Fe oS * ea ~lecbes ot? 7 9a? ,——— er Ces ; ps _ Oe Seg) FI lt 5 ‘a see F* g oS eS Z 44 | ee p= )-4 9 ENE ° Ai Aan), (eS sibson-lav C7 é D S THE AMERICAN BOTANIST DEVOTED TO ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL BOTANY EDITED BY WILLARD N. CLUTE wa Volume XII JOLIET, ILLINOIS WILLARD N. CLUTE & ‘COMPANY 1907 D ARALOW Vie Gatiog a ving. Sieteeniesianmaine ndinedidkooen oe r; \bhebare neal atid - Spite SH CONTENTS ~——=» EASE CONTRIBUTED ARTICLES. Meat RTE Se 5 en, a OE Og oe a Dr WW. Bailey, 236 An Afternoon in the Helderbergs.,................ Frank Dobbin, 78 A New Blueberry from New York, Stewart H. Burnham, 8 Mista Ciliates ates eo ea Willard N. Clute, 73 BE tely De LOSSOMISs Fie) A ee Frank Dobbin, 37 _. LSE G2 iw ee as oe Bh aoa hey Bovey. tb Base- brush and Cactus, ps i Lynd Johnston, 59 = TUE U SPER 2721 (PAR eine dpe ee Dr. W. W. Bailey, 49 meme Woreion Nits, Pauline Kaufman, 3 Some Inconspicuous Flowers,.......2.......... Willard N. Clute, 33 eee” SPhING | PLOWELS oes) cel oie Willard N. Clute, 56 Some Wood-Destroying Fungi,.....0.. L. A. Hausman, 51 Ermine stony Path Os oe Lesion A. Wheeler, 30 Exjeacnes and Gourds... Dr. W. W. Bailey, 1 Sereysiie: Plowers;..2:4s 250220 ee Dr. W. W. Bailey, 101 Why and How to Begin the Study of Fungi, «cng pea aC oR Ee Stafford C. Edwards, 97 Pacevayent of Spring, 2 Willard N. Clute, + The Common Bracken as Food,........ Anna C. Dalgity, 25 Trees Injured by the Seventeen-Year Cicada, sso a SOE TNE AE cartier Sony cor eartaatae HC Skeels, 9 eitorial “LE SIRS Bs PON BPRS 2 ep te net TR AN es 22, 46, 70, 94, 12 ae area Wiriterss.(.. oes 47, 72, 95, 124 REPRINTED ARTICLES 1 5 TSC SED ISS 2 01 1 ee ve Sn tens EL 79 Seeemeteatii rimeval Morest 2 108 ieeiite-Bbarrens of New Jersey... 103 teieinG Ut. te ee 39 NOTE AND COMMENT. Acacia, black, Seed stalk of.. 84 Agcenchymia tcc. onwieeace 81 Antiquity of the Carnation... 14 Arrow-head Potatoes....... 41 Beans, Knowing: . 32.5 256 be. 112 Birds as Botanists........ 16, 64 Bracken protected by Law.. 87 Bud-scales, Function of..... 19 Burning-bush, Honey Guides ; OEE ie Gane, SPE meee 119 Buttercups and Daisies..... 113 Cactus, Defences of......... 89 SO AMITORG co oa lame 69 Carnation, Antiquity of..... 14 Cleistogamous flowers...... 19 Croton./tinctorum 5. oo .ck!- - 82 Dandelions as Food........ 92 Dandelions Fasciated....... 117 Drouth and "Coldst3 2.2 ses 90 Parth Stars; tues: ich cee 120 Farmer’s Mental Equipment 117 Fern, A Flowering......... 21 Merns. “hie. 202s oa ene 65, 89 Floral Numbers, Origin of.. 90 Hlowers, ‘isdibless: vaste.) ae8 116 Flowers, Scarlet, and Drouth 68 Fruit and Temperature...... 87 Fruits, Prolification of...... 20 Fungi, Wood-staining....... 17 Runcuss Coloring. ase store 43 Growth of Piants, Rapid.... 68 Heliotropism of the Water 1 ENeh hc PREMERA os Bis ae ee 85 Honey Guides of Burning DUS Sew es ko ole arlte aeeters 119 Horehound for the Million..113 Hybrids: Wild: ics2smecee 16 Insects, Flowers Modified by 40 ERumimonusePlantss..200 see 15 Lychnis alba, Range of..... 118 Mustard as a pot-herb...... 93 Nature’s Exactness.......... 114 Nectaries, Location of...... 41 Nomenclature Again........ 114 Nomenclature, Changes in.. 88 Peach and Plum Leather....119 Pelonaer es. 26h (2030 cee eee 66 Perennials, Growth of...... 121 Petals; Origin “ofjsee bees 42 Photography with Plant PRICES: (ee ee eee 14 Pistils of Partridge Pea, Twinn oh eee ee 65 Plant? Distribution=ssea- eee 85 Plant-Stimulicos eee eee 15 Plants, Protective Coverings OL Rs in ee ceie a eee 17 PlureAnntals\.ooee soe ee ee 44 Pollination in Evening Primeose >.) aeuseeeenes 86 Polyembryony ..:.........-. 118 Pubescence of Plants....... 66 Root= Climbers? . ces oes 42 Roots, Direction taken by... 67 Seed dispersal, Ants and.... 85 Seed-Stalk of Black Acacia.. 84 Seeds.n Vatalitys obese sacs nner 82 Smoking, Materials for..... 45 Snails, Flowers Pollinated by 18 Solomon's Seal, orientation of 18 Species-making Craze, The.. 21 Sumac, Cut-leaved, Origin of 92 Sassadrasi- ice. coe cee 121 Toad-flax, Variations in..... 43 Trillium, “A. Yellowmecs:: 3... 83 Tuber, Proper definition of.. 20 Trees bnjiumediesat 2 seegee sex 2 120 WVierjilices ese poate orcas 1it Wiolet 2 El yh sae cereen ree 111 Water Fern, Heliotropism OfAthE Ss 3s ete ee 85 Wild Flowers, Pennsylvania 115 Woodbine Climbs, The Way 91 Wood-staining Fungi....... 17 Xerophyllum asphodeloides.. 64 , eds a -* aS eh Stewart W. Burnham. - TREES INJURED BY THE CICADA - 9 H. C. Skeels. NOTE AND COMMENT EDITORIAL _ WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO. : JOLIET, ILLINOIS Ghe American Botanist * > A MONTHLY JOURNAL FOR THE PLANT LOVER su Issued on the 15th of each month except July and August a SE ee =e eee WILLARD N. CLUTE 333 EDITOR oe ci SPECIAL NOTICE.—This magazine is issued in two half-yearly vol- umes of five numbers each. Subscriptions $1.00 a year. All subsriptions must begin with a volume. To avoid the loss of numbers to regular subscribe: ;, the magazine is sent until we are notified to discontinue and all arrearage paid. No one receives the magazine free except by special arrangement. SAMPLE COPIES.—One cannot always judge of a magazine by a single number. Those who receive extra copies are asked to give them a careful examination. We know when a plant lover becomes familiar with the contents of this magazine he invariably becomes a subscriber. A single number may often be worth more than is charged for a year’s subscription. The full set is _ almost a necessity to the plant student. WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., Publishers, 309 Whitley Ave., Joliet, Il. Entered as mail matter of the second class at the post office, Joliet, Ill. THE AMATEUR NATURALIST ie askin ™ The only Popular Magazine devoted exclusively to general Nature Study that is umntechnical, yet Scientifically accurate. It publishes the things you want to know about plant life, birds, animals, insects, minerals, etc., and inter- ‘esting discoveries in astronomy, chemistry, geolcgy, physics, and other natural ‘sciences...Subscription, 50 cents a year. CHAS. D. PENDELL, PUBLISHER, ASHLAND, ME. OOLOGIST Mycological Bulletin “Oy Natural Size Hlustrations A monthly publication devoted to Oology,- ri US H RO O in| S Ornithology and Taxidermy. Pubiished by Frank H. Lattin, M. D., Albion, New York. The Oldest, Cheapest and Most Popular A little magazine for beginners B i. R D and amateurs, telling something PUBLICATION about Poiso: »us and Edible -~ in America. The best exchange and want Toadstools and we columns. -Question and answer columns | open to Collectors and Students in every Mush«ooms me branch of Natural History. An éntire year a SSO with free 25c exchange notice coupon only All in Plain Language 50c. Sample copy on application. Address Ernest H. Short Published Monthly Price 25c a Year Editor and Manager CHILI, N.Y. | Address W.A. Kellerman, Columbus, Ohio he “t WILD BALSAM APPLE.