Journal of the New York Botanical Garden

              Vol. XI JANUARY, 1910 No. 121
JOURNAL
The New York Botanical Garden
EDITOR
PERCY WILSON
Administrative Assistant
CONTENTS
PAGB
Death of Mr. Mills i
The Bronx River at Flood 2
Report on a Trip to Santo Domingo 3
The Fossil Flora of New York and Vicinity 15
Notes, News and Comment 19
Accessions 21
PUBLISHED FOR THE GARDEN
AT 41 NORTH QUEEN STRUHT. LANCASTER, PA.
uv THE NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY
O F F I C E R S , 1910.
PRESIDENT—•
VICE- PRESIDENT— ANDREW CARNEGIE,
TREASURER— CHARLES F. COX,
SECRETARY— N. L. BRITTON.
B O A R D O F M A N A G E R S.
1. ELECTED MANAGERS.
HON. ADDISON BROWN, J. PIERPONT MORGAN,
ANDREW CARNEGIE, GEORGE W. PERKINS,
W. BAYARD CUTTING, JAMES A. SCRYMSER,
ROBERT W. DE FOREST, FRANCIS LYNDE STETSON',
JOHN I. KANE, W. GILMAN THOMPSON.
2. EX- OFFICIO MANAGERS.
T H E PRESIDENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC PARKS,
HON. CHARLES B. STOVER.
T H E MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK,
HON. WILLIAM J. GAYNOR.
3. SCIENTIFIC DIRECTORS.
PROF. H. H. RUSBY, Chairman.
DR. NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER, PROF. JAMES F. KEMP,
PROF. C F. CHANDLER, PROF. FREDERIC S. LEE,
CHARLES F. COX, HON. E. L. WINTHROP, JR.
G A R D E N S T A F F .
DR. N. L, BRITTON, Director- in- Chief.
DR. W. A. MURRILL, Assistant Director.
DR. JOHN K. SMALL, Head Curator of the Museums.
DR. P. A. RYDBERG, Curator.
DR. ARTHUR HOLLICK, Curator.
DR. MARSHALL A. HOWE, Curator.
ROBERT S. WILLIAMS, Assistant Curator.
NORMAN TAYLOR, Assistant Curator.
GEORGE V. NASH, Head Gardener.
FRED J. SEAVER, Director of the Laboratories.
DR. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, Librarian.
DR. H. H. RUSBY, Curator of the Economic Collections
DR. WILLIAM J. GIES, Consulting Chemist
COL. F. A. SCHILLING, Superintendent.'
JOHN R. BRINLEY, Landscape Engineer
WALTER S. GROESBECK, Clerk and Accountant
ARTHUR J. CORBETT, Museum Custodian
PERCY WILSON, Administrative Assistant'
JOURNAL
The New York Botanical Garden
VOL. XI January, 1910. No. 121.
DEATH OF MR. DARIUS OGDEN MILLS, PRESI­DENT
OF THE BOARD OF MANAGERS.
It is with deep sorrow that we record the death of Mr. Darius
Ogden Mills, on Monday, January 3, 1910, at his winter home,
Millbrae, San Mateo County, California.
At the annual meeting- of the New York Botanical Garden,
held January 10, 1910, the following tribute to his memory was
ordered entered upon the minutes :
Mr. Darius Ogden Mills has served the New York Botanical
Garden as President of the Board of Managers since February,
1898. He was one of the original incorporators named in the
Charter of the Garden, granted by the Legislature of 1891, and
earnestly worked for its foundation, contributing largely to its
endowment fund. Since the organization of the Board of Mana­gers
in 1895 he has given liberally, both time and money, to its
needs ; he has served, since his election as President, on the Ex­ecutive
Committee and on the Finance Committee, and has
attended nearly every meeting of the Board or of the Committees
held when he has been in New York. His advice and sugges­tion
have been of great value ; he has given much personal atten­tion
to the development of the grounds of the Garden in Bronx
Park, and to the formation of the collections there.
His services as a patron of botanical science have been very
important, and his counsel was always of the wisest. His death
is a grievous loss to his associates, by whom his kindly person­ality
will never be forgotten.
Funeral services were held at St. Thomas' Church, New York,
on Friday, January 14, 1910, and were attended by a delegation
of the Board of Managers.
1
THE BRONX RIVER AT FLOOD.
The Bronx River has an average width of about 45 feet through
its flood plain, the " North Meadows " of the Botanical Garden,
and its present depth there at average flow is not over three feet.
At freshet times the river rises rapidly nearly or quite to the level
of its banks and falls again nearly as rapidly as it rose.
This flood plain is nearly level, sloping slightly southward
from the north end of the Garden to the long curve in the river
north of the Long Bridge, but there were a number of areas in
it which were from one to three feet lower than its general sur­face
and partly occupied by pools and marshes. As the work
of developing this northern part of the grounds has proceeded,
by the building of driveways and paths, a large part of these
depressions have been filled up to approximately the general
level, and a great deal of drain pipe leading to the river has been
laid, but much still remains to be accomplished before the " North
Meadows " are completely reclaimed ; considerable progress has
been made in this work during the past season. This flood plain
is one of the most beautiful and interesting features of the Bronx
River Valley, and the plan of development contemplates chang­ing
it as little as possible, otherwise than the filling and drain­ing
of the depressions above mentioned.
It is particularly suited to the growth of moisture- loving plants
of all kinds. Several acres of it west of the river have already
been planted with various kinds of willows ( Salicetum), some of
which are now trees of considerable size, and a path now under
construction will bring these close to the pedestrian. This col­lection
may soon be considerably increased by additional plant­ing.
The landscape design does not plan overplanting the
plain, however, and large meadow areas will be retained.
The control of the river water at freshet has been a very inter­esting
problem, which it has been sought to solve as econom­ically
as possible. Studies of flood conditions have been made
for several years and records kept of high water marks under
various conditions. It is undesirable to raise any portion of the
plain higher than is necessary, and it is desirable, from a land­scape
standpoint, that it should be slightly undulating rather than
quite level. As the land- drains must of necessity outflow into
the river, water backs up into them during freshets, and may
temporarily flood limited low areas.
