6 eee ce ee ie 
PROCEEDINGS 
OF THE 
NATURAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION 
OF STATEN ISLAND. 
mow, VIII. No. 15. 
Theregular meeting of the Association was 
held at the residence of Mr.C A. Ingalls, 
Port Richmond. 
In the absence of the president Mr. Ingalls 
was elected Chairman pvo tem, 
The secretary distributed copies of an essay 
by Miss Cora H. Clark, entitled ‘‘New Mis- 
sionary Work ” which was awarded second 
prize, in the competition of 1902, from the 
Stokes Fund for the preservation of native 
plants ; reprinted from the Journal of the New 
York Botanical Garden for Apri]. The sec- 
retary also stated that this and the other prize 
essays published under the same conditions 
would be given as wide publicity as possible, 
as a beginning towards the attempt to check 
the useless and wanton destruction of our na- 
tive wild flowers. 
Dr, Arthur Hollick exhibited specimens and 
gave the following 
NOTES ON OUR COMMON STEMLESS BLUE 
VIOLETS 
At the time when our local flora was cata- 
logued, more than twenty years ago, three 
_ comprehensive species of stemless blue violets 
were recognized, under the names Viola 
cucullata Ait.,V. palmata L., and V, sagittata 
Ait. Since that time our ideas of what con- 
stitutes a species or variety have undergone 
considerable change, and a number of new 
species, or o!d species restored, are now rec- 
ognized in forms previously included under 
one or another of those before mentioned, 
In looking over my herbarium specimens | 
find that the following species and varieties 
are represented ; 
— Under V. cucullata Ait., there is also V, 
obliqua Hill, and V. papilionacea Pursh. 
Under V’. pfalmata 1.., isV. palmata dilatata 
EI, and *”. Brittoniana Pollard. 
May roth, 1902, 
Under V. sagittata Ait., is V. emarginata 
Nutt. (Le Conte), and V, ovata Nutt. 
Six additions are thus made to our original 
list by merely examining herbarium material 
and there is no doubt that we shall also find 
V, papilionacea domestica (Bicknell) Pollard 
and V, palmata sororia (Willd.) Pollard to be 
common here now that attention has been 
called to them, 
It is interesting to note that in nearly every 
instance the above forms were collected, and 
mounted on separate sheets, because they were 
recognized as differing in appearance from the 
species under which they were placed ; and 
in this connection it is of special interest to 
recall that our late member, Mr. Geo. W. 
Wright, reported V. diphinifolia Nutt., 
from Port Richmond, which was admitted 
into the catalogue, somewhat doubtfully. 
He recognized the fact that he had found 
a violet which was not V palmata, although 
closely resembling it, but did not realize that 
he had discovere.l a new species, which we 
now know as V’, Britioniana, The speci- 
mens from Mr Wright's locality prove this 
beyond any doubt. 
Mr. Wm. T. Davis read the following 
NOTES ON THE BALTIMORE QRIOLE, 
Now that the season of bird migration is at 
hand it may be of interest to mention the time 
of first appearance on the Island for a number 
of seasons past, of one of our most conspicuous 
birds, the Baltimore Oriole. 
The record chiefly refers to the birds that 
first appear, and these are probably the 
same ones that build near my home at New 
Brighton, The Oriole usually makes _ his 
arrival known by his loud notes on some 
