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Correspondence of Leo Lesquereux and G. W.
Clinton |
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The
Correspondence of Leo
Lesquereux (1806-1889) and George
William Clinton (1807‑1885) 1865 Vol. 1. No. 129 [I 84] Columbus, O [Ohio] Augt. 19th/ 65 Hon. G. W. Clinton, Buffalo Dear Sir. Owing to sickness and
absence from home, I could not till now answer your kind favor of the 8th Inst.
Your name is known to me since a long time as that of a very clever and
zealous Botanist and I am indeed very glad to have an opportunity of
corresponding directly with you. Whenever you have any specimens of mosses
which you wish to determine, if you will send them to me I will name them and
report immediately provided your letters and packages find me at Columbus. In
summer I am very often out for field work. Mr. Peck send me from you a
specimen of Hypnum riparium var. [str.] No. 528 of the Musci Exsiccati, growing on wet decayed
logs in swamps. If you have not the pamphlet of the Musci Boreali Amer. which
goes with the sets but is also published separately, I can send you a copy of
it. I do not believe that we shall be able to give the setts of the Musci for
less than $35.00 in gold. When you see the sets, the beauty and fullness of
the specimens and the amt. of work and time spent for their preparation, you
will see that the price is not at all a compensation of the work but scarcely
pays the expenses. I hope to find time to finish the work this year. There
are only fifty setts and most of them are already subscribed for. I hope that
all the setts will be sold in America. A few years ago, and
especially from want of a good place for my botanical collections and also of
time to care for them, I sold my whole herbarium of Phaenogamous plants
(about 2000 species) to the Museum of Toronto. I have now very few specimens
left and I do not know where to find them. I have some specimens of
Sullivantia Ohionis, I believe, and also of Vesicaria Lescurii Gr. and as
soon as I am well enough to look for them I will try to get them and send
them to you. Of the two Fedias of Sullivant, I know nothing. I looked for
them many years consecutively to find them at the place where they were
collected by Mr. Sullivant and even in his company, but never succeeded in
finding them. They may be mere hybrids or deformations. The specimens in Mr.
Sullivant's herbarium are now mostly broken and lacerated. Asclepias
Sullivanti is also unknown to me. But I will try again till I get it. I am much obliged for your
kind offer of communication of specimens. I know nothing of your neighborhood
but Niagara Falls and Goat Island. Could you ever find a specimen of
Fissidens Grandifrons in fruit, all the bryologists would thank you. It has
also never been found in Europe. Most respectfully yours Leo Lesquereux Recd Aug. 23 wrote him 26th In 1857 W. S. Sullivant and
Leo Lesquereux published a systematic collection of dried specimens, an exsiccat,
entitled the Musci Boreali-Americani, sive specimina exsiccata muscorum in
Americae Rebuspublicis Foederatis detectorum, conjunctis studiis W. S.
Sullivant et L. Lesquereux. There were 355 numbers. In the next year, 1866,
in April, Lesquereux would issue the Editio Secunda of this exsiccat, with
536 numbers. "Besides specimens from eastern North America, some of
which are of the same species as in the first edition, the set is notable for
the large number of western American mosses, collected by the Pacific
Railroad Surveys of 1854 and 1855, by the Geological Survey of California in
1863 and 1864, and by Henry Nicholas Bolander (1831-1879) in California, and
by Charles Wright in the south-west" (Sayre, G. 1971. Cryptogamae
Exsiccatae. Part IV. Bryophyta. Memoirs of the N. Y. Bot. Garden Vol. 19, No.
2 pp. 175-276). On August 8, Clinton,
according to his journal, had taken the train from Buffalo to Niagara Falls.
He collected mosses and liverworts there, including Preissia commutata, Fissidens
grandifrons, Hymenostylium recurvirostrum, noting it was, as it is now,
common at this locality in wet rocks. Perhaps, inspired by his collections
there, and perhaps knowing of Lesquereux's efforts at this locality, Clinton
decided to open a correspondence with him. Niagara Falls in New York
State and Ontario, Canada, spans the boundary between both countries. In the
notes that follow, Clinton has collected in areas around the cataracts
themselves (Prospect Park on the mainland, N.Y.), on Goat Island (N.Y.) the
largest of the islands between the two catarats where the Biddle Stairs and
Terrapin Point were located, and the Hog Back, a path running along the north
boundary of the island). The seven mile limestone gorge running north from
the cataracts was barely accessible at this time: one area at DeVeaux
College, that maintained a stone stair down to the water's edge, and further
north Devil's Hole, also with a stone stair, a cove in the gorge wall.
Lewiston was the village at the north terminus of the gorge where it ends at
the Niagara Escarpment. Clinton also collected in similar stations on the
Canadian side at Foster's Flats (Niagara Glen) and areas around Brock's
Monument at Queenston, facing Lewison, N.Y. Sullivantia is a genus
described by John Torrey and Asa Gray, named after William Starling
Sullivant, the plant, Sullivantia sullivantii (Torrey & Asa Gray)
Britton, Sullivant's Cool-wort, was originally S. ohionis Torr. & A. Gray
ex A. Gray. It is a small flowering member of the Saxifragaceae associated
with cliffs and so also with the various bryophyte species Sullivant
specialized in. Sullivant's
"Fedias" are Fedia umbilicata Sulliv. "Moist grounds,
Columbus, Ohio, Sullivant. (Sill. Jour. Jan. 1842" and F. patellaria
Sulliv. "Low grounds, Columbus, Ohio, Sullivant" according to
Gray's Manual, 5th edition 1867. These are two species in the family
Valerianaceae, now Valerianella umbilicata (Sull.) Alphonso Wood and V.
patellaria (Sull.) Alphonso Wood. Gray also at one point made these plants two
varieties of V. woodsiana: they are distinguished by the fruits, one
saucer-like, the other, globose, having a navel (navel-shaped) and flower in
May. Hypnum riparium L. ex Hedw.
= Leptodictyum riparium (Hedw.) Warnst. Vol. 1. No. 141 [I 71] Columbus O. Aust. 31st [18]65 Hon G. W. Clinton My Dear Sir. It is very little indeed
that I can do to be agreeable to you and such a kind letter as you wrote me
on the 26th [...] is worth to me much more than any amount of plants you could
send me. Please do not believe that I can be troubled in any way by any
amount of specimens of mosses you can send for determination. The
communication of specimens of even the most common species of mosses is ofter
valuable especially considering geographical distribution. It is the case
with the two of the specimens you sent me. No. 4 is right, Hypnum
adnatum No. 4B is Desmatodon
arenaceus Sull. & Lesq. No. 4C is probably a
deformation of the same species, it differs only by shorter inflated capsule,
probably a result of local influence. Nevertheless, if you should find more
of the same, I would be much obliged for the communication of some specimens.
Now, please, where does this No. 4B come from? You will much oblige me in
making on every package you send me for determination the locality where the
moss has been found and the month of the year if possible. H. adnatum is
found everywhere and is abundant at Goat Island. Maybe these specimens come
from this place. But it is a cold station for such a moss as Desmatodon
arenaceus. I hunted this morning in my
garret for some package of phaenogamous plants but could find nothing. I sent
last fall a large bundle to Toronto and put in it everything I found around
loose. My house is becoming too small for the amount of specimens of natural
history which I like to colllect and it has been a question sometimes put
forward by my wife, which should leave the place either ourselves or the
collections? I had put aside a few species from many collected in 1862 in a
journey to Mt. Marcy and other parts of the Adirondacs. These plants which
have not been claimed may have some interest for you as New Yorkers. I have
no time to look if they are well named and just put the name from memory.
Please correct anything wrong. As the P. O. would not accept the package
except as mail matter I must send it per express and to render it a little
more valuable to you, I have put in it a copy of my report on [A.