The average surface of the river is governed by the dam at the
Lorillard Mansion. After careful surveys and studies this dam
was lowered sixteen inches several years ago, and this resulted
in reclaiming much of the marshy ground and caused flood water
to pass down the valley much more rapidly than before; the
river has not reached heights as great since this work was done
as it did before. We thought at that time that about eight inches
further lowering of the dam would be desirable, but this would
futher diminish the height of the waterfall by that amount.
A typical freshet was studied from December 13 to 15, 1909.
A storm commenced with snow in the early morning of December
13, changed to rain before noon and rainfall continued until late in
the evening ; the total precipitation measured by the rain- gauge
on the museum building was 2.44 inches ; the ground was slightly
frozen in the morning but thawed out during the day ; the river
rose gradually at first, then more and more rapidly, reaching its
maximum height of just about level with its banks at about five
o'clock on December 14, flooding some low areas, rising in all
nearly four feet in twenty- four hours ; by nine o'clock in the
morning of December 1 5 it had already fallen two feet and by
five o'clock that afternoon it went down nearly another foot and
nearly all the depressions were emptied again.
N. L. BRITTON.
REPORT ON A TRIP TO SANTO DOMINGO.
DR. N. L. BRITTON, DIRECTOR- IN- CHIEF,
Sir: Acting under your instructions I left New York on Oc­tober
13 for the republic of Santo Domingo. I was accompanied
by Mrs. Taylor, who took charge of the drying of most of the
plants collected, and also made twenty- four colored drawings
of orchids and fungi. The specimens secured have all come
from the provinces of Samana, Seibo and Macoris. In view of the
fact that this is the first expedition of the Garden to this country,
a short sketch of the region visited will render the present account
more intelligible, and serve also to put on record some facts which
may be valuable to future explorers.
The three provinces mentioned above include all the eastern
end of the island of Hispaniola, and judging from their sparsely
settled condition they will be for some time a region of unbounded
botanical possibilities. Samana, the most northeastern province
of the republic, is mainly taken up with the bay of that name and
a peninsula some thirty miles long and ten wide. The most im­portant
towns are Sanchez, Samana, Sabana la Mar and El Valle.
The first three are all on Samana bay, probably the finest harbor
in the world; and Sanchez, the most important town in the
province, is the terminal of the railroad to the Cibao. Seibo,
which is larger than Samana and Macoris combined, stretches
from the Atlantic to the Caribbean, and includes practically all
the eastern coastline of the island. The chief towns are Seibo,
Higiiey, Hato Mayor, and La Romana. The latter is small in
population but important as the port of Seibo and Higiiey and
the country tributary to these towns. Macoris, the smallest of
the three provinces, is on the south coast, and contains most of
the sugar- estates in the Dominican republic. Its largest and only
important town is San Pedro de Macoris.
Disregarding these political divisions, and speaking generally
of the region visited, the northern half is hilly, while the southern
part is practically level from Santo Domingo City to the east coast,
a distance of about ioo miles. The mountainous region is nowhere
higher than 1,800 feet, and the majority of the hills are much
lower, so that the " Gran Cordillera" which includes the mag­nificent
mountains of the Cibao and Haiti, here descends into a
rather small mountain chain. There are a few isolated peaks off
the main range, but they are essentially part of the great moun­tain
chain which forms the backbone of eastern Cuba, Hispaniola
and Porto Rico.
The region to the south of the main range, and continuing out
to the south coast may be roughly divided into two general forma­tions,
— the wooded and the savannah formation. The former is
found almost exclusively along a belt some twenty miles wide,
stretching along the south and east coasts, and it encroaches
into the savannah at many points for some miles beyond its usual
range. The savannah or " llanos '' is a great plain covered with
a tough wiry grass, with a considerable sprinkling of small
patches of bush. All the country south of the before- mentioned
range is slightly above sea level, the hills of two or three hundred
feet that are often found being of no especial importance ecolog­ically.
These three provinces of Samana, Seibo and Macoris contain
scores of rivers, great and small. The most important one is the
Yuna, a stream some 230 miles long, which flows from the Cibao
to Samana Bay. This river and its affluents water a large
hydrographic basin, but at its mouth it is not a large or deep
stream. Of the rivers that take their rise in the mountain chain
and flow north or south, the most important are the Casui and
Macoris, Soco, and Chavon, all flowing south and all sluggish,
except during the freshets! These three rivers and their branches,
together with a number of smaller streams, are the chief water
courses in the region south of the mountain chain. Commercially,
one of them at least is more important than the thrice greater
Yuna, but all of them have small hydrographic basins, and are not
so important, ecologically, as the Yuna with its many affluents
and great sphere of influence.
There is a great deal of variation in the amount, distribution
and periodicity of the rains in Santo Domingo. Along the north
coast from Puerto Plata eastward it rains heavily in October,
November, December and January, except at and near Sanchez
where it rains almost throughout the year. March and October
are sometimes both dry months at Sanchez, but usually only
March. These statements are based on information given by
residents of Puerto Plata and Sanchez, and not on recorded
observations. Along the south coast heavy rains may be ex­pected
in July, August, September and October, and sometimes
also in June.* Scattered showers occur throughout the year.
* The weather and rainfall records of the south coast are based on figures kindly
placed at my disposal by Mr. H. F. D. Burke, the Director- General of public
works, Santo Domingo City ; and also those taken at the " Porvenir" sugar- estate,
San Pedro de Macoris, secured through the courtesy of Mr G. lhssen.
From observations taken at San Pedro de Macoris, Santo
Domingo City and Azua it is known that there is a decrease in
the rainfall to the westward. The average yearly rainfall at the
most easterly point is about sixty inches, at Azua it is 20.5 7 inches.
This explains why the regions about Azua and Monte Cristi ( a
region climatically similarly situated) are the cactus gardens of
Santo Domingo. It brings us also to the fact that the condi­tions
are the same here as in the other West Indian Islands, as
regards the rainfall in its relation to the wind and intervening
mountains. During 227 days in the year the wind blows east,
northeast or southeast. The great mountains situated to the
windward of'the regions about Azua and Monte Cristi collect the
greater part of the moisture that comes in from the sea, leaving
the leeward portions comparatively dry.
I append temperature records, in so far as they have been
available. They are constructed from maximum and minimum
readings, averaged.
TEMPERATURE RECORDS, FARENH.
1908.
Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
San Pedro de Macoris. 75.8 75.6 75.4 79.2 81.1 82.5 81.5 80.2 81.0 80.0 76.4 74.8
Santo Domingo City. 76.0 77.0
1909.
Jan. Feb. March. April. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov.
San Pedro de Macoris. 73.3 73.8 77.9 77.9 80.3 82.2 82.5 82.8 8z. 8 81.1 74.4
Santo Domingo City. 75.5 75.2 76.5 80.0 76.2 79.7 81.1 80.0 78.6 80.3 76.4
The steamer arrived at Sanchez on October 21, and collecting
was started in the afternoon of that day. A mountain at the
back of the town was climbed and some ferns, orchids and
bromeliads were secured. The hill is known as " Las Canitas "
and is supposed to be 1,700 feet high, but can scarcely be more
than 1,000 feet. Another ascent of this mountain was made
at a different place, a canon containing many interesting speci­mens
being explored. A passion- flower vine with scarlet flowers
formed a conspicuous feature in the vegetation, together with
a number of plants of the arum family. More orchids and ferns
were also found. It seems probable that the vegetation on " Las
Canitas" is quite similar to what might be found on any one of
the other mountains on the Samana peninsula.
To the west of Sanchez there is a large swamp which stretches
for ten miles along the road to Arenoso. Two days were spent
in this and many interesting specimens were secured, among them
a giant Polygonum. The royal palm forms dense forests in this
swamp, and in some cases it has almost exclusive control of large
areas. Another beautiful plant collected here was a white-flowered
water- lily that covered many of the small pools.
One day was spent in an ascent of the Yuna River. The
strength of the current and our inability to get a power boat pre­vented
our going up more than a few miles. Many interesting
trees, some species of sedges, and a number of tall aquatic grasses
were secured here. One can scarcely imagine the beauty and rich­ness
of the vegetation that may be seen from a boat while cruising
on a tropical river. A light draught power boat would open up
miles of such cruising along the Yuna and its branches.
The vegetation about Sanchez is rich in moisture- loving plants,
but xerophytes seem to be wanting, excepting a few orchids and
bromeliads. No cactuses were seen, and the residents say they
are unknown in the region. The only palm seems to be the mag­nificent
royal palm.
It had been the original intention to take the train from Sanchez
up to La Vega, and make collections at that place and in the ad­jacent
Cibao, but circumstances arose which made it undesirable.
There is now an all- rail route between Moca and Puerto Plata,
via Santiago ; also trains from Sanchez to La Vega, San Fran­cisco
de Macoris and Salcedo. A short ride of two hours on
horseback is all that is lacking of an all- rail route from Sanchez
to Puerto Plata.
Owing to the impossibility of working over the Cibao region,
and to the delay coincident with the uncertainty of the arrival of
the next steamer, it was determined to go across the island to the
province of Macoris. At midnight of October 28, a start was made
from Sanchez in a small sloop. We crossed Samana bay diago­nally
to the mouth of the San Lorenzo River, leaving most of the
baggage to be sent round to the south coast when the steamer
should come. It rained every day during our stay at Sanchez.
Two days were spent at and near San Lorenzo, which is a
8
picturesque little harbor in Samana Bay. Interesting collections
were made here and photographs taken of the wonderful caves
which have fabulous stories related of their old- time buccaneer
inhabitants. It was at San Lorenzo that the only tree- fern seen
during the entire expedition was collected. Two other palms
were found, neither of them having been met with on the north
side of Samana Bay. One, known locally as " Manacla" is
common here but it was not seen anywhere else. The other,
a fan- leaf palm, was subsequently seen almost throughout the
FIG. Building a dugout from the silk- cotton tiee, San Lorenzo, Santo Domingo.
eastern end of the island. Still another plant of peculiar interest
collected at San Lorenzo was a tiny Dorstenia found growing in
the crevices of the limestone rocks. It is rare and was not seen
again.
On Sunday afternoon, October 31, we left here for the Consuelo
sugar- estate, in the province of Macoris, our destination on the
south side of the island. Taking only as much baggage as one
pack animal could carry, and with a man for guide we started on
the ride of something more than sixty miles. The first ten miles
were through an abandoned banana- plantation and its environs,
and brought us at length to the town of El Valle. This is a
picturesque place, consisting of one grass- covered street and a
row of native huts along each side. We were hospitably put up
for the night by a Dominican. His native courtesy has been
many times repeated ; and it is a pleasure to report, that wherever
I have travelled in Santo Domingo a similar feeling of good fel­lowship
and friendliness has always greeted me.
FIG. 2. Fish dam under construction. Made frcun slabs of the royal \
Consuelo, Santo Domingo.
The next morning at daylight we left El Valle and rode for
nearly seven hours through one of the most splendid primeval
forests that could be imagined. Giant trees covered the hills
and mountains ; and the wealth of timber and the vines festooned
through it shut out all traces of the sun. No collections could
be made as we were travelling light and only a very few driers
could be carried. A thorough investigation of this region would
be very profitable to the botanist, as it certainly would be to the
timberman.
10
The country up to this time had been hilly, but no great eleva­tion
had been reached until about noon, when we began the
ascent of Buena Vista, which is the highest point between the
north and south coasts of the island. On reaching the top a
wonderful panorama stretched out in all directions. To the
north lay all the vast tract of forest land through which we had
come, and towards our destination at the south we could make
out the beginning of the great level savannah country far below.
Buena Vista is at approximately 1,500 feet. We pushed on
that day to a little hamlet on the edge of the savannah called
La Yerbabuena and here rested for the night. During all the
ride from El Valle, which, by the way, was over inconceivably bad
trails, we had passed three people and four houses. Otherwise
the country is apparently uninhabited.
The following day at two in the morning we started under a
bright moon and after a ride of some thirty miles reached Consuelo.
The first five hours of this stage of the journey were spent in
riding over the savannah, here and there our trail leading us
through small patches of forest. After leaving La Pringamosa,
a tiny collection of huts near the edge of the plain, we entered
another long stretch of forest, through which we travelled for
about two hours until we came to the cane- fields. On the score
of plants collected the overland trip cannot be considered profit­able.
It was, however, exceedingly valuable as a means of
getting a definite idea of the configuration of the country and
of the typical plant formations that exist in the interior of Santo
Domingo.
