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fruiting plants of the sweet vernal grass, Anthoxanthum odoratum 

 L. ; Carex complanata Torr. and Carex squarrosa L. On the salt 

 marshes at Rossville were found black-grass, Juncus Gerardi Lois. 

 Along the roadsides from Rossville to the sand barrens were 

 found Bromus tectoriim L. ; the bulbous buttercup, Ranunculus 

 hulbosus L. ; Lepidium apetalum Willd. ; the common vetch, Vicia 

 sativa L., clambering over the herbaceous vegetation; and the 

 yard form of Viola papilionacea Pursh. 



On the barrens several new finds were recorded : Carex follicu- 

 latah.; spiderwort, Tradescantia virginianal^.; Unifolium cana- 

 dense (Desf.) Greene, very abundant; the stargrass, Hypoxis 

 hirsuta (L.) Gov.; Sisyrinchium arenicola Bicknell; two flowering 

 plants of the stemless ladies' slipper, Fissipes acaulis (Ait.) 

 Small; low thorny shrubs of Crataegus uniflora Muench.; Aronia 

 atropw'piirea Britton; Riihus nigrohacais Bailey; wild ipecac in 

 flower; frostweed, Crocanthemum canadense (L.) Britton; sheep 

 laurel, Kalmia angustifolia L.; the white swamp azalea, Azalea 

 viscosa L. One small shrub of Ilex opaca Ait. was seen. The 

 holly is very rare on Staten Island now; formerly it was probably 

 more plentiful here, before there was such a demand for it as a 

 Ghristmas green. 



Along the brook which flows through the barrens, Viola cucul- 

 lata Ait. was in bloom. A box turtle was found near the stream, 

 shedding the plates of its shell. The plastron of the shell of this 

 tortoise is provided with a remarkable double hinge; which 

 pulls the front and rear ends up close to the carapace in times of 

 danger, and serves as a great protection from enemies. Small 

 zigzag banks of earth, four or five feet high, which had been built 

 many years ago along the stream, remained quite intact, being 

 held together by a shrubby and herbaceous growth. Dr. Arthur 

 Hollick afterwards told me that these were built for the cultiva- 

 tion of water-cress. The stream was full of golden saxifrage, 

 Chrysosplenium americanum Schwein., which had nearly choked 

 out the surviving cress. 



In the woods about the clay pits the wild pink, Silene caro- 

 liniana Walt., grew sparingly; Arahis lyrata L.; black huckle- 

 berry, Gaylussacia haccata (Wang.) G. Koch; late low blueberry, 



