Gelehrte Gesellschaften. 317 



The following Seid exeursions wäre reported : 



May 17th , Todt Hill , Staten Island. — Prunus Americana ; Cerastiura 

 oblongifolium ; Viola pedata ; Clematis ochroleuca — some of the plants 

 having incised leaves; Orchis spectabilis and Aphyllum uniflorum were 

 collected. The Chairman requested members to notice the parasitism of the 

 last-named plant, saying that his recent observations had confirmed his 

 former ones of its constant attachment to some species of golden-rod. 



May 24th, Closter, N. J. ; nothing of special interest noted. 



May 30th to June 2d, Northern Morris and Sussex Cos., N. J. At New- 

 foundland, Arenaria lateriflora in quantity, and Ranunculus aquatilis, var. 

 trichophyllus were noticed. At Sparta and Morris Pond , a charming region 

 was found. A sand-hill near the depot was covered with Lupinus perennis. 

 It was noticed that the Standard petals of lower flowers were dark purple, 

 while tliose of the upper, later ones were of a much lighter color. The same 

 plant was seen from the cars atseveral places west of Newfoundland, forining 

 dense , broad patches. Arabis laevigata ; Zizia integerrima and Aspleniuni 

 Kutamuraria were collected in this vicinity, and Viola blanda was found in 

 great abundance in the ravine leading to Morris Pond. Dr. Britton called 

 attention to the supposition of some botanists that there are two species 

 included under this name , i. e. , the larger variety , in which the peduncles 

 and sometimes also the petioles are flecked with red (V. amoena, Le Conte.), 

 and the small obtuse-leaved , unspotted form , by some considered the type. 

 Both were noticed , but also all stages of gradation between them. On the 

 meadows bordering the Wallkill River, above Odgensburg, Geum rivale, 

 Castilleia coccinea and the leaves of Parnassia were seen in abundance ; 

 Kosa blanda and Arabis lyrata were found on Stü-ling Hill , and Viburnum 

 Opulus in the town. At Hamburg, were observed Larix Americana and 

 Arabis perfoliata— the latter new to New Jersey. 



June 6th, Carlstadt, N. J. — Among many plants collected were Magnolia 

 glauca, Lysimachia thyrsiflora and, in the ditches, Anacharis in flower. 



Miss Knight remarked upon the forms of Rhododendron viscosum 

 noticed, and showed specimens of varieties nitidum and glaucum. 



Mr. P. H. Dudley then exhibited and remarked upon a series of photo- 

 micrographs of transverse , radial and tangential sections of some American 

 timber-trees taken by him with ordinary lamplight. They were enlarged 

 100 diameters. Among them were Sequoia sempervirens, in which attention 

 was called to the very large cells — none less than one-tenth of an inch in 

 length — and to the fact that in this and other conifers examined the pit 

 markings of the cell-walls are seen in abundance in only radial sections; 

 Catalpa speciosa , now used for railroad ties in the west ; and Ailanthus 

 glandulosus, in which Mr. Dudley had noticed the greatest number of and 

 largest ducts in any wood yet examined by him. In Liriodendron the ducts 

 are very numerous but small ; in the osage orange the parenchymatous tissue 

 within the ducts is plainly noticeable ; in the white oak, chestnut and black 

 walnut Mr. Dudley had observed that these parenchyma cells in drying, 

 shrink away from the walls of the ducts and from each other, and then 

 appear as separate vesicles. He also showed a photograph of a section of a 

 decayed white oak railroad tie with the mycelia of fungi. 



Natnrwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft Isis in Dresden. 



Section für Botanik. 

 Erste Sitzung am 14. Februar 1884. 

 Vorsitzender : Professor Dr. 0. Drude. 

 (Fortsetzung.) 

 Prof. Dr. 0. Drude knüpft an diese ausführlichen Beobachtungen einige 

 von ihm selbst in dem milden Herbst gemachte über die Entlaubung 

 der Bäume an. Es schien ihm nämlich möglich, dass in Jahren mit so 

 übermässig verlängerter Vegetationsperiode solche Bäume, deren Vegetations- 

 zeit nach der geographischen Beschafi'enheit ihrer ursprünglichen Heimath 



