12 The Ottawa Naturalist. [April 



MEETINGS OF THE BOTANICAL BRANCH. 



Feb. 1st, at the residence of Mr. R. B. Whyte, members 

 present: Messrs. F. E. Buck, L. H. Newman, F. 'Jones, W. T. 

 Macoun, G. O. McMillan, W. Dreher, E. D. Eddv, A. E. Attwood, 

 J. J. Carter, G. H. Clark, J. R. Dymond, C. J. Tully, Dr. Black- 

 ader and the host, Mr. Whyte, who gave a very interesting 

 account of his impressions of Bermuda after a short visit there 

 in January. 



The Bermudas consist of five large islands, bridged together, 

 viz.: Bermuda, St. George, St. Davids, Somerset and Ireland. 

 The total length is 2 5 miles, and from half to three wide. The 

 highest point is 2 60 feet above tidewater. To the north-west there 

 is a long, low coral reef, and the entrance to the harbor is from 

 the east. One of the pleasure trips is to take a glass-bottomed 

 boat and go out towards the reef, and see the marine organisms 

 at a depth of 5 to SO feet below through the clear water. The 

 temperature of the water is 71. 



Bermuda is entirely of coral formation, resting on a sub- 

 stratum of limestone. The temperature in January was 65- 

 68. The minimum for the year is 57 and the maximum 80. 

 The rain falls on an average 200 days in the year, with a total 

 rain-fall of 65 or 70 inches. Nearly all the drinking water is 

 collected from the roofs of the houses, and conducted and stored 

 in cemented cisterns. Some few wells are sunk into the coral 

 rock, but if sunk too deep the water is salty. 



The total area is 12,378 acres, of which 2,300 is in cultiva- 

 tion; of this 1,000 is good, 1,000 fair, and 300 poor. Agriculture 

 is very primitive. The farms are all small, and cultivation is 

 done mostly by hand and with the spade, quickly followed by 

 the rake. The soil is red and very friable, and has to be fertilized 

 after every second or third crop. The chief crops are onions, 

 potatoes, lily bulbs and flowers, parsley, carrots, beets, radishes, 

 arrowroot, beans, tomatoes and peas. 



Animal life is scarce, excepting introduced and more or less 

 domesticated species. The native birds are the Ground Dove 

 (Chaemepelia passerina bermudiana), Redbird (Cardinalis 

 cardinalis cardinalis), Bluebird (Sialia sialis sialis), Catbird 

 (Dumetella caroliniensis) and Bermuda Vireo, or Chick-of-the- 

 village (Vireo griseus bermudianus) . The crow, partridge and 

 English sparrow are also common. The white-eyed vireo is also 

 seen. 



The indigenous plants are the cedar (Juniperus Berimtdi- 

 ensis), palmetto (Sabal umbraculifera), mulberry (Moms rubra), 

 seashore grape (Cocoloba uvifera), mangrave (Rhizophora mangle), 

 argemone (^4. mexicana), creeping sorrel (Oxalis virgin ica), bay 