K..?Arkansas?] where you will find a catalogue of plants of that country
which may be acceptable to you. I am indeed very sorry to put you to some
expense for so little value. As soon as I can find the other plants I will
send them to you. And please do not believe
that you owe me anything; on the contrary, be well assured that the more you
put me in the way of being agreeable to you, the more you will oblige. Yours very respectfully L. Lesquereux Received Sept. 2. Wrote him
Sept. 4 Clinton was noteworthy in not writing on his moss packets the localities the specimen once enjoyed living in, nor the date. Even consultation with his journal and the letters to botanists it is difficult to reconstruct the derivation of many of his specimens. Hypnum adnatum Hedw = Homomallium adnatum (Hedw.) Broth.; Desmatodon arenaceus Sull. et Lesq. = D. obtusifolius (Schwaegr.) Schimp. Vol. 1. No. 166 [I 43] Columbus 18th Sept. [18]65 Hon. G. W. Clinton Buffalo The mosses with your
different letters of Sept. 4, 5 & 14 have been duly received. I found them
here yesterday on my return from New York. In package of Sept. 4th I
find two specimens. 1 Hypnum aduncum Hedw. sterile and covered with Diatomeae
and Desmidia. N. 2 contains a Fucus, probably a
Spongodium. It is undeterminable being glued on both sides to the paper and
can not be got but by fragments. Even if the specimen was good I should not
be able to correctly name it. I have long ago abandoned the study of the
Algae and presented my collection (800 species) of marine and freshwater
Fucus to the soldiers fair of Philadelphia. The museum bought it but I do not
know if there it may be of some utility to somebody. Except Gray and
Engelmann, nobody to my knowledge is interested in a peculiar manner to the
Characeae and the Potamophiliae. Formerly I used to send specimens to Prof.
Alex Braun of Berlin, but I never got any acknowledgement nor any name for
them. And indeed we can not determine much of these plants from the
descriptions we have now. I know very little of New York and its surrounding
country and never heard of Roubieva [? - see letter below of Allen's
Vol.1:185*] On my next passage these I shall make inquiries from some friends
and learn if possible the exact position of the place. In the package of Sept. 5 I
find. xNo. 1 Bartramia pomiformis!
with Cheloscyphus polyanthus (Cord.)? x 2 Bryum caepiticium L. (apparently)
too old. x3. Pogonatum brevicaule Brid. - is pretty common. The confervoidal
filaments belong to it. x4. Orthotrichum crispulum
(Hornsch.) x5. Hypnum serrulatum Hew.
Good specimen. If you have more please send. x6. Fontinalis antipyretica var.
gigantea This form is scarcely a var. and intermediate between the normal
form and the var. x7 Dicranum scoparium var. = D. pallidum Mull. 8 Hypnum imponens Hedw. x9 Bryum acuminatum H...
& Hrnsch. a very rare species which I found once only and few of it in
the Adirondacks. I would be much obliged for plenty of specimens. x10 Hypnum strigosum Hoffm.
[?] x11 Hypnum gracile Br. H....
a small form x12 Atrichum angustatum H.... x13 Polytrichum formosum
Hedw. x14 Hypnum brevirostre B.
Eur. (male plants) rarely found in fruit. x15 Jungermannia barbata Schreb. x16 Hypnum laetum Brid.? not
ripe enough but most probably this species. This collection for a single
place is very interesting and I do not doubt that you will then find many
other good things. The conglomerate or millstone-grit sandstone is peculiar
for its bryological flora. It furnishes especially the fine Phyllogonia
Norvegica never found with us on a formation of another kind. I collected
lately a Penn. under fine large tree of Magnolia acuminata, Weissia
(Rhabdoweisia) fugax on the same sandstone. It was till now considered as an
alpine or rather subalpine species. With your favor of Sept. 10
I find No. 1, 1a, 1b and 3. Hypnum riparium, a small form of a most variable
species. N. 2 is still Hypnum riparium but it is mixed with sterile branches
of Conomitrium julianum Mont. No. 4 is Didymodon rubellus
Bry. Eur. generally rare. It has been found already at Niagara Falls, I think
by Th. P. James. Your work in collecting the mosses of your vicinity and of
the country around Buffalo is certainly most useful and of service to
science. The Niagara country and the woody shores of Lake Erie will give us
some new or interesting species which you may be able to find. And indeed I
find your list remarkably rich for discoveries of a single year. Amon the
mosses of the list, there are a few which I would like to see, having some
doubt on their identity. Thus -258 Bartramia Oederi 317 Pogonatum brachiphyllum
which is a southern species and has never been found till now North of
Philadelphia [In margin, written by Clinton "Slip of the pen of Mr.
Peck"]. 366 Leskea rostrata marked ?
and which is most common around you, Goat Island. 469 Hypnum filicinum? The
species is also at Niagara but always sterile there. 505 Hypnum rivulare 519 H. subtile. A good
specimmen in fruit would be acceptable. I got it at Goat Island but too old. I do not know what has become
of Dr. Curtis and of Mr Ravenel, both much interested in Fungi. I exchanged
much with Mr. Ravenel before 1860 but could not adress him now. Yours very sincerely and
truly L. Lesquereux I shall be out of Columbus
still for two weeks Shall I return specimens? Recd. Sept. 21 & ansd. Roubieva multifida, Moq.
(Gray's 6th p.433), once Chenopodium multifidum, L. Allen's letter "It
grieves me not to find Roubieva - I was over to B. again today out around the
bye ways and hedges of Bedford but alas no Roub." Thomas Potts James
(1803-1882) was born in Pennsylvania, later became invested in a wholesale
drug firm in Philadelphia where he spent most of his life until 1867 when he
moved or worked in Cambridge, Mass., where he devoted himself more thoroughly
to botany. He focused on the study of mosses and collaborated with Lesquereux
in authoring the Manual of American Mosses, issued in 1884, two years after
James' death. By 1865, Mr. James had
already visited and explored Niagara Falls, probably with Lesquereux. At least the Pogonatum
brevicaule (now P. pensilvanicum (Hedw.) P.-Beauv.) specimen was collected on
Sept. 1 at Salamanca, or in the Big Valley area in Cattaraugus Co. in
southwestern New York State. On that day "In ascending, & in the
City [Salamanca] collected mosses everywhere." The mosses above are thus
a catalogue of the material Clinton collected on that day. At this time
Clinton was avidly collecting mosses also for Charles Peck, his protégé in
Albany. On Sept. 10, Clinton
collected in areas south of Buffalo, along the State Line Rail Road and
Smoke's Creek. Hypnum riparium L. ex Hedw.
= Leptodictyum riparium (Hedw.) Warnst. Vol. 2. No. 4 [D 203] Columbus, O. Octb. 16th, 1865 My dear Sir, Beginning at the tail or by the
specimens with your very kind letter of the 13th I find O. Anomodon
obtsifolius [B. & F.?] very probably a var. of the same species as it is
found sometimes in wet and shady places, sometimes on roc[k]s. Though I am
pretty certain of this, I will nevertheless compare it again and definitively
report in a few days. Q is Leskea rostrata, male plant most common on rocs,
root of trees, &c. About Anomodon viticulosus,
you will find it in plenty against a large rock near the base of that
footpath descending from Goat Island to the top of the American falls. You
know that there are two ways of going there: the broad way by stairs and
aside of it, on the right a small slippery foot path on the slope of the
Island; it is on this foot path about halfway down that said Anomodon grows.
I never found it in America except at this place. James collected it also
there, &c: M. Austin writes me about that Riccia found by Miss Waterbury.