—Echinocystis lobata. f 27 190 >, THE AMERICAN BOTANIST VOL. XII, JOLIET, ILL., FEBRUARY, 1907. No, 1 SQUASHES AND GOURDS BY DR. W. W. BAILEY. ITH the possible exception of maize or Indian corn, no ’ plant has received so much attention from the botanical histologist as pumpkin or squash (Cucurbita Pepo). Its ready accessibility, ready and rapid growth, life confined at most to a few months, and hence quickly exhibiting its com- plete history from seed to fruit, make it especially attractive to the student. It is easily sectioned for gross work, and its flowers, too, are interesting. These show a very curious circumflex anther, resulting from the coalescence of several. The plants are monoecious, and the pistillate flower can al- ways be distinguished by the projecting ovary beneath. Besides the various squashes, pumpkins and vegetable- marrows (sacred to Mrs. Nickleby!), there are many related plants. The larger family assemblage embraces gourds, mel- ons in all their varieties, the cool, refreshing cucumber, adopted as a type of moral and physical calm and indifference ; the wild balsam-apple (Echinocystis lobata), that beautiful nuisance so abundant about our cities, and its cousin, the star-cucumber (Sicyos angulatus), equally prevalent and very unsightly, and in Europe the pretty bryonia twining or climb- ing over copses. All the squash family are climbers or trailers—plants which in football terms, succeed by “going round the ends’ — or by strategic passes not requiring physical strength. “Those also serve,” in the struggle for life, who take advantage of every opportunity to advance. When they possess tendrils, they are opposite to the leaves and hence usually regarded as attenuated stem axes, the main growth being continued by a 2 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. bud more vigorous than theirs. These tendrils reach out like fingers till they catch some support. Then the tips coil around any obstacle, get a good grip and by increase of tension pull the plant nearer to the support. Now, as it might happen that the constant torsion in one direction would break the tendril, it, after a while, reverses the direction of the twist, so that one commonly finds in the middle of the helix, a short, straight piece. The squirting cucumber (Momordica elaterium) is one of the freaks of this interesting family. It is a plant of the Mediteranean region of Europe, with small yellow flowers. These are followed by a cucumber-like fruit, beset with weak prickless. The pedicel projecting into the wall substance of the fruit, terminates in an enlarged portion that may be com- pared to a bottle stopper. The fruits are pendent. When ripe, the tissues of the wall break down, the stopper is released, and the fruit disengaged from the vine. Simultaneously, there is ejected from the opening a jet of mucilaginous liquid, carrying the seeds in suspension. It is quite likely that the emulsion is thrown upon some grazing animal, and later rub- bed off in some new locality—ensuring distribution and changed environment. While so many of the Cucurbits are in part edible, there are noxious members among them, and even the familiar table fruits bear watching, say as regards their rind. Most of them are acid, and some are powerful purgatives, notably colocynth or bitter apple, supposed to be the Wild Gourd of Scripture. As every one knows, especially at the South, gourds are natural dippers, pitchers, cups and basins, almost ready to hand, and often beautiful from their natural curves and colors. The “gaudy melon flower—the little children’s dower” of Browning, is not so brilliant or gorgeous as that of our squash, a thing of beauty, a tent of cloth of gold. Its yellow THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. w too, has all sorts of fascinating crinkles and curves. The plant sprawls about over the ground and rarely shows any particular resort to its tendrils. Perhaps it is slowly abandon- ing an old habit—or, is it, on the other hand, acquiring a new one? ‘There is a chance for the philosopher to speculate. The squash plant loves to make a dash for freedom, and to tumble out of the garden bed down an embankment, or to scale some stone wall not too high. Squashes and pumpkins— we now speak of the fruit—in late autumn love to expose their golden sides, Midas-touched, to the sun. They seem types of utmost prosperity—suggesting bounteous dinners and the re-gathered family. Always we expect to see Cinderella’s coachman, in fairy livery bedight, step up and take possession of the plumpest. A fitting gift for carriage purposes surely— better than costly motor even, from any fairy God-mother. Brown University, Providence, R. I. SOME FOREIGN NUTS BY MISS PAULINE KAUFMAN. E HAVE so much foreign food material in daily use that it takes something very striking to attract notice. Under this head comes what the dealer calls the paradise nut, a name, though richly deserved, recognized by neither diction- ary, botany nor any work on horticulture. More success at- tends the botanical name Lecythis ollaris, or pot-tree of Brazil. The tree belongs to the Myrtle family (Myrtaceae). Its leathery leaves are alternate, and the clusters of large flowers are borne in a raceme. The hard woody capsule, bearing the nut-like seeds, is about six inches in diameter, shaped like a vase or urn, with a circular lid, two inches across. When the fruit has reached maturity, the lid opens with a sharp report, scattering the nuts, and giving the glad tiding to the monkeys in the neighborhood. The nuts or seeds are from two to three 4 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. inches long, three inches in circumference in the widest part, tapering to a rounded point at the lower end. The shell is of a cork-like texture, though not as soft as cork, and has a number of ridges and grooves. These meet in a blunt point at the u»ner end. The shells, easily opened, even by the pressure of a light foot, disclose a long kernel, which at once shows kinship to the Brazil nut, as it also does in taste; but to the latter it is vastly superior, the flavor being most deli- cately sweet. The empty vase is both useful and ornamental and is called a “monkey pot.” The cashew nut, of which the editor drew so luminous a picture, in the January BorTanist, is another novelty here. A friend returned from Jamaica, introduced it to us. It has not gained high favor. It resembles a lima bean in looks, and is inferior in taste to be a good peanut. Pistachio nuts, slightly wasted and salted, have ceased to be a novelty. The market also affords monstrous paper shell pecans three inches long; and the English filberts or cob nuts much larger than our hazel nuts. New York City. THE ADVENT OF SPRING BY WILLARD N. CLUTE. PRING belies the calender and is bound by no set dates. Her mingling of snowstorms and sunshine in the early days of her reign is exceedingly perplexing to those who go by the almanac and expect the vernal season to begin without fail on a certain day. Those who are alive to the subtile suggestions of coming mildness, and can feel the pulse of the year, as it were, anticipate no abrupt transitions. In spite of cold and storm they mark the signs of Natures resurrection long before the ordinary observer has noted them. We commonly feel that in some way spring follows the sun southward, and is not to be expected until that luminary THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 5 has again reached a certain height in our heavens; but a ramble along the country side at this time of