture and the
temperature low enough to allow precipitation.
7. Large mountain masses. In the Swiss Alps observations
have also been made that in regions of large mountain masses
113
the timber- line is higher up than on isolated mountains. This
observation seems to hold good in the Rockies. In the isolated
Belt Mountains and Crazy Mountains of Montana, the timber-line
is lower than in the main Rockies. In the Wasatch and
La Salle Mountains of Utah, the timber- line is lower than in the
Rockies of Colorado. Even in the Rockies, the timber- line is
higher where the mountains are more massed. For instance at
Mt. Massive it is higher than on Pikes Peak, Sierra Blanca, or
Long's Peak. No adequate explanation has been made and Dr.
Rydberg had no suggestions to make.
8. Exposure to or protection from direct sunlight has evidently,
also, great influence upon the altitude of the timber- line.
9. Physiographical Barriers. To these may be counted snow­drifts
and the glaciers already mentioned. Besides these are the
precipitious cliffs and rock- slides. Meeting one of these barriers
the timber ceases to grow sometimes a thousand feet lower
than the physiological timber- line. Alpine plants are often
found in the crevices of the cliffs and among the rocks in such
places.
10. Oecological Barriers. Sometimes an oecological timber-line
is mentioned, i. e., where the bacteria in the soil and other
organisms necessary for the growth of trees cease to exist.
Theoretically it is easy to see that such a timber- line may exist,
but practically there is no information regarding its existence
in the Rocky Mountains distinct from the merely physiological
ones.
n . Economic timber- line. In Switzerland there exists an
economic timber- line. The alpine meadows are used for summer
pastures for sheep and goats. These animals make depredations
on the new trees and hinder the spreading of the forest, but in
many places the subalpine forests are actually cut down by
man to make room for more pastures. Such economic timber-line
cannot be spoken of in the Rockies.
After having discussed the causes of the timber- line, it is
easier to define what an alpine plant is. In short, it is a plant
that can endure the climate of the mountains above the timber
line. It is, therefore, a plant that requires less temperature
114
during the growing season than the forest trees or can stand a
shorter growing season, or is less affected by frost, and besides
can stand better desiccating winds, deep snow, less precipitation,
etc., or a combiation of such conditions. Some authors claim
that alpine and arctic plants are xerophytes, but this is not
necessarily so. Not a few arctic and alpine plants require a
good deal of moisture, growing only below snow banks or in
springy or boggy places. Even a few aquatic plants are found.
Then Dr. Rydberg shortly discussed the formation of the
alpine flora and gave the following formations: The Rock- slide
Formation, Mountain Crest Formation, Mountain Seep For­mation,
Alpine Meadow Formation, Alpine Bog Formation,
and Alpine Lake and Pond Formation. To these may be also
added two rather local formations, the cliff formation and the
snow- drift formation.
Dr. F. J. Seaver showed specimens of the hickory barkbeetle
and reviewed briefly the life history and habits of the insect.
Attention was called to some of the natural enemies of this in­jurious
insect and also artificial means of controlling it. An
illustrated account of this pest will appear in a later number of
the JOURNAL.
A. B. STOUT.
NOTES, NEWS AND COMMENT
Mr. E. G. Arzberger was granted a scholarship for the month
of May to make an anatomical study of Coleus with respect to the
distribution of the colored tissues.
Mr. A. C. Fraser, of Cornell University, has come to the New
\ o r k Botanical Garden to assist during the coming summer in
the experimental work in plant breeding.
Mr. William H. Lamb, of the United States Forest Service,
recently spent a few days at the Garden consulting arborescent
specimens in connection with his work in Forest Distribution.
115
Dr. William Trelease, recently director of the Missouri Botan­ical
Garden, has been appointed professor of botany in the
University of Illinois at Urbana. He succeeds Dr. T. J. Burrill,
retired, who as professor, dean, and vice- president has been
connected with the institution since 1868.
Mr. G. Claridge Druce, M. A., F. L. S., ex- mayor of Oxford,
curator of the Fielding Herbarium of the University of Oxford,
author of " List of British Plants," " Flora of Berkshire," and
many other works relating to the British flora, was a visitor at
the Garden on April 24.
Mr. Walter T. Swingle, of the Bureau of Plant Industry,
recently spent several days at the Garden, studying specimens of
Citrus in the herbarium.
Dr. Charles Thom, of the United States Department of Agri­culture,
recently spent several days at the Garden consulting
various publications in the library.
Professors Mel T. Cook and M. A. Blake, with several members
of the senior class of Rutgers College, spent May 2 at the Garden,
visiting the conservatories and the experimental garden.
