FIELD TRIPS OF THE CLUB 



On November 12th ten members of the Club met the leader 

 in Pleasantville, N.Y. and hiked up the unfinished Sawmill 

 River Parkway where the remains of many fall weeds were 

 identified by fruits, withered inflorescences and leaves, or char- 

 acteristic branching. Half way to Chappaqua we left the park- 

 way and scrambled up Flag Hill for a wonderful view of all 

 Westchester County, more or less. After a pause here for lunch 

 in the shelter of some rocks we continued northward, cross 

 country, along a road, and through woods, thus covering a 

 variety of territory. Occasional specimens of the following 

 flowers were found in bloom even at this late date: violet, 

 Lobelia inflate, yarrow, golden-rod, aster, dandelion, and witch- 

 hazel; and with these reminders of earlier fall, the promise of 

 spring was impressed upon us by the finding of shoots of skunk 

 cabbage two to three inches high. Another thing worth reflect- 

 ing upon was a wild cherry which had many vigorous sucker 

 shoots. The leaves on these shoots were unhurt by frost while 

 practically all other trees had long since lost their leaves. They 

 were evidently young shoots which had made their growth late 

 in the summer. Leaves of this age might be expected to lack an 

 abscission layer and thus remain on the tree longer, but their 

 resistance to frost seemed quite surprising. 



Harold H. Clum 



Opening of the 1934 Field Meetings 

 Lincoln's Birthday, Monday, February 12 



Winter botany brought a party of twenty-four on the morn- 

 ing of February 12 to the museum building of the Botanical 

 Garden where part of the time was spent in the examination of a 

 varied collection of twigs. Attention was called to the various 

 types of buds to be looked for and to their arrangement, size, 

 color, and number of scales. How to judge a flower bud on 

 species that show them in the winter condition was also shown. 



This embraced cultivated, as well as native, w r oody plants 

 to be seen on a stroll through the Bronx Park region. A member 

 of the Field Committee kindly sent us a specimen of Dirca 



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