Nature WalksExclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven
Focus on Nature
Our guest writer today is Mr
Henry Nye, who has been Di-
rector of the , Bayard Cutting
Arboretum for the past eight
years. He is also President of
the Long Island Horticultural
Society. I am sure you will en-
joy reading his article about
the Arboretum as well as going
to visit it some time in the
future. P. S.
NATURE WALKS
Bayard Cutting Arboretum
Great River, Long Island, N Y
By Henry Nye
"The Bayard Cutting Arbore-
tum is a walker's paradise, and
the five nature walks, the Pine -
tum, Wild Flower, Rhododendron,
Bird Watcher's and Swamp Cy-
press walks are open to t h e
public every day of the year.
The walks are well marked and
from the parking field where you
leave your car.
The Pinetum Walk
Here are Majestic Conifers
whose ancestors lived on moun-
tains at elevations of 5000-10,000
feet above sea level, accustomed
to drenching rains and mist s.
The sandy gravelly soil of the
South Shore, aided by fogs and
mists off the Atlantic O c e a n,
fortified by a high water table,
approximate conditions experienc-
ed in the trees' former mountain
homes. The tall trees provide
shelter and nesting places for a
variety of birds and there are the
insects in abundance for their
food. During May when the fir
flowers are covered with pollen,
the hummingbirds are much in
evidence. When the Japanese
Cherries flower in mid - April, the
Baltimore Orioles are on hand to
feed on the insects that are drawn
to its flowers.
The Wild Flower Walk
Close to sea level, the marsh-
Ian drains into small streamlets
that empty into fresh water
ponds. This is the home of the
Marsh Marigold, the Jack- in -the-
Pulpit, the Cinnamon Fern, the
Woodcock, the muskrat and count-
less other denizens of this swampy
world. The birds utilize the down
from the Cinnamon fern in mak-
ing their nests. Night herons are
encountered at dusk.
The Rhododendron Walk
The severe winter of 1960 -1961
and the backward spring delayed
the normal flowering period of the
first week in June by ten days.
These beautiful flowering plan
were planted in 1887 and were
obtained from nurseries in
England.
The Bird Watcher's Walk
The river road leads to t h e
Birds Sanctuary and along this
walk may be sewn both shore and
land birds .The large Blue Heron
nests in the Sanctuary. Occasion-
al osprey, kingfishers, skimmers,
loons, scaup, mergansers, buffle-
heads and others can be watched
at different seasons of the year.
The Swamp Cypress Walk
A tall Pond Cypress stands like
a sentinel at the start of this
walk. Planted in 1900, close by
the river shore, some f or t y
cypress knees help author the
tree to its muddy home.
The Administration Building
The former Cutting residence
houses the offices, Food B a r,
Trotter Bird Collection on t h e
ground floor. Another feature,
outside the building, the Pole
Feeding Station where during last
winter the rare Oregon June o,
Evening Grosbeaks and other
winter birds were watched and
photographed.
To quote from the Bulletin of
the Long Island Chapter of the
Nature Conservancy, Autumn,
1959."
`THE BAYARD CUTTING
ARBORETUM at Great River,
Long Island, is a typical example
of a work that has been done by
those who have gone before us
and lighted the way. It is one
of our finest examples of preser-
vation of natural areas. It is now
part of the Long Island Park
Commission's State Park p r o-
gram, but it is being handled as
a botanical preserve, and t h e
public is not permitted to engage
in picnicking, °sports, or any other
activity which could injure the
flora. The Arboretum is a most i
unique area for it is both a culti-
vated botanical garden, rich in
the trees, plants and shrubs that
have been imported from all over
the world, and a wild life pre-
serve, where the native woodland
and streams abound in typical
flora and fauna indigenous to the
Atlantic Coastal Plain.
It is a wonderful tribute to what
one man can accomplish for pos-
terity. How much more the rest
of us, united, should be able to
accomplish for our children.
Send your Field Observations
and Comments to Paul Stouten-
burgh, Rt No 1, Box 105, Bay
Avenue, Cutchogue, N Y.