The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-10-17
STATE GEOLOGY.
Second Volume of the Surrey Re-
ports Minerals and Plants.
snecfn1 to the .1erseu Gin Mans

i SDectut 10 tne Jersey CtCD NeiCS.
TRENTON. Oct. 16, 1890. The geological
survey, of New Jersey, has published III
its second volume list of the minerals
aud plants of the State which must be OF
the utmost interest and usefulness te
both students and amateurs. In relative
Importance the catalogue of minerals
leads that of plants. In its flora, is is
probable that New Jersey would be sur
passed by several States oe nearly equal
area. It's changes of elevation are not
considerable, the proximity of the ocean
tempers the the climate and while this Is
extraordinarily favorable for the intro
duction of sub-troplcal srecies it also
tends toward uniformity of the local
flora. Sandy stretches are also marked,
the world over, by persistent and
strongly marked types. But in its
minerals the State is one of the
richest in the country. and the
it was searched, led it to contribute to
cabinets an unusually large proportion
of species for the first time. The list OF
minerals therefore prepared by Frederick
A. Garfield 1t would be hard to dupli-
cate anywhere In an equal area. At al
most every stage it shows the wealth of
the new and the old species laid bare by
the cuts in the trap dykes of Hudson
countv, and by the working of the mines
in the northern part of the State, In
Franklin, Sussex counties, and in War
rem county. 1t is curious illustration of
the extent to which the scientific develop
ment of the country has run on line to
the North of New Jersey that the three
leading collections of the minerals of the
State quoted by Mr.. Garfield are in Am
herst, Albany and Minneapolis the only
one cited in the State being the collection
of the late Frederick Garfield at Ferra-
monte, near Dover, N. J.
The Catalogue of Plants found in New
jersey" is by N. l.. Britton, already
known in the same field by his "Prelim-
mary Catalogue" published in 1881 and
now out OF print. proof at once of it's
popularity and usefulness In fact, We
do not know single catalogue of this
character in the last fifty years which has
not soon been absorbed by the large num-
Der of persons interested in it's subject.
Such catalogues were frequent enough in
the early stages of the science, they have
become less frequent in these latter days
of devotion to the structure and micro
scopical study of plants, but we look to
see their return and increasing apprecia-
Jion as there value and use becomes more
apparent with the growth of systemic,
distribution and geographical botany.
1t would be hard to cite q more COM
plete discharge of the difficult task in
volved in such list than is offered by
DR.. Britton's work. 1t is all compiled
from specimens, an invaluable precau-
ton; it is most conservative in admitting
new species, the besetting sin and temp
tarion OF the compiler OF q local list, it
avoids the other rock of excluding the
new spicies of Yesterday, because it is not
part of the native flora, y as if there was
anywhere such thing as native fora"
strictly so called; and lastly, 1t gives both
n "a
double history of plant in science, place
and discovery can be followed. This
admirable list contains 5,641 species
and it is a new illustration of the
stretch Of botany that. while it be-
gins with the familiar clematis, it
ends with Micrococcus Toxicatus.
the parasite on poison ivy and other
species of Rhus which constitutes their
poisonous principles. of this array of
species 1906 are angiosperms, the ID gym
nosperms raise the number of anthophyta
to 1919. Three-ifths of the species or
1921 are, as might be expected, devoted to
thallo ephyta, 1705 being fungi. DR..
Britton has prefaced his list by brief
study Of the geographical distribution of
the plants included which deserves and
will doubtless receive profitable expan-
sion. A more copious photography
would add to the value Of the list.
though the limits of this it would not be
easy TO Qeune aIUer passing Jn6 plant
lists now given. We trust in time to see
an adequate botanical map of New Jersey
showing the distribution of it's plant life
from DR.. Britton's capable hands, but as
it stands his work is as unique as it is
useful, and reflects the highest credit on
the survey by which it is issued.
The regular annual volume of the Sur
vey which has recently appeared con-
tains papers on the Archaen rocks of the
State by Frank L. Mason, and on its trias-
sic and trap formations by the same OBJ
server. There are also papers on the
water supply by G. Vermeule, and on the
drainage by G. w. Howell.