year, is likely to impress one with the idea that the season has retired underground, instead. In the depths of the pools life is apparently as abundant and as lively as in summer, and on land, down among the dead and yellow grasses, the perennial plants have been showing star-like bits of green all winter. Other storms may come, but these things show us how close in the milder season. Just beneath the surface of the earth, spring bides her time. The first flower of the year, is supposed to bloom in suburban gardens and to come from the ranks of the snow- drops, hyacinths and crocuses. The truth of the matter is, however, that these imported beauties are all outdistanced and put in the shade, as it were, by a sturdy native American. This species is common in every bit of boggy or marshy ground in the Eastern States and is so impatient to put forth its flowers that it often tries to bloom shortly after Christmas. Although March is its chosen month, specimens in full flower are often found by the middle of January. ~No care is ever taken to cultivate the plant. By common consent it is given a homely name and left half-buried in the mud of its boggy realms. Yet, if one can but disassociate the flower from its common surroundings and forget its infernal odor, our humble skunk’s cabbage appears as handsome a flower as any. Indeed, report has it, that these same blossoms find their way to the larger cities and in the hands of shrewd venders become “black lilies” or “Japanese callas’’ and readily sell to those who have forgotten their boyhood days or have never seen the country in spring. Aside from its disagreeable odor, the one fault of the plant is its commonness. If it were some rare thing, it would doubtless be sought for our gardens and con- servatories as, in fact, it is now, outside the region in which it grows. While of obscure origin, the skunk’s cabbage it not with- 6 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. out good “connections.” The queenly calla lily is among its nearest of kin, and so is the Jack-in-the-pulpit and the calamus root, these latter well known to country boys at least. In point of beauty, the flower clusters of our plant are a match for many flowers more famous. Its great purplish spathes, curiously mottled with shades of green yellow and brown are among the largest of ourr native wild-flowers. In shape, too, they are unique, reminding one of some delicate sea-shell enclosing the true flowers, bunched in a round head within. These flowers produce quantities of pollen, a fact of which the honey bee is well aware.. It is here that she gets her first pollen and she not infrequently ventures after it so early in the year, that she freezes to death by the way. Other and smaller insects often visit the flowers, and a certain thrifty spider that lives in the bogs takes advantage of this and spreads her web in the spathes. In New York and New England, the blue-bird and robin are popularly supposed to herald the advance of spring, but the song sparrow is not a bit behind them and but for his retiring ways would probably receive the greatest homage. In the latitude of New York and Chicago his slender pipe is heard long before the others and in mild winters it is doubt- ful if he leaves several of the northern States at all. The “January thaw” loosens his voice and on all bright days there- after his tinkling notes may be heard, though to many the song is drowned in the hum of the city, or confused with the noisy chirping of the voluble English sparrow. When the migratory song sparrows come up from the south and the voice of our resident birds takes on more mellowness, spring seems fairly to have begun, no matter what the temperature or the aspect of the sky. These little ground-loving, brown birds seem part of the earth itself and their liquid notes, sprinkled from bush to bush along the thawing stream blend THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 7 into harmony with the tinkle of falling icicles and the plash and gurgle of the water. One who should write a poem to March and place butter- flies, flowers and bird’s nests in it, would doubtless be handled roughly by the critics as a spring poet who had got ahead of the season, yet such a poem could be written without in the least misrepresenting the facts. In the hemlocks by this time, the crows have begun housekeeping and the little screech owl has stealthily selected a site for her nest in the depths of some hollow tree. The crow is less careful about the concealment of her nest, especially in parks. She is quick to learn and knows her advantages as well as anybody. The owl has the repu- tation for wisdom, but the crow has the wisdom. In the country where the crows are not protected, they are as wary as ever, but in the parks they are quite fearless as if confi- dent of their immunity. In February or March a walk on a bright day will often show both caterpillars and butterflies about. The caterpillar, well named the woolly bear—is a hairy animal, brownish red in the middle and black at both ends and seems absolutely careless of the weather. Freezing seems not to harm it. It is frequently found creeping over the snow. A cold day may stop its travels by freezing it stiff, but the next sunny day, it thaws out and goes merrily on. Almost any day now, in the woods, one may chance upon the mourning-cloak ‘butterfly, called from its retreat by the increasing warmth to dance over the dead leaves or flutter about the base of the trees on some warm slope. While flying the dark upper wings with a clay-colored border makes the insect conspicuous, but when it alights upon either tree or rock it seems almost to vanish as if absorbed by the object, so completely does the under surface of its wings which are now closed together over its back, mimic and blend into the colors of its resting place. Although apparently just awakened from a winters sleep, 8 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. these insects seem to be pretenaturally suspicious. Theirs, however, is a wisdom that comes from exferience. Examina- tion of a specimen will show wings that are battered and faded from battling with the elements of a season past, and destined to wave but a short time longer in the one to come. If these aged individuals can remember, what curious experiences they must be able to recall, as they doze away the wintry days, safe hidden beneath a strip of loose bark on some forest tree. After the first of March, each day sees the signs of spring become more pronounced. The catkins of birch, alder and hazel begin to lengthen, the buds of maple and elm swell al- most to bursting, and the twigs of the willow, dog-wood and cat-brier fairly glow with color. Their veins are full, and they but wait the encouragement of a few warm days to border the streams and thickets with tender green. A NEW BLUEBERRY FROM NEW YORK BY STEWART H. BURNHAM. HE species of blueberry, here described, appears to be a well-marked one growing with Vaccinium Pennsylvani- cum Lam. and V. vacillans Kalm. It is, however, more closely related to the latter species, but may be separated, not only by its greener leaves, which are scarcely glaucous, but also by its larger fruit almost destitute of bloom. The