From November 3 to 29 all the collections were made, with
some exceptions to be noted presently, within a short distance of
Consuelo. This is a sugar- estate of 40,000 acres of which about
7,000 are under cultivation. Most of the remaining territory is
wild country, if not, indeed, first growth forest. There are about
fifty miles of connecting railway on the estate, and it is with much
appreciation that I record the kindness of the administrative
officials of Consuelo in putting this and their tug at my disposal.
Without these ready means of transportation, and without their
helpful cooperation, the expedition must have lost much valuable
11
time. The estate is about ten miles from the south coast, with
which it is in communication by the Magua and Macoris rivers.
Collecting was started here as soon as possible, many orchids
and bromeliads being taken as live plants for the conservatory
collections. On November 7 a storm from the northeast put a
stop to collecting and travel of any kind. The rain continued
practically without interruption until November 13, and all the
rivers became impassable. At Consuelo twelve inches of rain fell,
in Puerto Plata twenty- nine inches, and the property loss through-
FlG. 3. Saba!, near Higiiey, Santo Domingo.
out the republic was very great. Apart from the loss of time
occasioned by the delay of my baggage, owing to the distress of
the steamer, and the lost days in which collecting was impossible,
the expedition suffered no direct damage from the storm. It
had suffered indirectly, however, as many of the habitats for ferns,
hepatics and other moisture- loving plants had been destroyed by
the freshets.
On November 15 active collecting was resumed and a region
known as " Monte Coca " explored. An exceptional opportunity
12
lor tlie collection of trees was afforded at this point, as a new
piece of the railroad was being built through the virgin forest.
By following the gang of wood choppers, many interesting trees
• nitl epiphytes were collected, which otherwise it would have been
difficult or impossible to secure. November 16 and 17 were spent
in the same region. The flora impresses one as different from
that seen at Samana, but not strikingly so. There is the same
wealth of moisture- loving plants here varied by the occurrence
of two species of creeping cacti. Besides the royal palm, the
fan- leaf palm mentioned above was collected in fruit.
FIG. 4. Bayajibe, Santo Domingo.
Several days were then spent at different points on the estate,
two trips on different branches of the river flowing through it were
made. A fairly representative collection of the flora was secured,
although no plants of sufficient interest to call for special mention
were found. From observations made during my stay here it
seems doubtful if ten per cent, of the flora was in flower or fruit
at this season, and this was verified by residents of Consuelo who
agree that the best time to collect flowering or fruiting specimens
would be in April, May and June.
13
November 25 and 26 were spent near Azui, a small place in
the province of Seibo, some ten miles from headquarters. Many
interesting ferns and other plants were collected here, among
them the only Heliconia seen during the trip. One day's collect­ing
along the shores of the Magua, Iguama and Macoris rivers
netted some interesting riparian species. Most of the country
along these rivers is forest land and contains much of interest to
the botanist.
The region within striking distance of Consuelo had by this
time been pretty well covered, and a trip to the eastward was
undertaken. Taking a sloop on the evening of November 30, I
sailed to La Romana, in the province of Seibo. Collections were
made here December 1- 3, and an entirely new set of plants were
found. Species of cactus and one sort of Agaiie were secured
and live plants taken in each case. The growth here is woody
but very few of the trees are more than twenty feet in height.
The whole aspect of the country reminds one of a " scrub"
growth and is in striking contrast to the richer vegetation seen at
Consuelo and Samana.
On the morning of December 4 we left for the interior town
of Higiiey. It is about seven hours ride from La Romana, the
road leading through the small town of Gato. Higiiey is the last
important town in the eastern part of the island, and is sur­rounded
by a wild and interesting country. The town itself lies
in the middle of a small natural savannah, but this grass land is
not the predominating characteristic of the region. Native
woods are found in abundance to the eastward of the town.
Interesting collections were made near Higiiey, a species of
Misanteca being particularly noteworthy. Moscoso, a Dominican
botanist, in his work * on the flora of the republic does not credit
the tree to the country ; this fact added additional interest to the
discovery. Another species of fan- leaf palm was also first seen
here.
La Romana was reached again on December 7, one night
having been spent on the road at Gato. The next day at three
* Moscoso, R. M., Las familias vejetales representadas en la flora de Santo Do­mingo.
1- 118 pp. Santo Domingo, 1897.
14
in the morning we left in a sloop for the town of Bayajibe. This
is a small coast town on the western side of the peninsula which
forms the extreme southeastern point of the island. We penetrated
the interior for some miles at Bayajibe and a large collection
resulted. The bush here is very dense and many species not
previously seen were taken, among them live plants of a creeping
cactus.
We then sailed to the island of Saona, a place reputed to be
the depository of much ancient wealth. The character of the
FlG. 5. Salt lake on Saona Island, Santo Domingo.
vegetation here is much the same as that previously collected at
Bayajibe, a notable exception being still another palm. This
plant proved to be Pseudophoenix Sargentii and was found in con­siderable
quantities. It resembles the royal palm but is much
smaller. Some interesting saline plants were collected around
the shores of the salt lake that is situated on Saona island. It
was deemed inadvisable to sail farther round the east coast of
Santo Domingo towards Cape Engano, local pilots vouching for
the high winds at this season of the year. The cruise was ended
15
at Saona and we started for Romana. All this country could
repay another visit during the early summer months of April,
May and June. We returned to Consuelo on December 13.
During the trip to the eastern end of the region, our head­quarters
were established at La Romana, and it is to the kindness
of Mr. H. van Kampen that this excursion was so successful.
His knowledge of the country and hearty cooperation were in­valuable.
It had been previously planned to go from Consuelo to Hato
Mayor and explore the savannah country which lies all round
this place, but unforeseen events made this trip impracticable and
it was abandoned. Some more collecting about the estate and
the packing and drying of the specimens consumed the time until
December 19, when we sailed from San Pedro de Macoris to
Santo Domingo City. Four days were spent in and around this
historic city, which is the oldest permanent settlement in the New
World. An attempt to trace an herbarium of Santo Domingo
plants said to be in the city was unsuccessful, and no one inter­ested
in the flora of the island could be found. Leaving Santo
Domingo City on December 23, we arrived in New York,
January 2, 1910.
