552 The American Naturalist. [June, 
is quite possible that at that time it may have been native 
here. 
Mr. Wm. T. Davis has reported the discovery of several 
more trees Betiila nigra, L., the Red or River Birch, near 
Richmond, Annadale and Old Place, but the total number of 
trees is so small that the speedy extermination of the species 
on the Island is certain. 
Salix purpurea. L., the Basket Willow, has become estab- 
lished in several localities notably near Garretsons and Old 
Place. These trees no doubt originated from cuttings of 
cultivated trees which were thrown aside in rubbish heaps. 
At Garretsons their presence is easily accounted for by the 
old plantation belonging to the late John Reed, which has 
been cultivated for generations. No doubt at Old Place there 
was also a plantation, although no indication of it was 
noticed. A single isolated tree was found on a roadside 
near Woodrow. 
A single tree of the Hemlock Spruce ( Tsuga Canadensis, L.> 
was found near Old Place. It is a somewhat conspicuous 
object as it is the only large tree, and an evergreen at that, 
left standing in a recently cleared place of woodland, where 
all the surrounding hardwood trees have been cut down. 
In the sandy soil at Mariners* Harbor, Watchogue 
and Kreischerville occurs abundantly a form of Cat Brier, 
which is clearly a variety of the common Smilax glauca, Walt. 
The leaves are narrow and elongated, often constricted in the 
middle so as to be almost fiddle-shaped, and the stem, es- 
pecially at the base, is thickly beset with prickles. It agrees 
with the description of the so-called 5. spinulosa. Smith. 
Several of the plants admitted into our catalogue without 
having been personally seen have been discovered within the 
past two years. Amongst them may be mentioned Lathyrus 
maritimus, (L.) Bigel., the Beach Pea. This was admitted 
on the authority of a specimen in the herbarium of the late 
Dr. Samuel Elliot and it now turns up at New Dorp near the 
old race course. 
Pycnanthemum incamitn, (L),* Mich., admitted on the same 
authority, grows on Ocean Terrace. 
Salix tristis, Ait., the Dwarf Gray Willow, was credited to- 
Staten Island about twenty years ago in the Bulletin of the 
Torrey Botanical Club. There is a small patch growing south 
of the railroad between Richmond Valley and Tottenville,. 
within a few yards of the hybrid oaks described in our Pro- 
ceedings for September and October, 1888, which is probably 
the same locality where it was originally found. 