During the spring, numerous cases of variation have appeared
in the beds of tulips grown at the Garden. These variations are
of three kinds: changes in color, changes in shape, and changes
in the character of the floral parts. In a bed of 250 flowering
bulbs of the variety " Yellow Prince" one flower had in one of
the parts of the perianth a segment of dark red. This was the
only variation found in the yellow- flowered varieties. In the
beds of " Crimson King" and " Prince of Austria," thirty flowers
showed more or less of yellow in streaks. In some cases only a
few small streaks were present. In other cases the flower could
be described as yellow with a few red streaks. Many of these
116
striped flowers also showed variations in shape, the extreme
cases having narrow floral parts not more than one fourth the
width of the petals on typical flowers of the variety. Three
flowers were noted in which the parts of the perianth were more
or less green and leaf- like. On these flowers some of the parts
of the perianth were entirely green, others were of the usual color,
and others were sectorially differentiated, the whole flower being
nearly half green and half red in color. It was noted in several
instances that a tulip showing variation grew very close to one
that was normal for the variety, a condition which indicated that
the two were sister plants.
In another bed of tulips, of the variety known as the
Cottage Tulip, nearly fifty cases of fasciation were observed as
well as a few cases of variation similar to those described above.
In view of the particular interest which bud- variations and
fasciations have to botany and to horticulture, these plants
will be isolated and grown in the experimental garden for further
study.— A. B. S.
The cottage and Darwin tulips are in full bloom, days ahead of
their normal flowering period which comes toward the end of
May. They have already ( May 16) been in bloom for a week or
ten days. Some of these are especially fine. One of the cottage
tulips, known as Orange Beauty, is particularly striking. It is
a long flower, a vivid orange- red. Another cottage tulip is La
Merveille, unusual in its long pointed flower, the color a rosy
carmine. This is of unusual merit. Among the Darwin tulips
Clara Butt is as usual in the front rank, with Baronne de la
Tonnaye, very similar, of equal worth. Those who like a very
dark flower will find in the Darwin tulip, The Sultan, all they
can desire. It is of the deepest black- purple. The parrot tulips
have been unusually fine this year, the flowers large, and a greater
number than usual of the bulbs bearing flowers.
The irises or flags are now taking a prominent place in the
herbaceous border. One of the first to appear is the little Iris
cristata with its sky- blue flowers. Iris florentina, almost white
with a faint flush of lavender and delightfully scented, follows.
117
The German iris, / . germanica, occurs in great masses of rich
dark color in many parts of the decorative beds. Many of the
forms, other than the purple, offered by nurseries as varieties
of the German iris are referable to I. sambucina and / . squalens.
Iris pumila is also an early flower, occurring in violet and yellow.
It is quite dwarf. Iris Statelliae, of a pale straw color, comes at
about the same time as / . pumila. I. pallida is just coming into
flower, the variety of this known as Dalmatica being especially
desirable. By selection of species a continuous display of irises
may be had from late April or early May to late June or July,
when the Japanese iris, I. laevigata, commonly known as I. Kaemp­feri,
sends forth its gorgeous display.— G. V. N.
Meteorology for April.— The total precipitation for the month
was 5.18 inches. Maximum temperatures for each week were as
follows: 630 on the 6th, 6o° on the 12th, 72° on the 19th, and
83° on the 25th. The minimum temperatures were 32° on the
7th, 270 on the 10th, 31° on the 21st, and 400 on the 22d.
• ACCESSIONS
MUSEUMS AND HERBARIUM
IS specimens of hybrid willows from Massachusetts. ( Given by Mr. F. F.
Forbes.)
119 specimens of fungi from Porto Rico. ( By exchange with Mr. John R.
Johnston.)
3 specimens of polypores from Montana. ( By exchange with Professor James
R. Weir.)
12 specimens of fungi from Germany. ( By exchange with Dr. H. D. House.)
20 specimens " American Hepaticae" numbers 101- 120. ( Given by Miss
Caroline C. Haynes.)
117 specimens of flowering plants from Indiana. ( By exchange with Mr. C. C.
Deam.)
10 specimens of fungi from Porto Rico. ( By exchange with Professor E. W. D.
Holway.)
1 specimen of Puccinia Xanthii from California. ( By exchange with Professor
J. C. Arthur.)
118
So specimens " Mycotheca Boreali- Africana" fascicles 2 and 3. ( Distributed
by Rene Maire.)
200 specimens " Fungi Columbian" fascicles 38 and 39. ( Distributed by Mr.
Elam Bartholomew.)
30 specimens " Fungi Dakotenses" fascicle 8. ( Distributed by Dr. J. F.
Brenckle.)
72 specimens of rusts from New York and Massachusetts. ( Collected by Mr.
F. D. Fromme.)
4 specimens of fungi from Wisconsin. ( By exchange with Dr. J. J. Davis.)
200 specimens " North American Uredinales" centuries 6 and 7. ( Distributed
b y ^ . )
25 specimens " Lichenes Suecici Exsiccati," fascicles 11 and 12. ( Distributed
by Dr. G. O. A. Malme.)
5 specimens of Baptisia from Louisiana. ( Given by Professor R. C. Cocks.)
1 specimen of moss from the East Indies. ( By exchange with Brother Leon.)