As a result of the expedition about 1,700 specimens for the
herbarium, and seventy- five live plants for the conservatories have
been secured. In addition much information about the country
and its possibilities has been accumulated, which should serve
as a basis for future explorations in Santo Domingo.
At your suggestion the common West Indian littoral and
roadside plants have been for the most part ignored.
Respectfully submitted,
NORMAN TAYLOR,
Assistant Curator.
THE FOSSIL FLORA OF NEW YORK AND VICINITY.
In the course of a recent rearrangement of the fossil plant col­lections
in the museum it was decided to make a special feature
of those from New York City and vicinity, particularly from the
Amboy clays and the Cliffwood clay marls of New Jersey, and
16
the ferruginous concretions of the Island Series of Staten Island,
Long Island, Block Island and Martha's Vineyard, all of which
deposits are Cretaceous in age and approximately equivalent to
the Dakota group of the West.
About two thirds of floor case no. 6 and one quarter of floor
case no. 7 is occupied by the New Jersey specimens and the
remainder of case no. 7 by those from the islands to the east­ward.
Floor case no. 8 contains specimens of the Dakota group
flora, with which comparisons may be made.
The flora of the Amboy clays, described by Professor J. S.
Newberry,* had been known and the geologic age of the deposits
in which the remains were found had been determined many years
before any discoveries of importance had been made on the
islands; although exposures of clay, sand and gravel, generally
considered as probably identical with those of New Jersey, were
more or less well known at a number of localities, notably in the
vicinity of Kreischerville, Staten Island; Glen Cove, Long
Island ; Block Island ; and in the celebrated cliffs at Gay Head,
Martha's Vineyard. Paleontologic evidence, however, was lack­ing,
and conservative geologists, in the absence of such evidence,
declined to recognize the exposures as the equivalents of the
New Jersey clays and clay marls.
In 1873, however, a geological map of the United States,
prepared by C. H. Hitchcock and W. P. Blake, was issued in
connection with the Ninth United States Census, on which the
north shore of Long Island was indicated as Cretaceous. This
feature was severely criticized by the eminent geologist J. D.
Dana, in the American Journal of Science, who suggested that
" a number of improvements . . . may be made in the map in
preparing it for another issue. Some of these are . . . to take
away the green color, which means Cretaceous, from the whole
of the north shore of Long Island, no facts making the region
Cretaceous." The discovery of fossil plant remains, however,
and their identification, supplied the facts which determined the
issue and subsequently ended all controversy.
A few specimens of fossil leaves were found in drift bowlders
* Monographs, U. S. Geol. Survey, vol. 26, 1S95.
17
it Brooklyn and on Lloyd's Neck, which were recognized by
Professor Newberry as very similar in aspect to those of the
Cretaceous of New Jersey and the western part of the continent,
md at a meeting of the New York Lyceum of Natural History,
an March 23, 1874, he is quoted as saying that the rock in which
: he leaf impressions occur " is totally unlike anything known in
this vicinity, and unfortunately has not yet been found in situ.
. . . But its presence under these circumstances points to its
existence in place at some locality not far away."
Subsequently similar specimens were found in the vicinity of
Glen Cove on Long Island and at Tottenville on Staten Island,
in close proximity to the clay exposures, and in 1885 well de­fined
Cretaceous species were identified from the clay beds at
Kreischerville, Staten Island.
It was during this period that Professor Newberry began his
studies of the Amboy Clay flora, by means of which he was
enabled to definitely correlate the New Jersey clays with the
Dakota sandstone of the west and also to determine a number
of the fossil leaves from Staten Island and Long Island as spe­cifically
identical with those from the Amboy clays and elsewhere,
and thus to settle beyond further question the Cretaceous age of
the clays on Staten Island and Long Island.
Immediately after this a systematic exploration of Long Island
was begun by the writer, with the result that fossil plants were found
at a number of different localities, extending all the way along the
north shore from Brooklyn to Montauk Point. These explora­tions
were subsequently extended to Block Island and Martha's
Vineyard and a large amount of additional material was collected,
all of which was described in " The Cretaceous Flora of Southern
New York and New England"* as a companion volume to Pro­fessor
Newberry's " Flora of the Amboy Clays."
The specimens now on display in the cases mentioned include
all of those described by Professor Newberry and about two
thirds of those described by the writer. The entire series is,
therefore, especially rich in type and figured specimens; and
those first discovered possess an historic interest in addition to
Monographs, U. S. Geol. Survey, vol. 50, 1906.
18
their scientific value. As a local exhibit the collection is unique
and it would take many years of field work to duplicate it, even
approximately.
It may also be pertinent to remark that a large amount of
material recently collected, which is most valuable from the bio­logical
standpoint, is not suitable for display purposes. Thin
sections of lignites, cone scales, etc., represent this material, which
is available for examination under the microscope. A preliminary
illustrated description of certain of these specimens was issued in
FIG. 6. Middle Cretaceous flora after Saporta.
1909,* and a quantity of the crude material is now under investi­gation,
which it is hoped may form the basis of another mono­graph
or memoir on the subject.
The elements included in this flora indicate that at the period
when it flourished a semi- tropical climate must have prevailed
here. Eucalyptus, fig, magnolia, cinnamon, persimmon and other
deciduous trees of southern distribution are prominently repre-
* " Studies of Cretaceous Coniferous Remains from Kreischerville, New York,"
Arthur Hollick and Edward Charles Jeffrey. Memoirs New York Botanical Garden,
vol. 3, May 20, 1909.
19
sented, while the most abundant of the conifers are of the type of
the Norfolk Island pine. Sago palms were also present. A
species of Nelumbo grew in the waters and passion vines clam­bered
up the trees. Associated with these were other genera of
more northern distribution. Several species of sassafras, syca­more,
willow, andromeda, etc., and the ancestors of the tulip tree,
of which our Liriodendron Tulipifera is the sole living descendant,
— foreshadowing a transition to the cooler climatic conditions of
today.
ARTHUR HOLLICK.
NOTES, NEWS AND COMMENT.
Dr. J. K. Small, head curator of the museums and herbarium,
and Mr. J. J. Carter of Pleasant Grove, Pennsylvania, left for
Nassau, Bahamas, January 10. They expect to spend about four
weeks in botanical exploration of the unknown interior of the
Andros Islands and thus complete the botanical survey of the
Bahamian archipelago.
