Journal of the New York Botanical Garden

              Vol, II SEPTEMBER, 1901 No. 21
JOURNAL
OF
The New York Botanical Garden
EDITOR
DANIEL TREMBLY MACDOUGAL
Director of the Laboratories
CONTENTS
PAGE
Report on Scandinavian Botanical Gardens 139
Second Flowering of the Tulip- Tree 136
International Conference on Plant Breeding and Hybridization 138
Noteworthy Accession for the Conservatories 140
Notes, News and Comment 142
A Fund for the Preservation of Native Wild Flowers 144
PUBLISHED FOR THE GARDEN
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B O A R D O K M A N A O E R S ,
1. ELECTED MANAGERS.
ANDREW CARNEGIE, J. PIERPONT MORGAN,
CHARLES F. COX, GEORGE W. PERKINS,
W. BAYARD CUTTING, JAMES A. SCRYMSER,
WILLIAM E. DODGE, SAMUEL SLOAN,
JOHN I. KANE, W. GILMAN THOMPSON,
D. O. MILLS, SAMUEL THORNE.
» . E X - O F F I C I O MANAGERS.
T H E PRESIDENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC PARKS,
HON. GEO. C. CLAUSEN
T H E MAYOR OF THE CITY OF N EW YORK,
HON. R. A. VAN WYCK.
3. SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR.'.
HON. SETH LOW, CHAIRMAN.
HON. ADDISON BROWN, HON. MILES M. O'BRIEN,
PROF. C. F. CHANDLER, PROF. H. H. RUSBY,
PROF. J. F. KEMP, PROF. L. M. UNDERWOOD.
G A R D E N S T A F F .
DR. N. L. BRITTON, Director- in- Chief.
DR. D. T. MACDOUGAL, First Assistant.
DR. JOHN K. SMALL, Curator of the Museums.
DR. P. A. RYDBERG, Assistant Curator.
DR. ARTHUR HOLLICK, Assistant Curator.
DR. MARSHALL A. HOWE, Assistant Curator.
GEORGE V. NASH, Head Gardener.
ANNA MURRAY VAIL, Librarian.
DR. H. H. RUSBY, Curator of the Economic Collections.
COL. F. A. SCHILLING, Superintendent.
JOHN R. BRINLEY, Landscape Engineer.
WALTER S. GROESBECK, Clerk and Accountant.
CORNELIUS VAN BRUNT, Honorary Floral Photographer.
JOURNAL
OF
The New York Botanical Garden
VOL. II. September, 1901. No. 2 t.
REPORT OF DR. P. A. RYDBERG, ASSISTANT
CURATOR, ON THE SCANDINAVIAN BO­TANICAL
GARDENS.
DR. N. L. BRITTON, Dircctor- in- Chief.
Dear Sir: According to your request, I visited during my
stay in Scandinavia this summer the botanical gardens at Gothen­burg,
Lund, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Upsala and Christiania,
for the purpose of arranging exchanges between those institutions
and the New York Botanical Garden, especially with regard to
herbarium specimens, materials for the museums and seeds for
the plantations.
As the season of the year was inopportunate for exchanges,
partly because most plants were then just in bloom, and partly
because the officials in charge of the exchange departments were
away, either on vacations or in the field, no material results can.
as yet be shown from my trip ; but such arrangements have been,
made that I hope that the future benefits to our Garden will fully
pay for the extension of time given me for those visits. All the
institutions mentioned above have promised to send their seed
catalogues. These will contain several things of special in­terest,
as for instance that from Lund a collection of the native
plants of southern Sweden collected by Dr. Nordstedt, and
those from Stockholm and Christiania many from the Scandinavian
mountains. The former will probably all prove hardy in our
herbaceous garden and the latter will be a valuable acquisition
for our future Alpinum.
129
130
As to the museum material, the directors of the gardens have
promised to let us have for exchange whatever we want that they
can spare. From the Botanical Garden at Copenhagen we may
expect collections of Greenland plants, seaweeds and mosses
from northern Europe ; from Lund, among other things, a col­lection
from Spitsbergen ; from Stockholm Swedish and Brazilian
plants ; from Upsala plants from the mountain regions of Sweden,
mosses and seaweeds.; and from Christiania seaweeds and arctic-alpine
plants from Norway.
When compared with Kew, the botanical gardens of Scandi­navia
may seem small and unimportant; but remembering that
Denmark and Norway each have but little over two millions in­habitants
and that Sweden with its five millions supports four
botanical gardens, we are surprised at the work that has been
done there and the collections that have been brought together.
