Chapter I: Part 1

The
Fern Bulletin.

Vol. XI. No. 4.

A Quarterly Devoted to Ferns.

OCTOBER

Binghamton, N. Y.
THE FERN BULLETIN CO.
1903

THE FERN BULLETIN

A QUARTERLY DEVOTED TO FERNS

WILLARD N. CLUTE, Editor
THE FERN BULLETIN CO., PUBLISHERS, BINGHAMTON, N. Y.
20 Cents a Copy; 75 Cents a Year.
Awarded Grand Prize at the Paris Exposition.

To insure subscribers against loss of one or more numbers between the expiration and renewal of their subscriptions the journal will be sent until ordered stopped. All arrearages must be paid. Personal Checks Must Contain Ten Cents Extra for Collection. Otherwise credit will be given for the amount less collection fees.

Entered at the postoffice, Binghamton, N. Y., as second-class mail
matter.

THE LINNAEAN FERN CHAPTER

President, B. D. Gilbert, Clayville, N. Y. Secretary, Homer D. House, N. Y. Bot. Garden, Bronx, New York City.

Fern students are cordially invited to join the Chapter. Address either the President or Secretary for further information. The annual dues are $1.00 and should be sent direct to Jas. A. Graves, Treasurer, Susquehanna, Pa.

FERNS FOR SALE

A Fern Student of many years standing who has made a specialty of cultivating New England Ferns is prepared to supply plants for Ferneries and House. For prices and variety address,

C. C. BROWNE, South Groveland, Mass.

"MOSSES WITH A HAND LENS"

BY DR A. J. GROUT

It is the only book of its kind in the English language. It makes the mosses as easy to study as the flowering plants. Eight full page plates and ninety figures in the text. Price $1.10 postpaid. Send for sample pages to O. T. Louis, 59 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. City.

WANTS AND EXCHANGES

_Special announcements inserted here for One Cent a word. No notice
received for less than 25c. No charge for address._

EXCHANGE--I will exchange three flowering plants of California for any one desired fern of the United States. Send me your list of duplicates. GEORGE B. GRANT, 637 Summit Ave., Pasadena, California.

EATON'S FERNS FOR $35.00

Eaton's "Ferns of North America" has been out of print for some time and is constantly advancing in price. We can offer a second-hand copy, the two volumes bound in cloth, clean and in good condition, for $35.00, express paid. There are 81 colored plates, and all the North American ferns are described. Address, THE FERN BULLETIN, Binghamton, N. Y.

CONTENTS

THE FERN FLORA OF NEW YORK. 97
Ophioglossaceae. 98
Osmundaceae. 99
Schizaeaceae. 100
Polypodiaceae. 100
Equisetaceae. 103
Isoetaceae. 103
Lycopodiaceae. 103
Salviniaceae. 104
Selaginellaceae. 104
FERNWORT NOTES--IV. 105
SCOLOPENDRIUM FROM CANADA. 107
THE GENUS EQUISETUM IN NORTH AMERICA. 108
THE SPECIES-CONCEPTION AMONG THE TERNATE BOTRYCHIUMS. 115
NEW FORMS OF FERNS. 118
FERNS IN BOTTLES. 120
WILLIAM RALPH MAXON. 121
ANOTHER STATION FOR ASPLENIUM EBENEUM HORTONAE. 122
INDEX TO CURRENT LITERATURE RELATING TO FERNS. 122
EDITORIAL. 123
BOOK NEWS. 125
A WORD FROM THE EDITOR 129

THE FERN BULLETIN
_VOL. XI._ _OCTOBER, 1903._ _No. 4_

THE FERN FLORA OF NEW YORK.

By B. D. Gilbert.

The State of New York has the largest area of any northern State east of Michigan. It also possesses a great diversity of surface, with its two mountain ranges, its numerous lakes, its interior salt basin, and its seashore confined entirely to the southern extremity. On its eastern side it stretches through more than four degrees of north latitude, and as these are the degrees just south of the 45th parallel, it is easy to understand that there is liable to be a greater intermixture of northern and southern forms of ferns than there would be in a State lying farther south. And the fact is that certain species from the north and others from the south do meet within its borders. This also accounts for the large number of species found in the State: California and Texas, the one State having four times the area of New York, and the other five times that area, being the only ones which contain as large or a larger number of species.

For the purpose of fern classification, the State may be divided into four distinct zones, as follows:

I. The Littoral.--This comprises Long Island and Staten Island. Only one fern is peculiar to this zone, viz. _Woodwardia angustifolia_; but there are two Lycopods, viz. _L. alopecuroides_ and its variety _adpressum_.

II. The Catskill Mountain Region, extending down to Manhattan Island.--This being the southern mountain range of the State, it is here that three southern species find their northern limit, viz. _Asplenium Bradleyi_, _A. montanum_ and _Cheilanthes vestita_. It may be a question whether the Connecticut stations for _Asplenium montanum_ lie farther north than the New York stations, but it is certain that there can be but little difference between them in this respect.

III. The Adirondack Region, extending as far south as Little Falls.--Here there are a few of the northern species that descend to their southern limit in this country. Among them may be mentioned _Nephrodium fragrans_, _Polystichum Braunii_, _Woodsia glabella_, and _W. hyperborea_. There are also two Lycopods to be included in this list, _L. annotinum pungens_ and _L. Sitchense_.

IV. The Western Region, extending from the mountain regions to the State's western boundary, the southern part drained by the Susquehanna and its tributaries, and the northern part containing (a) _The Salt Basin_ of Syracuse and its vicinity, the home of _Scolopendrium_ and _Botrychium Onondagense_, and (b) _The Central Basin_, extending from Little Falls to Oneida Lake, and drained by the Mohawk River, being famous for its large number of _Botrychia_, some of which seem to be almost, if not quite, peculiar to this region.

In the preparation of this list I have consulted various local floras and other reports of the State, especially Paine's "Catalogue of Plants Found in Oneida County and Vicinity;" the Annual Reports of the State Botanist, "The Flora of the Upper Susquehanna," and the files of the Fern Bulletin. I have also been favored with many notes from the State Herbarium sheets by Professor Peck himself; while my own herbarium and that of Dr. J. V. Haberer, of Utica, have been exceedingly useful in fixing definite localities.

The plan I have followed is to include along with the species only such varieties as seem to be most important and distinct.