Mr. Frank D. Kern, of Purdue University, has been granted a
research scholarship in the Garden for one month to aid in his
studies on the North American plant rusts, a group of small
parasitic fungi, many species of which are injurious to cultivated
plants.
Dr. P. A. Rydberg, curator, visited Baltimore and Washington
early in January to examine specimens of the Caltrop Family
which he is monographing for " North American Flora."
Prof. W. C. Coker, of the University of North Carolina, spent
several days at the Garden carrying on further investigations in
the flora of the Carolinas.
Mr. H. H. Bartlett, chemical biologist in the Bureau of Plant
Industry, Washington, D. C, visited the Garden on January 3,
examining the collections of Dioscorea in regard to the confusion
which has existed concerning the drug known as " Wild Yam."
Dr. Mel T. Cook, of the Delaware Agricultural Experiment
station, Newark, Delaware, spent two weeks at the Garden dur-
20
ing January, looking up the literature concerning the occurrence
of tannins, acids and alkaloids in plants, in connection with his
studies on the factors concerned in the immunity of plants to
specific diseases.
Among the " discoveries" of Mr. Norman Taylor, during his
recent visit to Santo Domingo, was a work upon the flora of the
island, apparently not known to any of the students of the West
Indian flora. It is a book of 118 pages, entitled " Las familias
vejetales reprensentadas en la flora de Santo Domingo," and pub­lished
at Santo Domingo in 1897. The author is Rafael M.
Moscoso, who refers repeatedly to a larger and still unpublished
work from which the present one is merely an extract. Sr.
Moscoso's brother, F. Eugenio Moscoso Puello, secured a copy
of this book for Mr. Taylor, and this has been presented by him
to the library of the Garden.
Prof. D. S. Martin has recently presented to the Garden an
interesting parcel of old botanical drawings. Some are pencil
sketches, by Dr. John Torrey, of the structure of the flowers
and fruit of plants of New York State ; there are also a number
of colored sketches of fungi, probably the work of D'Jurco V.
Knevels, whose signature or initials appear upon several of them.
Dr. Knevels was a fellow- student with Dr. Torrey at the College
of Physicians and Surgeons, and was one of the original mem­bers
of the Lyceum of Natural History ( now the New York
Academy of Sciences).
The following letter has been received by the Director- in- Chief
and the lantern- slides offered have been gratefully accepted, on
behalf of the Board of Managers:
January 6, 1910.
Dear Sir : —
This Commission desires to present to each of a few of the
leading educational institutions of the State a set of seventy- three
stereopticon views relating to the discovery of the Hudson River
and the inauguration of steam navigation thereon and will be
happy to send you a set if you will kindly signify to us that it
will be acceptable and useful in the work of your institution.
The views are the same as were used in the public lectures de-
21
livered in New York City under the auspices of this Commission
with the cooperation of the Board of Education on September
29, 1909, during the Hudson- Fulton Celebration. The " slides "
are colored and are in a convenient, leather- covered, carrying
case. A descriptive pamphlet accompanies them.
Yours very truly,
Henry W. Sackett,
Secretary,
Hudson- Fulton Celebration Commission.
Meteorology for December. — The total precipitation for the
month was 4.51 inches, including a snowfall of 10 inches on the
25th- 26th. Maximum temperatures were recorded of 580 on
the 6th, 53.50 on the 14th, and 43.5° on the 24th. Also mini­mum
temperatures were recorded of 23.5" on the 1st, 19.5" on
the 19th, 160 on the 22d, and 6° on the 30th. The mean tem­perature
for the month was 32°.
The rainfall recorded for August was 7.3 in. instead of 4.75
in. as previously published.
ACCESSIONS.
LIBRARY ACCESSIONS FROM NOVEMBER I TO DECEMBER 31, 1909.
APOLLINARIS, QUINTUS. Kurtzes Hand- Biichlein und Experiment vieier Artz-neyen.
. . . Strassburg, 1651.
BOLDINGH, I. The flora of St. Eustatius, Saba and St. Martin. Leyden, 1909.
BURGEFF, HANS. Die Wurzetpilze der Orchideen ihre Kuttur und ihr Leben in
• ter Pflanze. Jena, 1909.
CLEMENTS, FREDERIC EDWARD. The genera of fungi. Minneapolis, 1909.
( Given by Dr. N. L. liritton.)
CORDES, J. W. H. Het zamenstet der voornaamstc Europesche houtsoorten.
Haarlem, 1857.
DEVILLE, NICOLAS. Histoire desptantes de VEurope. Lyon, 1737. 2 vols.
ESTIENNE, CHARLES. De re hortensi tibetlus, vutgaria herbarum, florutn, ac
Fruticum, qui in horlis conseri soient, nomina tatinis vocibus efferre docent. Lutetias,
' 545-
ESTIENNE, CHARLES. Praedium rusticum. Lutetise, 1554.
FILET, G. J . De inlandscheplantennamen. [ Batavia, 1859.]
FILET, G. J. De planten in den botanischen tuin bij het groot Mititair Hospi-aal
te Wettevreden. Batavia, 1855.
HALL, HERMANN CHRISTIAN VAN. Nelrlandsplantenschat. Leewarden, 1854.
22
HARPER, LEWIS. Preliminary report on the geology and agriculture of the state
of Mississippi. Jackson, 1857. ( Given by Dr. J. H . Barnhart.)
HASSKARL, JUSTUS KARL. Aanteekeningen over het nut, door de Bewoners van
Java. . . Amsterdam, 1845.
HOEVEN, JAN VAN DER. Commentatio de foliorum plantarum ortu, situ, fabrica
etfunctione. Lugduno Batavorum, 1820.
JANCHEN, ERWIN. Die Europaischen Gattungen der Earn- und Blutenpftanzen.
Wien, 1908.
Magazijn voor landbouw en kruidhinde. Utrecht, 1848- 58. 2 vols. New
series. Utrecht, 1859- 69. 8 vols. Third series. Utrecht, 1869- 76. 3 vols.
Meddelelser om Grtynland. Hefle 1- 33. Kj^ benhavn, 1881- 1907.
MIYABE, KINGO, YANAGAWA, S H I N AND OSHIMA, KINTARO. On the Laminaria-cete
and Laminaria industries of Hokkaido. [ Hokkaido] 1902.