flowering and fruiting season is one or two weeks earlier than that of V. vacillans. VACCINIUM DosBiINI, n. sp. An erect shrub, 2%-4 dm. high, with reddish brown or rarely greenish bark, branches greenish, roughened with numerous minute warts, twigs soft pubescent in lines with white hairs. Leaves mostly elliptical, 214-4 cm. long, 11%4-2% cm. wide, mucronate, tapering at the base, serrulate with white-tipped teeth, smooth above, green and prominently reticulate-veined beneath and slightly THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 9 hairy on the midrib and veins at the base. Flowers in clusters of 2-6, usually borne near the ends of the branches when the leaves are half expanded, on short, stout pedicals, 2-3 mm. long; corolla white, short cylindric or ovoid, constricted at the throat, angled, about 7 mm. long and 5 mm. thick; calyx- lobes smooth, obtuse, green or tinged with red. Fruit dark blue, with little or no bloom, 6-10 mm. in diameter, sweet and well flavored. Type Station :—Exposed rocky soil, Peaked Rock, Ana- quassacook Hills, town of Jackson, Washington county, N. Y. Dobbin & Burnham: 4 July, 1904, and 19 May, 1906. This species is named for my friend, Frank Dobbin (1873 ——) ; _who for several years has made a careful and painstaking study of the Flora of Shushan and vicinity. Albany, N.Y. “TREES INJURED BY THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA BY EH. €. SKEEES. HE seventeen-year cicada made its appearance in the northern part of the Mississippi valley during the year 1905. Throughout the Desplaines valley the forests of oak showed brown and sere during August, because of the fact .that the cicada in laying her eggs makes a slit through the bark of the twig, down into the sap wood, thus injuring the branch to such an extent, that a little wind or a heavy rain will break it off or leave it hanging dead and brown on the tree. Some branches showed only a few slits, five or six in a row; others were literally ripped along the bark for a foot or more. Many young trees were so badly riddled, that they lost three years growth, dying down to within a foot of the ground. Branches that were of such diameter as not to be broken because of the slits, were opened up to the attacks 10 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. of plant lice and fungi so that the extent of the damage can- not be estimated for several years to come. The most interesting feature of the cicada work was the very noticeable fact, that, though the ground was covered with injured branches, and the trees generally hung full of them, some trees were not injured at all! The forest of Arden near Joliet, Ill. gave an excellent chance to investigate this fact of the immunity of certain species. The Forest is a three-hundred acre piece of oak and maple woods in which other trees are naturally interspersed. It has been woods ever since the glacial epoch, to go back no farther. The seventeen-year cicada has laid its eggs on these trees and their ancestors through all of that time. Anyone who heard their constant singing during the month of June, would make no question as to the numbers of individuals, and the proba- bility of their finding and using every available place in which to deposit eggs. Nor would there be any doubt that any species not used by the wives of these drummers was exempt because of some quality inherent in its own being. Another reason why the Forest afforded an excellent means for testing this question, lay in the manner of its planting. While the foundation is a native woodland, the botanical planting has been arranged along the five miles of drives, laid out for landscape purposes; and the planting has been done with the object always in view of keeping the natural wild appearance in predominance. So the planted trees and shrubs are surrounded on all sides by native trees and shrubs growing where the ancestors of these cicadas left them seventeen years ago. To be explicit, if I have a plantation of about twenty-five species of evergreens, interspersed with gooseberries, dog- woods, ash and willows, and I find these native trees and shrubs ripped almost to pieces, and find only one slit on one THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 11 white pine, am I not justified in believing that the cicadas avoided the coniferae because of some inherent quality within these trees? In the same way, when I find the greenbrier climbing over a thorn tree that has had eggs laid on all branches less than one-half inch in diameter, and the brier is not slit at all, I believe it is because the cicadas did not like the greenbrier. The walnut was used to some extent, the butternut hardly at all. The three species of hickory, bitternut, pignut, and shagbark, were used freely, but the thickness of the twigs pre- vented their being injured to so large an extent as the smaller twigged trees. The poplars and willows were freely used. I could not help wondering, when noticing the rapidity with which the wounds of these trees healed, if the young cicadas ever found themselves grown in! The oak family suffered largely; the ironwood, blue- beech, hazel, all birches, alders, chestnuts, oaks, even little trees still in the nursery, being slit and ripped without regard. Indeed, the beechnut plantation, consisting of ten fine trees about five feet high were ripped so vigorously as to be killed back to the ground. The three elms and the hackberry were used somewhat, while the mulberry was skipped entirely, and the tulip tree nearly so. The papaw was also entirely free from injury. There are about five acres of native papaw in the Forest growing among the maples. These maples and youngsters of other sorts among the papaws were ripped and slit as with a rip saw, but the papaw escaped without a single scratch. The barberries as might be expected, were exempt, as was also the spicebush, while the sweet-scented shrub (Caly- canthus) was used to a slight extent. There was no sassafras in the Forest, but a native roadside copse near Joliet showed no signs of cicada work. The gooseberries and black cur- 12 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. rants were used, but the witch-hazel was nearly exempt. The buttonwood was used slightly. This brings us to the rose family, where the greatest damage, outside of the maple was done. To begin with, the ninebark and the spireas, native and planted were exempt from taxation, as was the shrubby cinquefoil. But the roses, except possibly R. humilis, which was too small, and R. seti- gera, too spiny; the blackberries; the raspberries, red, black, and purple; the apple, cherry, peach, pear, and plum; wild, cultivated, native, European, Siberian, or Japanese; choke- cherries, shad-bushes; and thorns were literally cut to pieces! The thornapple, in fact, was the test plant used in case of doubt. It is not possible to stand anywhere in the Forest where there is not a thorn bush or tree in sight. When a tree was found that had not been used, it was necessary only to look at the nearest thorn bush to be assured that the location was liberally supplied with cicadas. And the one-hundred-fifty odd new species from Dr. Sargent were used as freely at the native mollis, which is almost a weed. The