Mr. Bush in _The Torrey Bulletin_ for June, 1903, enumerates 59 species and varieties of ferns found in Texas. This compares well with our list of 64 species and varieties in New York State, of which only 18 of these are common to both States. Mr. Reverchon's list for Texas, published in the Fern Bulletin, April, 1903, gives 51 ferns and 15 allies, or 66 in all. The present list includes 53 species and 12 varieties of ferns, and 23 species and 7 varieties of fern allies. If we take Bush's ferns and Reverchon's allies, there are 74 species and varieties known in Texas, or 20 less than I have enumerated in New York.

Ophioglossaceae.

_Botrychium lanceolatum_ Angs. Open upland woods in the eastern part of State. Not reported from western part. Scarce.

_Botrychium matricariaefolium_ A. Br. In same localities with _B. lanceolatum_, but more plentiful.

_Botrychium obliquum_ Muhl. Grape fern. Abundant in pastures and woodlands, especially in the central part of the State.

_Botrychium obliquum dissectum_ Clute. In similar places with _B. obliquum_ and always associated with it. Frequent.

_Botrychium obliquum f. elongatum_ Gilbert & Haberer. Scarce in pastures, eastern New York.

_Botrychium obliquum Habereri_ Gilbert. Scarce. Mohawk Valley, Catskill Mts., and probably occasional elsewhere.

_Botrychium obliquum intermedium_ Clute. Pastures. Occasional in the eastern part of the State.

_Botrychium obliquum matricarioides_ Gilbert. Beaver Lake. Lewis Co.; Whitestown: _Gilbert_. I have seen no other specimens from this State, but Dr. Underwood cites "Northern New England and New York." (_Osmunda matricariae_ Schrank.)

_Botrychium obliquum Oneidense_ Clute. Pastures and open woods. Occasional.

_Botrychium obliquum tenuifolium_ Gilbert. Field near top of mountain. Shandaken, Ulster Co., _Mary F. Miller_. As I possess tracings of Dr. Underwood's type specimens of B. _tenuifolium_ Und., I am able to say that these specimens from Shandaken match the tracings completely. (_B. tenuifolium_ Und.)

_Botrychium Onondagense_ Underwood. Within a radius of five miles from Syracuse. The stations there are the only ones known in the State.

_Botrychium simplex_ E. Hitchcock. Damp meadows and sandy swamps in Central and Northern New York. Also Wading River. L. I., _E. F. Miller_.

_Botrychium tenebrosum_ A. A. Eaton. Baldwinsville, _L. M. Underwood_; Deerfield and Cedar Lake. _J. V. Haberer_. Probably not rare, but escapes notice because of its minute size.

_Botrychium Virginianum_ Sw. Rattlesnake fern. In rich woods. Common.

_Ophioglossum vulgatum_ L. Frequent in damp ground throughout the State.

Osmundaceae.

_Osmunda cinnamomea_ L. Cinnamon fern. Swamps. Common.

_Osmunda Claytoniana_ L. Interrupted fern. Along roadsides and in thickets.

_Osmunda regalis_ L. Royal fern. Widely spread, but not so abundant as _O. Cinnamomea_.

Schizaeaceae.

_Lygodium palmatum_ Swz. Climbing fern. Hunter, Green Co. and McDonough, Chenango Co., _Professor Peck_. The only localities known in the State.

Polypodiaceae.

_Adiantum pedatum_ L. Maiden hair. Plentiful throughout the State.

_Asplenium angustifolium_ Michx. Narrow-leaved Spleenwort. Damp, shady soil, common.

_Asplenium Bradleyi_ D. C. Eaton. Near Newburg, _D. C. Eaton_; Shawangunk Mts., _C. Lown_ in State Herbarium. Rare.

_Asplenium ebeneum_ Ait. Ebony Spleenwort. Frequent on edges of woods or rocks throughout.

_Asplenium ebenoides_ R. R. Scott. Near Saugerties, Ulster Co., _C. Lown_, in State Herbarium. Rare.

_Asplenium montanum_ Willd. On rocks about Lakes Mahonk and Minnewaska, _Prof. C. H. Peck_. New Paltz, _H. Denslow_. Rare.

_Asplenium ruta-muraria_ L. Wall Rue Spleenwort. Limestone cliffs. Helderberg Mts., _Professor Peck_. Spraker's and Chittenango Creek, _Paine_. Little Falls, _Gilbert_. Not common.

_Asplenium Trichomanes_ L. Maiden hair Spleenwort. On limestone rocks. Middle and eastern parts of the State. Localities comparatively few. Common in the southern part, _Clute_.

_Athyrium filix-foemina_ Roth. Lady fern. Very common everywhere. About 15 varieties occur in State.

_Athyrium Thelypteroides_ Desv. Silvery Spleenwort. Damp woods. Common.

_Camptosorus rhizophyllus_ Link. Walking fern. On shaded rocks. Not common but widely scattered.

_Cheilanthes vestita_ Swz. Rare. Washington Heights, Manhattan Island, _W. W. Denslow_ in herb. Gilbert; Poughkeepsie, _Professor Peck_.

_Cystopteris bulbifera_ Bernh. Rocky banks and ravine sides near water. Common in the central, rare in the southern part of the State.

_Cystopteris fragilis_ Bernh. Fragile Bladder fern. On gravelly hillsides and moist rocks. Common. Two varieties of this are occasionally met with, viz. _dentata_ Hook, and _magnasora_ Clute.

_Dicksonia pilosiuscula_ Willd. Abundant. Growing in large beds along roadsides and in moist woodlands.

_Nephrodium Boottii_ Davenp. Frequent in damp woods throughout the State.

_Nephrodium cristatum_ Michx. Crested fern. Common in swampy grounds.

_Nephrodium cristatum Clintonianum_ Gilbert. Growing generally with the type.

_Nephrodium fragrans_ Rich. Fragrant Fern. Lake Avalanche and Cascadeville on cliffs. _Professor Peck._ Rare.

_Nephrodium Goldienum_ Hook. Occasional in swampy ground throughout the State.

_Nephrodium marginale_ Michx. Plentiful in rocky woods.

_Nephrodium Noveboracense_ Desv. New York fern. Common in damp woods and thickets.

_Nephrodium simulatum_ Davenp. Middle Village, L. I., _Rev. G. D. Hulst_; Babylon and Bellville, L. I., _W. N. Clute_; Oneida Lake, _H. D. House_. Rare.

_Nephrodium spinulosum_ Desv. Probably rather common, but not recognized. Grows in damp woods throughout the State.

_Nephrodium spinulosum dilatatum_ Baker. Infrequent. Catskill and Adirondack Mts., _Professor Peck_; Yates Co., _Sartwell_. In more elevated situations than the type.