2.750 specimens of mosses, being the herbarium of Professor O. D. Allen.
1 specimen of fern from Mexico. ( By exchange with the herbarium of Prince
Roland Bonaparte.)
3 specimens of Taxus and Pteris from Florida. ( Given by Dr. N. F . Petersen.)
flDembers of tbe Corporation
FRITZ ACHELIS
EDWARD D. ADAMS
CHARLES B. ALEXANDER
JOHN D. ARCHBOLD
GEORGE F. BAKER
EUGENE P. BICKNELL
GEORGE S. BOWDOIN
PROF. N. L. BRITTON
PROF. EDW. S. BURGESS,
DR. NICHOLAS M. BUTLER
ANDREW CARNEGIE
PROF. C. F. CHANDLER
WILLIAM G. CHOATE
THOMAS U. CHURCHILL
PAUL D. CRAVATH
CLEVELAND H. DODGE
A. F. ESTABROOK
H. C. FAHNESTOCK
SAMUEL W. FAIRCHILD
GEORGE W. FOLSOM
JAMES B. FORD
HENRY W. DE FOREST
ROBERT W. DE FOREST
PROF. W. J. GIES
J. HORACE HARDING
EDWARD S. HARKNESS
PROF. R. A. HARPER
T. A. HAVEMEYER
A. HECKSCHEB
HENRY R. HOYT
THOS H. HUBBARD
ADRIAN ISELIN, JR.
WALTER B. JENNINGS
PROF. JAMES F. KEMP
EDW. V. Z. LANE
PROF. FREDERIC S. LEE
HON. SETH LOW
DAVID LYDIG
EDGAR L. MARSTON
W. J. MATHESON
EMERSON MCMILLIN
OGDEN MILLS
J. PIERPONT MORGAN
THEODORE W. MYERS
FREDERIC R. NEWBOLD
PROF. HENRY F. OSBORN
LOWELL M. PALMER
GEORGE W. PERKINS
HENRY PHIPPS
JAMES R. PITCHER
M. F. PLANT
EDWIN A. RICHARD
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
WILLIAM ROCKEFELLER
PROF. H. H. RUSBY
DR. REGINALD H. SAYRE
JACOB H. SCHIFF
MORTIMER L. SCHIFF
JAMES A. SCRYMSER
ISAAC N. SELIGMAN
ALBERT R. SHATTUCK
HENRY A. SIEBRECHT
WILLIAM D. SLOANE
NELSON SMITH
JAMES SPEYEB
FRANCIS L. STETSON
CHARLES G. THOMPSON
DR. W. GILMAN THOMPSON
SAMUEL THORNE
MYLES TIERNEY
LOUIS C. TIFFANY
GEORGE W. VANDERBILT
W. K. VANDERBILT
P U B L I C A T I O N S
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notes, news, and non- technical articles of general interest. Free to all mem­bers
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Now in its fourteenth volume.
Mycologia, bimonthly, illustrated in color and otherwise; devoted to fungi,
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and an index to current American mycological literature. $ 3.00 a year;
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North American Flora. Descriptions of the wild plants of North Americai
including Greenland, the West Indies and Central America. Planned to be com­pleted
in 32 volumes. Roy. 8vo. Each volume to consist of four or more parts-
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for $ 2.00 each. [ Not offered in exchange.]
Vol. 3, part I, 1910. Nectriaceae— Fimetariaceae.
Vol. 7, parti, 1906; part 2, 1907; part 3, 1912. Ustilaginaceae— Aecidiaceae
( pars).
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( Parts 1 and 2 no longer sold separately.)
Vol. 16, part I, 1909. Ophioglossaceae— Cyatheaceae ( pars).
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Vol. I. An Annotated Catalogue of the Flora of Montana and the Yellowstone
Park, by Per Axel Rydberg. ix + 492 pp., with detailed map. 1900.
Vol. II. The Influence of Light and Darkness upon Growth and Development,
by D. T. MacDougal. xvi -\- 320 pp., with 176 figures. 1903.
Vol. I l l Studies of Cretaceous Coniferous Remains from Kreischerville, New
York, by Arthur Hollick and Edward Charles Jeffrey, viii+ 138 pp., with 29
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viii -\- 278 pp., with 73 figures and 14 plates. 1908.
Contributions from the New Tork Botanical Garden. A series of tech­nical
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other than the above. Price, 25 cents each. $ 5.00 per volume. In its seventh volume.
RECENT NUMBERS 25 CENTS EACH
152. The genus Struthiopteris and its Representatives in North America, by Jean
Broadhurst.
153. Studies on the Rocky Mountain Flora— XXVII, by P. A. Rydberg.
154. Biochemical Studies of Soils Subjected to Dry Heat, by F. J. Seaver and
E. D. Clark.
155. Polycodium^ by C. B. Robinson.
156. Studies on the Rocky Mountain Flora— XXVIII, by P. A. Rydberg.
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