M. Austin has now taken to the study of the Hepaticae and is more able than
myself to decide about the value of a species of this Family. With letter of
Octb. 3 mailed 8 I find what you call two common mosses, both sterile. One is
Hypnum filicinum, the other Hypnum stellatum. You may have H. nitens in the
same swamp. Bryum Muhlenbergii is as you say sterile at the falls (Niagara)
may be found there fertile also; more common in cold springs of the
mountains; I would like to see a true Didymodon luridus from the falls.
Trichostomum (Didymodon) rigidulum Smith. has been found there by Drummond and
myself on stones near the base of the falls, Canada side; but D. luridus is
still unknown or not discovered for America. Though the fruit of your
Didymodon is not ripe, I am pretty sure that it is the D. rubellus. Octb. 7 (letter) contains,
X. Fontinalis antipyretica var. gigantea Sull. Y. Hypnum nitens. 3 = Z.
Barbula unguiculata too young, on limestone rocks probably. Orthotrichum
crispulum without No. N. 16
Orthotrichum canadense. 2 (same as N. 11) probably undeterminable. I will see
and compare. Letter of Octb. 9. Bartramia Oederi, both and very fine variety. With letter of Sept. 29
crying for Help! you have. Orthotrichum anomalum quite different from O.
speciosum which grows only on trees while this grows on limestone rocks. 2.
is the same. 3 is splendid. Orthotrichum cupulatum? if not something new. I
will examine it carefully again & compare. This O. cupulatum is very
variable. 4. Orthotrichum strangulatum (as marked). 5 = 3, 6 = also 3. 7. O. Hutschinsiae (right) 8. Orth. anomalum. 9. Orth. crispulum. 5
in brown paper contains two species very small, one unripe. Must be examined
very carefully. I wish you had it ripe. Looks fine and perhaps something new.
2 also in brown paper, first specimen loose is O. strangulatum, 2d specimen
in paper (white) is O. canadense. They generally grow together. The specimens of your letter
of Sept. 29 belong rightly to Fissidens adiantoides as marked by Mr. Peck.
The one in paper marked A is probably the same but the specimen is too poor
for sure determination. Now I will stop. It is late,
I am tired and I think the last will be postponed the examination of the
balc. [balance] of your specimens, two packages till I find a few hours more
of leisure. Saying like the children Now I lay me down to sleep. I wish you a good night,
pleasant dreams and give you my most warm regards. L. Lesquereux Hon. G. W. Clinton Buffalo, N.Y. Recd Oct. 18th, Wrote to him
19th. @On September 29, Clinton
sent mosses to Charles Peck and also to Lesquereux (journal), among which the
letter Lesquereux refers above. The
day Clinton received Lesquereux' letter, Clinton wrote in his journal:
"Oct. 18. Before Breakfast, received letter from W. Lesquereux, giving
the precise station of Anomodon viticulosus on Goat Island. Went to Suspension
Bridge by 9 A. M. train, mossed at Devil's Hole, turned up to the Falls &
to Goat Island and examined the station, but, alas! no Anomodon vit's
there! The Station was on Goat
island, on a rock, about halfway down the path leading from the Carriage way
to the Bridge to Luna Island, not the Hog's Back path, but the one
above it. There's no rock there. Perhaps the path has been changed since W.
L. was there." Vol. 2. No. 10 [D 197] Columbus O. Octbr. 17th, '65 Hon. G. W. Clinton My dear Sir, That little moss sent with
letter of Sept. 21 proves to be a very fine and rare species, viz: Seligeria
recurvata Br. Eur. Mr. Sullivant has described it in his manual or
rather in Gray's manual 2d ed. but I do not know from what specimens, for it
is the first time that I see it in America. It is a very good addition to
your catalogue of New York mosses. I wish you had found it in plenty. I would
have put it in the Musci. I have no doubt that you may find at the same place
S. tristicha which generally grows with it. It is still shorter and blackens
by its foliage the reversed surface of wet overhanging rocks. Whenever you go
to Devil's Hole, please look for it carefully. Mr. Sullivant has found it
around Columbus in a kind of grotto limestone which has been destroyed long
time ago by the process of quarrying limestone. I could never find it again.
In the first package which you sent me with letter of the same date, I
find No. 1. a mixed specimen very
poor though one branch bears one unripe fruit. I shall try to find out what
it is. But such specimens are deceptive and sometimes a deal of work is
uselessly spent upon them. No. 2. is a form which I consider as the American
representative of Hypnum revolvens. I give it in the Musci
under that name though it is somewhat different from the Norwegian species.
It has never been found in fruit, and that is regrettable for the fruit would
remove the uncertainty. No. 3 is H. filicinum as you
say. The package marked Pylaisaea velutina contains old specimens of P.
intricata. Bartramia Oederi is right. I am much obliged for the specimen of
Bryum acuminatum and Hypnum serrulatum which both are pretty good. It is all what I have
received from you, I think. At least I find nothing more to look at but those
specimens which need a more detailed examination and comparison. Please send
anything which you desire to have determined or revised. Yours most sincerely L. Lesquereux I got yesterday a letter of
Mr. Peck with a few specimens among which that Orthotrichum anomalum which he
considered as O. speciosum. He marks it on trees. Is not this a mistake? your
paper are marked on rocks and I have never seen this Orthotrichum but on
limestone rocks or boulders. By the bye whenever you want specimens of mosses
for comparison or for your own herbarium, then name the species and I will
send them. I have always some to spare even of the rarest species, especially
European specimens which I do not put in the Musci. Enclosed please find an
European specimen of Orthotrichum speciosum, Nees. My American specimens come
from the Rocky Mts. I have not seen it from the Atlantic slope. Recd. Oct. 20 & wrote to
him. On
October 20, Clinton confided in his journal: " I know so little about the mosses &
hepaticaceae, that I have not kept my journal of my collections of them. I
commenced collecting them this Spring, and have submitted them, as collected
to Charles H. Peck, of Albany, &, when he has been in doubt, have applied
to Mr. Lesquereux who has, most cheerfully, aided me. Down to this date, excluding some 1-3
not yet determined, I have collected of Hepaticaceae, 18 species, Musci, including a var. in one, 122
species." On Oct. 21, Clinton wrote " Went to
the Falls, collected Orthotrichum anomalum, for Mr. Lesquereux, from trees in
the park [Prospect Park] opposite the Ferry House, also another lighter
colored one also, from first tree, what Mr. James thinks is Leskea
nervosa. Crossed the Ferry, &
explored up to the Horseshoe Fall, under the cliff, looking specially for
Trichostomum rigidulum. Found, on the wet talus, close to the Fall, a sterile
moss? which may be it (= A singular conferva [= Alga]). Recrossed, & walked down the river
& took some more Didymodon rubellus.
