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THE BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF G. W. CLINTON |
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THE BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF G. W.
CLINTON – May 1866 |
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[1866.] May 1. The weather, this Spring, has
been cool. In the waning of this day
we had snow, which, however, did not lie.
[1866.] May 5. Walked to Smoke's Creek wood on St.
L. R. R. [=State Line Railroad]. Have
noticed in flower, this Spring, besides Elms, willows, poplars, alders, maples, Caltha palustris,
Anemone nemorosa, Hepatica acutiloba,
Ranunculus abortivus, Caulophyllum, Cardamine rhomboidea, Dentaria laciniata, Dicentra cucullaria
& Canadensis, Sanguinaria,
Claytonia (both), Viola cucullata & pubescens, Stellaria media,
Dirca, Amelanchier, Taraxacum,
Benzoin, Erythronium Americanum & albidum, Trillium grandiflorum & erectum v. albidum. In
the wood at Smoke's Creek, Erigenia
bulbosa commonish, & Collinsia verna just flowering. Collected
mosses, among them what I suppose is
Timmia megapolitana! [1866.]
May 10. Crossed to Waterloo [=Fort Erie, Canada] & looked for
mosses about Frenchman's Creek. [1866.] May 11. With Mr. Stewart, visited the
trees of Ulmus racemosa, all aborted
fruit. In the grove, on the hill side, South of the Creek, Timmia megapolitana. Forest Lawn, in the
nursery of Norway spruce (?) found a
little Bryum (=B. atropurpureum) in fruit. In the field, between Dr. White's grove & the McAdam road, two
of the small mosses found yesterday in
Canada? [1866.] May 12. Went to Goat Island, all] with
Mr. Forbes, & a party of young
ladies from the Bo. Fem. Seminary & passed the day there, botanizing &c., until about 3 P.M., then to Geo.
W. Holley's, where Mr. & Mrs. H.
entertained the party, & thence to the railroad station &
home. On the Island, the girls found a few specimens of
the green petalled Trillium, which
seems to be T. grandiflorum. I found Fegatella conica capitally in fruit.
[P.
729 Gray's 6th: = Fegatella conica, Corda. = Conocephalus conicus, Dumort, an Hepatic
(Liverwort). See Buffalo Female Academy. See
letter: Name: Holley, Esq.
George W. V3: 3:59 regarding this trip:] ---------- ----------
---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Vol. 3 (58)
[M171] Name: Holley, Esq. George W.,
Niagara Falls, New York. Niagara Falls [Clinton index Vol.3] V3:
3:59 [M 170] Niagara Falls May 9th, 1866 Dear Sir, I learn from my daughter Lily that a party of the young
ladies from the B. F. Academy are
expecting to visit this place next Sat.y on a botanizing expedition, and that you will accompany
them. Lily has invited the party to
our home for rest and refreshmet at 4. O. C. P. M. [4 o'clock, P.M.]
after the labors of the Island
are finished [probably Goat Island]. Mrs. Holly and myself will be glad to have you join them. The expectation is that the party will
go from our house to the cars.
Very Truly Yours George
W. Holley Judge Clinton, Buffalo, N.Y. Received May 9 ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
----- ----- ----- ----- [1866.] May 14. Pine Hill woods. Collected some
mosses & one or two Hepaticaceae.
Among the mosses, Timmia megapolitana. Tetraphis pellucida, with his cap on, is beautiful. [1866.] May 15. By 5 P.M. Erie R. R. train to
Caledonia, arrived at Shaw's Tavern
at 7*40', supper, segar, good bed. [It
appears a segar is a cigar.] [1866.] May 16. Walked the Creek swamps &c.
until 1 1/2 in a drizzle, back to
Shaw's in disgust, dined, dried up, dozed, & back to Buffalo by 6*26' P.M. train. [1866.] May 17. Walked to Poor House. Returning,
turned northerly & went into the
Sherwood Swamp woods, looking for mosses. In the old Sherwood burying ground, Vinca minor (which spreads
by the root. I think, & does not
perfect its seed) in flower. Along the fence, between it & the
McAdam road, a Prunus coming into
flower, which may be Prunus spinosa. [1866.] May 18. After dinner to Forest Lawn. In
the nursery of Norway spruce, where I
found what Peck decides to be Bryum atropurpureum (May 24th), found a very ceratodonish looking
Bryum (Peck writes, a very slender
form of Ceratodon). In the plashy places, on the edge of the Marsh,
beyond the Spring, found a few more
capsules of Hypnum aduncum, as Peck pronounces it to be. Ribes cynosbati & hirtellum both in full
flower. [The
text of Peck's letter is as follows - note it is May the 14th, rather than the 24th:]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vol. 3 (67) [M
163]
Albany, May 14th, [18]/66 My Dear Sir, The Mosses of May
5th are 1. Hyp. curvifolium, sterile
Hypnum Muhlenbeckii fertile but fruit too young. I would remark
besides that the leaves are unusually
strongly serrate and I would like to see it
again with mature fruit. 2.
Dicranum virens. Not abundant here 3. Hypnum curvifoium 4 Hypnum serpens var. with a few sterile
stems of Mnium and Hypnum laetum. 5 Ceratodon purpureus 6 Funaria hygrometrica 7=5 8=3 9 Pleuridium alternifolium mostly:
some Pottia truncata and young growth of
Ceratodon purpureus, septd and retd.