_Nephrodium spinulosum f. intermedium._ Davenp. Our commonest woods fern.

_Nephrodium theypteris_ Desv. Marsh fern. Abundant in wet ground, whether shaded or not.

_Onoclea sensibilis_ L. Sensitive fern. Common in swampy ground.

_Pellaea atropurpurea_ Link. On cliffs both in eastern and western New York. Scarce.

_Pellaea gracilis_ Hook. Slender Cliff Brake. Not common, but occurring in many localities through the State. Always on rocks or cliffs.

_Phegopteris Dryopteris_ Fee. Common in rich, damp woods.

_Phegopteris hexagonoptera_ Fee. Rather scarce, but more frequent in the southern and western parts of the State.

_Phegopteris polypodioides_ Fee. Common on wet rocks and in damp woods.

_Polypodium vulgare_ L. Common Polypody. Common on rocks.

_Polypodium vulgare cristatum_ Lowe. Rock City, Dutchess Co., _Charles A. Coons_.

_Polystichum acrostichoides_ Schott. Christmas fern. Common in woods. The variety _incisum_ with the type.

_Polystichum Braunii_ Lawson. Summit, Schoharie Co., Catskill and Adirondack Mts., _Professor Peck_; Ilion ravine, _Rev. H. M. Simmons_ in herb. Gilbert.

_Pteris aquilina_ L. Bracken. Common throughout the State.

_Pteris aquilina pseudocaudata_ Clute. The common form on many parts of Long Island. _Clute._

_Scolopendrium vulgare_ J. E. Sm. Hart's tongue. Rare. Only in ravine of Chittenango Creek, Green Lake, Jamesville and a few other stations in the vicinity of Syracuse.

_Struthiopteris Germanica_ Willd. Ostrich fern. Frequent in the Valley of the Mohawk and its tributaries. Western part of the State, _Torrey_; Southern tier, _Clute_.

_Woodsia glabella_ R. Br. Crevices of rocky ledges at Lake Avalanche and in the pass north of it, _Professor Peck_; Haines' Falls, Catskill Mts., _Professor Peck_. The station at Little Falls has been destroyed by excavation.

_Woodsia hyperborea_ R. Br. Rare. Adirondack Mts. Only three stations known--at Cascadeville, Lake Avalanche, and Ampersand Mt., _Professor Peck_.

_Woodsia Ilvensis_ R. Br. Rusty Woodsia. On rocks and cliffs. Rather scarce.

_Woodsia obtusa_ Torr. In rich woods and on rocks. Widely spread but not common.

_Woodwardia angustifolia_ Sm. Flatbush and Middle Village, L. I., _Professor Peck_; Babylon and Bellville, L. I., _Clute_; Staten Island, _Torrey_.

_Woodwardia Virginica_ Sm. Chain fern. Frequent in swamps from Long Island to the western part of the State.

Equisetaceae.

_Equisetum arvense_ L. Field Horsetail. Very common in either wet or dry soil. Mr. Eaton describes a dozen different forms.

_Equisetum fluviatile_ L. Borders of lakes and ponds. Not uncommon.

_Equisetum palustre_ L. Swamps near Buffalo, _Clinton_, according to Eaton. Rare.

_Equisetum hiemale_ L. Scouring Rush. Very common in swampy and gravelly places. Eaton describes seven forms.

_Equisetum hiemale intermedium_ A. A. Eaton. Oneida Lake, _Dr. J. V. Haberer_. Rare.

_Equisetum scirpoides_ Michx. Shaded ravines and sphagnum marshes. Widely scattered but scarce.

_Equisetum sylvaticum_ L. Wood Horsetail. Marshes and borders of woods. Not uncommon. Eaton enumerates seven forms.

_Equisetum variegatum_ Schleich. Brisbin Swamp, _Coville_; Oriskany and shores of Lake Ontario, _Paine_; Owasco Lake, _Prof. I. H. Hall_; along W. Canada Creek, near Herkimer, _J. V. Haberer_.

Isoetaceae.

_Isoetes Amesii_ A. A. Eaton, sp. n. (_I. riparia Canadensis_ Engelm. Also _I. Dodgei Eaton_.) Peekskill is the only known locality in this State, but the species is very common in New England.

_Isoetes echinospora Braunii_ Engelm. The common form in New York State.

_Isoetes echinospora muricata_ Engelm. Lake Luzern, _A. A. Eaton_. Rare.

_Isoetes Engelmanni_ A. Br. Abundant along the Susquehanna river in Broome and Tioga counties, _Clute_. New York City, _Buchheister_.

_Isoetes macrospora_ Durien. Catskill Mts., Schweinitz, according to A. A. Eaton. (_I. lacustris paupercula Engelm._) Rare.

Lycopodiaceae.

_Lycopodium alopecuriodes_ L. Babylon, L. I., _Clute_. Rare.

_Lycopodium alopecuroides adpressum_ Chapm. Babylon, L. I., _Clute_; Forbell's Landing, L. I., _M. Zimmerman_. Rare.

_Lycopodium alopecuroides_ f. _polyclavatum_ McDonald. Staten Island, _Clute_. Rare.

_Lycopodium annotinum_ L. Damp woods. Rather scarce, especially in western part of State.

_Lycopodium annotinum pungens_ Spring. Summits of Mt. Marcy and Mt. McIntyre, _Professor Peck_.

_Lycopodium clavatum_ L. Common Club Moss. Abundant in open woods and thickets. The var. _monastachyon_ Hook. was found on Bald Mt., Fulton Chain, by Dr. Haberer.

_Lycopodium complanatum flabelliforme_, Fernald. Common.

_Lycopodium complanatum Wibbei_ var. n. J. V. Haberer. Scarce. Mohawk Valley. Haberer in herb. Gilbert and in herb. Gray, No. 1,953.

_Lycopodium inundatum_ L. Bogs and borders of swamps. Frequent except in southern and western part where it is rare.

_Lycopodium inundatum Bigelovii_ Tuckerm. Riverhead, L. I., _Professor Peck_.

_Lycopodium lucidulum_ Michx. On damp grounds or rocks. Common.

_Lycopodium obscurum_ L. Woods. Common.

_Lycopodium Selago_ L. Summits of Mts. Marcy and McIntyre and in Indian Pass. _Professor Peck._ Alpine and rare.

_Lycopodium Sitchense_ Rupr. In pass between Nipple Top and Mt. Colvin and on side of Mt. Marcy, _Professor Peck_. Alpine and rare.

