|
THE BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF G. W. CLINTON |
|
THE BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF G. W.
CLINTON – June 1865 |
|
[1865] June 1. Took 9 A.M. train to Lewiston.
Walked back, in the track, to the rocky grove. Collected there Turitis stricta, in capital condition, noticed
a Cornus circinata, & took a specimen for Dr. Wright. Also Avena striata,
the Rubus noticed yesterday, which seems quite common (R. canadensis), took a
Climacium Americanum (I want to find, hereabouts, the one Peck writes is
rare) Selaginella rupestris. Ascended
the hill to the abandoned track of a railroad, & followed that as far as
St. Xavier College where it crosses a ravine, with a spring running into it,
under a cliff, found beautiful specimen of Arabis hirsuta, and, on the wet
rock, bulging masses of a nice dark green moss, with no sign of
fructification: afterward noticed the same on the wet precipice below the
American Staircase. In
the old field below St. Xavier's College took one specmen of Vicia americana?
(it looked green) and Antennaria plantaginifolia. At the College, took the
highway and left it for the Whirlpool Woods, at the 2nd or 3rd line of fence
below Deveaux College. Near the
bank, going along, noticed Avena
striata & a very few puny plants of Arabis hirsuta. Also took two species
of a broad, short leaved Carex, quite small, must look at it. In
the yard of the house at the Whirlpool, Polygala Senega, abundant & fine,
just flowering. Carex
eburnea is common all along the bank of the River, in the woods. On
the bank, above the house, Senecio aurea & balsamita, Sisyrinchium anceps,
& divers other things in flower. Met Mr. Wiley again. Collected Oryzopsis
asperifolia, well in seed. Walked
in to Niagara City & up to the Falls, in the Railroad. On the outside of
the cliff, utterly inaccessible, seen in one instance, gloriously in flower,
Lonicera parviflora, v. douglasii. Descended
the American Staircase to the top of the talus, & walked down on it a
little way, & found, in the wet rock, a pretty, small fruited moss, and a
small (Rebullia) Marchantia which, I think, cannot be M. polymorpha= Preissia commutata. Went
on Goat Island, up the American side, to the rocky flat by the River. Took, from a stump, a small lead colored
fungus in the gills, & a larger one, perhaps the [same] and one or two
mosses collected before. On the
naked pasture on the head of the Island, an umbellifer, probably [?@ no
reference Carum carui]. Met Sam Bumck
& wife, Mr. Haywood & wife, & a third couple, who have been
picnicing, & they took me to Luna Island & we there finished their
lemonade, cake & sandwiches. Home by 6*10' train. [It
is unclear whether it is Climacium dendroides or Selaginella rupestris that
is rare, according to Peck.] The 'rocky grove' at Lewiston may be Scoville's
Knoll or the forest growing on the talus at the base of the Escarpment, also
known locally as the 'hill'. The 'Wright' is Dr. A. R. Wright of Buffalo (see
miscellaneous index). The passage describing the stream may be what is now
called Bloody Run, now covered over, its outlet blocked where it once
emptied, or may have, into the Devil's Hole cove. As described in the June 10
entry below, the ravine was a 'deep cutting', and filled in at least from the
time the Robert Moses Parkway was built in the 1950's. The moss described
here and elsewhere, in 'bulging masses' is either Hymenostylium
recurvirostrum or Didymodon tophaceus. The 'old field below St. Xavier's' is
where the forebay of the Robert Moses Power plant occurs.] [1865] June 3. After breakfast, down Seneca
St. to Erie Railroad, & on that, to the first wood on the left, on the
way, took a common moss, Marchantia polymorpha, & 2 specimens of what,
probably, is Rubus villosus v.
humifusus. In the wood found a delicate, stalked fungus without gills,
growing in dead leaves, in wet places, color yellow, (In the evening, mailed
a specimen to Mr. Bennett. Collected 2 or 3 mosses, besides Sphagnum, and
found 1 specimen of Oxalis acetosella. I had supposed this wood was within
1/2 mile of Sulphur Spring, but, after passing through it, some fields, &
another wood, & then fields, I came out in what proved to be William St.
(extended). Walked back, on that road, about 2 miles, & took the first
cross road to the left, which, in about 3 quarters of a mile, brought me into
the road running up the left bank of the creek. Crossed the Canal &
walked down it. The Big
Polygonatum, with opposite leaves, not yet in flower, ought to be
examined. It seems different from the common, big one, the giganteum
of Dietrich, according to Day [Gray writes = giganteum]. Silene inflata far from flowering.
