92 



to be twenty-five or thirty feet high and has a tree-like trunk 

 sometimes two feet in diameter. Another one, a Pereskia, 

 resembles a small apple tree and, unlike most cacti, has well- 

 developed leaves. A cactus of very different habit, the melon 

 cactus or Turk's-head, forms simple, egg-shaped cushions one or 

 two feet high, surmounted by the reddish, fez-like outgrowth 

 which bears the flowers. The Turks Islands are said to have 

 derived their name from the abundance there of a plant of this 

 general character. 



The palms, of which there are about thirty kinds in Cuba, 

 constitute a conspicuous feature of the flora of the island. The 

 stately royal palm may be considered Cuba's noblest contri- 

 bution to the landscape gardening of the tropics. 



Marshall A. Howe, Secretary. 



Meeting of May 23, 1923 



This was a joint meeting of the Torrey Botanical Club, the 

 New York Bird and Tree Club, the American Fern Society, and 

 the Wild Flower Preservation Society of America, and it was 

 held at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Nearly one hundred 

 members of these organizations and their guests met at ii A. M. 

 and were conducted around the Botanic Garden by Dr. Arthur 

 H. Graves, Dr. George M. Reed, and Mr. Norman Taylor. 



At 2:30 P. M. an audience of about seventy-five assembled in 

 one of the lecture rooms and witnessed a demonstration of an 

 automatic balopticon and a daylight projector by Mr. P. L. 

 Ricker, Secretary -Treasurer of the Washington (D. C.) Chapter 

 of the Wild Flower Preservation Society of America. The 

 photographs and legends exhibited were especially designed for 

 wild flower preservation publicity in schools and public places. 



This demonstration was followed by an illustrated lecture on 

 "Game Laws for Ferns and Wild Flowers" by Dr. Ralph C. 

 Benedict, Editor of the American Fern Journal. Dr. Benedict 

 discussed existing laws on this subject in Connecticut, Maryland, 

 and Vermont, and exliibited colored lantern-slide photographs 

 of plants in special need of protection. 



A motion was made by Augustus O. Bourn, Jr., that the 

 members of the associated societies present express their ap- 

 proval of legislation looking toward conservation of American 

 wild flowers. This was unanimously carried. On motion of 