The Botanical Garden at Copenhagen is situated on the site of
a part of the old fortifications of the city. The remnants of the
old wall have produced the hills and the rockeries, and the lagoons
are a part of the old ditch. The garden has a fine laboratory
and residence for the director, a spacious conservatory and a mu­seum
which is, however, altogether too small for the collections
brought together there. It contains a large herbarium and a
good economic and ecological collection, the latter probably the
result of the work of the present director, Professor Warming.
The herbarium contains, among other things, numerous Mexican
plants brought together by Liebmann and Oersted, Professor
Warming's Brazilian plants and the best Arctic collection in the
world. The latter surpasses even considerably that at Kew. I
spent two days and a half in looking over their Greenland plants
and gathered valuable information concerning our arctic- alpine
flora.
Nearest the laboratory and director's residence is the experi­mental
garden with small rectangular beds. The systematic
plantations are scattered throughout the garden. They consist
of beds with herbs or shrubs in the lawn, one for each family or
still more often one for each genus. The trees were also scat-
131
tered, but more numerous along the sides of the garden. The
greatest drawback to the garden was the circumstance that the
garden is situated too near the manufacturing part of the city and
suffers a good deal from coal smoke.
The arrangement of the plantations in the Botanical Garden at
Lund is similar to that at Copenhagen ; but the garden itself is
more level. Lund, like Copenhagen, is situated in a flat country.
As far as I know, Lund never had any fortifications, and the
rockeries are, as at Kew, wholly artificial. The garden at Lund
is almost free from smoke and the plantations looked very well.
Among c uriosities seen there was a fine specimen of the bald cypress,
Taxodium distickum; this tree, native of North America, reaches
but the 390 lat. on the lower Delaware, but is perfectly hardy at
Lund near the 560 lat. and is also grown, although with more
difficulty, at Gothenburg, on the 570 40' lat. Liriodendron, the
tulip tree, which reaches the 42 ° lat. with us, is grown at Lund
with less success, but fails altogether at Gothenburg. Of course,
neither is hardy at Stockholm, Upsala or Christiania.
At Lund there are two series of greenhouses and a fine, new
laboratory and museum ; the lower story of the old museum is
used as a residence for the head- gardener and the upper for the
herbarium. When the size of the place ( Lund has only about
15,000 inhabitants) and the facilities of the second university of
a small nation are considered, the collection is surprisingly rich.
It has been built up by such men as Areschoug, Agardh and the
present professor, Berggren. A fine accession to the collection
has lately been received, as Professor Agardh has bequeathed
his whole herbarium and botanical library to the university. The
collection of algological books is probably the largest in the
world.
The botanical garden at Gothenburg is scarcely a botanical
garden in a strict sense. It is a private undertaking, based on
shares. The stock, however, pays no dividend and was never
intended to do so, but the expenses of the garden have to be de­frayed
from the sale of plants, flowers and seeds, the lease of the
restaurant in the garden and the gate- money ( 2.7 cents in our
132
money per person). The place is therefore more a pleasure re­sort
and ornamental garden, although some part is set aside for
purely botanical interests. There is, for instance, a plantation of
wild flowers of southern Sweden. It has a good palmhouse and
a series of smaller greenhouses ; the former was so full that the di­rector
told me that he had to get rid of some specimens, and of­fered
me several big palms and tree- ferns, if we were willing to
pay for the transportation.
The " Hortus Bergianus" at Stockholm was established
through the generosity of a wealthy man in the city, who be­queathed
a part of his property for the purpose. The original
site within the city limits was sold and a better and more suitable
one was bought a short distance outside. It is much better
situated than any of the other botanical gardens in Scandinavia,
on the shores of a small lake. The land is considerably diversi­fied,
comprising rocky hills, lowlands and fertile meadows. It
is perhaps less wooded than desirable ; but in a few years this
lack will be remedied by the thrifty plantations. Especially in­teresting
was the " Alpinum " on top of the hill behind the di­rector's
residence and the littoral garden along the lake. A good
deal of blasting had been done in the rocks of the hill mentioned,
the holes had been filled with soil and such trees and shrubs as
grow in mountain regions had been planted therein. On the
north side of the hill I found a group of young trees of the North
American conifers, Pinus scopulorum, Pscudotsuga taxifolia, Picea
Engelmanni and if I remember right, Abies subalpina, growing
in a locality as like as could be some I have seen in the Rocky
Mountains. In another part of the garden there is also another
interesting tree from North America, Populus trichocarpa from
the Columbia Valley region, which, according to Professor Witt-rock,
should be the tallest deciduous tree of the Northern Hemi­sphere,
reaching the height of 250 feet; Professor Sargent in his
Silva gives its height up to 200 feet. In the garden are many
hedges of Norway Spruce ; but these were planted not so much for
ornament as for making substantial windbreaks.
