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THE BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF G. W. CLINTON |
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THE BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF G. W.
CLINTON – September 1865 |
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[1865] Sept. 1. At 4*40' [At Salamanca:] A.M.
started from the Hotel & walked through Big Valley, 3 miles, to Salmon
Porter's, 4 miles further, & got there at about 7*. Approaching Big
Valley, took specimen of Helianthus giganteus? Salmon Porter died 7 June
last. His widow &c. have sold the farm. Breakfasted there, & left at
about 7*45' & commenced ascending to the City. On the way, collected
Goodyera pubescens, Aster acuminatus, Medeola Virginiana in berry, the
berries are on erected peduncles, also Aspidium noveboracense, and a, to me,
very singular looking Polytrichum (Pogonatum brevicaule). In ascending, &
in the City, collected mosses everywhere. In the City, Pyrus Americanus, in
fruit, 2 Carices & a grass, probably Cinna. Descended to the road,
between Salamanca & Little Valley, through the woods. On the way down a
young raccoon, very unsophisticated, remained quietly, on the ground, within
a rod of me, while I sat on a log & jotted down my notes. Saw no where,
the Listera, nor any Platanthera orbiculata or Hookeri, all of which were so
abundant on former visits, and the Clintonia umbellata has even shed its
fruit. In a little streamlet, now in pools, crossing the wood road, collected
a Fontinalis? (!) not in fruit. When the stream comes out into the open
fields, they are boring for oil. Struck the road at 2*7' P.M. about 3 miles
from Salamanca. By the road fence, on the right hand side, a little way on,
Rudbeckia triloba? (R. laciniata). It rained hard, from the time I gathered
it, got soaking wet, got to Salamanca at 3*30'. Went up the hill side, did
not light on the Cuscuta inflexa, but took some of the Gerardia, which, very
likely, is G. integrifolia (!). Took trains for Dunkirk at 4*48', fare 1.25.
Arrived at 6*45' supped, took St. L. train at 8*35' & got home at about
10 P.M. Total expenses from Salamanca 5.25. Which expenditures since I left
home 8.80 + 2.65 + 5.25 = 16.70. [Pogonatum brevicaule, P. ‑Beauv. now Pogonatum
pensilvanicum (Hedw.) P.‑Beauv. "A pioneer of recently exposed, steep
banks of moist clay or silt, especially on roadbanks; apparently an acidophile.
Widespread in eastern North America but apparently lacking in much of the
Great Lakes region ..." Crum & Anderson, Vol. 2 p. 1263. "Moist clayey banks, Eastern States
and westward. ‑ Common. p. 75, W. S. Sullivant, Icones Muscorum; Canbridge.
1864.] [1865] Sept. 2. At about 11* went to the Dam,
took a boat, rowed to Big Bay [=Strawberry Island] & collected the
Spongilla & Batrachospermum, rowed over to the American side for Scirpus
Torreyi &c., but they had gone by ‑ back to head of Grand Island, &
then, off the 2 trees marking graves, found a few specimens of Isoetes,
searched along shore & at the head of Beaver Island, in vain, for more.
Rowed back to Strawberry & searched along west side, in vain, until I
reached the mouth of Little Bay, where I found it tolerably abundant. Home by
8 P.M. [The Scirpus Torreyi was looked for in the
Rattlesnake Channel, see 1865: Aug. 8. 1865. July 14.] [1865] Sept. 3. Day's Sphagnum to get some
Riccia fluitans for Mr. Peck. Got it.
[1865] Sept. 4 [note, out of order] Monday.
George & I went down the River & caught Perch. Coming back, stopped
at Little Bay, & collected some Isoetes in the mouth of the Bay, in about
18 inch water. Noticed the Ranunculus reptans growing somewhat freely in the
same depth of water (Qu. Can it flower &c.) but not on the shore. It
seems really in this station, a subaquatic plant. [This entry out of order: written after Sept. 5.
Restored to its present place by the editor.] [1865] Sept. 5. Mr. John S. Ganson took me, in
his carriage, to Keller's tavern, in Boston, where we dined. Visited the gas
springs on Abraham Young's farm. Lycopus europaeus growing abundantly, in dry
field. In the ravine on which the further one is, picked a fine moss, &
in the lane, & in the ravine where the nearer spring is, &
afterwards, by the road side in the hill descending to Boston Centre, the
small Pogonatum brevicaule which I found at Salamanca. [Pogonatum brevicaule, P. ‑Beauv. now Pogonatum
pensilvanicum (Hedw.) P.‑Beauv. "A pioneer of recently exposed, steep
banks of moist clay or silt, especially on roadbanks; apparently an acidophile.
Widespread in eastern North America but apparently lacking in much of the
Great Lakes region ..." Crum & Anderson, Vol. 2 p. 1263. "Moist
clayey banks, Eastern States and westward. ‑ Common. p. 75, W. S. Sullivant,
Icones Muscorum; Cambridge. 1864.] [1865] Sept. 7. 12* 20' train to the Falls.