_Lycopodium tristachyum_ Pursh. Cold Spring Harbor, L. I., _Prof. F. E. Lloyd_; Ray Brook, Essex Co., Caroga, Fulton Co., _Professor Peck_. Alden Creek, _Gilbert_. Infrequent.

Salviniaceae.

_Azolla caroliniana_ Willd. Floating on water. Frequent. Cayuga Lake, Black Creek, _Professor Peck_; in all side waters of Lake Ontario, _Paine_.

Selaginellaceae.

_Selaginella apus_ Spring. Wet banks and pastures. Uncommon. Cedar Lake, Herk. Co., _Paine_; borders of Rome swamps, _Kneiskern_; head of Oneida Lake, _Haberer_; Unadilla, _Brown_.

_Selaginella rupestris_ Spring. On dry open rocks. Rather scarce. Little Falls, _Paine_; Adirondacks. _Professor Peck_; Washington Heights, _W. W. Denslow_. Plentiful in the extreme southeast, _Clute_.

FERNWORT NOTES--IV.

By Willard N. Clute.

Nephrodium Molle in Florida.--Mr. James H. Ferriss recently called my attention to specimens of _Nephrodium molle_ received from Florida with the suggestion that this species might be native to the State. On this point, Reasoner Brothers, the well-known plant dealers, have written him that they no longer grow the fern since it is abundant in a wild state and easily obtained when wanted. There seems to be no reason why the species should not occur in Florida, since _Nephrodium patens_, a close ally, is common there; but as _N. Molle_ is not listed from the United States, we publish this note in the hope of drawing out further information about it and of ascertaining if possible whether _Molle_ is actually native, or only a well naturalized escape. Superficially, _molle_ and _patens_ are so very much alike that it is very easy to confuse them. The venation, however, is a sufficiently distinct feature. In _patens_ the basal veins in each pinnule run to the sinus, uniting at, or just below, it; in _molle_ they unite at some distance from the sinus from whence a single vein runs to the sinus. According to Jenman, _patens_ has a creeping horizontal rootstock with the fronds arranged in two lines along it, while _molle_ has an erect rootstock. The fronds of the latter are also softer and thinner.

Naturalization of an Exotic Fern.--Records of ferns becoming naturalized in new regions are very rare. _Pteris serrulata_ is probably our most conspicuous American example, having been found as an escape in several places, while it is known to grow abundantly on old walls in New Orleans. I have also reported the occurrence in the same place, of an abundance of _Pteris longifolia_ previously known in the United States from Florida alone. In the Fern Bulletin for January, 1898, mention is made of fronds of _Pteris tremula_ seventeen inches high collected from the walls of a tunnel in New York City, and the same article mentions a Japanese species of _Athyrium_ that has become naturalized on Staten Island, New York. To this meagre list, it is with much pleasure that I add another species in the shape of the Japanese climbing fern (_Lygodium Japonicum_). This Mrs. A. P. Taylor has sent to me from Thomasville, Georgia, where she finds it in profusion along the sides of a deep ditch. The station is not far from a greenhouse from whence the plants doubtless came in the first place, but all indications point to a further spread of this pretty and interesting species.

The Forms of the Spinulose Wood Fern.--It is well-known to fern students that much more attention has been paid to the forms of ferns on the other side of the Atlantic than on this. Since the same species are often common to both localities, it is but natural that the early students of American ferns should pay rather more attention to the mere forms of species common to Great Britain and America than their systematic importance warrants. This is especially true of the variable _Nephrodium spinulosum_ whose variety _intermedium_, I am convinced, is scarcely more than an ecological form. In this view I am glad to be borne out by Mr. A. B. Klugh, who has recently examined nearly 500 Canadian specimens and come to the same conclusion. Mr. Klugh writes: "In number of glands on the indusium, in color of scales on the stipe, in shape and cutting of the frond and in degree of obliquity of the pinnae, we have a perfect gradation from true _spinulosum_ to typical _intermedium_. Our commonest form has the indusium glandular and the scales of the stipe pale brown without a dark centre." In a series of fronds examined there seemed to be no corelation between the color of the scales and the glands on the indusium, there being fronds with light scales and no glands, others with dark centered scales and many glands, and still others the exact opposites of these. _Intermedium_ may be distinguished as a form, but it is certainly far less distinct than such plants as _Nephrodium cristatum Clintonianum_ or _Pteris aquilina pseudocaudata_ and would probably never have appeared in our lists but for the fact that much has been made of the forms of this species in other lands.

Elevation and Lycopodium selago.--Some time ago I noted in this series, that a party of botanists on a visit to Mt. Ktaadn had found _Lycopodium selago_ grading into _L. lucidulum_ as they traveled downward from the summit, and quoted their opinion that _L. selago_ is a xerophytic form of _L. lucidulum_. In regard to this, Mr. J. B. Flett writes that if the one intergrades with the other, it is doubtless due to elevation or cold, and not to xerophytic conditions. As to the plant's habitat in the northwest, he says: "I have never seen _L. selago_ growing in a really dry place, I have studied this form in the field from Washington through British Columbia into the islands of southwestern Alaska and on the Aleutian Islands, also on the tundra between Cape Nome and Cape York. No one familiar with this tundra region would ever assert that there are any xerotic forms on it."

SCOLOPENDRIUM FROM CANADA.

By Homer D. House.

At least four stations for the Harts-tongue fern are known in the vicinity of Owen Sound in northwestern Ontario. Specimens from these localities are rare in herbaria, and the writer is fortunate in receiving specimens from near Collingwood, a station twenty-three miles east of Owen Sound. This station was first authentically reported by Mr. Osler and described by Mr. Maxon in "Fernwort Papers" in 1900. These specimens were collected by Dr. W. A. Bastedo and he describes the place where they were collected as being five or six miles from Collingwood. The plants were growing in a shady, though rather open wood, along the course of a small stream. The altitude is given as 1635 feet above sea-level. The plants at the time of collection, July 17th, 1903, were nearly all young and even the mature fronds are but five to eight inches in length, though all of them are very broad for their length. Dr. Bastedo further notes that in the recesses of the cliff, snow was still abundant at that date. _Polystichum Lonchitis_ and _Dryopteris Filix-mas_ were abundant and _Asplenium Trichomanes_ and _Cryptogramma Stelleri_ were common upon the cliffs. This station is undoubtably one of those described by Mr. Maxon in the neighborhood of Collingwood. However, a careful search of this entire region is very much to be desired, as it is probable that the fern has a more general distribution in this region than is known at present.