Crossing to the Creek, found a clump of Prunus Virginiana, with monstrous
fruit, like the P. Americana of Grand Island, took specimen, and, in the
evening, mailed one to Gray. In the meadow, took specimen of Thaspium, which
seems to differ from what we have called T.
barbinode. Collected some willows on the Creek. Crossed on the Dam to
Sulphur Spring House. On my way to the Plank Road in Seneca St. stopped &
collected some Fedia fagopyrum. Home, by Seneca St. [See June
12 below. The Canal is the Hydraulic Canal. The Creek is the Scajaquada.] [1865] Sunday, June 4. Took a specimen of a
large flowered Stellaria from Coleman's, and, from the triangle in front of
Austin's, Niagara Square, a very downy leaf of a maple, must get more with
the fruit. [Perhaps
Coleman Robinson is the person referred to; Austin is Stephen G. Austin.] [1865] Monday, 5th. P.M. In the Grove, south
side of the Creek, find the Carex platyphylla. Through the fields to Dr.
White's Grove. Took some Scirpus Clintonii, not mature enough. In the grove
& fields thereabout Specularia abundant, the non opening flower with
formed seed, no sign of a patent flower. Took specimen of Polygonatum
giganteum, the filaments are smooth & naked, but seem, to me, to be
inserted far below the middle of the perianth. I entered, on the S. side of
the Creek, at the bridge, and walked down to Swartz's ravine, hugging the
bank, on or near the foot of the bank, in the meadow or grass, took two
immature specimens of a Carex, which answers the description of C. pallescens
very well. (Wilhelm Arlt, this or J., fell from Schanzlin's back stoop &
broke his skull so that he died). [See misc
index: a William Arlt.] [1865] June 6th. Tuesday. Having, yesterday,
left my knife in a stone quarry in the field on the edge of Dr. White's
grove, walked out after, & found it, this A.M., and, in returning to the
McAdam road, found, near the southeasterly corner of the field, an abundance
of Geranium Carolinianum just coming into flower. [1865] June 7th. Wednesday. To Limestone
ridge. From the Liberty Pole in Buffalo to the Plank road tollgate at the
ridge is 5 miles. Into the woods at Smoke's Creek, gathered Viola striata, a
little, Poa sylvestris & Poa alsodes, Carex pubescens, and some (scarcely
ripe) seed of Collinsia verna (mailed it to Gray) and some mosses. Walked up
to the next wood & explored both sides, nil, but a small fungus which I
must send to Mr. Bennett. Thence back on the railroad to the Limestone Ridge
Road, &, by it, to the Turnpike, & down that to Mr. Maxwell's,
called, gave me good milk &c., walked with him, on his land, to the Lake
Shore, & took a willow. Home! Received
from Prof. Tuckermann (at Prof. Gray's request) a package of duplicate
Carices from Dr. Boott's herbarium. [1865] June 8. Thursday. Took 6 A.M. train to
Tonawanda, & thence, 7* train to Akron. Walked into the village, the
Octagon closed. Through the fields to the Ledge [= Counterfeiter's Ledge],
collected 2 or 3 mosses, the little Cerastium nutans, Draba arabisans. Carex
platyphylla. Walked on to, or nearly to, the Cranberry swamp, my courage
failed, back to the cross‑road and, by it, to the Richville Station, thence
along the railroad to Akron station, in the wooded hill near which I got 1 or
2 specimens of what I suppose to be C. laxiflora v. patulifolia, but the
leaves seem to be 3 ribbed. Home! On
the top of the cliff, soon after ascending it, saw, growing probably for the
first time in my life, the Conopholis. 5 specimens on the root of a beech,
only one in flower, took that & another, & marked the place. On
the plains, crossing to the road to Indian Council House, found Erigeron
bellidifolium, very hairy, & with runners or stolons. Took some. Near
the foot of the talus of the cliff, found one specimen of Aspidium
acrostichoides v. incisum, not in fruit. [1865] June 10. Saturday. By 9 A. M. train to
Suspension Bridge, walked down to R. R.
nearly to opposite the Devil's Hole, & then, in a deep rock
cutting, collected some mosses. Rosa blanda in flower. Descended, at the
Devil's Hole. Collected some mosses & Carex platyphylla & C.