Judas tree, honey locust, and yellow wood fared as badly, while the Kentucky coffee tree was used only in the nursery, a tree eighteen inches in diameter showing no damage. Amorpha fruticosa and the black and hispid locusts seemed to be exempt, but the clammy locust was freely used, as were also the prickly ash and hop tree. From the burning bush to the buckeye, including the bittersweet, the bladdernut, and all the maples, the cicadas — buzzed and sawed to their hearts content; until after a few weeks, the fine green forest canopy turned into a brown and sere mass of broken, hanging twigs, with just enough green to give emphasis to the brown. The buckthorns, the New Jersey tea, the grapes and the Virginia creeper seemed to be untouched, but the basswood and shrubby St. John’s wort again cut the list short as the cicadas cut them. The leather wood seemed to be untouched and Aralia spinosa hardly THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 13 fumished room between the spines. With the dogwoods it was different, all species including the alternate-leaved, silky, Bailey’s, panicled, round-leaved, flowering, and red, were used to some extent. There are no heaths native about Joliet. Of the thirty odd shrubby species planted, only Clethra and Azalea nudi- flora were used by the cicadas. On the other hand, all the ashes, red, white, blue, green, and black, were freely used _ regardless of color or size. There was one slit on one catalpa, but none on the buttonbush. The black elder was used, but the red seemed to be free. On the other hand, the viburnums, of which ten of the twelve species planted were large enough to be used, were ripped up and down as though they had been planted for that purpose. The snowberry, Indian cur- rant, Sullivant’s honeysuckle, and Diervilla, were used; the honeysuckle family generally seemed to be well liked. It is interesting to bring together the list of trees and shrubs, wholly exempt from these devastating marauders, to see all together the species whose bark or sap or odor caused the cicadas to avoid them. Leaving out the evergreens, which one would hardly expect to be used, the list is as follows: greenbrier, mulberry, papaw, spice brush, witch hazel, nine bark, Spirea, shrubby cinquefoil, prairie rose, Amorpha fruti- cosa, black locust, hispid locust, Ailanthus, sumac, hollies, buckthorns, grapes, leather wood, heaths, catalpa, and but- tonbrush. On the other hand, the kinds most used run in families, and are:—hickories, willows, oaks, elms, currants and gooseberries, fruit trees and bushes generally, most le- guminous trees, prickly ash, maples, dogwoods, ashes, and viburnums. Generally speaking the trees lost most of the growth of 1904, taking with it, of course, the growth of 1905. We are thankful that there are seventeen years between visitations. Joliet, Til. NOTE AND COMMENT Br WaANTED.—Short notes of interest to the general bot- anist are always in demand for this department. Our readers are invited to make this the place of publication for their botanical items. It should be noted that the magazine is is- sued as soon as possible after the fifteenth of each month. ANTIQUITY OF THE CARNATION.—The original carna- tion, known to history for some 300 years before the Christian era, was a five petalled single bloom, about one inch in di- ameter, of a pinkish-mauve color. In its original state it grew generally throughout the southern portion of Europe, being found in abundance in Normandy, whence it is be- lieved by some historians to have been introduced into Great Britain. It was described by Theophrastus as early as 300 B. C.—Horticulture. PHOTOGRAPHY WITH PLANT JuICES.—It is pretty gener- ally known that photographs are made by covering a prepared paper with a photographic negative and exposing to light under the action of which certain of the chemicals in the paper are decomposed and the picture results. That the juices of flowers may be used in preparing the paper may be new to many botanists. When Sir John Hirschel was experimenting with photography, more than fifty years ago, he discovered that alcholic solutions of the coloring matter found in the petals of various flowers when evenly brushed upon paper, gave most interesting results. Among the flowers experi- mented with were iris, violet stocks, poppy, etc. The juices of many flowers did not yield a color like the petals from which they were expressed, but upon the addition of alkalies or acids took on different hues. Thus the oriental poppy 14 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 15 (Papaver orientale) gave a faint yellowish stain to paper, but immediately turned to scarlet when a weak acid was applied. A photographic negative placed on paper of this kind and exposed to the sun for some time, caused the color to fade out, but upon the application of acid, the picture came out in vivid scarlet. All this is concerned in some way with the familiar fact that a red geranium may be turned from red to blue and back again by the proper application of acids and alkalies. PLANT STIMULI.—There are many things that affect the direction of growth in plants. We are most familiar with the response of the plant to gravity seen in the seedling, whose first root invariably travels in the direction of the pull of gravity, while the shoot grows against this force. As in most departments of botany, there are technical terms for the response to each stimulus, and thus we have thermotropism— a turning toward heat; heliotropism—a turning toward the sun; phototropism—a turning toward light; hydrotropism— a turning toward moisture; geotropism—a turning toward the earth, and thigmotropism—a turning caused by contact as in the tendrils of various climbers. Luminous PrLants.—The daughter of Linnaeus is credited with the discovery that certain flowers emit rays of light under favorable circumstances, but it is to the flowerless not the flowering plants that we must look for the greatest production of light. Most people are familiar with the curious glow that comes upon decaying wood at times. It is com- monly known as fox-fire and was for a long time thought to be produced by the wood itself. Further investigation by German botanists: have shown that the luminosity of decaying wood, as well as that of decaying fish and meats, is due to the presence of fungi, principally bacteria, though the under- ground part of a mushroom (Agaricus melleus) also emits 16 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. light. The bacteria concerned are usually referred to Bac- terium phosphoreum, Photobacterium -phosphorescens and a few others. By lining a glass globe with a material in which these bacteria grow and inoculating it with these plants, Dr. Hans Molisch produced a lamp that would last for two weeks and give light enough for reading coarse print. Birps As Botanists.—In addition to previous notes in this magazine regarding the tastes of birds for botanical mat- ters, it may be said that the January number of Nature Notes mentions several European birds that exhibit an inclination to ornament their nests. A honey buzzard’s nest from Sweden was made entirely of green twigs, and the leaves of oak and black poplar; the rough-legged buzzard has been known to ornament its nest with tufts of wood-rush (Luzula), and the booted eagle uses pine needles and sprays of white poplar. The trait of decorating the nest seems to be found only in the birds of prey—a group in which one would least expect it. Witp Hysrips.