Professor Wittrock is an enthusiastic " botanical gardener."
133
Although a scientific man of high standing, he lays aside, if not
disdains, other scientific work, in order to make his garden a real
botanical garden and as he said himself " to study the living
things." He spends all the time he can among his plants. It is
a pity, however that his health is rather poor and he is often con­fined
to his house. One of the finest sights was his collection of
columbines, which he now is studying in the same way as he
studied the pansies some years ago.
The director's residence contains also his laboratory and library.
The former and the halls were ornamented with the portraits of
hundreds of botanists from all parts of the world. Many familiar
faces from America met me there. The fine, although small, con­servatory
contained among other things specimens of Victoria.
The herbarium is located in the city, at the " Riksmuseum."
It is a fine collection, rich especially in Scandinavian and Brazilian
plants. Dr. Rignell, a physician who resided for years in Brazil,
gave a large fund, the interest of which may be used for the in­vestigation
of the flora of Brazil. Two expeditions have been
made, and Dr. Malme, who had charge of the preceding expedi­tion,
was just ready to start on another trip to the mountains of
south central Brazil. I spent a day at the Riksmuseum, study­ing
especially the willow collection of the late Professor Ander­son,
who published a large monograph, wrote the genus Salix
for DeCandolle's Prodromus and helped in preparing the manu­script
for Hooker's Flora Boreali- Americana. I took many valu­able
notes regarding species occurring in this country.
The old botanical garden at Upsala was situated on the lowlands
along the river and suffered much from frost. Linnaeus there­fore
removed most of the flowers to his country place, " Ham-marby."
After his death and that of his son, the place passed
into other hands and the collections were removed to the new
botanical garden at Upsala. Lately Hammarby has been bought
by an association, somewhat in the same way as Mount Vernon,
Washington's home, and has been partly restored to its old con­ditions.
The new garden is situated on a plateau above the University
134
and not far from the Old Castle. The location is not the very
best, as the soil is clayey and the land too level. The grant was
given under certain stipulations, which make it almost impossible
to change the general arrangements of the garden. The syste­matic
portion is broken up into triangular pieces surrounded by
hedges of Norway spruce. These tracts are further divided up
into small square beds, with sanded paths between. Each square
contains but one species ; annual and perennial species being in­termixed.
The annual species were sown in small rings, which
at first looked a little strange to me. The purpose was to facili­tate
weeding, and where the plants had grown up, the rings had
developed into nice, bouquet- like bunches. Under the new direc­torship
of Professor Kjellman, a rearrangement of the systematic
order has been begun; the work was in progress when I was
there. The sequence is to be that of Engler & Prantl's " Natiir-lichen
Pflanzen- Familien," the same as adopted by us.
The garden also contains a good conservatory, the residence
of the head- gardener and a museum- laboratory. This is a curious
old- fashioned TJ shaped building, with the bottom of the LT
toward the northeast. The northwestern arm is devoted to
laboratories, herbarium rooms and museum ; the southeastern,
with glass front on one side, constitutes the temperate house and
the winter house for such plants as are put out during the
summer. Having too little time, I saw only a very small part
of the museum, and could not form any opinion thereof. The
herbarium is rich, especially in Scandinavian, Arctic and South
American plants. The richest are perhaps the cryptogamic col­lections,
a result principally of the work of the two Fries, father
and son. It is hoped that the large collections of the present
director, Professor Kjellman, will be secured by the institution in
the near future. Unfortunately, Sweden possesses very little of
the collections of Linnaeus, which were mostly bought by the
Linnaean Society of London.
The botanical garden and collections at Christiania, are per­haps
the least developed of those in Scandinavia. This is not
the fault of the men in charge ; for Professor Wille is indeed an
energetic man, and his predecessor, Professor Blytt, was very
135
well known among botanists ; but it depends on very natural
conditions. Before 1814, when Norway became united with
Sweden, the former had scarcely any national institutions. All
educational and scientific work was centered at Copenhagen, and
it takes a long time for a small and poor nation to build up in­stitutions
of its own. The herbarium is rather small, but the
Norwegian collection is in excellent order. The general her­barium
is only partly mounted, but the work is progressing as
fast as money and help ( both rather limited) permit. The
museum contains a rich collection of seeds, drugs and economic
plants. I spent fully half a day in the herbarium, studying the
alpine- arctic plants, and taking many notes.