plantaginea, the latter over ripe. Walked along the bank to the Whirlpool,
& along the chasm above, through Niagara City, & along the R. R. to
the American Ferry Staircase. Went half way down, & walked under the
cliff to the American Fall, & down to the front of the Staircase, nil,
except below the staircase, Carex Oederii frolicksome as usual, & what if
it be C. granularis, looks green to
me. Up the staircase to the top of the talus, & down along the top of it,
where springs trickle down. Collected
more Pressia commutata & also, not in fruit, a green leaved plant growing
on the rock in the water (Fissidens grandifrons). Over to Goat Island and
collected Barbula tortuosa var. Home by the 6* train. The day has been very
pleasant. [For
mosses, see the same station by St. Xavier College June 1 above. [1865] June 11, Sunday. P.M. rode out to the
Grove, and, on the left side of the [Scajaquada] Creek, on the hill side
beyond the orchard, collected Carex pallescens, 56 specimens. Went up the
Williamsville Road and turned, this side of the tollgate, into the grove,
took specimens of Carex sparganioides, & laxiflora v. patulifolia. In the
field beyond, noticed Carex pallescens again, but in the plain, to the little
wood east of the quarries, could not find Scirpus Clintonii, back to the
bushy field, or copse, and found it almost gone, but got a number of (116)
specimens. The Specularia seems to love ploughed ground. For the first time
in my life, if my memory does not deceive me, saw a just opening flower bud
of it. [Note the
number of specimens gathered for exchange.] [1865] June 12. Walked out on William's
Street, about 40 rods beyond crossing of N.Y. & E. R. R., & then
turned to the right, went through a recently felled wood to a wood, &,
through groves & fields, came out opposite Sulphur Spring House. Carex
pedunculata gone. The big, opposite leaved, Polygonatum, not yet in flower
along the Hydraulic Canal, but took 2 specimens, intending one for Gray,
presume he will call it giganteum, though its aspect be different.
Collected some Carices & a moss or two.
Down the Canal & Creek to Seneca St., & home by Swan.
Collected Silene inflata. [See June
3 above.] [1865] June 15. Caledonia by 5* A.M. Train. Breakfasted at Shaw's
& walked down to Seth Green's. Explored the wood & a small tamarack
swamp on the opposite side of the creek. Took the common Eleocharis of the stream,
Carex flava, one caespitosa & some mosses, an Eriophorum, gone out
already, Cypripedium spectabile. Went on the streams with Mr. G., in his boat,
& collected some of a small crustacean, which he called a fresh water
shrimp. It is abundant in the Chara.
Found it, or something like it, in the Riccia fluitans which I collected last
year, in Burnt Ship [= Creek, Grand Island].
Dined at Mr. G's. Explored the swamp up to the village, nothing new.
The Lonicera oblongifolia all in young berry. A little Linnaea in flower.
Could not find the Myrica cerifera, it was raining like fury, good for the
country! Got home after 8 P.M. [Tamarack,
also called the American or Black Larch, is Larix americana, Michx.,
acccording to Gray (1862).] [1865] June 16. Friday. Late in the afternoon,
went to White's grove, & collected some Scirpus planifolius. Also some of
the Poa of the grove, probably pratensis, but the branches of the panicle in
2s & 3s, generally. In the open field. Geranium Carolinianum had gone to
seed, & the Specularia in blossom, was abundant. [1865] June 17. Saturday. By 6* A. M. train to
Tonawanda. Explored wood &c., by the Lockport RR, 2 or 3 mosses & a
Pyrola, whether chloranthus or a var. of rotundifolia? it grew among the
pines (The stem is angular, almost quadrangular, and, at least in some
instances, twisted). By the 9* train to the Falls, & crossed by the Ferry
& called on John T. Bush, after exploring from the Ferry up, under the cliff, for mosses. On his
grounds saw a brilliant, beelike, but, apparantly stingless insect,
gregarious, [... illegible with a query by Clinton], entering & issuing
from holes in the soil (caught one & brought it home in my box). Returned
to American side, after visiting Table Rock, Goat Island, walked up to
Sawmill on the River ‑ Home! [Table
Rock is usually considered to be at the brink of the British, Canadian or
Horseshoe Falls (all names apply to the same feature.] [1865] June 18. Walking in Forest Lawn
Cemetery, observed the big‑leaved Chenopodium album? on some manure, or muck,
on the right of the road at the foot of the hill, a little below the spring. [1865] June 19. Walked out to Smoke's Creek,
to collect seeds of Collinsia, found it all shed, picked up a few from the
ground. The Poa, on the edge of the Creek, the upper leaves rough, & the
edges. Walked up the Creek to the fence, &, in crossing below it, found
Aspidium acrostichoides with leaves serrate, but not cut enough for v.