THE GENUS EQUISETUM IN NORTH AMERICA.

By A. A. Eaton.

FIFTEENTH PAPER.
Varieties of E. Hiemale.

1. _Intermedium_ A. A. Eaton. Stems 1 to 4 feet high, 1 to 4 lines in diameter, simple or ultimately branched, 20 to 30 angled, rough with transverse bands of silex or becoming smoother by a later deposit covering them; sheaths longer than broad, ampliated, green excepting narrow black and white incurved limb, or exceptionally with other black and white markings; leaves keeled below the middle, flat and often centrally grooved above; teeth thin, brown, hyaline-bordered, deciduous or persistent; anatomy of _hiemale_ as previously described. New York, Michigan and westward. Common west of the Mississippi, being an important forage crop in some States. The anomalous _laevigatum_ collected by Rydberg at Thedford, Neb., No. 1283 (Cont. Nat. Herb. III, 194), is this variety, as is the plant referred to under the name of _variegatum_ by V. K. Chestnut (Cont. Nat. Herb. VII, 304), as used for various unimportant purposes by the Indians of Mendocino County, California. He also mentions the fact that horses eat it even when grass is abundant.

2. _Texanum_ Milde. Stems erect, very slender, somewhat rough, 10 to 12 angled, hardly 1 foot high, dirty green; sheaths elongated, slightly widened, 2 to 2 1-3 lines long and 1 1-3 wide, concolorous, leaves flat, centrally grooved and 4 angled above and centrally ridged below; teeth persistent, flexuous, white with red-brown center, lance subulate, smooth, only the lowermost three sheaths red-brown; ridges convex; carinal bast 7, vallecular 4, cells high, vallecular holes transverse oval; stomata rows separated by 7 to 8 cells, grooves naked, lumen of epidermal cells very wide, angles with broad, short bands, never with two rows of tubercles. Texas, _Chas. Wright_.

This is Milde's description. I have never seen this plant. Milde states that it is a very peculiar plant that equals the weakest specimens of var. _Moorei_, but differs greatly from it, and he asks if it may not be the young stage of a larger species.

3. _Herbaceum_ var. nov. Cespitose, decumbent, ascending or erect, 3 to 10 inches high, 1/2 to 1 line in diameter, 6 to 12 angled, weak and herbaceous or becoming firmer the second year, usually bearing a single branch 1 to 2 inches long at each node. Walls of the stem thicker than in _hiemale_; ridges with long cross-bands; grooves naked, except for small spots of silex on the cells; sheaths elongated and very wide-spreading, with a narrow black band at tip, otherwise green or (in dried specimens at least) all suffused with black; leaves 3-angled or flat in the middle above, rarely bearing a central groove; teeth fuscous, flexuous, deciduous, leaving a hard, horny, centrally grooved erect or incurved, usually shining, borderless leaf base 1/2 its height; spikes narrowly elliptical, rounded, not apiculate. _Coville & Funston_, 1297, Death Valley Exp., banks of Kaweah river at Three Rivers, Tulare Co., Calif., July 26, 1891 (Nat. Herb., 25, 101), as _variegatum_. Three little plants, 3 inches high, well fruited (Cont. Nat. Mus. IV, 226). _C. & F._, 1042, 1 mile south of Kernville, Kern Co., Calif., on north fork of Kern river, Alt., 750 meters, June 23, 1901, as _variegatum_ (Nat. Herb., 25100).

In some of its characters, such as sheaths and persistent, incurved leaf-bases, this plant resembles _Funstoni_, but the section is similar to _hiemale_. An abundance of material might show this to be a good species. The only thing I have seen that approaches it in texture is _E. Sieboldi_ Milde from Japan, which is even more grass-like.

4. _Pumilum_ var. nov. Cespitose; stems in a dense cluster, 6 to 15 inches tall, 8 to 16 angled, 1/2 to 1 line in diameter, mostly geniculate at the lower nodes, nearly all the joints tumid, the lower gibbous; ridges with cross-bands of silex, grooves naked; sheaths tight, often symmetrical through the tumidity of the node, narrowest in the middle except where nodes are normal, bearing a broad black band below and a narrower black limb, the two separated by a pinkish or dirty white band which is often suffused with black or even entirely black towards the top of the stem, fading to dirty ashy the second year, ultimately splitting, recurving and falling off in patches; leaves linear, erect, prominently 3-angled, the central one sometimes grooved on the smallest stems and branches; teeth persistent, dark brown, somewhat flexuous, white-bordered for 1-5 to 1-4 their height.

Found at intervals for a mile along the railroad grade at North Hampton, N. H. At the foot of the grade, in moist soil near a brook, probably from the same source as this, a form of _affine_ grows, but the joints are often tumid and occasionally geniculate, the branches when present like stems of this, tumid jointed, often so gibbous as to rupture the sheath. Peculiar for its small cespitose stems, dark sheaths and especially the tumid or gibbous nodes, which make the stems thickest there, while usually the nodes are contracted.

This is near the European variety _viride_ Milde, but differs in having bands on the ridges, no rosulæ in the grooves, and in the tumid joints.

5. _Suksdorfi_ var. nov. Stems 1 to 2-1/2 feet high, 1 to 3 lines wide, about 24 angled, rough, with cross-walls of silex, rarely with ends elevated to two rows of tubercles; stomata in single rows, rarely double for a short distance, each stoma connected at top and bottom with its opposite by rows of rosulæ formed by the silex bands of the grooves throwing up tubercles on each cell of the epidermis, which open at top to circular jagged disks, these often obscured later by a washing of silex, but always shown near the tops of the stems and on the branches; sheaths elongated, cylindrical, tight, black, developing a ring of tawny white which gradually increases till it occupies the whole sheath except a narrow black basal ring and a narrow black limb formed by the horny tips of the leaves; leaves linear, narrowed above the middle, the lower 2-3 keeled, the upper third flat, rarely with a narrow carinal groove above, tipped with a small, black, horny, hyaline-bordered point; teeth articulated to the leaves, black-centered, soon fading, withering and deciduous.

Anatomy of _hiemale_, the carinal bast elongated along the dissepiment, the vallecular much smaller but often similar in shape. Upper 1 to 3 nodes bearing 1 to 4 branches each, which overtop the stem and bear contemporaneous spikelets.