I also spent half a day at the garden. Even here the planta­tions
are being rearranged ; but the work had to be stopped dur­ing
the hot spell on account of lack of water. The City of
Christiania has not done what it could do for the garden; only
the greenhouse and the nearest plantations are supplied with
water. The director has not succeeded in getting an extension 01
the pipes from the waterworks to the rest of the garden.
The plan of the garden is novel and suggestive. The largest
portion of the Arboretum is on the west side, partly in order to
serve as windbreaks. The buildings and some older tree- planta­tions
serve for the same purpose on the north. Around the
buildings is and will be an ornamental garden ; the rest of the
ground is laid out in lawns with sanded walks. Here and there
along the walks are the systematic plantations. The plantation
of each family ( or in the larger families, each tribe or genus)
consists of a series of beds in concentric half circles. The cen­ter
is at the edge of the walk and bears a wooden label of the
family. As the number of plants represented in the family grows,
new half circles are added outside. This arrangement is perhaps
not so ornamental, but very instructive ; for standing near the
center one can at one glance get a view of the different forms of
plants belonging to the family. The sequence followed is that
of Engler & Prantl. The greenhouses and the workrooms were
in the same building, the former having glass only on the south
side. Although not spacious, they contain many rare plants.
Victoria was on bloom when I was there.
136
I also visited the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew. I spent
four days in the herbarium, looking up the types on which
Hooker's Flora Boreali- Americana was based. The notes I took
will be of great value in my work on the flora of the Rocky
Mountains. I also spent a day at the British Museum, trying to
find the older types of Pursh's Flora and Nuttall's Genera.
Although many of Pursh's and Nuttall's plants were there, I
could not find, however, what I most wanted.
P. A. RYDBERG,
NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN, Assistant Curator.
August 20, 1901.
SECOND FLOWERING OF THE TULIP- TREE.
An interesting illustration of variation in the time of flowering
of plants was recently seen in a tulip tree, Liriodendron Julip-ifera,
growing in the New York Botanical Garden, near the
western end of the Museum Building. This tree flowered abun­dantly
during the latter part of May and on July 6 a few
blossoms again appeared. These gradually increased in numbers
until the 18th, when the entire tree was well supplied with
blossoms. By the 23d but few flowers remained and the period
of flowering was at an end. Thus it will be seen that the dura­tion
of flowering was practically normal, but the period was two
months later than that of spring. The flowers were normal in
structure, though rather smaller than the earlier ones. They
usually originate in the axils of the first or second leaf of the
shoot bearing the spring flower, following the same sequence
noticeable when several blossoms are developed from a branch
in May.
It is difficult to suggest the cause of a variation of this kind,
which I believe has not been reported before in the case of
Liriodendron. The tree is a perfectly thrifty plant about 20 m.
high and 1.2 m. in circumference. It has grown in the open and
in consequence lacks the uniform dimensions and column or
trunk that characterize the other representatives of this elegant
and stately tree which is abundantly represented in the Garden.
137
Variation in the flowering period of the apple and pear is of
common occurrence and usually in such cases an injury or decay
of a portion of the stem furnishes a ready explanation of this
interrupted periodicity. A noteworthy illustration of this was
furnished last year at Tremont. A roadway had been cut
through near a chestnut, necessitating the removal of several
large roots. This did not interfere with the flowering of the tree
or the maturation of the fruit. About the loth of September
the tree again budded and later presented the novel sight of a
tree in full flower and bearing at the same time mature fruit. In
this instance and in the case of injured or decaying trees it is
evident that the plant has been able to repair more or less com­pletely
the injury by extending the root system, thus supplying
the stem with additional food substance. This affects the plant
as do the stored foods in the spring when they are released and
put into circulation, resulting in renewed growths. In the cace
under consideration, however, there were few disturbing condi­tions.
