Vol, VI., No. 59.] BULLETIN OF THE TORREY Boranicat Cuus. [New York, Nov. 1879. 
§ 358. Ballast Plants in New York City and its vicinity. 
In the BULLETIN for Sept. and Nov., 1878, a list was given of 
ballast plants found last year at Hunter’s Point and near Commu- 
nipaw Ferry. 
During the past season further collections have been made at 
those places and at other stations where ballast has been used for 
filling. Never before, probably, has so much been brought to this 
country during the same period as in the past two years. The con- 
tinued large balance of trade in favor of the United States, during 
this time, has compelled a great many vessels, for want of freights on 
their westward trips from Europe, to come more or less laden with 
ballast. At the Atlantic Docks, Brooklyn, and on Gowanus Creek, 
vessels have for many months past been discharging it without ces- 
sation, night and day. A large part of it has been dumped upon 
sunken lots in the vicinity ; much of the rest, laden upon scows, has 
been taken to New York city and used in building up new streets on 
the low grounds in the vicinity of Harlem River. 
Eighth Avenue, in 1877-1878, was thus filled in from its northern 
terminus, where it strikes Harlem River, down to about r4oth street, 
a distance of more than half a mile, with an average filling of from 
7 to 10 feet; 107th Street, from Third to Fifth Avenue, and 102d 
Street, east of Second Avenue, were also thus filled a year or two 
since ; and rooth Street, east of Second Avenue, is now filling in a 
similar manner. In September last, when all these stations, except 
the 8th Ave. one, first became known to me, abundant evidence of 
ballast plants were still manifest at all of them except rooth 
Street, where the work of filling is still in progress. Other streets 
and low grounds will doubtless be found thus planted, if the sides of 
the filled-in streets are observed, and ballast plants looked for. 
Diplotaxis tenuifolia, with its long, nearly naked flowering stems, 
and large, pinnately lobed lower leaves, I have found to be an 
almost invariable index of ballast ground. <Afriplex rosea, Verbena 
officinalis and Mercurialis annua are almost equally certain attend- 
ants. Where any of these are observed, further search is almost 
sure to be rewarded by many other foreign species. 
Near the last of September, on returning from Snake Hill, the 
blossoms of Diplotaxis along the Rail Road track, near Hoboken, 
led to the recognition of ballast filling for the space of about a third 
of a mile, commencing half a mile west of the Hoboken Depot. 
Late as the season was, several things not elsewhere observed were 
found there, such as Anchusa, Pulicaria, Conyza, Carduus nutans, 
Rumex maritimus, besides others common to all thestations. In the 
fields near by, Diplotaxis tenuifolia and Rumex maritimus were very 
abundant and vigorous. 
The station at 8th Avenue was first mentioned to me in July last, 
by the late Mr. Ruger, with whom, shortly before his death, I visited 
the grounds and found a rich harvest of introduced plants upon both - 
slopes of the filled-in Avenue. The same region was visited by 
some members of the Club in 1878, but I have not learned that 
any record of their collections is preserved. A large portion of the 
list given below was found at that station. 
