ISO 



Lecythis and of Beriholetla excelsa. The latter furnishes the or- 

 dinary Brazil nuts of commerce, while the former furnishes a nut 

 known in Brazil as Sapucaya, but which is rarely collected ia 

 quantity sufficient for export. He called attention to the differ- 

 ent methods by which the seeds escaped from these two woody 



In Lecythis the hypanthium is furnished with an opercu- 

 lum which composes one-fourth of the structure, and which falls 

 off with the falling of the fruit, thus allowing the seeds to escape. 

 In Bcrtholetia the operculum is minute and the seeds apparently 

 remain within the case until this is ruptured by their swelling on 

 absorbing water, 



Mr. Lighthipe showed a single specimen of Hyoscyamiis 

 iiiger, found near the railroad at Woodbridge, N. J. The plant 

 is but rarely found w^ithin the one hundred mile circle. 



Dr. Newberry called the attention of the Club to an interest- 

 ing case of the failure of insect fertilization of a plant and the sub- 



sequent failure of fruit production that had recently come to his 

 attention. It appears that on the Dry Tortugas there are almost no 

 insects, and while the pumpkin vines grew thriftily, no pumpkins 

 could be produced until the plan of dusting the pistillate flowers 

 with pollen was put into operation and an abundant supply ob- 

 tained. Dr. Newberry remarked also upon the recent elaborate 

 monograph of West American Oaks, by Professor E. L. Greene, 

 illustrated by the drawings of the late Dr. Albert Kellogg, and 

 exhibited a copy of the work. It is reviewed at length on 

 another page. 



Dr. Britton reported his recent observation on the fertiliz-a- 

 tion of Siniiax 7'otiindifolia by small bees which were observed 

 busily visiting the staminate flowers In bright sunshine about 

 midday at Prince's Bay, Staten Island, during the Field Excur 



sion of May 25th. The insects were watched by several mem- 

 bers of the Club. 



The Secretary announced that copies of the new List of Mem- 

 bers, Constitution and By-Laws had been mailed to every mem- 

 ber of the Club. 



The editor announced the completion and distribution of 

 Vol. I. No. I of the ''Memoirs." 