Nearly two years previous a roadway was laid out near
the tree but this did not disturb the roots at any point, little more
than the turf being removed. At the same time the steam heat­ing
conduits were laid down at a distance of 7 m. from the base
of the tree. This probably severed a few roots though there
was no effect apparent last year. It has been suggested that the
warmth from the pipes may have had some effect, and this appears
not improbable for it was very noticeable during the winter that
the course of these pipes under the lawn could be followed by
the greener sward of the turf. It appears reasonable to suppose
that a more extended root system resulted by reason of this con­dition
and the additional food supply thus made available resulted
in the unusual flowering. Another factor that may have played
a role in this variation may be found in the severe climatic con­ditions
that prevailed in the spring and summer. A late, cold
spring followed by heat and drought and preceding the second
flowering copious rains. The earlier conditions were not suffi­ciently
unfavorable to interfere noticeably with the growth of the
tree but the drought and heat later may have acted as an effectual
check and with the renewal of favorable conditions the spring
• 138
conditions may have been practically repeated. Certainly the
most noticeable feature of the tree is the unusual number of vig­orous
new shoots. Several other trees in the Gardens show this
condition in a marked degree— noticeably the plane- tree, Pla-tanus,
and the linden, Tilia, also some of the hemlocks, oaks and
birches. It is possible that all of these conditions may have had
their effect in producing the peculiar growth. An examination
of the wood will be made in the fall for the purpose of observing
if there is any indication of a second renewal of growth in the
annual zone of this year's wood. C. C. CURTIS.
THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PLANT
BREEDING AND HYBRIDIZATION.
As already noted in this JOURNAL, the Horticultural Society of
New York, at its June meeting, held at the Garden, took pre­liminary
steps to arrange for an international conference on Plant
Breeding and Hybridization, to be held here in the autumn of
1902. The Council of the Society has so far advanced the plans
for this important conference as to be able to present the follow­ing
partial programme:
1. Results of Hybridization and Plant Breeding in Canada
( illustrated by specimens). Wm. Saunders, Director of the
Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Canada.
2. Notes on Plant Breeding in California. E. J. Wickson,
Horticulturist, Agricultural Experiment Station, University of
California.
3. Plant Breeding in New Jersey ( illustrated by specimens).
B. D. Halsted, Professor of Botany in Rutgers College, New
Brunswick, N. J.
4. Hybrid Plums. F. A. Waugh, Horticulturist, Vermont
Agricultural Experiment Station.
5. Variations in Hybrids not Appearing in the First Generation,
but Later. E. S. Goff, Horticulturist, Agricultural Experiment
Station, University of Wisconsin.
6. Results in the Breeding of Species of Ricimts. E. Mead
Wilcox, Botanist, Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station.
139
y. On Orchid Hybrids ( illustrated by specimens of the parents
and progeny). Oakes Ames, Ames Botanical Laboratory, North
Easton, Mass.
8. The Wild Hybrids of the North American Flora ( illustrated
by specimens of the parents and progeny). David George,
Museum Aid, New York Botanical Garden.
9. Hybrid Beans. R. A. Emerson, Horticulturist, Agricul­tural
Experiment Station, University of Nebraska.
10. Cytological Aspects of Hybrids. W. A. Cannon, Columbia
University, New York City.
11. Correlation Between the Fruit and Other Portions of the
Plant in Form, Color and Other Characteristics ( illustrated by
specimens). S. A. Beach, Horticulturist, New York State Experi­ment
Station, Geneva.
Papers, the titles of which have not yet been communicated,
are also promised by the following :
Delegates representing the Royal Horticultural Society of
England ; K. C. Davis, West Virginia Agricultural Experiment
Station ; H. C. Price, Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station ;
J. Craig, Cornel! University, Ithaca, N. Y.; J. C. Whitten, Agri­cultural
Experiment Station, Columbia, Mo.; S. B. Green, Agri­cultural
Experiment Station, University of Minnesota; Luther
Burbank, Santa Rosa, Cal.; C. W. Ward, Queens, N. Y.; W.
van Fleet, M. D., Little Silver, N. J.; H. J. Webber, and others
representing the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
The cooperation of the following institutions has already been
promised :
The Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture,
Department of Agriculture Dominion of Canada, Royal Horti­cultural
Society of England, Massachusetts Horticultural Society,
Society of American Florists, American Institute of the City of
New York, New York Botanical Garden, School of Practical
Agriculture and Horticulture, American Pharmacological Society,
Torrey Botanical Club, the Colleges and Experiment Stations of
the United States.
Inquiries relative to the conference should be addressed to
LEONARD BARRON, Secretary,
136 Liberty St., New York.
140
A NOTEWORTHY ACCESSION FOR THE
CONSERVATORIES.
Through an exchange arranged during the past summer with
the National Botanic Garden, and the Division of Plant Industry,
both of Washington, a valuable collection of plants, embracing
many species new to the collections and also better specimens of
others which we already had, was secured. They were shipped
in a special express car and came through without change in fine
condition.
