14 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April 



tion of conglomerate rock in the process of formation was noted 

 in the gravel pits near the railway. Several fossils were collected 

 at the quarries on the west side of Beaver Meadow near the 

 contact of the Black River and Trenton limestones. The fossils 

 showed that the quarries are situated in the Trenton. During 

 the visit to Carp interesting specimens of curved apatite crystals 

 were collected. These crystals were curved by a constant steady 

 pressure, so that some of them are not even cracked. Others are 

 broken on the convex side. 



Marine shells were collected at nearly all the places visited; 

 they were particularly abundant in the clays and gravels at Carp. 



We feel that a special effort should he made to interest our 

 young members in the study of geology, as no more healthy or 

 useful work could be enjoyed by them. 



The Botanical Branch. 



While there were few botanical workers in the field during 

 the past summer, the Botanical Branch continues to be one of 

 the most active in the Club. 



Apart from the help rendered at the excursions by the 

 botanical leaders, most of the field work was done by two or 

 three individuals. Mr. W. H. Harrington has added the names 

 of two new species to the Ottawa flora, namely, Potentilla 

 tridentata, found at King's Mountain, Que., and Mimulus 

 moschatus, obtained at Kingsmere, Que. Mr. H. U. Morris 

 found the weed Eruca sativa at the Experimental Farm ; this is 

 a new record for the Ottawa district. Mr.- H. Groh made a study 

 of the local hawthorns {Cratcegns) during the past year. He 

 examined fifty trees in different localities and collected flower- 

 ing specimens from each, and later in the season obtained the 

 fruit. He found marked differences in the number of stamens 

 and styles, the color of the anthers, and the number of flowers 

 to a corymb on different trees. The specimens w^ere sent to a 

 specialist for identification, and the names of the species will be 

 reported later. 



Nine winter meetings of the Botanical Branch were held at 

 the homes of the members, much interesting material having 

 been presented. Six of these meetings have already been re- 

 ported in The Ottawa Naturalist, and others, no doubt, will 

 be. The following is the list of subjects presented at these 

 meetings: 



1. "The Stems of Seed Plants," by Mr. D. A. Campbell. 



2. "The Adaptation of Plants to their Environment as 

 Shown by their Internal Structure," by Mr. J. W. Gibson. 