—The mutation theory of De Vries was given publicity just in time to put a quietus on a great deal of erratic species-making. Not so long ago, when a collector found a plant that differed in the least from its fellows, he hastened to describe it as a new Species, with a double name in sounding Latin; now-a-days an unusual plant is likely first to start the query whether it may not be either a natural hy- brid or a variation of some other plant, one of the so-called “elementary species.’ This new view is already playing havoc with some of the things that have been passing as good species. In the January Botanical Gazette, Dr. D. T. Mac - Dougal presents evidence to show that the Bartram oak, known as Quercus heterophylla is really a hybrid between Q. rubra and Q. phellos. The same paper gives a list of more than one hundred other reputed hybrids, belonging to no less than twenty-four plant families. No doubt as botan- THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 17 ists gradually turn from the description of new species to a more careful study of the old ones, this list of hybrids will be increased rather than diminished. Contrary to the usual opinion, hybrids are not necessarly, nor even usually sterile. Woop-StTaInInc Funcrt.—Lumbermen and others who have much to do with freshly sawed lumber are familiar with. the fact that it is often streaked with various brilliant hues. Usually the lumber takes on these colors after standing for a time in piles. The colors most frequently noticed are brown, black, pink, purple, yellow and blue. A recent investigation of the cause of these colors at the Missouri Botanical Garden brings out the fact that the staining of the wood is due to various microscopic fungi belonging to several genera. In some cases the stain is due to the color of the mycelium of the fungus, and in others to various pigments produced by the plants. PROTECTIVE COVERINGS OF PLANTs.—The varying de- grees of pubescence in plants are most convenient aids to the systematic botanist in distinguishing species, but it is pretty certain that this use is not the principal one for which such out-growths of leaves and stems were designed. Their uses to the plant are to protect from sudden atmospheric changes, to facititate transpiration, or to aid in controlling it, to shade delicate organs, to ward off dangerous insects, etc. A writer in the Ohio Naturalist, states that of about two thousand dif- ferent species of Ohio plants, only one-fourth were glabrous, that is, without any outgrowths from the epidermis whatso- ever. Nearly a thousand plants were found to be covered with some description of downy covering. A few were stel- late-pubescent and fifty or more were glandular-pubescent. There were nearly sixty glaucous plants in which leaf or stem bears bloom similar to that which appears on ripe grapes and plums. There were also about fifty scurfy and granular 18 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. forms, such as are met with in the pig-weeds (Chenopodi- aceae). Some few other plants have peltate scales, and others have their leaves dotted with resin or oil. ~ FLOWERS POLLINATED BY SNAILS.—There are a few plants in the world that are regarded as being adapted to being pollinated by slugs and snails. One would think that such blossoms must be borne by the most deliberate of the plant kingdom for snails are not considered among the hust- lers in the insect world. In Malacophilous flowers, as these blossoms are called, the flowers are small, flat and closely as- sembled so that the snails may easily creep from one to another. In order to keep their voracious pollinators from devouring the blossoms the latter are found to be either poisonous or possessed of a fluid irritating to snails. A few, however, such as Rhodea Japonica seem to provide some compensation for the service rendered and produce a fleshy, edible perianth, with which the snails are satisfied. ORIENTATION OF SOLOMON’S SEAL.—Referring to our recent note on this subject, the British Gardening World of- fers what seems to be a reasonable explanation of the fact that all the stalks of Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum) bend in practically one direction. Our contemporary suggests that inasmuch as the leaves are arranged on the stem in two rows and it being advantageous to present the upper surface of each to the light, the stems will be found always to bend in such a way as to expose the leaves to the maximum amount of light. Now, the question arises, does this theory fit the facts? We hope our readers will make an investigation of the subject during the coming spring. If this theory is in- correct, the same publication suggests that the bending may be in agreement with the direction of growth in the root- stocks. In this connection it may be observed that the crested fern (Nephrodium cristatum) makes many changes in its leaf- THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 19 lets to get the right amount of light. The midrib or rachis is nearly erect, but the leaflets are often twisted until their surfaces are parallel with the surface of the earth. CLEISTOGAMOUS FLOWERS.—There seems to be a variety of reasons for the occurrence of cleistogamous flowers. In the violet family, variations in heat and cold seem to be the main factors, and in the case of the oxalis, whose cleistogam- ous flowers appear in summer, it has been conjectured that the lack of proper insects to effect pollination is the cause. In the early part of the year the insects visit the chasmogam- ous, or open flowers of this plant, but later in the year are attracted to other more showy flowers. The sundew affords a still more remarkable cause. It is explained that the leaves have become such expert insect-catchers, that the insects rarely visit the flowers. This seems reasonable enough if applied to the plants in some sections, but most of us know that the sundew is not always cleistogamous. Other causes of cleis- togamy in plants are lack of light, and inundation at the blooming season. . Function oF Bup ScaLes.—The average person is in- clined to imagine that the scales on the winter buds of trees are for the purpose of keeping out the cold, but upon con- sideration it is easy to see that this cannot be. In winter we may find the buds frozen stiff. After a variety of experiments, K. M. Wiegand concludes that the principal uses of bud-scales are to protect the young leaves which they enfold from me- chanical injury occasioned by the branches being whipped about by the wind, and from the drying out of the moisture they contain. This latter is doubtless the more important, for even in the tropics where leaves are never exposed to cold, the developing organs are often protected by stipules until they can protect themselves. The hair and wool on the leaves of plants are regarded as devices to prevent evaporation and it 20 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. is noticed that the young leaves always have the heaviest covering. A woolly young leaf may’be entirely smooth at maturity. Dr. Weigand’s paper is published in the June number of the Botanical Gazette. PROLIFICATION OF FRuits.