This would be a noteworthy variety even if it bore no branches. It is the only American form of _heimale_ known to me, except occasionally _intermedium_ which bears branches with the first effort of growth. All the others develop them, if at all, after the stem has ceased to grow, and the vegetative energy, having no other outlet, pushes out a few of the latent buds lying between the ridges at the nodes.

Bingen, Wash. High bottom land on the Columbia river. _W. N. Suksdorf_, September 3, 1902, No. 2161.

6. _Drummondi_ (Milde) _C. robustum Drummondi_ Milde, Mon. Equis. 593. Fertile stems 3 feet high, 16 angled; sheaths short, the lowest fuscous; teeth persistent, white, crispate; stomata often of 1 to 3 lines to a series, which are separated by 4 to 6 cells.

Collected by Drummond at the Brazos river in Texas. It is very aberrant, but is placed here on account of its anatomy. I have not seen specimens of this.

7. _Affine_ (_Eng._) (_E. robustum affine Eng._) _E. hiemale_ of American authors, not L. Stems 18 to 30 inches high, 2 to 5 lines in diameter, finely 16 to 40 angled, dark green, angles with broad bands of silex, rarely with two rows of tubercles. Internodes when dry contracted above and below, widest in the middle as in _hiemale_, scurfy when young; sheaths longer than broad, at first with a black limb, developing a broad ashy band and narrow black basal ring, fading, rupturing and deciduous the second or third year; leaves narrowly linear, sharply 3 angled, the central ridges only rarely centrally grooved except on the branches, where they usually are; commissural groove very narrow, not widened upward; teeth articulated to the sheaths, persistent or usually cohering by their tips and torn off by the growth of the stem, those of each sheath shaped like a candle extinguisher, all telescoped together and borne up on the tip of the stem.

Very common in New England and the east generally, where the type of _robustum_ is absent. Toward the west it runs into the next, but it is occasionally found, even to the valley of Mexico (Pringle 3329). Approaches typical _hiemale_ in its long sheaths and size, and differs little except in the cross-bands of silex. Found usually in moist sand near a watercourse; at times on high sandy banks. It is by no means certain that this is the variety described by Engelmann under this name, but from the brief description he gives it seems safe to assume that it is. Two branched forms are found, as follows:

a. _Forma ramosum_ f. nov. (f. _Ramigerum_ A. A. E., in Gilbert's list, p. 26, not A. Br. in Sched., which normally branches at the 3 to 5 middle nodes.) Stems issuing one to several branches from the upper nodes after the death of the top of the main axis; teeth usually persistent and leaves centrally grooved. b. _Forma polystachyum_ Prager. Stems issuing small spiciferous branches late in the season. As remarked by Mr. Gilbert (List, p. 26), these forms are seldom found together and many patches show neither.

The stems of this variety persist at least three years and probably longer. I have found but two causes of death, old age not appearing as a factor. Both are fungoid. After the stem has persisted for a time small white patches appear under the epidermis of the upper internode. These increase in number and the internode finally dies, not, however, till the second one shows the disease. This may continue till the whole stem succumbs. The other fungus is a smut that breaks out in small pustules, finally opening in black patches the size of the head of a pin or smaller. They are usually numerous and the stem dies rapidly.

The growth of the stem is indeterminate, but as each succeeding section is a little smaller than the one below, the time arrives in the history of each when no more can be pushed out and the growth ceases. The undeveloped internodes soon die and thus the stem, if it grows at all, must put its energy into branches, as the silex coating prevents its increase in diameter.

9. _Robustum_ (A. Br.) _E. robustum_ A. Br. Stems 3 to 6 feet tall, 2 to 6 lines wide, 16 to 48 angled, simple or branched the second year; ridges rough with cross-bands of silex; grooves naked with a smooth coat of silex, and when young with a thin white scurfy coat that soon falls off; sheaths tight to the stem, or recurved and deciduous in fragments in age, as broad as long, soon developing a black girdle at base, an ashy or pinkish one through the middle and a black one above, the last usually very small, all variable in breadth and intensity of color; leaves linear, sharply 3 angled; commissural groove not widened above; teeth more or less persistent for a season, seldom torn off by the growth of the stem, articulated to the leaves, cohering, in groups, brown centrally, with tawny margins 1/2 their height, ending in filiform usually flexuous appendages, the edges beset with unicellular bristles; branches variable in number and length, the sheaths mostly like those of the stem except the teeth always persist and the leaves are usually grooved centrally; spikes usually green, oval, up to an inch long and half as wide, sharply apiculate. _Ramosum_ and _polystachyum_ forms occur in this as well as in _affine_.

Rare east of the Mississippi, where it is replaced by var. _affine_. Very common west, where it has been reported from nearly every State. I have seen it from but six localities in the Eastern States, Wallingford, Pa., _T. C. Palmer_; Towson, Md., _C. E. Waters_; Peoria, Ill., _F. E. McDonald_; Illinois, without locality, _Dr. Brendell_; Mattsville, Ind., _Guy Wilson_; Sarnia, Mich., _C. K. Dodge_; accredited to New Jersey by Milde, and also found in the Himalayas.

Var. _minus_ Eng. is simply the same thing reduced, often growing with it. As there is already a variety _minus_ of _hiemale_ this name will not stand, and the form is of too little moment to merit another.

Stems of this can usually be recognized at a glance, but it is hard to embody the description in words that will enable one to separate it from _affine_ at once. From _Californicum_ it can only be separated by use of a lens, as their appearance is identical.

10. _Californicum_ Milde. Plants of various appearance, now 15 inches high and 4 lines wide, now 7-1/2 to 8 feet tall and 8 lines wide, 25-40 angled; the ridges with two distinct rows of tubercles or occasionally with transverse bands of silex, the grooves abundantly supplied with rosulæ, either in regular rows or scattered, often indistinct on old stems because of a heavy deposit of silex; sheaths as broad as long, with a broad or narrow black or dark brown ring just above the base, an ashy band in the middle and another usually narrow dark band at top. In young plants the sheaths are usually concolorous with the stem save for the terminal band; leaves linear, 3-angled with two rows of tubercles on the middle angle; commissural groove narrow, slightly or not at all widened above; teeth persistent, dark brown, firm, united two-thirds their height by brown borders; or brown-centered, flexuous, membranous-bordered, united or free, or early deciduous, leaving only a small dark brown spot at the tip of the leaves; branches none or few, short or up to 18 inches long, fruited or not, on the upper part of old stems.