MONARDES, NICOLAS. Historia medicinal de las cosas que trcen de nuestras Indias
occidentales, que sirven en medicina. Sevilla, 1569.
MUNTING, ABRAHAM. IVaare Oejfening der Planten. Amsterdam, 1672.
Natuur- en Geneeskundig Archief voor Neerland's- Indie. Batavia, 1844- 46.
4 vols.
PARLATORE, PHILIPPE. Les collections botaniques de Musee royal de physique et
d'Histoire naturelle de Florence. Florence, 1874. ( Given by Miss Juliet Turner.)
PENHALLOW, DAVID PEARCE. Report on tertiary plants of British Columbia
collected by L. M. Lambe in IQO6. Ottawa, 1908. ( Deposited by the Trustees of
Columbia University.)
PRINCE, WILLIAM ROBERT. The pomological manual. Ed. 2. New York,
1832. ( Given by Dr. J. H. Barnhart.)
SCHLEIDEN, MATTHIAS JAKOB. De plant en haar leven. Ed. 2. Leiden,
1872.
SCHWERIN, FRITZ GRAF VON. Monographic der Gattung Sambucus. Wendisch-
Wilmersdorf, 1909. ( Given by Dr. N. L. Britton.)
Sieboldia; weekblad voor den tuinbouw in Nederland. Redactie van Heinrich
Witte. Leiden, 1875- 1883. 9 vols.
Tropical Agriculturist. Compiled by A. M. cV_/. Ferguson. Colombo, 1882- 87.
6 vols.
VAN BASTELAER, DESIRE ALEXANDRE. Promenades d'un botaniste dans un
coin des Ardennes Beiges. Bruxelles, 1864.
VRIESE, WILLEM HENDRIK DE. De medecijn- hof. Leiden, 1852.
VRIESE, WILLEM HENDRIK DE. Hortus Spaarn- Bergensis. Amstelodami,
i » 39-
Webster's new international dictionary of the English language. Springfield,
1910. ( Given by Dr. N. L. Britton.)
WIESNER, JULIUS. Organographie und Systematik der Pflanzen. Ed. 3.
Wien, 1909.
MUSEUMS AND HERBARIUM.
1,200 specimens of flowering plants from the Philippine Islands. ( By exchange
with the Bureau of Science, Manila.)
40 specimens of fleshy fungi from Chappaqua, New York. ( Given by Mrs. C. E.
Rider.)
23
3 specimens of Colvillea racemosa from Jamaica, West Indies. ( Given by Mr.
William Harris.)
270 specimens, being the botanical collections of the Peary Arctic Club Expedition
af 1908- 09. ( Given by the American Museum of Natural History.)
4 specimens of mosses from North America. ( By exchange with Professor T. C.
Frye.)
3 specimens of mosses from New Haven, Connecticut. ( By exchange with Mr.
Geo. E. Nichols.)
35 specimens of flowering plants from the eastern United States. ( Given by Mr.
5. S. Van Pelt and Mr. C. S. Williamson.)
6 specimens of coniferous plants fromNew Jersey. ( Given by Mr. Bayard Long.)
1 specimen of Artemisia biennis from England. ( Given by Mr. G. Claridge
Druce.)
100 specimens, " Fungi Columbiani " Century 30. ( Distributed by Mr. Elam
Bartholomew.)
3 specimens of mosses and hepatics from British Columbia. ( Given by Dr. H. H.
Rusby.)
1 specimen of Pucciniaporomtra. ( Given by Mr. E. W. D. Holway.)
25 specimens, " Lichenes Suecici Exsiccati" fascicle VI. ( Distributed by Dr.
G. O. A. Malme.)
33 specimens of flowering plants from North America. ( By exchange with the
United States National Museum.)
3 specimens of mosses from Bronx Park, New York City. ( Given by Mrs. N. L.
Biitton.)
67 specimens food plants from western North America. ( Collected by Dr. H.
H. Rusby.)
12 specimens of fossil plants from Shiobara, Japan. ( Given by Miss M. C.
5topes.)
20 specimens of fossil plants from Eschscholtz Bay, Alaska. ( Given by Pro­fessor
H. F. Osborn.)
103 specimens of fossil plants from Florissant, Colorado. ( Given by Mr. Frederick
K. Vreeland.)
135 specimens of fossil plants from Colorado. ( Given by Professor J. F. Kemp.)
344 specimens of fossil plants from Colorado. ( Deposited by Columbia University.)
1,437 specimens from Cuba. ( Collected by Dr. J. A. Shafer.)
16 specimens of drugs for the Economic Museum. ( Given by Dr. H. H. Rusby.)
4 specimens of mosses from South America and Africa. ( By exchange with Dr.
F. V. Brotherus.)
5 specimens of mosses from tropical America. ( By exchange with Mr. Jules
Jardot.)
20 specimens of flowering plants from the Black Hills, South Dakota. ( Given
) y Mr. N. T. Peterson.)
118 specimens of flowering plants from Canada. ( Byexchange with the Geo-ogical
Survey of Canada.)
9 specimens of Lepidiuni from the eastern United States. ( Given by Mr. E. P.
3icknell.)
PLANTS AND SEEDS.
7 orchids for conservatories. ( By exchange with Mrs. Ernest Meiere.)
22 plants from Cuba, for conservatories. ( Collected by Dr. J. A. Shafer.)
2 plants of Lilium superbum from Staten Island, for herbaceous grounds. ( Col­lected
by Mr. John Finley.)
14 plants for conservatories. ( By exchange with U. S. National Museum through
Dr. J. N. Rose.)
40 plants from Santo Domingo, W. I., for conservatories. ( Collected by Mr.
Norman Taylor.)
8 specimens of duckweeds and Azolla from Holland, for conservatories. ( Given
by Prof. J. B. Smith.)
2 packets of seed for nurseries. ( By exchange with Mr. John Dunbar.)
/ FDembcrs of tbe Corporation.