Pursued the foot of the talus, below Amn Stairs to
nearly where the Hydraulic Canal pours over the cliff, then to the shore,
where, on a high rock, I collected the moss Mr. Peck wished. Collected very
little besides mosses, & few of these. Home by the 6* train. Along the
talus, collected Nabalus .
Muhlenbergia (Probably capitata but heads more open than usual. In the little
inclosure, opposite the R. R. depot, the common red‑flowered Amaranthus growing spontaneously. [1865] Sept. 10. Walked, in St. L. R. R., to
& up Smoke's Creek, & collected some mosses, & particularly, in
the old channel, at the head of the wood, a small moss, which I suppose to be
the one which bothered Mr. Peck, & which Mr. Lesquereux pronounced Hypnum
riparium, var., no. 528 of S. & L.'s list. Pellia epiphylla showed no
fruit. Found a small cyathiform fungus which seems to open into cup shape,
with a white film or membrane at first closing the cup. At the left of the
r.r., going out, near Elk St. found Amaranthus spinosus. Solanum Carolinense
abundant where old cattle stand was, but none in flower. Xanthium spinosum
& Bidens tripinnata have disappeared. Found a few plants of Physalis
Philadelphica in flower, & took two. This side of the Bx [?] ridge over
the Creek, found a plant of Ambrosia trifida? (yes! v. integrifolia). much branched, & took specimens. This
side of the switch, Helianthus doronicoides? A few rods beyond the town out,
& a few rods this side of the road crossing, patches, on the dry railroad
bank on the right, of a Polygonum, probably amphibia var. terestre, very
hairy, & only 2 puny spikes of flowers. Collected beyond the wood, the
Chenopodium with large leaves, probably a form of C. album, and, in the
meadow, on both sides of the wood, Coreopsis trichosperma. In the track of the turnout,
are several queer first leaves, one of them may be of Oenothera fruticosa.
Just beyond the culvert, or ditch, between Elk St. & the next cross
street, right hand side, noticed a very hairy Physalis not in flower yet. [Sullivant and Lesquereux' list.] [1865] Sept. 14. By 6*15' train to Tonawanda.
Collected some mosses. On by 9*30' train to Lewiston. Collected some mosses,
walked back to Devil's Hole, mossed, thence to Whirlpool woods, mossed, &
took an Aster which may be A. ericoides, & may be one not before noted by
me. Home by the 6*P.M. train from The Falls ‑ (Sept. 15. On looking at those
Asters, I find that the smooth one has cordate leaves or radical leaves, and,
were it not for its winged petioles, I should call it A. azureus. It may be
A. undulatus. The other, if it be another, does not answer to A. ericoides.
(One or both of these = A. azureus). [1865] Sept. 15. After dinner with George,
examined the outer edge of Squaw Island, & a part of the river on the
Canadian side, for, but did not find the Isoetes. Caught a mess of perch. [1865] Sept. 16. With George, down the River to
Little Bay, nil! Big Bay, on the edge
of the river, above the entrance, some Isoetes, & Ranunculus reptans in
the water. In the Bay, collected some of the Spongilla, & some of the
water moss [Hypnum aduncum, now Drepanocladus, written above], & some
seeds &c. of our Nymphaea, at Gray's request, the roots are tuber‑bearing
as Paine writes & I suppose it is his new species [N. tuberosa written
above], about which he writes in his letter received today. Crossed to Canada
& caught a mess of perch. Started up the shore to & above the old
Forsyth house, no Isoetes. Went up Frenchmen's Creek, collected there
Helianthus doronicoides?, Bidens cernua! (rays inconspicuous, stem rough,
achenium 4‑awned, and a Cirsium, either discolor or altissimus, unusually
small. ‑ The Bidens is, probably, cernua. But it grows from 6‑18 in.
high, & is often much branched. Examining the pods of the Nymphaea, find
two with seeds enveloped in arils, 1 with seeds with a cup shaped aril, and
other, much older, with seeds without arils. As to the tubers, they are mere
branchlets of the rhizome. [1865] Sept. 18. Found Atriplex hastata, entire‑leaved!
& a linear lanceolate on Virginia St., N.W. corner of Virginia & 9th
St. Also a plant, like Chenopodium, in its flowers, but seed‑bearing, with
similar & equally thick & fleshy leaves. How can it be the male At.
hastata? [1865] Sept. 19. Crossed at Waterloo [= Fort
Erie] & walked up L. Huron R. R. to the wood opposite Rose's Point,
through them to the Lake Shore, & up that to Windmill Point, back, by the
shore, to the Ferry, & so home. Collected some mosses. Equisetum
variegatum abundant on the rocky point which [...] just into the Lake &
makes Rose's Point. Collected some Corispermum, &c., &c. Nothing new.
Bidens cernua seems, to me, quite distinct from Chrysanthemoides. [1865] Sept. 23. By invitation of Mr. A.