From the National Botanic Garden many large specimens were
obtained through the courtesy and kindness of Mr. W. R.
Smith, who has had charge of the valuable collections at that in­stitution
for many years, and has seen many of the plants grow
from mere seedlings to their present proportions.
The most valuable acquisition from this source was two large
palms. One of these is a fine specimen of Martinezia caryotee-folia,
a native of South America, about 20 feet high. This was
planted out and had to be dug up before shipment. It is recov­ering
rapidly, however, and is sending out new leaves. It has
also flowered while with us. The other palm is an equally good,
if not better, specimen of Thrinax argentea, about 12 feet high,
and is a native of Panama. This, too, is doing well in its new
home. Both of these are located in the large palm- house.
Among other larger specimens there is an interesting camphor
tree, Camphora Camphora, about IO feet high. This is a native
of China and Japan, and has been introduced to some extent in
Florida. Fiats nymphaeaefolia, at home in tropical America, was
represented by a tree about io feet tall, and F. Sycomorus, a na­tive
of northern Africa, by a tree about 2 feet taller. Hevea
elastica, the South American rubber- tree, came in a well- grown
plant about 7 feet tall. A Dracaena new to the collections, D.
Boerhaavii, a so- called garden form of D. Draco, the dragon
tree, but quite different in appearance, was another welcome
addition.
Many smaller specimens of other species were acquired, and
among them a queer- looking little Ficus, F. quercifolia, its oak-
141
like leaves making very evident the derivation of its specific
name. It is a native of India. A number of interesting ferns
was no small part of the collection, and among their number
was a specimen of a small Adiantum which came under the name
A. pubescens. This specimen has branching but ftot forked
fronds, so it can hardly belong to that species. Up to the pres­ent
time we have been unable to satisfactorily place it. Natives
of the West Indies are Phyllanthus angustifolia and Pimenta
officinalis, both of which were included in the collection, the
latter being the source of allspice. Another interesting specimen
is Dacrydium cupressimun, one of the coniferous trees of New
Zealand. Small, but showy in its foliage, is a Xantherantkemum
which was in the collection ; it is related to X. igneum. Several
desirable bromeliads were also obtained.
From the Division of Plant Industry many interesting things
were also secured, largely of an economic nature. Several
varieties of the pineapple are included among these ; also 12
varieties of the cultivated olive. A good specimen also represents
Pimenta acris, the wild clove, or black cinnamon, a native of the
West Indes. The berries are used for culinary purposes, and
the leaves, on account of their aromatic and astringent proper­ties,
are often used in sauces. In Jamaica an oil is obtained from
this source which is used in the manufacture of bay- rum. Chlor-anthus
officinalis, of the Malay region, and Glycosmis penta-phylla,
of tropical Asia, also find ' a place in the collection.
Another interesting addition, especially to the students of the
laboratories, is the true sensitive- plant, Mimosa sensitiva. This
responds much more slowly to external stimuli than does the
humble plant, M. pudica, which has been in the collections for
some time. So sensitive is this latter species that it assumes a
wilted appearance upon the slightest touch or jar. Both of
these may be found in house No. 3, on the north side of the
center bench, on the east end. Another plant of economic in­terest
is Castilloa elastica, one of the rubber plants, a native of
Mexico. And adding a touch of oddness in its much- cut leaves,
and of showiness in its red flowers, is Jatropha multifida, a native
of tropical regions. Two plants of this were received. It is
142
related to ova Jatropha stimulosa of Florida, or the white nettle
as it is called there.
Both Mr. Smith and Mr. Galloway furnished every facility for
the proper moving of the plants, and did all in their power to
expedite the process, and we feel grateful to them for their help
and courtesy. GEORGE V. NASH.
NOTES, NEWS AND COMMENT.
Professor N. L. Britton, director- in- chief, left for St. Kitts and
other of the Windward Islands, on August 30th, accompanied by
Mr. John H. Cowell, director of the Buffalo Botanic Garden.
The object of their expedition is to obtain living tropical plants
and seeds for the conservatory collections, specimens for the
public museums, and as complete a collection of herbarium speci­mens
of these islands as can be obtained during a month or six
weeks' residence there. This work is in continuation of the
botanical exploration of the West Indies and Central America
instituted in 1899, when Mr. A. A. Heller and Mr. Samuel Hen­shaw
were sent to Porto Rico by means of funds contributed by
Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt, and of Professor Underwood's recent
work in Porto Rico made possible by funds contributed by Mr.