Ascended the Stairs, went to Goat island, and, commencing at the end
of the Bridge, explored the bank all the way down to opposite the middle of
the island above Luna Island. Found no rock till I got there - a ridge of the
bank, & there, quite close to the bank, was a large rock, in the earth on
top of which was an Anomodon which I am confident is not A. obtusifolius (it turned out to be A.
viticulosus.) At the foot of the Cascade, in the water, growing on the rock,
more Fissidens grandifrons. Home by the 6* P. M. train." In these letters "the manual"
refers to editions of Asa Gray's Manual of the Botany of the Northern United
States, the first edition of 1848, the second edition of 1856. Fernald, in
his 8th, or 1950 edition of Gray's Manual, indicated, perhaps ambiguously
that Sullivant's treatment was included in the first edition, but most people
only refer to the second edition treatment. In apparently both editions
William Starling Sullivant prepared the treatments of mosses and liverworts,
both often collectively treated as "musci." The basis for
Sullivant's exsiccat, the Musci alleghanienses issued in 1845 was musci
collected "in itinere a Marylandia usque ad Georgiam per tractus
montium" made in 1843 (mdcccxliii) in the company of Asa Gray. Sullivant's
herbarium and types were left to FH when he died, perhaps accounting for
Lesquereux spending much time there after the disposition of Sullivant's
estate.] Vol. 2. No. 19 [D 186] Columbus, O. Octb. 23d '65 Hon. G. W. Clinton My Dear Sir. Your favor of
the 21st with the mosses was received this morning and as I had some leisure
to day and was examining one species from Mr. Austin, I took yours at the
same time and now you will have I think a satisfactory answer about all the
doubtful specimens which you sent me. Let me say first that I am sincerely
obliged for all the kind words which you write me and always delighted to
receive your letters. I am like you an old man. At least I am old and if I
understand well what you say about a second childhood you are not young any
more. I delight and have always had my greatest enjoyment in friendly
letterary or rather epistolary intercourse. For, since more than 35 years I
am absolutely deaf, live quite alone, can scarcely speak English a language
of which I have never heard a word and have preserved the taste of my youth
in such a way that if the second childhood has come, I can not see any
difference from what I was formerly. Well. Does not the Divine Book say that
we have to become like Children again if we want to enter the Kingdom of
Heaven. This is as good a solace of a change as we can well wish to have. Now
to mosses. The pointed path near the corner of the stairs in your drawing is
just the place where I collected Anomodon viticulosus, the first time when I
arrived to America 1848, the second time in 1857. The first time this moss
was more abundant than the second and thus it may have been destroyed though
it covered a large patch of rock, loose earth and roots. Nevertheless I think
that you will find it if you go again that way, after examining the specimen
which I send you herewith. There are still some good things in the to day
packet. No. 1 is apparently a large
var. of Gymnostomum rupestre? Too old. And in this case both the small
variety of Gymnostomum curv[irostre] and the large one of G. rupestre are
scarcely distinguishable. N. 2. 5. 6. are truly Barbula
unguiculata var. apiculata, a variety as common as the normal
form. When Mr. Peck has examined some few hundred specimens of this
troublesome and variable moss, he will drop his doubts. N. 4 is right and generally
grows in water [in Clinton's handwriting "= C... polyanthum"] 7 Fissidens grandifrons is
fine. I wish you could get it in fruit. [in margin, Clinton's
handwriting: "8 = 20 & 29. 9 = 28"] 8 & 9 are Bryum cyclophyllum new for America.
The inferior leaves of N. 9 are much like those of B. Davallii but the
superior ones are obtuse and all have the same areolation as that of N. [?] I
would like to have plants of this species and if you could detect some
fruiting specimens next summer It would be a very valuable discovery. [in margin, Clinton's
handwriting: "10 = 30"] No. 10 is Hypnum giganteum
Schp. formerly considered as a var. of H. cordifolium but now separated
rightly.Could you without too much trouble collect a great many good
specimens for me, like those which you send, you would ablige me very much.
The species is given in the Musci. But the number of specimens in hand is
very small. I collected it at Milwaukee. James has it from Penna. [in margin: "11=34, 35,
36"] No. 11 May be what you say as well as anything else. There is
about a score of species of Bryum with the same leaves and areolation and
nothing in this section can be said fromleaves. As the determination can thus
be a matter of mere guessing, I would say: Bryum bimum var. because this
species is the most common. [in margin: "12 = 38,
39"] No. 12 is apparently H.
uncinnatum No. 3 & No. 13 may belong both to Fontinalis Lescurei.
Fontinalis can not be determined from leaves only. They are hard enough with
fruit. I am most obliged for Seligeria
recurvata May be we will add a supplement and put this with the Musci.
The specimens are good enough. Very sincerely yours L. Lesquereux That No. P. with letter of
18th is truly Anomodon obtusifolius. Recd. Oct. 25. Hypnum cordifolium Hedw. = Calliergon cordifolium (Hedw.) Kindb. Coe Finch Austin (1831-1880) resided in Closter, New Jersey. The following letter to Clinton from Austin gives some idea of the relations between the various bryologists at this moment in time: Vol. 2. No. 108 [D 122]
Closter, N. Jersey, Dec. 17th, 1865 Dear Sir: Your kind letter of
13th inst. is at hand. The enclosed specimen is what I call Plagiochila
porelloides. You have been rightly
informed concerning my speciality. And, I shall not quarrel with Mr.
Lesquereux for considering my decision on Hepaticae as being more reliable
than his own, from the fact that he writes me that he has given up entirely
the study of these plants. I am well aware however that I have yet to learn
much, very much, before I can consider myself a first rate Hepaticologist. I
am even unable to determine satisfactorily to myself a number of species
which I find about here. And then I am in constant receipt of specimens from
various sources, and cannot always determine tham all satisfactorily. Your kind offer to
assist me is gratefully accepted as I find myself in great want of help, and
this you can do by simply sending me good specimens [of anything] in the
Hepaticae line which you get hold of at the least if you cannot get time to
study them first for yourself, even. For what I most lack is plenty of good
specimens from every available source. Concerning Prof.
Pickett's plant I cannot make out your name. I have found about
here some four or five Ricciae new to this country, probably some of them n.
sp. also one new Jungermannia (J. microscopica notis [??] & J. pumilla,
Liochlaena lanceolata, Alicularia scalaris, Lunularia vulgaris (gound in
Conservatories), Grimaldia varbifer, Radula sp? &c. and I have some new Riccias from California
&c. Can you get me a specimen of Prof. Pickett's plant? I first found
Callitriche Austinii on Staten Island on dry hilly ground in shady byways in
June 1861. I afterwards saw it in the N. Y. S. Coll. as C. verna var.
terrestris, by Dr. Torrey. It is plenty here on damp, [rocky?], shady, hilly
ground. I found Solidago
speciosa at Haarlem N.Y. in Sept. 1861. I collect & study
mosses as well as Hepaticae, but do not make them so much of a specialty, yet
I have spent much more time on them than on the others. Mr. Peck occasionally
divides with me when he gets a good thing from you, in this way I have got
hold of several things I have not before seen. Very truly yours Coe F. Austin Hon. G. W. Clinton, Esq. Recd. Dec. 20 ansd Jan. 16 Vol. 2. No. 20 [D 185] Columbus O. Octb. 24th, 1865 Hon.G. W. Clinton, Buffalo This time you have hit it. No.
10, 11, 12, 14, 15 are Anomodon viticulosus. I did not recollect if the stone
was loose or in place but I know that there was a large block of limestone
whose face was covered with this moss. No. 13 is Anomodon attenuatus. No. 12, No. 2 Orthotrichum
anomalum I have never seen it on trees. But it is certainly the
species. No. 3 Orthotrichum
strangulatum. Sull. No. 4 is not Leskea nervosa.
This has reflexed margins and a much more strong nerve. It is more likely
Leskea obscura or rather Leskea Polycarpa. No. 5 is still unertain. It
is not the same as the one you sent formerly and from the peristome (as much
as I can see it from poor specimens) is referable to Didymodon luridus. I
think it is. But I have not found the male flowers yet. Have you any better
specimens? I will look to it again tomorrow when all the specimens are well
softened and cleaned. 6 is a fine Conferta, looks
like [Lyngbya] but I can not determine it. 7 a Psora (Funginea) don't
know the species. Probably Psora rosea. 8 & 9 Fissidens
grandifrons I return you the specimen
marked a [=A] which you sent formerly and considered as Leskea nervosa.
