12S 



thought by Mr. Cook at the time he described the species (Bull. 

 Torrey Club, 28 : 566), a small proportion of the trees being 

 quite columnar from the base up. He further reported that the 

 Acrocomia of St. Kitts, collected by Mr. Cowell and himself in 

 1 90 1, is identical with the Porto Rico species, and that it also 

 occurs on the French Antilles, as illustrated by specimens re- 

 ceived from Pere Duss. The tree is altogether different from the 

 spindle-shaped Acrocomia fusiformis of Cuba, and seems to be 

 more closely related to the Jamaican A. acideata. 

 The Club adjourned at 5:15 o'clock. 



C. Stuart Gager, 



Secretary. 



FIELD MEETINGS OF THE CLUB 



In a circular recently distributed to members, the Torrey 

 Botanical Club announces an arrangement of the field meetings 

 for the current year so that a part of them will constitute a 

 systematic out-of-door course in forestry. At the regular 

 meeting of the Club, held on Tuesday, May 8, Dr. Grace E. 

 Cooley presented the general subject of forestry in an illustrated 

 lecture. The outlines for the field excursions to be made on 

 Saturday afternoons were prepared by Dr. Cooley in accordance 

 with suggestions made in the lecture. Preceding the field 

 observations, each guide gives a brief presentation of his topic, 

 after which, illustrations of the principles presented are sought 

 in the forest. Six out of ten meetings scheduled have been held 

 this spring. The remainder will be held in the early autumn. 



The subject of the first lesson, April 28, was " Characteristics 

 of Trees," with Dr. C. S. Gager as instructor and guide. The 

 prefatory talk was given at the museum building of the New 

 York Botanical Garden, and the field studies were made on the 

 Garden plantations. The individual tree was studied as the unit 

 of the forest. Among the topics considered were : The parts of 

 a tree and their physiological functions ; normal shape of stem 

 and crown in forest and in open field, with causes ; the relation 

 and development of buds, and their homology and ecology ; 