W. E. Dodge.
Professor L. M. Underwood, of the scientific directors, whose
trip to Porto Rico was announced in the July issue of the JOUR­NAL,
has returned, bringing with him a nice collection of cacti from
the arid southern part of the island, some 75 species of seeds,
many of which have already germinated in the propagating
houses, a number of museum specimens and about 1,000 speci­mens
for the herbarium. He will present a report on his work
in a subsequent issue of the JOURNAL. He will spend a month
now in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, continuing the ex­ploration
begun by Dr. P. A. Rydberg, whose studies on the
botany of that region are published in five numbers of Garden
Contributions and in volume I of our Memoirs, preliminary to
the publication of his exhaustive Flora of the Northern Rocky
143
Mountains now in preparation. A recent gift from ' Mr. Adrian
Iselin has made the extension of the important work possible.
Professor D. T. MacDougal, first assistant, who has spent a
portion of the summer in Montana in cooperation with a field
party and summer school of the University of Montana, will re­turn
September 1st to take charge of the Garden during Dr. Brit-ton's
absence in the West Indies. Dr. MacDougal was accom­panied
by Mr. Wilson Harris, as a voluntary assistant, and secured
a large number of living plants for the out- door plantations,
many kinds of seed for growing additional species, and over 900
numbers of herbarium and museum specimens, collectively in­cluding
more than 3,000 specimens.. In addition to these a con­siderable
number of duplicates from the collections of the Mon­tana
University were obtained. The expenses of the expedition
have been paid from funds contributed by Mr. W. E. Dodge
of the board of managers. Professor MacDougal attended the
meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science held at Denver, August 24th to 29th, acting in the im­portant
position of secretary of the council of the Association.
Mr. Percy Wilson, museum aid, who was sent to the East
Indies in March, accompanying Professor Todd, of Amherst Col­lege,
on the total eclipse of the sun expedition, has returned,
bringing with him ten large cases of museum specimens illus­trating
economic products, a number of living orchids, a collec­tion
of seeds for growing in the propagating houses, and a valu­able
set of books and pamphlets treating" of the botany and
agriculture of that region. He visited the botanical gardens at
Singapore, and at Buitenzorg, Java, where he was most kindly
received, and arranged with these institutions for important ex­changes
of plants, books and specimens. Our thanks are due to
Mr. Fox, of the Singapore garden, and to Professor Treub, of
the Buitenzorg institution, for their interest in facilitating Mr.
Wilson's work, which will be reported on in detail by him in a
subsequent issue of the JOURNAL.
The past month has shown extremes in neither temperature
nor rain precipitation, although its rainfall of 8.56 inches has
144
been amply sufficient though unevenly distributed. The re­markable
feature of the precipitation was the fall of 4 inches, or
almost one- half of the total for the month, on the afternoon of
Saturday, the 24th, between the hours of 1 and 5. So great and
incessant was the downpour that the drains and sewers could not
meet the unusual and unprecedented demand upon them, and
the flooding of low- lying areas was the result. No damage,
however, was done to the plantations, although the roads and
paths were much washed in some places. The next greatest
rainfall was on the 7th, when 1.17 inches fell. On 16 days out
of the 31 there was more or less precipitation, but on no single
day, with the exception of the two instances mentioned above,
did the rainfall amount to one inch, and frequently it was but a
few hundredths of an inch.
At no time during the month did the temperature ascend be­yond
90 degrees, and the lowest record was 52.5, the fluctua­tion
usually being between 60 and 90, the last three days, how­ever,
recording a night temperature of less than 60.
A FUND FOR THE PROTECTION AND PRESERVA­TION
OF NATIVE WILD FLOWERS.
Miss Olivia E. Phelps Stokes and Miss Caroline Phelps Stokes
have contributed jointly to the Garden the sum of three thousand
two hundred dollars. Of this amount, two hundred is to be
added to the Special Book Fund, and the remaining three thou­sand
is to constitute a new fund, the income of which is to be
devoted to the furtherance of such measures and investigations
as would aid in the preservation and protection of the plants of
the native flora. The establishment of this fund will widen the
usefulness of the Garden in a very desirable direction, and its
administration will doubtless accomplish much in the promotion
of a healthy public sentiment in the matter.
/ © embers of tbe Corporation.