You will see that it is quite different from your No. 4 I found Dicranum montanum in
fruit (1848) near the upper end of Goat Island on a log (decayed) of pine. In
1856 or 57 I looked for it again and found it only sterile. It grows on
rotten pine or spruce trunks in the shade. Most common in the mountains of
New York but rare at Goat island Bryum turbinatum grows on constantly permeated
rocks and stones near the base of the chasm. You may find it in going from
the landing (Canada side) along the river at the base of the rocs toward the
Horseshoe falls. Hypnum sprucei grows on loose stones top of the
island in the woods between both falls in passing from one to the other
without following any path.
Trichostomum rigidulum at the same places as Bryum turbinatum.
I will try and write more to
morrow Respy sincerely yours L. Lesquereux Recd. Oct. 26 I have just got your letter
of yesterday. Will answer to morrow. Lyngbya C. Agardh is a blue-green alga. Note Lesquereux frequently spells 'rock' as 'roc' and Rostock, Germany, 'Rostoc.' In
Clinton's journal for Oct. 24: " By 9 A. M. train, to Lewiston, mossed thereabouts, walked up railroad to where it leaves the bank of
the river, & there descended to the river, & walked on, struggled up
to Devil's Hole , mossed there, collected more Seligeria recurvata, walked up
to Suspension Bridge, got there at 4*45' P.M., took the 5*50' train for home." Vol. 2. (also No. 20) [D
184] Columbus O. Octb. 25th, 1865 Hon. G. W. Clinton My dear Sir. That moss which
I considered with doubt as Didymodon rubellus is decidedly its next neighbour
a far rarer species and, if I do not mistake, not yet found in the E. U.S. Desmatodon
[he probably meant Didymodon?] luridus Br. Eur. I succeeded in finding
a pretty good peristome and then could satisfactorily decide the question.
Nevertheless this moss of yours has longer leaves than the European species.
It is a variety and for this reason it would be very good if you could find
any better specimens. The capsules of the last ones have been mostly
destroyed by water or insects, I do not know which else, they would be ripe
just now. I do not wish to give you trouble in any way but if you go to the
same place please use your very good eyes and try to get more of this
species. Now you must be quite proud about your success. Seligeria recurvata,
Bryum cyclophyllum, Didymodon luridus, three stars. Well! This
makes you a Leutenant General in the Moss regiment. Your love
for science is admirable and you have with extraordinary perseverance very
good eyes. I hope that you have not gone to the end of your ribbon and that
we will see something more of you yet. I am extremely much obliged
for Seligeria. I will look to the different form tomorrow. That
Didymodon has taken me much time. But I do not believe that you have yet more
than one species of Seligeria. S. tristicha is still smaller than your
smallest specimen. Desmatodon arenaceus is a most variable species. On the
shale it makes fine velvet green carpets on some rocks and when exposed to
the sun becomes larger yellowish of a coarser texture and abundantly fructifying,
thus presenting such another aspect. But the moss which you sent me the first
time with Seligeria was not a Desmatodon but some Leskea. I did
not try to determine it as it has not any fruit. I do not think that you made
any mistake with your Orthotrichum except perhaps concerning the place of
growth. No Orthotrichum could be determined as O. speciosum but that O.
anomalum. O. speciosum does not grow around you, only in the mountains. But,
I think that except for the specimens which you have the kindness to collect
for me, it would be better to return you all these which you sent for
examination. They are useless to me; I put them out of the way and as I have
no memory whatever it rarely happens that I can find them just when I want
them or when they are called for. On the other hand I am perfectly certain to
find all those useless things in my way whenever I do not want them at all.
It is peculiar that that Barbula of yours has just the leaves obtusely
pointed [tiny sketch] as Mr. Peck marks it in his drawing and not at all
linear lanceolate or lanceolate pointed as in the second form. But should you
take a stem and examine the leaves from the base you would find on the same
plant all the forms marked in the sketch which you sent me. We could have and
you could find Barbula fallax. But till now we have it only
from California. As for the habitat of Barbula unguiculata it is mostly
on limestone, limestone rocks, mortar made
from lime on bridges, &c., limestone gravel, lime
clay, lime black earth &c, &c. as all the most variable
species this one is most diversified in habitat. Yours very truly L. Lesquereux Recd. Oct. 26. "In the herbarium of the University of Colorado is a specimen labeled Bryum clintonii Aust. from Buffalo, N.Y. (without indication of collector). It belongs to B. cyclophyllum [which the authors speculate might be a synonym of B. clintonii published by Austin, Bot. Gaz. 1:30 in 1876]. Whether it can be considered a part of the type collection of B. clintonii remains uncertain. The name was not accounted for in Lesquereux and James' Manual or in Grout's Moss Flora. However, Lesquereux and James cited a Clinton collection of B. cyclophyllum from "stones wet by spray at Niagara Falls: - in other words, at or near Buffalo - as well as a Pennsylvania collection made on wet rocks by James." Crum, H. & L. E. Anderson, 1981, Vol.1 p.553, Mosses of Eastern North America, Columbia U. Press. Vol. 2. No. 27 [D 176] Columbus O, Octb. 28th, 1865 Hon. G. W. Clinton My dear Sir. Allow me to thank you most
sincerely for the fine specimens which you have had the Kindness to send me
and which were received yesterday night with both your letter of the 26th. I
have now more than enough of Hypnum giganteum and plenty also of the other species.
As Seligeria recurvata, Bryum cyclophyllum and Didymodon luridus are not
published in the musci and can be added only in a supplement, I do not want
just now more specimens than I have. The addition of a Supplement does not
depend upon me. Mr. Sullivant who is a rich man pays all the expenses of
printing and I do the whole work, preparation and determination of specimens
&c.: If the number of recently discovered species becomes somewhat
respectable, say 10 to 12, we shall give a supplement; if not you will have
yourself to make communication of your own discovered species to your friends
and I will return you your specimens for the purpose. As Bryum cyclophyllum
could not be found in fruit now and has been probably eroded by water, it is
much more desirable to have it quite fresh in the spring or in the summer.
Only if you should go again to the locality of the Didymodon luridus please
collect as much as you can find without trouble. By the bye, I told you that
I did not know if that Didymodon luridus had been found in America. It is one
of those memory's slips to which I am addicted. By refering to Gray's manual
you will see that it has been found by Drummond. Nobody else did find it
since, while [Desmatodon crossed out] Trichostomum rigidulum was found by
Agassie and by myself. By rumaging among the
packages of what I call rubbish, I found still a number of specimens of
Orthotrichum of yours. I send them with this. Please ask me for any species
of mosses which you would like to have. Have you a collection of mosses. Do
you preserve specimens. Shall I send you rare American species or what else?
I would gladly repay your trouble in some way. And now the cold is here. Do
not go around any more after mosses or plants for fear that you should get a
cold and become sick. But if ever you have nothing to send me, please do not
stop writing to me. Your letters are always most welcome and I shall be
always very much obliged for them. I will look to that Hypnum next week. It
has a peculiar look, like H. noterophyllum of Sull's, a poor species
nevertheless. Most sincerely yours' Leo Lesquereux Your favor, very kind indeed
of 27th is just come. I will answer it to morrow and look at the same time to
you Orthotrichum to find if O. cupulatum is in the package. Recd. Oct. 31 Vol. 2. No. 28 [D 175] Columbus O, Octb. 29th, 1865 Hon. G. W. Clinton My dear Sir. Yesterday when
I received your very kind favor of the 27th I promised myself to spend some part
of my Sunday with you and to make you a friendly visit mostly on account of
collecting mosses and other plants. Now I have still another note of yours
... late the fulfillment of a most pleasant task. It may be that we have two
Seligeriae. The specimens just received look smaller indeed than most of the
others. But till now I have found only one species among them, the difference
in size being especially the result of a more or less elongated stem. In
collecting such small mosses it is necessary to rake or scrape the rock and
some of the plants are cut at the base while some others are broken near the
top. Seligeria tristicha was not among the other specimens. It is a species
easily known by its three ranked leaves. We could have Seligeria pusilla.