Thompson, with other Buffalonians, took the 9 A. M. train to Falls, &
there met "the British capitalists" crossed at the Ferry, &
took first train on Erie & Niagara River, at the Clifton Station, backed
1/2 mile up & then went down to Niagara, where the contractors gave the
Can. council of that City & ourselves a nice lunch at Mr. Moffat's
tavern. Walked down to the River and then taken back to Clifton by the train.
Recrossed River at Ferry, and made one (unsuccessful) grab, near American
Fall, for Anomodon viticulosus. Home by 11* P.M. special train. [Here we are probably seeing a meeting that will
be fateful for the future development of railed transportation, electric
power generation and electric rail transport that would transform the Niagara
region's economy and politics. Here is our first reference to a local
Canadian rail line, the Erie & Niagara River Rail Road. The special train
may have been provided by the conveners of this meeting to carry dignitaries
back to Buffalo and other points along the line. Clinton was a Superior Court
Judge and had a free railroad pass. Note that recently he had been relatively
preoccupied with fares.] [1865] Sept. 25. Last Monday, or thereabouts,
with Day, walked up 9th Street to Jersey, returned to large vacant lot
between it & Niagara St., & on the upper side of that lot, took 2
sprigs from a hickory by the fence. I suppose it to be C. amara, but observe
that the leaflets are 5‑7. Can it be Carya microcarpa? No fruit on the tree.
There seem to be several similar trees in that part of the city. [This is an interesting
reference to Oak‑Hickory woods elements in the Buffalo area, in addition to
many references to Buffalo's urban wetlands. Dry areas include the Plains
references (thin soil over calcareous bedrock). See Oaks for a reference to
this genus.] [1865] Sept. 25b. Took the 12*20' train to
Suspension Bridge, & collected mosses about the Whirlpool & in the
Whirlpool woods, and collected largely that Aster which really bothers me
very much. = A. azureus. [1865] Sept. 26. After Breakfast, walked, on
St. L. R. R. to 1st dark wood on the left, through that & the next, then
cut across to Mr. Kelley's (West Seneca House) then over Limestone Ridge, to
the dead creek this side of Smoke's Creek, & collected Conomitrium
Julianum, then down the creek & across fields to the R.R. Along it to the
dark wood, along the road through it to the next wood, which I partly went
through & partly surrounded, and gathered on its Lakeward skirt a little
of the Aster longifolius, then across fields to the Turnpike, & Mr. Capt.
Maxwell gave me a bowl of bread &
milk, thence to the Lake & along it some ways, & then across fields
& ditches to the St. L. R. R. & so home. Collected very little
besides mosses. [1865] Sept. 27. By 9*A.M. train to Suspension
Bridge, went down the old road to the Maid of the Mist Landing, &, along
the water up a good way to not far below the Fall made
by the Hydraulic Canal, then scrambled to & returned a good way on the
top of the talus, & then down it & back to the top of the bank. On the talus
found one white Gentiana Andrewsii. Walked up to Goat Island down the Biddle
Stairs, & searched near the Middle & the British Falls, for Anomodon
viticulosus, then to the American Staircase & did the same at the
American Fall. Then took a short walk in the wood, & then home by the 6*
P.M. train. Collected some mosses, probably nothing new. [1865] Sept. 28. By 5 A.M. train to Rochester
& thence back to Bergen, and over to Sylvester Gillet's where Mr. G. gave
me a bread & milk breakfast, then to the Sackett's. Sarah at school in
Bergen, & staying at Frank Gifford's. Got into the swamp by 9*40'. Got
lost as usual. Landed somewhere in Byron, and made for a house which turned
out to be on "the swamp road" (running E & W and being the one
just North of the railroad), then walked on the road East about a mile, &
made another dash into the swamp, intending to cross it and come out at
Smith's, the attempt resulted in my coming out on the same side, probably 1
mile further east and about 1 mile west of Gillet's. Found Gillet and Mr.
Frederick Lewellin of West Bergen, at work, with teams, drawing stone. Mr.
Lewellin showed me a wood road in the swamp, and walked in it with me until
we had, as he said, passed all the roads that turned off. I kept on and came
out 1/4 ‑ 1/2 mile east of Smith's barn (Mr. L. says by taking the 6*15'
accommodation from Buffalo, & getting out at W. Bergen, and breakfasting
at his house, I'll get into the swamp as soon as by the other way, invites me
to breakfast, (&c.). Back to the main road & into the swamp a ways.
This day collected in swamp, Solidago Ohioensis, also the common Solidago of
the swamp, and some nice mosses. Dined at Sackett's. Walked to Bergen. There
called twice at Frank Gifford's, Sarah out a visiting, but she came to the
depot and saw me a few minutes before the starting of the 6*53' train for
Buffalo. [1865] Sept. 29. Took care of my plants, &
sent off some mosses to Peck & to Lesquereux. Mailed some Isoetes to
Engelmann & to Durand. Received a packet from E. P. Austin. [This is E. P. Austin of Philadelphia.] [1865] Sept. 30. By 9* A. M. train to
Suspension Bridge, crossed & hunted for mosses about the Whirlpool. |
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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. |
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