DR. TIMOTHY F. ALLEN,
PROF. N. L. BRITTON,
HON. ADDISON BROWN,
WM. L. BROWN,
ANDREW CARNEGIE,
PROF. CHAS. F. CHANDLER,
WM. G. CHOATE,
HON. EDWARD COOPER,
CHAS. F. COX,
JOHN J. CROOKE,
W. BAYARD CUTTING,
ROBERT W. DE FOREST,
WM. E. DODGE,
PROF. SAM'L W. FAIRCHILD,
GEN. LOUIS FITZGERALD,
RICHARD W. GILDER,
HON. THOMAS F. GILROY,
PARKE GODWIN,
HON. HUGH J. GRANT,
HENRY P. HOYT,
ADRIAN ISELIN, JR.,
MORRIS K. JESUP,
JOHN I. KANE,
EUGENE KELLY- , J R .,
PROF. JAMES F. KEMP,
JOHN S. KENNEDY,
WILLIAM H.
HON. SETH Low,
DAVID LYDIG,
EDGAR L. MARSTON,
D. O. MILLS,
J. PIERPONT MORGAN,
THEO. W. MYERS,
HON. MILES M. O'BRIEN,
GEO. M. OLCOTT,
PROF. HENRY F. OSBORN,
GEORGE W. PERKINS,
JAMES R. PITCHER,
RT. REV. HENRY C. POTTER,
PERCY R. PYNE,
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER,
WM. ROCKEFELLER,
PROF. H. H. RUSBY,
WM. C. SCHERMERHORN,
JAMES A. SCRYMSER,
HENRY' A. SIEBRECHT,
SAMUEL SLOAN,
WM. D. SLOANE,
NELSON SMITH,
DR. W. GILMAN THOMPSON,
LOUIS C. TIFFANY',
SAMUEL THORNE,
PROF. L. M. UNDERWOOD,
S. WOOD.
F X J B L I C J V T I O T S T S
The New York Botanical Garden
Journal of the N e w York Botanical Garden, monthly, illustrated, con­taining
notes, news and non- technical articles of general interest. Free to all mem­bers
of the Garden. To others, IO cents a copy; $ 1.00 a year. [ Not offered in
exchange.] Vol. I, 1900, viii - f- 213 pp., 5 plates, and 25 figures in text.
B u l l e t i n of t h e N e w Y o r k Botanical Garden, containing the annual reports
of the Director- in- Chief and other official documents, and technical articles embodying
the results of investigations carried out in the Garden. Vol. I, Nos. 1- 5, 449 pp.,
3 maps, and 12 plates, 1896- 1900. $ 3.00. No. 6, 232 pp., 20 plates. Free to all
members of the Garden ; to others, 50 cents.
Memoirs of the N e w York Botanical Garden, Vol. 1. An Annotated Cat­alogue
of the Flora of Montana and the Yellowstone Park, by Dr. Per Axel Rydberg,
assistant curator of the museums. An arrangement and critical discussion of the
Pteridophytes and Phanerogams of the region with notes from the author's field book
and including descriptions of 163 new species, ix - f- 492 pp. Roy. Svo, with de­tailed
map. Price to members of the Garden, $ 1.00. To others, $ 2.00. [ Not
offered in exchange.]
Contributions from the N e w York Botanical Garden. A series of tech­nical
papers written by students or members of the staff, and reprinted from journals
other than the above. Price, 25 cents each.
No. I. Symbiosis and Saprophytism, by Dr. D. T. MacDougal.
No. 2. New Species from western United States, by Dr. Per Axel Rydberg.
No. 3. The dichotomous Panicums : some new Species, by Geo. V. Nash.
No. 4. Delphinium Carotinianurn and related Species, by Dr. Per Axel Rydberg.
No. 5. Studies on the Rocky Mountain Flora— I, by Dr. Per Axel Rydberg.
No. 6. Notes and Descriptions of North American Plants I and I I , by Dr. J. K.
Small.
No. 7. Vegetative Reproduction and Multiplication in Erythronium, by Fred­erick
H. Blodgett.
No. 8. Two new Species of Grimtnia from Montana, by R. S. Williams.
No. 9. Studies on the Rocky Mountain Flora— II, by Dr. Per Axel Rydberg.
No. 10. Studies on the Rocky Mountain Flora— III, by Dr. Per Axel Rydberg.
No. 11. Life- history of Schizxa fusilla, by Elizabeth G. Britton and Alexandrina
Taylor.
No. 12. Studies on the Rocky Mountain Flora— IV, by Dr. Per Axel Rydberg.
No. 13. Further Studies on the Potentilleae, by Dr. Per Axel Rydberg.
No. 14. Studies on the Rocky Mountain Flora— V, by Dr. Per Axel Rydberg.
All subscriptions and remittances should be sent to
NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
BRONX PARK, New YORK CITY