But its pedicel is straight not curved and the capsule large mouthed. Such
characters I have not seen yet in your specimens. Nevertheless I will, to
morrow, examine again these you sent to day and report if I can find
something new or different from what we have seen till now. That moss which
you sent yesterday is the true Desmatodon rubellus. You have seen by my
former letter that I referred the first specimen sent to me of D. luridus to
that species only by supposition because I could not find any capsule ripe
enough to see the peristome. Whenever I have doubts about a moss you had
better mark it as undetermined. Moreover I do not give my authority as
undeniable. I may mistake and certainly make mistakes, but I do my best to
see clearly and try to be right. The number of specimens and species which I
have examined in American bryology is indeed enormous. Without counting the
specimens of the Musci on which I have worked about ten years, I have
examined all the specimens and species of James, many thousand, those
received by Sullivant and those sent me from every corner of the United
States. This has enabled me to compare numerous forms of the same species and
thus to have a good insight in their variations. I am extremely pleased with your zeal for searching and
collecting mosses and small plants and surprised at your extraordinary skill
in collecting and finding new and interesting speies. You write that you do
not know them. Have you then a natural intuition, a kind of divination at
your service. I rather believe that you have the true instincts of a clever
Botanist, the facility of comparing forms, retaining these in your memory,
thus the spirit of true analysis. I am also surprised at the strength of your
eyes. Such minute species as Seligeriae would now pass undiscovered by me who
have only the myopism of a microscopist. Nevertheless my time as a collector
has been employed for more than forty years. With Schimper, Mougeot,
Schaerer, all the best Bryologists of Europe, I have often travelled among
our Alpine and Jurassic mountains spending months among our natural wonders
for collecting plants and always finding a great cause of admiration for
those small products of nature as for the highest and most sublime [cymes?],
waterfalls or precipices of the mountains. God is in every thing and its
Creative hand is seen as admirable in the so called small being as in the
whole world taken together. I see that you have the same mind and I am glad
of it. You have a great deal to do as
a high functionary and I wonder how you can find time for anything else but
your duties as a Judge. I do not say this to discourage you of your
researches but on the contrary as a full approval of your course. For what
Kind of recreation can be nobler than natural study. I must cut short this
useless letter. Whenever you find time to write me, your letters shall be
always most welcome like those of a true and most respected friend. Yours very truly Leo Lesquereux Recd. Oct. 31. Clinton, as the note in his journal indicates above, was entirely new to mosses. He dosen't seem to be ready to inform Lesquereux that he is in ready communication with Charles Peck and Coe F. Austin. However, Clinton was a quick study: he apparently examined the specimens returned to him and was able to recognize them in the field, including the places where he originally acquired them. Apparently, Lesquereux here is responding to a challenge given him by Clinton, perhaps through Peck. Schaerer is Ludwig Emmanuel Schaerer (1785-1853) a Swiss student of fungi and lichens, producing the Lichenes Helvetici Exsiccati. Vol. 2. No. 31 [D 172] Columbus O Octb. 31st, 1865 Hon. G. W. Clinton My dear Sir. I really believe that to
your good eyes, cleverness and perseverance we owe the discovery of Seligeria
pusilla. Among the last parcel of specimens which you send me there are
mostly specimens of a smaller form which is probably that to me, most
troublesome species. You may readily see it in putting the specimens in water
for a few hours. Some of them the larger ones have by and by the pedicel
curved the smaller one the pedicel straight. It is peculiar that among the
other parcels, I find scarcely any of these straight pedicelled forms and in
the last most of them are. Did you select them or do they come from another
locality. Now to the species. Seligeria pusilla, according to Schimper and
also to Muller has the leaves slightly serrate above (folia medio
margine subserrulato) and the capsule broad mouthed or turbinate
(capsula valve turbinata) These characters are not at all apparent in the
small straight pedicelled form. There is a slight difference in the
areolation which is somewhat looser in the small plant but this
difference is not at all persistent, and the capsule is as much ovate in the
smaller form as in the large. If I had specimens for comparison, I would be
soon out of trouble about this. But I have none and M. Sullivant being out of
town I can not have access to his specimens. As soon as he is back I will
begin again an examination which has taken me already two days. What induces
me to believe that the small specimens belong to S. pusilla is a remark of
Schimper in the Bryol. Europ. that but for the size and the curved pedicel
Seligeria recurvata is much like S. pusilla. And in his late synopsis he says
just the same: Differt a pusilla cum qua his
illic provenit statura majore, pedicello longiore,
arcuato.) If this is the only marked difference you have certainly
collected both species and till I have compared with European specimens, I
admit this case in the affirmative and consider the small form as the S.
pusilla. I wish I could find among the small specimen an operulated capsule;
but there is none. Next year you will please collect these mosses somewhat
earlier, in July or August, the time of their maturity. It is enough for this
year to have discovered them. Do you wish any of the specimens which I
consider as S. pusilla? or have you some more for yourself? Most sincerely yours L. Lesquereux Recd. Nov. 2 & ansd from
Syracuse On
November 3, Clinton wrote in his journal:
"By 7*40' train to
Chittanango Station, thence, by Stage, to The Chittenango Falls. Explored the
chasm. At foot of Fall found Fissidens grandifrons. In the ravine, what I
take to be Anomodon viticulosus common. Walked back to the station. Train, at
5 P.M., picked me up & took me to Syracuse, supped, got into 6*20' train
& home [Buffalo] by about 11P.M." On
November 4, Clinton wrote: [From Buffalo] "By 9 A.M. train to Suspension
Bridge [a postal village now in the City of Niagara Falls facing the lower
arch railroad bridge], crossed & down to Foster's Flats [Ontario].
Explored that and the Whirlpool Brook (so I shall call the brook which has
formed a deep ravine [Bowman's Creek, Bowman's Ravine]. What I take to be
Anomodon viticulosus is common at both places, indeed everywhere about the
Falls. Found Desmatodon arenaceus on rock, & stones on the Flat &
some Seligeria with it on stones. Took the 5*50' train at the Bridge &
got home at about 7*P.M." This is an indication that Clinton could
already find mosses by species in the field. Vol. 2. No. 37 [D 166 -sic,
perhaps should be 196?] Columbus, O. Novb. 8th, 1865 Hon. G. W. Clinton My dear Sir. Both your very
obling letters of Octb. 31 and Novr. 2d are still unanswered. For two
reasons. First, because you wrote me from Syracuse on the 2d that you would
probably not come to Buffalo before Saturday, and I supposed it was Saturday
of this week; and secondly because I heard that Mr. Sullivant would be back
on Saturday past and I wanted to get from him specimens of Seligeria pusilla
for comparison with yours. Now I find at my office your favor of the 5th,
dated Buffalo and thus I see that I am belated a good deal. You will not
suppose that his delay has been caused by remissness. I like to be even with everybody
and especially with my friends and it was only yesterday night that I could
see Mr. Sullivant and this morning that I could reexamine your Seligeria.
Now, your's is not Seligeria pusilla. As I wrote you I think
sometime ago the stem is too short. But the essential character is in the
shorter, broader obtuse leaves, areolation &c: which make it Seligeria
calcarea! B. Eur. as good a species and as interesting as S. pusilla.
I inclose a few plants of it. As I have to give some also to Mr. Sullivant, I
have not much to spare. But you have the kindness to ask only for a very
little of what belongs to you and I comply to your wishes. I am satisfied
that you will still find at or around the same place where you got these
specimens both S. tristicha
and S. pusilla. You say you found at Forter's Flat a
Seligeria. Please send me some of it. It appears that though they grow at
the same general localities, they are or may be different (specifically) on
different stones. That Hypnum of yours which I supposed might be H. (I also
forgot the name, a very bad one) of Sullt. is nothing but H. orthocladum var.