incisum, also with leaves waved. Also Aspidium crist'm v. major too young
yet. On the edge of the Creek, a tuft of Cystopteris fragilis. Found a little
fungus, & took it for Mr. Bennett. By
the side of the railroad, southerly side, Platanthera hyperborea, bigger than
usual with us. Along side of the old cattle stand, plenty of the big‑leaved
Chenopodium album? On
my return, in the evening, found Father Holzer at my house. Good! [In Gray,
1862, there is no Aspidium cristatum v. major, and no Aspidium species in
Clinton's Botanical Index with a variety by that name.] [1865] June 20. In the 8*25' Erie R. R. train,
went, with Father Holzer, to the Alden Station, & walked down (South) the
road to Sheldon, looking for the swamp in which, according to Hadfield, or
reported by D. F. Day, the Myrica cerifera grew, some years ago, in such
quantities that the people thereabouts used the wax of the berries. I will
maintain here that, after due inquiry & exploration, we failed to find
it. On crossing to the first wood on the right, we entered it, & I there
collected a fungus & Carex, C. Hitchcockiana & what Father H. thought
(and is) C. Grayii. Returned to the road & kept on about 1 mile to
another very swampy wood on the right, explored it, (collected some mosses
& what seems to be a small fungus growing on a fruitless moss, but (the
whole) which may be one of the Hepaticaceae in fruit. Returned to the road
& kept on to the valley of Cayuga Creek, turned down it for 1/4 mile
& then went to the Creek & explored its banks a short distance. Then
sat down, in the shade, on its bank, by the road side, & lunched on bread
& Bologna Sausage produced by Father H. Horace W. King (address Alden,
Erie Co.) came along, & we got into conversation, & he told us he had
a piece of metal which he had found in the rock, in the bed of the creek, 3
feet below the surface, malleable & only slightly reddened by aqua
fortis. After lunch we went on, only 40 rods, to his house, & he showed
us the 2 pieces into which he had broken it & gave me one, & I
promised to find out its nature & to write him. Went back a short distance
& explored a ravine, then back to the road & returned about 1 mile
towards Alden, & struck into the woods on the right (east) & kept
along them to a cross road, & but it to the main road & so to Alden.
Went to the Hotel & got some cake, pie & cheese. Then searched on the
road towards Alden Station on the Central R. R. to the first wood, &
explored it pretty thoroughly. Took a little Carex Tuckermanii ?! Then back
to the station, and, after waiting about 2 hours, took the mail train, &
was home a little after 9 P.M. A very, very pleasant day. Malva moschata, in
two varieties, or 2 species we found frequent by the road side, one white,
one pink, the leaf seems to be the same. In
a letter from Gray, he says that, some Scirpus planifolius is mixed with
Scirpus Clintonii. [Note:
Alden Station is a small town in Erie County near the junction of Wyoming and
Genesee Counties. The headwaters of Cayuga Creek, that flows northwestward
into Erie County, occur just north of what is today called North Java Station
in Sheldon Township of Wyoming County. These two are headed south toward
Sheldon in Wyoming County.] [1865] June 21. Strawberry Island. The little
plant just above Little Bay does not show itself. Collected Equisetum limosum
growing in the water, it fruits without branching. Also Carex utriculata,
growing in the water in the East side, and the fungusy leaves & stems of
Anemone Pennsylvanica. [1865] June 22. Crossed the ferry to Canada,
took 3 specimens of Hyoscyamus. The Dracocephalum has disappeared. Walked up
the R. R. & went into the woods on the right. Collected nothing but some
mosses. [1865] June 23. Took 5 A. M. train to
Rochester, & there the Accomodation back to Bergen, breakfasted, walked 4‑5
miles to The Open Swamp in that town, Genesee County, & explored it
partially. Noticed, in abundance, Saracenia, Calopogon, Sedum latifolium,
Lonicera oblongifolia, Myrica cerifera, Salix candida (the same as at
Caledonia), Pinus strobus, Oxycoccus vulgaris, Senecio aureus, var. Juniperus
prostrata = Juniperus virginiana v. humilis (= Juniperus Sabina var.) in the
moss, Triglochin elatum, Potentilla fruiticosa, Linnaea, Galium boreale
(beautiful) & Valeriana sylvatica.