Type. California _Balfour_, 1854. I have seen it from the following localities: California: Sacramento, _Wilkes Exp._ (Sheaths black, teeth persistent, near var. _Javanicum_); Berkeley, _W. C. Blasdale_ (very stout, often with two rows of stomata); San Rafael, _Munson & Hopkins_ (like last, but with one row of stomata). Arizona: Cedar Ranch, _MacDougal_. Nevada: Humboldt Mts., _Watson_. Utah: Fish Lake, _Jones_; Glenwood, _Ward_. Idaho: Peter Creek, _Sandberg_; Salmon, _Henderson_. Oregon: Port Discovery, _Wilkes Exp._ Washington: Tacoma, _Flett_; Klickitat Co., _Suksdorf_. British Columbia: New Westminster, _A. J. Hill_. (No rosulæ, occasionally two rows of stomata, extraordinarily thick coating of silex.)

Except the Berkeley and San Rafael plants these can be told from _robustum_ only by aid of the microscope to see the tubercles and rosulæ. Though specimens vary considerably in appearance, the presence or absence of teeth, the size and intensity of the rings, a parallel can usually be found in a good series of _robustum_.

11. _Doelli._ Stems 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 feet high, erect, dark green, 10 to 20 angled, the ridges with two rows of tubercles or short crossbands, the former predominating; grooves with irregular rows of rosettes; sheaths entirely black or with a narrow ashy band which is broader the second year; the leaves plainly 4 angled through the grooving of the central ridge; teeth persistent or becoming broken in age, rigid, erect, dark brown or black, grooved in the center, with narrow white margins and usually deciduous filiform tips. Somewhat resembles a robust _E. trachyodon_, which it is quite near.

Type European. British Columbia, near Wharnock Station, _A. J. Hill_; Vancouver, _Macoun_ (as _ramosissimum_); Blacktail Deer Creek, Yellowstone Park, _Knowlton_. The latter is quite peculiar in appearance and approaches _robustum_. None of the specimens exactly agree, but will come here better than elsewhere. _The Ames Botanic Laboratory, North Easton, Mass._

THE SPECIES-CONCEPTION AMONG THE TERNATE BOTRYCHIUMS.

By Willard N. Clute.

Living as I do in the midst of a region rich in specimens of the ternate _Botrychiums_, I have taken more than ordinary interest in the discussion of the relative rank to which the various forms should be assigned. After considerable study of the subject which has consisted of a careful balancing of the degree of differentiation in each form, as well as an examination of much material both in the herbarium and in the field, I have come to certain conclusions which I purpose to set down here.

Before the separate forms are discussed it may be well to say a few words on the variations of _Botrychium ternatum_ in general. It is a noticeable fact that all the so-called new species of this section of the genus, have been based primarily upon the cutting of the sterile part of the frond. This is all the more remarkable since there are probably no other genera in which species are founded on the minor outlines of a mere leaf. One has but to turn to nature in any clime to see that leaves are not invariably of the same shape. Note the wide variation in the moonseed, the hollyhock, the sassafras, and some of the buttercups among flowering plants, and if it be contended that the cases are not parallel, take as further illustration the blood-root, which, like the _Botrychium_, produces but one leaf a year, and note the cutting of its single leaf. If all these forms of _Botrychium_ are species, why have not the forms of the bloodroot been segregated? Moreover, if we are to recognize these forms of _Botrychium_ as species, why should we not also recognize as such the three hundred forms of _Athyrium filix-foemina_, or the hundred or more forms of _Scolopendrium_? It is unavailing to say that these latter are mere gardeners' varieties, for we have it on the authority of Mr. Druery, who is familiar with them all, that a large number come true from spores.

Experiments with flowering plants have shown that the thickness of leaves and the amount of cutting of their edges, may be altered by different degrees of moisture, sunshine, etc., to which they are exposed, and we may infer as much for the ferns. This being so, it is not difficult to account for the slight variations in cutting exhibited in plants from widely separated points in the United States.

It is, of course, possible to follow the latest writer on the subject, and consider each extreme of variation a distinct species, but I do not agree with him in the opinion that the naming of varieties is a stupid practice, nor do I see that it necessarily follows that because a species was named _Japonicum_ from Japanese specimens that we must infer that its centre of distribution is in Japan. As I understand it, to take a familiar example, _B. ternatum_ stands for a plant possessing certain characters no matter where found. If we should find another _Botrychium_ that differed from this in some specific way, it would be correct to call it another species; but if it showed minor differences, slightly thicker or thinner leaves, a longer or shorter stipe, a little deeper notching of the leaves, etc.--all characters that vary with the locality--then it would seem more properly referred as a variety of the first species.

As I have noted in this journal there are certain slight differences between the Japanese _B. ternatum_ and our familiar species of Eastern America, but these are not enough, I now believe, to make them two separate species, since all the differences are found in the texture and cutting of the sterile part of the frond. Under such circumstances I would arrange our American forms as follows:

Botrychium ternatum obliquum (_B. obliquum Muhl._). The common form in the North Atlantic States.

B. t. obliquum forma DISSECTUM (_B. dissectum_ Spreng.). An exact duplicate of the preceding form in everything except the cutting of the pinnules. These latter characterized by a paucity of tissue between the terminal veins. Has the same habitat and range, and the same peculiarity of waiting until July or later before putting up its leaf for the season. No more entitled to specific rank than the "cut leaved" birch or elder.

B. t. obliquum forma INTERMEDIUM (_B. obliquum intermedium_ Unde.). I would call this a mere form, comparable to any of the chance varieties of _Athyrium filix-foemina_.

B. t. obliquum forma COULTERI (_B. Coulteri_ Unde.). A western form rather more fleshy than that of the East. Grows in geyser formations which may account for the difference in its appearance.

B. t. obliquum forma OCCIDENTALE (_B. occidentale_ Unde.). Closely related to the preceding, and, in my opinion, a phase of it. Both good representatives of the western form.

B. ternatum Oneidense (_B. ternatum_ var. _Oneidense_ Gilbert). This, the most strongly marked of the forms in the Atlantic States failed to receive a place in the recently published index to the described species of _Botrychium_. It can be distinguished at a glance in field or herbarium by its broad and slightly divided pinnules, and is very common in central New York. The fronds, notwithstanding their broad pinnules, are among the smallest of the group. If any of our forms of _Botrychium_ are entitled to sub-specific rank, this is certainly the one.

