94 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



The Native Trees of Rhode Island. 



BY L. W. RUSSELL. 



No. VIII. 



Quercus jyahistris — Pin Oak. 



The Quercus palnstris or pin oak is not 

 a common tree in Rhode Island. It grows 

 onlv in the southern part of the state, and 

 sparing!}' there. It is found in the great 

 Kingston swamp, occasionaly on the banks 

 of the Pawcatuck River, and, probably, by 

 the banks of streams leading into it. This 

 is probably about on the line of the north- 

 ern limit of this interesting tree. It grows 

 more plentifully in the Central states of the 

 Atlantic coast, where it attains the size of 

 a large tree. In Central Park there is a 

 magnificent specimen of this tree, seventy 

 or more feet in height. It prefers a 

 position where it can overhang a stream or 

 pool, but will grow finel}' on dry ground. 

 Near the Stonington railroad bridge, which 

 spans the Pawcatuck near Wood River 

 Junction, maj' be seen some well-developed 

 specimens of this tree. Several old trees of 

 this species overhang the stream just below 

 the bridge, and others, young and thrifty, 

 grow in the gravel embankment near b}'. 

 The largest specimen I have seen is in Ash- 

 away village, by a pool of water, north of 

 the Baptist church. 



This is the most graceful of our native 

 oaks. The limbs divide into lithe, waving 

 branchlets, which, especially near streams, 

 have a weeping habit. The leaves are 

 bright, with almost a metallic sheen, deeply 

 cut, and on slender stalks. They are 

 smaller than those of the other biennials. 



Quercus illicifolia — Scrub Oak. 



Quercus illicifolia or scrub oak, some- 

 times called " bear " oak, is common upon 

 the sterile grounds of Rhode Island. 

 Many acres are occupied by it, almost to 

 the exclusion of other tree or shrub growth. 

 Its worthlessness is its protection. It is 

 too small for timber or even fuel, in most 

 localities, and the cost of clearing land 

 occupied by it is usually greater than the 

 land is worth when cleared, unless near the 

 city or populous villages. 



The Shell-Bearing Mollusca of Rhode 

 Island. 



BY HORACE F. CARPENTER. 



Chapter XXIII. 



Sub-Class Opisthobranchiata. 



This, the second sub-class of Gastero- 

 poda, is composed of mollusks in which the 

 sexes are united in each individual, while 

 in the first sub-class Prosobranchiata, the 

 sexes are separate. The animals of Opis- 

 thobranchiata are called sea-slugs, because 

 the shells are small and thin, and either 

 partially or wholly concealed by the animal. 

 Some have an internal, others an external 

 shell, while many are without any shell at 

 all. There are two orders, Tectibranchiata 

 and Nudibranchiata. 



Order Tectibranchiata. 



Family 62. PhiUnidae. This family 

 consists of nine genera, two of which, 

 Philine and Scaphander, inhabit the Atlan- 

 tic coasts of the United States. Three 

 species of Philine inhabit New England, 

 north of Cape Cod, and one, a new species, 

 Philine amabilis, Verrill, was dredged 100 

 miles south of Newport in 120 fathoms. 

 Verrill also reports four other species of 

 Philine from Martha's Vinej'ard to Cape 

 Sable, Nova Scotia. Two species of Scap- 

 hander are quoted, one from Casco Bay, 

 Me., (S. puncto-striata), and a new 

 species, S. nobilis, Verrill, off Martha's 

 Vineyard, in 1,000 to 1,300 fathoms. These 

 nine genera contain about forty-five species, 

 none of which are found in Rhode Island. 



Family 63. Tornatellidtie, composed of 

 two sub-families, four recent and several 

 fossil genera, is represented in Rhode Island 

 b}' a single species. 



70. Tokxatella puntco-striata, 

 Adams. 

 /Si/ns. : 



Actneon puncto-striata, Stimpson. 



Shell small, white, elongated-oval; whorls 

 five, the body whorl large, three-fourths the 

 length of the shell ; the surface of the upper 

 whorls, and of the body whorl above the 

 aperture, smooth ; the lower half of the 

 shell encircled by ten to fifteen revolving, 

 deeply-cut lines, which are indented by 