10 Bryum caespiticium 11 Mnium cuspidatum 12 Bryum nutans. Mosses of May 11th
Forest Lawn &c. 1. Contains the little Bryum of last year with his
conspicuous male flowers - the little
puzzler. 2 Weissia viridula in fruit; with some of the same Bryum 3 Here is the key to the others: a capsule! oblong-oval
uniting abruptly with the pedicel, indicating unmistakably Bryum. atropurpureum
Web. & Mohr. This species has been
regarded as southern. It was found by Mr. Lesqx. among the Lookout
Mts. of Alabama. It is a precious
addition to our mosses. Please not take all the fertile specimens now - let them get nearly ripe so that they
may ..... ... dark red.... The leaves of the male plant are longer pointed
than in the other plantand are not
distinguishable from those of
Bryum caespiticium. But the
protuberant male flowers, less compact growth and especially the form of the capsules I think will be good
distinctive marks between the two
species. I would like more of it if you can get it - especially with capsules more ripe - say
in two or three weeks. 4 Pleuridium alternifolium fine specimens 5 = 4 I received this morning a letter from
Mr. L. He writes thus concerning Hyp.
noterophilum of which I sent a specimen to him. "It is indeed
Hypnum noterphilum Sulliv. &
Lesqx. in Musci exsiccati Ed. 1. No. 348. We left aside this species in the 2d Ed. on acount
of the polymorphous aspect of it
according to its station. As we did not find it in fruit and as I am absolute against the publication of any Hypnum
spec. nov. from mere sterile
specimens, I could not but advise the omission of this
species." I however think it
should not be omitted from our Catalogue. Yours truly Chas H. Peck Judge G. W. Clinton P.S.
The Hyp. aduncum is the true moss which I hoped you would find plenty in fruit. The Bryum is not B.
Wahlenbergii, but I can not tell
satisfactorily what species it is. Perhaps B. bimum. C.
H. P. Recd May 15. [Part of this
letter is faded.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1866.] May 19. Whirlpool, Canadian side, Timmia
megapolitana common, a small
Fissidens. Miss Sarah Wilder, one of the teachers in the School at Suspension Bridge (Niagara City) showed me
in her garden, Jeffersonia diphylla.
She got the roots in a wood 1/4-1/2 a mile back from the village. On a large rock, on the right of the
path, at the Whirlpool, going to the
Upper Creek or Fall, a great deal of Seligeria recurvata in last
year's fruit. [Suspension
Bridge is the town on the American side]. [1866.] May 26. Dr. Gay, 3 P.M., drove me out,
over the Gun Bridge, to the Cazenovia
Creek, & to 1st wood on the right of the road up it. There collected 2 or 3 mosses. On the bank of
the creek collected a willow & 2
or 3 specimens of Trillium erectum, v. albidum, the flowers of the pink tinge which T. grandiflorum takes on it
when old. Lesquereux writes that
the Forest Lawn Ceratodon of May 18 is worth
distinguishing as a variety, & names it Ceratodon purpureus v.
gracilis. See Letter 80. [The
text of letter 80 is as follows:] ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
----- ----- ----- ----- Vol. 3. No. 80 [M
150] Columbus, May 24th, [18]/66 Hon. G. W. Clinton My dear
friend. Your variety of Ceratodon
purpureus is fine indeed and remarkable for
its slender growth. But there are so many, many of these varieties
that it is useless attempting to
separate them. Yours nevertheless should be named, say [T.?] gracilis. If you do not want the specimen, I will
preserve it. I do not know if you get
Silliman's journal of Science and arts. I send you per mail a copy of Gray's mention of our Musci exsiccati. You
may cut it out, blue both half pages
and preserve it in your copy of the Musci. I hope that you will not be mad against me for having mentioned your name
among those of the contributors of
the Musci. Gray desired me to give him some
materials for his review and of course I named the contributors to
the work. Are you well now, mind and body? The more I try to leave
Columbus, the more I stay here. I
have still a deal to do for the musci, in packing copies for Europe and getting out specimens for Schimper, Hampe
and other friends for exchange. And
my garden is so green and the trees so shady and the vines want binding and! and! to tell the truth I am
becoming old and lazy. Don't you come
this way and see me? Your friend,
L. Lesquereux. Recd May 27 ----- ----- -----
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- [1866.]
May 29. The almost incessant rain storm we have had since the evening of the 26th is now (3 P. M.)
over. The microscope from Paul
Roessler, New Haven, has just arrived, Express charges 6/. [1866.] May 30. By 6*30' A.M. train to North
Evans (Eighteen Mile Creek) walked
down the road & turned off to the Sawmill, thence down the creek to the end of the cliff, up to the road,
& stopped by the house by the Bridge,
& had a few moments chat with Mr. Ingersoll who lives there,
thence to the wood on the Point right
bank of the Creek, rummaged it pretty
thoroughly, back to the Lake road & walked (following the
telegraph poles) to Evans Centre =
5-5 1/2 miles, thence, 1 mile, to Angola, & got there at 2*30' went into the woods there &
got back to the Station about 5'
before the train came along, at 4*35' or 4*45' P.M., took it, &
got home at about 5*30'. The day
unpleasant, cool, cloudy, windy, with rain in the afternoon, & in changing my vest in the morning, left my
spectacles!!!. Don't know whether I
got any mosses worth having or not. Amused myself in collecting phaenogams for Miss Chester & Miss Forbes,
&c. And, for myself, a remarkably
large Viola blanda, if blanda it be. [1866.] May 31. After dinner, Forest Lawn.
Picked some mosses. The Bryum which
Peck takes for B. atropurpureum, does not begin to show a dark colored capsule. I suspect that it
may be a form of B. argenteum. Must
look at the specimens I collected of both, & write Mr. P. tomorrow
- Pyrus coronarius begins to
blossom. |
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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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