Took also an oddish form of Cardamine hirsuta. Found 1 specimen of
smallish green flowered Platanthera, 2 of a white flowered one, like dilatata
(!) but scentless. Collected
also the Eleocharis of the swamp (E. rostellata), Scirpus pungens, & S.
caespitosus. Also
Carex polytrichoides, teretiuscula v. major (flava common) & gynocrates,
siccata. Also
an Eriophorum, perhaps two (=E. polystachyon) Walking back, picked, in a dry
wood, Carex pubescens. Got home at about 9 P.M. [Juniperus
Sabina L. var. procumbens, Pursh. of "Rocky banks, borders of swamps,
etc., N. Eng. to N. Minn., and northward" (Gray, ed 6) is now Juniperus
horizontalis: See T. F. Allen letter, Vol. 1, 73 for reference to its use by
physicians, also Allen's note Clinton sent a specimen Vol. 1(86)]. [1865] June 24. Walked out on the Plains,
Scirpus Clintonii gone. Collected some Turitis glabra. The Ipomoea pandurata
back of [? Mochel's] looks very thrifty, but not near flowering. In the dry,
oak grove, near where we found the Ophioglossum last year, I found, perhaps 6
plants of Conopholis, but, alas! past flowering, & trodden down. [1865] June 25. Sunday. Yesterday, looked over
my collections of the little Scirpus, & came to the conclusions, 1st,
probably all that I collected on the open plains back of the quarries are S.
Clintonii. 2d. All that I collected in the little wood back of the same
station (very little) and all that I collected in Dr. White's grove, are S.
planifolius. 3d. They are distinguishable, by the width of the leaves &
by the scales, although, very likely, only forms of one species. P.M. Walked,
on the pier, from the Black Rock Ferry to Squaw Island, on the way found 1
specimen of a Carex like Tuckermanii, but, perhaps different. Below the
Sawmill (& a little above it) and on the Island, collected, I think, 2
species of Bromes, the seed, very likely, comes from the mills above. On the
head of the Island, the Poa compressa is as fine as I ever saw. Walked over the Island & took divers
grasses &c. I
am inclined to think that we have not only Festuca elatius, but another
allied one with smaller spikelets and a much more branched panicle. [The
Sawmill is perhaps located on the pier itself.] [1865] June 28. A. M. after Court, A. T.
Patchin, Esq. drove me out on Chas. White's Corners Plank Road to his house,
this side of Limestone Ridge, bread & milk. Am to get there, in the Fall,
a root of the sweet honeysuckle, for Miss Docherty. Walked on, over the
Ridge, to Smoke's Creek, & found there a, to me, new one of the
Hepaticaceae, fruit in the frond (=Pellia epiphylla). Walked down to the R.
R. Poa alsodes gone & P. nemoralis nearly gone. Collected here, & in
the wood on the left of the R. R. going towards the City, the small wood Poa,
also the tall one, both of which have flattened culms, and, probably, are
forms of Poa compressa, must send them to Gray. From the wood on the left,
walked through the swamp to the Turnpike, & along the Turnpike swamp, and
(after some bread & milk at Capt. Maxwell's) in the sandy edge of the
field of Tifft's Farm, took some Carices, &c. and, after crossing the
Creek by the Ferry (2 cents fare met Mr. Webster, with a buggy, and he gave
me a ride into the City. In the wood, on the left of the R. R. coming in,
collected a Carex, which may be oligocarpa, sheaths & upper sides of the
leaves not roughly pubescent, certainly the sheaths not very scabrous (= C.
hitchcockiana). [This is a
detailed account of one of Clinton's usual routes. Note there is a ferry at
the Buffalo River. Also note how rare the "sweet honeysuckle" is at
this time (also in Canadian citation above). This is Lonicera tartarica, one
of the most noxious of our invasive shrubs.] |
|
Scientific names may be looked up in the online checklist of Western New York plants. Find genus names beginning with A - C D - K L - P Q - Z. |
|
|