—When Nature makes an abnormal plant or part of a plant, we often see behind the scenes, as it were, and discover a great deal of her methods. This is especially true of the prolification of fruits, which con- sists of one or more fruits being borne within another, or from some unusual part of the flower. It has long been held by botanists, that the stamens and carpels of plants are closely related to leaves in their origin, and in these proliferous fruits, we often find buds, flowers, fruits, or other carpels borne in the axils of the normal carpels, just as if the latter were leaves. Occasionally, too, carpels are borne among the ovules within the regular carpels. The peppers (Capsicum) are given to this latter method and often bear a smaller fruit inside the usual one. PROPER DEFINITION OF TUBER.—Ask any botanist to de- fine a tuber and he will reply in substance that a tuber is a short, thickened underground stem, or part of a stem bearing buds, etc., and then you may assure him that the definition is wrong and you can prove your contention by the dictionary. In many books we are informed that the white or Irish potato is a tuber and that the sweet potato is not, the latter being a root, but according to the dictionary both are true tubers. The question then is, shall botanists make the definition for the dictionary, or vice-versa? Examination of the Manuals of Gray, Wood and Britton make plain the fact that botanists regard a tuber as a thickened underground branch, only, but a recent publication of the United States Government (The Propagation of Plants) insists that the sweet potato is a tuber and this is backed up by the books. All this leads to THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 21 - the further question whether dictionaries or botanical publi- cations are the most desirable mental food for the leading lights in the Government’s botanical corps. A FLowerinc Fern.—According to a bulletin of the Botanical Department of Trinidad, it has long been rumored that in that island there is a fern which, unlike all others, bears true flowers on its fronds. The idea appears to have or- iginated in this way: The common chickweed of the West Indies—Drymaria cordata—has deciduous pedicels and these are covered with a sticky substance which causes them to ad- ~ here to anything with which they come in contact. When the seeds are ripe the pedicel loosens from the plant, carrying the seed-pod, which looks much like a small flower, with it. This, adhering to the fronds of ferns undoubtedly gave rise to the reported occurrence of flowering ferns. THE Specres-MAKING CrAzE.—It has well been said that the easiest way to secure the repeal of a bad law is to strictly enforce it, and it may be added that the surest way of showing the absurdity of the mania for making new species is to allow the radical botanist to continue unchecked his multiplication of forms. At first, we received the various proposed species of hawthorn with proper attention; now any reference to hawthorns at meetings of botanists is likely to produce only smiles. If, as Dr. Burgess insists, there are eighty-one species of Aster where Dr. Gray found but two, the conclusion is forced upon us that the early botanists were but bungling students. The word create means to make some- thing out of nothing. There is a suspicion fast gaining ground that modern botanists are fairly entitled to be called creators. In any event, by pushing the making of species to extremes they have convinced the great body of plant students that the old conception of a species is nearer right than the new one. EDITORIAL “The fact that I am renewing my subscription for two years more, shows what I think of the magazine” was the message that accompanied a check for $1.60 recently, and the number of other renewals received for two years instead of one indicates that many others are of the same mind. Like all other publishers, we make a special rate to subscription agencies, and we have no objection to making the same rate to subscribers when ordering for two years in advance. Send us $1.60 for two years and save forty cents. * *K * With the January number, Muhlenbergia, edited by A. A. Heller, Los Gatos, California, becomes a monthly publi- cation. It is now in its third volume; the numbers of the first two volumes having been issued as occasion permitted. The editor is a practical printer and knows how to avoid the mortality that affects youthful publications. We have no doubt that this is another magazine destined to grow up, and we are certain that it deserves to do so. * * x The article in our January number, entitled “Life History or Natural History’? should have been credited to Prof. J. F. Thompson of Richmond, Ind. School Science from which we extracted the article gave the credit to the wrong person and we naturally made the same error. The article in question is one that the author need not fear to claim, and we hasten to make amends. *x* * * We commonly make a distinction between wild and cultivated plants, but it may be seen upon reflection that every species of plant is wild somewhere. The seedsmen in their 22 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 23 efforts to provide us with worthy additions to our native plants, have searched the whole world over and now we may stay at home and see the plants of South Africa, Japan, Si- beria, Australia and other far lands, by the simple process of sowing the seeds in our own grounds. If you are inclined to think that you can recognize the members of the various plant families at sight, sow the seeds of a lot of these foreigners and see how easy it is to be mistaken. There is, however, great pleasure in watching these unfamiliar species slowly coming into bloom and in examining the structure of the flowers as they open. In our advertising pages appear the notices of two firms, who offer the seeds of a large number of these unusual plants, and we suggest that our readers can find an interesting field for experiment next summer in back- yard, botanizing by means of these seeds. Get a catalogue, select the plants with single flowers and Latin names, avoid- ing the varieties, and add botanical interest as well as beauty to your beds and borders. x ee On several occasions we have written in commendation of the excellent series of gardening books, issued by John Lane, London and New York, under the general title of “Handbooks of Practical Gardening.” Three new volumes have since come to hand, and it is almost needless to say, maintain the excellent standard of earlier volumes. Es- pecially to be commended is the “Book of the Lily” by W. Goldring, which gives a history of the lily family, full direc- tions for growing and propagating these plants, and what will doubtless be found of most interest to our readers, a descrip- tion of all species of lily, with an account of the named varie- ties derived from each. This volume and an earlier one on the Iris, deserve a place in the library of every gardening botanist. The “Book of the Winter Garden” by D. S. Fish