and the fronds, in this case, were rather small and poor to start 

 with.) 



After this the specimens showed a gradual decline both in the 

 quickness of their response when supplied with moisture, and in 

 the relative number of fronds that completely regained their nor- 

 mal condition. On March 8, 191 5, after 7 months and 6 days 

 in my study and 7 months in the basement — a total of more than 

 14 months without water, the last remaining fragment of the mat 

 was placed out of doors on a rainy day, but only 2 fronds ex- 

 panded fully and regained their normal color. The specimen 

 was then left on a rock under the drip of a gutter on the north 

 side of my house, but it never revived further, and finally died. 



THE VEGETATIOX OF A CINDER FIELD 



By George T. Hastings 



In the summer of 1916 the Palisade Interstate Park Commis- 

 sion completed the reclaiming of some three acres on the west 

 shore of the Hudson River opposite Hastings. A wall of boul- 

 ders taken from a rock slide immediately to the north was built 

 across the front of a shallow bay and the space between this and 

 the shore filled in. The filling was first of ashes and rubbish 

 from one to six feet in depth, over this a layer of cinders six 

 inches to a foot in thickness was placed and the whole leveled ofif. 

 The ashes and cinders were brought up from New York in scows 

 and distributed by small cars run on a track that was shifted as 

 the filling progressed. The final level is about three feet above 

 high tide level. This cinder field made as nearly a sterile soil 

 and one that could retain as little moisture as could well be 

 imagined. The water level in the soil was near the surface and 

 most of the available water for young plants was due to capil- 

 larity. The filling was competed so late in 1916 that there was 

 little opportunity for any plant life to develop, but during the 

 summer of 191 7 the area became well covered with plants, chiefly 

 growing individually with bare cinders all around but in places 

 crowded together. The following year the tract was covered 



