I08 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



about a mile south of the Orleans county line. Collected in flower, 

 July 22, 1917 (no. 5890) in the herbarium of Cornell University. 



W. C. MUENSCHER 



New York State College of Agriculture , Ithaca, N. Y. 



Polyporus delectans Peck, at Ithaca 



A fine large specimen of this species was gathered from the end 

 of a sawed-oflf elm log. Inlet flats, at the head of Cayuga lake, 

 November 9. 1919. The specimens collected by the writer are in 

 the herbarium of C. G. Lloyd, who makes the determination. 



W. C. MUENSCHER 



New York State College of Agriculture^ Ithaca, N. Y. 



A Sequoia far from Its Home 



While on a collecting trip along the eastern side of Cayuga lake, 

 in central New York, my attention was called to an unusual appear- 

 ing tree standing in an open field. A closer examination proved it 

 to be a California big tree. Sequoia gigantea. Since this 

 species is generally considered not hardy north of Philadelphia, I 

 think a few brief notes on its occurrence here might be of interest. 



The tree stands in an open field on " Dunkirk stony clay " soil, 

 near the edge of the village of Aurora. The exact location is about 

 200 yards from the edge of Cayuga lake on a gentle slope that is 

 exposed to the cold winds from the lake. The nearest other tree 

 is a huge white oak, Quercus alba, which stands about 100 

 feet east of the Sequoia. 



The Sequoia tree is at least 60 feet high and the base of its taper- 

 ing trunk is 4 feet in diameter. The lower branches have been cut 

 off for a distance of over 30 feet up the trunk. The upper branches 

 are in good condition and are covered with dark green leaves. With 

 the aid of field glasses, numerous well-developed cones were observed 

 in the top of the tree. None of the cones that were picked up on 

 the ground beneath the tree contained fertile seeds. The cones on 

 the tree w^ere inaccessible so they could not be examined for seeds. 



According to statements by the present ow^ner of the land, the 

 tree w^as brought from California by an old sea captain between 

 1820 and 1830. In 1850 this property was purchased by the father 

 of the present owner who was much interested in trees and took 

 special care of this Sequoia. The soil around this tree was not 

 plowed but it was frequently fertilized with manure. The tree has 

 always been hardy and never suffered from cold winters until th? 



