55 
from attending the field meeting on February 1, at the New York 
Botanical Garden. 
The topics of the day were the study of the Gymnospermae 
with special reference to the pines, cycads and the maidenhair 
tree, Ginkgo biloba, winter aspects of trees, potholes, and the di- 
version of the Bronx River at a point about a half mile north of 
the boulder bridge. 
The route started along the low ridge east of the conserva- 
tories—the section reserved for the pines. The pines reviewed 
were Pinus Banksiana, P. rigida, P. pungens, P. virginiana, the 
last being often mistaken for P. Banksiana, perhaps on account of 
the similarity of the common names (northern scrub pine for P. 
Banksiana and Jersey scrub pine for P. virginiana). The needles 
of P, Banksiana are divergent and about one inch long; the cones 
are usually curved, with pointless, almost smooth scales, and 
adhere to the branches, unopened, for a number of years. P. 
virginiana has needles about two inches long and the cones are 
also larger than those of P. Banksiana, while the scales are tipped 
with a prickle. The cones open after maturity in the second year. 
Foreign pines growing here are the Scotch pine, P. sylvestris, 
from Europe and Asia, and P. nigra, the Austrian pine. e 
latter is considered to be the best ornamental pine for our climate 
of all the imported pines. ts 
Descending the ridge to the eastward we passed P. Thunbergu 
from Japan, P. ponderosa, the western yellow pine, P. densiflora, 
e Japanese red pine, covered with a multitude of small cones, 
and P. edulis from the Rocky Mountains. After crossing the 
central driveway we came next to several white pines, P. Strobus, 
and close to them the decorative pyramidal variety, P. Strobus 
Yar. fastigiata, Turning toward the Alpinetum (rock garden) 
We saw Quercus macrocarpa, Prunus virginiana, Ulmus ameri- 
cana, Nyssa sylvatica, the last opposite a large group of C orylus 
(avellana?). “On the eastern edge of a rocky ledge we came to 
a well preserved small pothole, whose walls are intact. This 
same ledge shows glacial striae running northwest-southeast. Sev- 
‘ral plants of the Hercules club, Aralia spinosa, grow in the fis- 
més of the rock, and nearby were several specimens of Pinus 
ibs a very attractive tree of the European Alps. A ss 
hai rom this group we noted several young trees of the mai ` 
F tree, Ginkgo biloba, At the next fork of our path a natura 