At least as much as can be asccertained from a specimen without fruit. Of the
mosses which you send me to day, I will report tomorrow if I can. I will also
send you a good specimen of Leucodon julaceus. That of your wood pile is the
same L. julaceus though a poor specimen. I would be surprised that this
species should not have been found in N.Y. it is most common and I am about
certain to have seen it on decayed logs at Goat Island. In any case it is at
the base of the Catskill Mt. and also in the valley of the Adirondacs. It is
a species of the plain; the L. brachypus is one of the mountains. I wish I could answer as I
want it to both your very kind letters. You give me of your life and various
pursuits an outline which proves me what I already supposed that you have
attained and were bound to attain supremacy and distinction in every occupation
which you were called to follow. I wish for science that you had become a
professor Natural Science. But our path is traced by a mightier Hand than our
own and when we follow it faithfully the result is in every case an advantage
for ourselves and for others. I am indeed glad and thankfull that you
consider me a friend of yours and thus admit me in the intimate knowledge of
your life. If I had something interesting to say of myself I would most
willingly reciprocate this confidence of yours, if it was only to show you
how much I appreciate the good opinion which you have of me. But I have
pursued science especially botanical science during most of my life, not from
duty but on the contrary against duty and for mere personal satisfaction. I
am a Swiss countriman and near friend of Profs. Agassiz and Guyot. I first
studied theology, then took to teaching and it was while I was Prof. at
LaChaux & Toner [sp.?] a plain high up in the Jura Mts. that I became at
once nearly entirely deaf (ears frozen). As this was a case of most
importance for myself and my young family (I was married only two or three
years); I of course tried every means of getting cured of this infirmity and
the result of these efforts was the spending of nearly all what I had of
worldly goods and an operation made at Paris by the most celebrated Doctor of
France and which produced an inflamation of the brain and an absolute
deafness. What to do then to support my family? I took to manual labor,
learned a trade (engine turning) which nearly killed me, then went as a mere
work man in a manufactory of my father (watch main spring) and thus lived a
few years. But this was for me a mere outward life. When my world was
finished after eight oclock every night, I spent four to six hours in
microscopical and other work merely scientific and of which I could never
expect to get a cent. This was working against conscience. For my manual
labor was little paid and I thus sacrificed the comforts of my family to mere
taste or pleasant pursuits. At that time a price was offered by our
Gouvernment for a book on the formation of the Peat bogs, their reproduction,
the mode of exploitation, value of the combustible &c. I had spent days
rather weeks in exploring our peat bogs for mosses and of course could not do
it without looking somewhat into their formation &c. I wrote a book on this subject, got the
price and as the book made some fruit and was translated in German, the King
of Prussia wanted me to make a general exploration of the European Peat bogs
and deposits of other mineral combustible materials, coal, lignites &c.
and thus my scientific path was from appearance coming to some clearing and
at last out of the deep woods. When returned at my home, our Swiss revolution
broke out, Agassiz was already in the U.S. He wrote me pressingly to come
here where men of science were in demand. Without considering that with my
total deafness I could never learn to speak English and thus could do
nothing, I came, saw and was beaten. Sullivant who knew my name from Europe called
me here and helped me for one year. Then I began business with both my eldest
sons who had learned the watch trade in Swizerland, imported watches,
travelled to sell them, collected mosses and plants, trusted people with my
goods, and once at home took again to microscope and science. The war broke,
I lost all what I was worth and as much more in Kentucky and Tennessee where
the watches of our manufactory sold for the most and of course had to stop
business and close it as well as possible. Good friends have helped me. I
have satisfied my creditors, two of my sons have begun again the same trade
and forced me to enter it not a partner but as a mere receiver of a third of
the profits. For this I keep their books but most of the time I am out of
town prospecting for geology either for governments or private and when at
Columbus spend my time (still against my conscience) with mosses, microscope
&c. not at all for the advantage of others, but as I said before for mere
personal satisfaction. Well. I have done just like those old women who do not
want to tell a story at all, and
beginning it make it as long and as tedious as human patience can afford to
hear or read it. Most sincerely your friend. L. Lesquereux. Recd. Nov. 9 Vol. 2. No. 43 [D 190] Columbus O. Novb. 10th,
[18]65 Hon. W. I. Clinton [sic] My dear Sir. I am short by
one day from my promise of returning your mosses. I put them carefully
yesterday into my coat pocket, but my wife wishing to go with me to town on a
shopping expedition, I put on my Sunday clothes and of course left the mosses
at home with the old ones. This is said not only as an excuse but to show you
that an old man can be still sometimes very polite for his old wife. Your Anomodon are both A.
viticulosus. Now you will find it everywhere, I think. I have written you
already that Leucodon of the wood pit[pile] was L. julaceus. I
send good fruiting specimens. Of your Fissidens which I consider as F.
grandifrons I would like to have some stems with flowers. This one has
the leaves somewhat narrower than the Niagara form and it might be Fissidens
linealis of Shimper, a species very much like F. grandifrons
but which has not been found yet among us. I think that as F. grandifrons
has plenty of flowers at Niagara, this one may have some also. I did not yet tell you
anything about your catalogue of Buffalo plants. I had received it formerly
from Mr. Peck and read it again yesterday. I am indeed surprised that in such
a short time you have succeeded in finding so many species. When your 2d ed.
appears it will be already quite a work and a very useful one to direct
researches in your country. It may
be that you may find Fissidens grandifrons in fruit. But some species of
mosses appear to be propagated by bits of plants perhaps roots flying around
or transported by water and thus they germinate at the proper place without
fruiting or without seeds. Thus we have Phillogonium norvegicum
[sic] always found on overhanging rocks of conglomerate sandstone as well
here in Ohio as in Norvegia and which has never been found in fruit any
where. The fruit of both Fissidens grandifrons and F. linealis pretty
abundant in the Pyerenean mountains and at Niagara &c. is still unknown.
Some Campylopus never fruit at least have never been found but sterile. Thus
Camp. leucotrichum, C. Tollaleui, C. viridis of N. America, Campylopus
griseus, pilifer, &c. from Europe &c. &c. I return your specimens
except that Fissidens which I keep for further examination if you send it in
flower. Yours very truly L. Lesquerux. Recd. Nov. 12 On November 10, Clinton wrote in his journal, as well
as the letter to Lesquereux: " To the Falls by
9*A.M. train crossed & walked up, along the river, nearly to The
Horseshoe looking for Trichostomum rigidulum, am afraid I did not find it.
Icicles hanging from the cliffs. Back to Goat Island, where I spent the rest
of the day looking for Dicranum montanum & Hypnum Sprucei, am afraid that
I found neither. Home by the 6 P.M. train." Didymodon
rigidulus Hedw. had been found about Niagara Falls by Coe Finch Austin,
Francis Wolle, Drummond among others. It may be found there today at Devil's
Hole, N.Y., Niagara Glen Ont. and all along the calcareous talus at the base
of the gorge and the ledges along the caprock. Vol. 2. No. 55 [D 177] Columbus O Novb. 21th [18]65 Hon. G. W. Clinton Dear Sir. Do not be afraid
of tiring my patience, as you say. Generally speaking I
have so much patience; but for mosses it is never tired. I have been moving
into my house again past week and just when we were going finely my wife came
from the garret down a step of stairs on her back and was nearly killed. She
is still very sick. I have to attend to her and my house topsy turvy, no
carpets, no beds, nothing. Mosses will have to wait at least until next week.