B. ternatum silaifolium (_B. silaifolium_ Presl.). This is also mainly a western form. To it, however, I would refer the plant recently described by Mr. Gilbert as _B. obliquum Habereri_ from central New York. I have examined the type specimen and in my opinion it agrees perfectly with specimens of _silaifolium_ from California identified by Dr. Underwood. Even the striations produced in the pinnae by drying appear identical. I should call this a sub-species, as it does not approach the type as closely as the others.

So little is known about _B. biternatum_ Unde. and _B. tenuifolium_ Unde. that I shall not attempt to place them. Judging from what I have seen of the latter, and I have seen numerous plants in the field, I should consider it a form of _obliquum_ and I suspect that _biternatum_ will prove to be based upon aberrant plants of this which have fruited in spring instead of autumn. In regard to this, Mr. W. W. Ashe has recently informed me that many spring-flowering southern plants do not flower in the North until late summer. It is possible our ferns may have similar changes in their fruiting season.

NEW FORMS OF FERNS.

By Charles T. Druery, F.L.S.

The editorial note appended to my short article in the April issue of The Bulletin rather takes my breath away, as I never imagined that an answer to my query could "depend somewhat upon whether we admire ferns for pure leaves or whether we collect them for study." No true fern lover in either case would knowingly destroy one of Nature's own novelties in the way I described by denuding it repeatedly of its fronds for herbarium purposes in situ, when by removing and cultivating it he could also, in either case, not only gratify his own special taste more fully, but could afford much gratification to a host of other fern lovers of either class. That "students of ferns know that many fern forms are due to varying conditions of soil, light, moisture, etc., and are inclined to pay very little attention to them" I accept at once, ranking myself with them; but advanced students also know that many forms are not demonstrably due to such influences, and amongst these forms are all those which claim so much attention in this side of the ocean. The former are, as the editor puts it, "variants," the latter true varieties, and so far as they are of Nature's own shaping, i. e., wild finds, as distinct from improved selected types from the spores, they have at least as much right to recognition in fern literature as the normals. Hence it is to be regretted that a unique form of the Christmas fern (_Polystichum acrostichoides_) should exist in the possession of a member of the Fern Chapter for ten years, and, yet, never be described. What have the other members done that such interesting data to some of them should be withheld?

The reference to seven-toed kittens and two-headed rabbits, as fair parallels to the finest fern varieties in the mind of the average student, is a poor compliment to the student who would certainly benefit by a better acquaintance with the plumose section of varieties at any rate. With the many botanists stated to exist in the States who "prefer a wild rose to all the gardeners' many-petalled creations" I have more sympathy, but here comes in the old botanical mistake embodied in the term "garden forms" of ferns as applied to all varieties, with the wild finds of which the gardeners have had nothing whatever to do. What would such a botanist do if in his rambles among the wild roses he came across a Marechal Niel as a wild sport? That is a fair parallel to some of our best wild finds as compared with the normal types, and he would be a singular man, I opine, in more senses than one, if he turned up his nose at it as a mere variant and held his tongue for ten years without describing it. I am gratified to the editor for holding all his abnormal specimens at my disposal, but, reading between the lines, I fear they would embrace no acquisitions from my point of view, or he would not be so ready to part with them. I hope sooner or later he will come across a thoroughbred and become thereby a convert to my theory, that constant and symmetrical variations are fully as much, if not more, entitled to both lay and scientific attention than the normal specific forms from which, by some occult process, they arise under natural conditions.

[It is doubtless as difficult for Mr. Druery to understand our position in this matter as it is to understand his. How a _student_ of ferns can care for what might be termed abnormal variations is beyond our comprehension. The student is always interested in normal variations, if we may so describe the common, slight variations in form and texture due principally to ecological factors; in fact, it is necessary that we take all such into account in order to get a correct average of the species; but to give serious attention to forked, crested, plumed, tasselled and befrizzled specimens of ferns, which are manifestly due to the slipping of a cog somewhere in Nature's machinery, is quite out of the question. We grant that some of these attain forms that merit admiration for their beauty, or oddity, as showing what Nature can do in the way of leaves, but we maintain that were these forms animal, instead of vegetable, they would excite only feelings of repulsion. Now, the student of fern species is quite inclined to think of these "freaks," as he calls them, much as others would if they _were_ animal. The botanist may admire the form, hue and perfume of the gardener's rose, but this is not the rose he cares to study. In the early numbers of The Fern Bulletin, upward of sixty American ferns have been put on record as bearing forked or tasselled fronds, and so far as the editor is aware, not one of these has been taken into cultivation and only a very few have been given names. This fact will probably explain our position to some extent. When the editor has leisure, he is going to dig up every one of these variants in his own locality and send them to Mr. Druery, in anticipation of which it would be well for the latter to consult his gardener and glazier about an extension to his ferneries.--Ed.]

FERNS IN BOTTLES.

A correspondent sends us the following clipping from the _Westminster Gazette_. We are unable to vouch for its accuracy, but as it may give some cultivator a hint we reprint it in full.

In a beautiful garden at Crouch End, belonging to one of the few old world bowers which have withstood the tempting offers of the building speculator, may be seen one of the queerest freaks that Nature has ever played in park or garden. About three years ago a long row of glass ginger bottles were placed neck downward in the ground, with a few inches of the other end projecting to form a border for the kitchen garden paths. Each of these bottles now contains a fairy-like resident in the shape of a dainty little fern, perfect in form and color, and of many varieties, the ribbon fern and hart's-tongue predominating. As no ferns had at any time been planted in that part of the garden it is amazing how they got there. Perhaps Nature thought it foolish to waste so many little natural hothouses, and put in each a pinch of the stuff she makes ferns of. If so, she must view with much pride the result of her experiment.

Miss Angie M. Ryon, Niantic, Conn., reports finding fine plants of _Ophioglossum vulgatum_ upon a very rocky hillside, the roots crowding themselves between the bits of rock that had been broken up by loads of heavy timber passing over them the previous year. The plants were exposed to the full rays of the sun for most of the day.

WILLIAM RALPH MAXON.

William Ralph Maxon, whose portrait is presented this month, first saw the light at Oneida, N.Y., on Feb. 27, 1877, where his parents reside. He graduated at Oneida High School in the class of 1894. From there he went to Syracuse University, where he took the degree of Ph. B. in 1898. The bent of his mind was toward botany and almost immediately after graduating he went to New York and was employed for a few months in the herbarium of the Botanical Garden at Bronx Park. From there he went to Washington and took a temporary position in the U.S. National Museum. But in August, 1899, as the result of a Civil Service examination, he received the appointment of Aid in Cryptogamic Botany in that institution, and still retains that position.