JOHN D. ARCHBOLD,
GEORGE F. BAKER,
GEORGE S. BOWDOIN,
PROF. N. L. BRITTON,
HON. ADDISON BROWN,
DR. NICHOLAS M. BUTLER,
ANDREW CARNEGIE,
PROF. C. F, CHANDLER,
WILLIAM G. CHOATE,
CHARLES F. COX,
JOHN J. CROOKE,
W. BAYARD CUTTING,
CLEVELAND H. DODGE,
A. F. ESTABROOK,
H. C. FAHNESTOCK,
SAMUEL W. FAIRCHILD,
JAMES B. FORD,
HENRY W. DE FOREST,
ROBERT W. DE FOREST,
HON. THOMAS F. GILROY,
HON. HUGH J. GRANT,
EDWARD S. HARKNESS,
HENRY R. HOYT,
THOS. H. HUBBARD,
ADRIAN ISELIN, JR.,
JOHN I. KANE,
EUGENE KELLY, JR.,
PROF. JAMES F. KEMP,
HON.
EDW. V. Z. LANE,
PROF. FREDERIC S. LEE,
HON. SETH LOW,
DAVID LYDIG,
EDGAR L. MARSTON,
J. PIERPONT MORGAN,
THEODORE W. MYERS,
FREDERIC R. NEWDOLD,
PROF. HENRY F. OSBORN,
LOWELL M. PALMER,
GEORGE W. PERKINS,
JAMES R. PITCHER,
M. F. PLANT,
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER,
WILLIAM ROCKEFELLER,
PROF. H. H. RUSBY,
MORTIMER L. SCHIFF,
JAMES A. SCRYMSER,
HENRY A. SIEBRECHT,
WILLIAM D. SLOANE,
NELSON SMITH,
JAMES SPEYER,
FRANCIS L. STETSON,
CHARLES G. THOMPSON,
DR. W. GILMAN THOMPSON,
SAMUEL THORNE,
LOUIS C TIFFANY,
GEORGE W. VANDERBILT,
EGEKTON L. WINTIIKOP, JR.
P U B L I C A T I O N S
ov
The New York Botanical Garden
Journal ot the N e w York Botanical Garden, monthly, illustrated, con.
• jjrving notes, and non- technical articles of general interest. Free to mem « rs of thi
Garden. Toothers, lo cents a copy; J i . o o a year. [ Not offered in txchtnge.]
Now in its eleventh volume.
Mycologia, bimonthly, illustrated in color and otherwise ; devoted to fungi,
ncluding lichens ; containing technical articles and news and notes of general in-erest.
' 3.00 a year ; single copies not for sale. [ Not offered in exchange.] Noi
n its second volume.
Bnlleda of the N e w Y o r k Botanical Garden, containing the annual report
of the Director- in- Chief and other official documents, and technical articles embodying
results of investigations carried out in the Garden. Free to all members of the
Garden; to others, $ 3.00 per volume. Vol. I, Nos. 1- 5, 449 pp., 3 maps, and 12
p'. ates, 1896- 1900. Vol. I I , Nos. 6- S, 518 pp., 30 plates, 1901- 1903. Vol. 111,
Nos. 9- 11,463 pp., 37 plates, 1903- 1905. Vol. IV, Nos. 12- 14, 479 pp., 14
plates, 1905- 1907. Vol. V, Nos. 15- 18, 463 pp., 17 plates, 1906- 190-; Vol.
VI, No. 19, 114 pp., 1908. Vol. VI, No. 20, 112 pp., 1909. Vol. VII, No, 23,
148 pp., 40 plates, 1909.
North American Flora. Descriptions of the wild plants of North Amend,
including Greenland, the West Indies and Central America. Planned to be com­pleted
in thirty volumes. Roy. 8vo. Each volume to consist of four or more parts.
Subscription price Si. 50 per part ; a limited number of separate parts will be sold
for £ 2.00 each. [ Not offered in exchange.]
Vol. 22, part 1, issued May 22, 1905. Rosales: Podostemonaceae, Crassult-ceae,
Penthoraceae, Parnassiaceae.
Vol. 22, part 2, issued December 18, 1905. Saxifragaceae, Hydrange « cea « ,
Cunoniaceae, Iteacese, Hamamelidaceae, Pterostemonaceae, Altingiaceae, Phyllo-nomaceae.
Vol. 7, part I, issued Oct. 4, 1906. Ustilaginaceae, Tilletiaceae.
Vol. 7, part 2, issued March 6, 1907. Coleosporiaceae, Uredinaceae, Aecidii-ceae
( pars).
Vol. 25, part I, issued August 24, 1907. Geraniaceae, Oxalidaceae, LinaceK,
Erythroxylaceae.
Vol. 9, parts I and 2, issued December 19, 1907, and March 12, 1908. Poly­poraceae.
Vol. 22, part 3, issued June 12, 1908. Grossulariaceae, Platanaceae, Crossoso-mataceae,
Connaraceae, Calycanthaceae, Rosaceae ( pars).
Vol. 22, part 4, issued Nov. 20, 1908. Rosaceae ( pars).
Vol. 17, part I, issued June 30, 1909. Typhales— Poales.
Vol. 16, part I, issued Nov. 6, 1909 Ophioglossales— Filicales.
Memoirs of the N e w York Botanical Garden. Price to members of tit
Garden, $ 1.00 per volume. To others, $ 2.00. [ Not offered in exchange.]
Vol. I. An Annotated Catalogue of the Flora of Montana and the Yellowstone
Park, by Per Axel Rydberg. ix - f- 492 pp., with detailed map. I900.
Vol. I I . The Influence of Light and Darkness upon Growth and Development,
by D. T. MacDougal. xvi - f- 320 pp., with 176 figures. 1903- w
Vol. I I I . Studies of Cretaceous Coniferous Remains from Kreischerville, Ne\
York, by Dr. Arthur Hollick and Dr. Edward Charles Jeffrey, viii + 138 pp., w ™
29 plates. 1909.
Vol. IV. Effects of the Rays of Radium on Plants, by Charles Stuart Gager.
viii -{- 27S pp., with 73 figures and 14 plates. 190S.
ContrloutJons from the N e w York Botanical Garden. A series of tech­nical
papers written by students or members of the staff, and reprinted from journlH
other than the above. Price, 25 cents each. S5.00 per volume. Five volumes.
RECENT NUMBERS 25 CENTS EACH.
126. The Genus Ceratopteris : A Preliminary Revision, by R. C. Benedict.
127. The Crataegi of Mexico and Central Americp, by W. W. Eggleston.
128. Studies on the Rocky Mountain Flora — XTX, by P. A. Rvdberg.
New YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN
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