But do not be afraid to send them Yours very sincerely L. Lesquereux Recd Nov. 23 On November 29, Clinton wrote: "12 3/4 P.M. to Niagara Falls to see if Fissidens
grandifrons shows any signs of fruiting, it dosen't. On Goat Island, Euonymus
atropurpureus in fruit, very pretty, searched the whole of the wooded part of
the Island." Vol. 2. No. 75 [D 156] Columbus O Decbr
4th [18]65 My dear Sir, Water has come to the mill
again. Enclosed you will find all the specimens I got from you for
examination except the Fissidens which I intend beginning to morrow. As your
Numbers are somewhat mixed up, I think bu\est returning the specimens in
their own paper. You will find that one was mixed and contained two species
which I have separated. Phascum alternifolium is still uncertain because it
has not any fruit yet. But it can be this species only or Ph. palustre and
nothing else. In the spring you will find it in plenty and we can then fix it
right. My wife is better but still
unable to sleep and to get any rest whatever. The doctor thinks she is out of
danger, but there is some internal lesion of the organs of the lungs or of
the heart which renders respiration very difficult. I have had a bad time
these past weeks. For 35 years we have been my wife and myself roughing it on
the worst roads of the world, leaning upon another, encouraging each other
and thus passing the bad places without too much trouble. I do not know
indeed that I [could] get [alone] now. At least it would be a very hard task.
But Providence cares for us in the best way.
Your letters are always very pleasant to me and I would like to know
you from sight. Would you like to exchange your daguerrotype for mine. I have
the likeness of all my Botanical friends except yours. If the proposal is in
the least indiscrete, please do not care about it and forget it. Yours very sincerely Leo Lesquereux I will send you
a specimen of Hypnum revolvens if I do not find yours again. Recd. Dec. 6 Vol. 2. No. 81 [D 150] Columbus O. Decb. 6th, [18]65 Hon. G. W. Clinton Buffalo My dear Sir. There is no
difference whatever in all the specimens of Fissidens Grandifrons which you
have sent me except a slight difference caused by the age of the plant and
its more or less great exposure to dripping water. Hence you may consider the
whole as Fissidens Grandifrons. I suppose that you do not want your specimens
and as I am just preparing the Fissidens for the Musci, I will use them in
the sets.[*] I went yesterday to Mr.
Sullivant for examining the question of Seligeria recurvata. I find in his
collection good specimens of this species collected about 20 years ago twenty
miles North of Columbus on limestone banks by Mr. Robinson. There is also a
paper labelled Seligeria calcarea marked 5 miles above
Columbus, deep snake den in limestone. Mr.
Sullivant says that he forgot to put this species in his manual. But it is
perhaps still doubtfull and referable only to S. recurvata. In any case as
this S. calcarea has never been mentioned as found before in the U.S. you are
of course considered as the discoverer of it. I wish you a fine and happy
Thanksgiving day with Turkey, Plum pudding and every other good thing at your
liking. As for giving thanks for what we get in the world, there is not a
single man though poor and deprived he may be, who can not find reasons for
gratefullness and praise to the omnipotent Giver. Yours very truly L. Lesquereux Recd Dec. 8. Wrote him Dec.
9 All through snowy and icy November Clinton went mossing about Buffalo and environs. This is a particularly good time for cryptogams of all types, vascular and non vascular (mosses and liverworts) to fruit. Pygmy or ephemeral mosses tend to become visible at this time. Hardly visible in the summertime, the wet makes their tiny leaves open broadly into little rosettes, vivid green against the dark, wet earth - a truly delightful preoccupation just before snow covers the ground and in late winter, just when the earth is free of the melting snow. See Lesquereux' letter below of December 29. Vol. 2. No. 91 [D 139] Columbus Decbr. 11th [18]65 Hon. G. W. Clinton Both N.1 & 2 are right:
Hypnum diversifolium Schz. {?] Specimens being fine I wish to keep them for
my own Herbarium if you do not want them. I return the balance all the
species being also rightly named. That jungermania may not be J. anomale. I
have no time to look for it and compare. Send to Austin. I also return that
specimen of Hypnum revolvens. You will see that it is quite different from
what you sent lately, Yours in haste, L. Lesquereux Recd. Dec. 13 Hypnum
diversifolium (B.S.G.) Schleich. ex Sull. et Lesq. = Eurhynchium pulchellum
(Hedw.) Jenn. On Dec. 3, after visiting the Episcopal Church in downtown
Buffalo, Clinton wrote: "
After communion, went, by street car, to Scajaquada Creek on Main St., &
walked on to Dr. White's field & grove [near Forest Lawn Cemetery]. Found
one moss which, maybe, I had not collected before. = Hypnum
diversifolium." Vol. 2. No. 99 [D 131 - same
library number as the previous, no. 98] Columbus O Decbr 13th, [18]65] Hon. G. W. Clinton My dear Sir. Both your specimens are the same... male flowers
of a Bryum most probably Bryum caespiticium. The capitules of
flowers so much resemble capsules that it is scarcely to believe them flowers
except if persuaded from anatomical examination. This is very commonly found
on naked ground especially in the vicinity of trees and where some charcoal
has been spread either accidentally in powder or in burning the trees. I hope you will soon be able
to send me your daguerrotype in exchange of mine and I assure you also that I
shall praise it very much. But I do not like to give myself out for nothing.
I have some portratis of Mr. Sullivant, larger than a Photograph and will
send you one with my carte. Most respy yours L. Lesquereux Recd. Dec. 15 Vol. 2. No. 123 [D 105] Columbus O Dec. 29th 1865 Hon. G. W. Clinton My dear Sir, Hoping that you have had a
merry and happy Christmas, allow me to wish you not only a happy new year but
a good time all the next year round. Of course we are ourselves the manufacturers
of our own happiness. But we generally do not know how to work with nothing
and it is not too bad when we get good materials for our use. From what you
write me you have a family around you. May you be all prosperous. I send you my carte &
holograph. When you see my poor old weather beaten physionomy [sic] you will
understand better how derisive was my late assertion to you, that I would not
throw me away for nothing. That would be nothing for nothing anyhow but
nevertheless do not forget your promise and try to send me your carte as soon
as convenient. I would not have taken the liberty to ask for it if I had not
much wished to get it. I had a fine Christmas
present. My daughter the youngest of my children married since one year
presented me with a girl, just at noon of that day. I have plenty of
grandchildren, all girls except one but this last is the most praised. Now I make just like the
Irish maiden who keeps for the third Postscript what they have in the mind
since the beginning of taking their pen in hand.
I am now preparing the Orthotrichum and see that the specimens of O. anomalum
are poor. Could you not send me a supply. Even old specimens would do. I
would want also some specimens of O. cupulatum. But I want them soon or not
at all. Very truly and respectfully
yours Leo Lesquereux Now is the best time for
mosses in fine fruit, especially hypnaceae. If the cold is not too intense
and if you are not afraid of it you may discover some fine things this winter
around you. Look also for small Phascaceae from January to April. Phascum
crassinervium is certainly now in plenty on your cornfields or in the paths
of the meadows and woods. It looks like a green film and its fruits are not
discernable but with the glass. I will send you a whole series of Orthotricae
for those specimens of O. anomalum & cupulatum which I desire from you. Hypnaceae included then many
genera now that are considered distinct (Campylium, Brachythecium,
Eurhynthium, Rhynchostegium). Phascum crassinervium is now Ephemerum
crassinervium (Schwaegr.) Hampe. Clinton appears not to have
gone in the field during most of December and not until April 6 of the new
year (1866). (See illustration
from Sullivant's Icones Muscorum below) |
|
|
Hypnum adnatum, a moss,
illustration from Sullivant's Icones Muscorum [=Homomallium adnatum (Hedw.)
Broth].