gives an acount of such plants as bloom during winter in the Articles of Special Interestto Botanists In THE MONIST, January 1906 - - - > HEREDITY AND THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES (Ulustrated) By Daniel T. MacDougal. In THE MONIST, April 1906 - - - $= THE seers DATA OF THE MUTATION THEORY By J. Arthur a Ph. D. In THE OPEN COURT, November 1 +3 BURBANKS PRODUCTION OF HORTICULTURAL NOVELTIES By Prof. Sa De Vries. THE OPEN COURT, December 1 $ .10 Will contain A BIOGRAPHICAL ‘SKETCH OF PROF. HUGO DE VRIES AND HIS WORE By Prof. H. Hus. These numbers will be supplied on receipt of price. The publishers of THE OPEN COURT and THE MONIST haves in preparation a mew work by Prof. Hugo De Vries entitled PLANT BREEDING: COMMENTS ON THE WORK OF NILSSON AND BURBANK, a popular and profusely tet SSS published Jenuary ist at a popular price. THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING CO. 1322 Wabash Ave, Chicago, U.S. vo 4 \, — ‘, Aes vty fi8 Pi ed ‘ Pa wel Ol eg i ee Cee) Ce oe , “> a MS ie - / Ls 2A li ess ea yA as THE BEST WORKS ON FERNS OUR FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS, by Willard N. Clute. Octavo, 333 pages. 225 illustrations. Eight colored plates. Contains the only il- lustrated key ever published, and a full account of ali the ferns of Eastern America. The species can be identified by the illustrations, ~ alone. More coptes of this book are sold annually than of any other. Price post paid, $2.50. THE FERN ALLIES OF NORTH AMERICA, by Willard N. Clute. Octavo, 250 peges, 150 illustrations, eight colored plates. A companion volume to “Our Ferns in Their Heunts”, containing a full account of the scouring rushes, club-mosses, a selaginellas, water-ferns, etc, etc. in North America. Seven keys to the species. A check Lst with synonyms. The only book on the subject m the Engiish language. Listed in the New York State Library st among The Best Books of 1905. Price post paid, $2.00. SPECIAL OFFERS Either volume and a year’s subscription to American Botanist_. —< Either volume and a full set of American Botamist, (10 volumes).. Both volumes and a year’s subscription Botanist Both volumes and full set of American anaes (20 volumes) Address all orders to WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO.., Joliet, illinois Nk: aka a Ray Ba eek a aa eS! top ae D. me Ay, "Vay oy i SAN aay" a Lay Th mpl vo..12 MARCH, 1907 no2 THe AMERICAN BOTANIST CONTENTS THE COMMON BRACKEN AS FOOD Anna D. Dalzity- SPRING IN STONY PARK - - - - SOME INCONSPICUOUS FLOWERS - Willard N. Clute Frank Dobbin. THE PASTACHIO NUT NOTE AND COMMENT WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO. JOLIET, ILLINOIS Ghe American Botanist sss A MONTHLY JOURNAL FOR THE PLANT LOVER ® & 3 ; Issued on the 15th of each month except July and August WILLARD N. CLUTE 333 EDITOR oP RP SPECIAL NOTICE.—This magazine is issued in two half-yearly vol- umes of five numbers each, Subscriptions $1.00 a year. All subsriptions must begin with a volume. To avoid the loss of numbers to regular subscribers, the magazine is sent until we are notified to discontinue and all arrearage paid. No one receives the magazine free except by special arrangement. SAMPLE COPIES.—One cannot always judge of a magazine by a single number. Those who receive extra copies are asked to give them a careful éxamination. We know when a plant lover becomes familiar with the contents of this magazine he invariably becomes a subscriber. A single number may often be worth more than is charged for a year’s subscription. The full set is almost a necessity to the plant student. WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., Publishers, 309 Whitley Ave., Joliet, Ill. : > Poe Entered as mail matter of the second class at the post office, Joliet, Ill. dl THE AMATEUR NATURALIST (te isxive ™ The only Popular Magazine devoted exclusively to general Nature Study © that is untechnical, yet scientifically accurate. It publishes the things you want to know about plant life, birds, animals, insects, minerals, etc., and inter- esting discoveries in astronomy, chemistry, geology, physics, and other natural sciences...Subscription, 50 cents a year. CHAS. D. PENDELL, PUBLISHER, ASHLAND, ME. COLOGIST Mycological Bulletin q of A monthly publication devoted to Oology, it | Us H RO O ha S Ornithology and Taxidermy. Pubiished by Frank H. Lattin, M. D., Albion, New York. The Oldest, Cheapest and Most Popular A little magazine for beginners BIRD and amateurs, telling something PUBLICATION about Poisonous and Edible in America. The best exchange and want Toadstools and columns. Question and answer columns open to Collectors and Students in every Mushrooms # % % branch of Natural History. An entire year with free 25c exchange notice coupon only All in Plain Language 50c. Sample copy on application. Address Ernest H. Short | pubished monthly — Price 25 a Year Editor and Manager GHILI, N.¥x Address W.A. Kellerman, Columbus, Ohio 4 bern Ao at THE COMMON BRAKE AS FOOD. The portion between the dotted lines is the edible portion. ——~ 30) THE AMERICAN BOTANIST VOL. XII, JOLIET, ILL., MARCH, 1907. No, 2 THE COMMON BRACKEN AS FOOD, BY ANNA D. DALGITY. LMOST everyone knows the common brake or bracken, (Pteridium aquilinum), found in woods throughout the greater part of the world. Excepting possibly Australia (a), it is in Western Oregon, Washington and British Colum- bia, that it reaches its highest development. In this Ameri- can area it is not only the most common fern, but the largest as well. In the damp woods it grows up through the ever- green shrubbery of salal, Oregon grape, and huckleberry so densely as to make the woods almost impassible. In the drier regions it reaches a height of three to eight feet, and in hol- lows where the ground is specially rich it reaches a height of fourteen feet. Occasionally there are four or five to the square foot, but when they are so dense as this, they: interfere with each other and do not reach the maximum growth. The tallest are in woods where there is shade, for this makes stems and leaf-stalks grow longer. In cleared fields, how- ‘ever, they come up as densely as in woods, but rarely reach a height of over six feet, usually two to four. In new lands they are bad weeds, coming up year after year. The farmer considers them a pest since they are tough and hard to destroy; and the horizontal, subterranean stems, which are an inch or less in diameter, and as much as ten feet long, are hard to cut. The large amount of starch found in the stems produces numerous shoots and is their source of supply during their rapid growth. (a). Engler and Prantl, Die Naturliche Pflanzenfamilien, Teill, 1 Abteilung 4, s. 49, 1902. LiBRAR\ NEW 9 Eo. « » > DUTANICA! GARDEN 28 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. Pour evenly over the fern mixture. Bake eight minutes, or until the eggs are set. Very good. To test their palatableness, the dishes were prepared in quantity and offered to classes of fifteen to twenty for judg- ment. Perhaps three-fourths of these pronounced them good. The taste is not exactly like that of anything else, and like tastes in general, cannot be described except in terms of others. However, to many it suggests the almond. The fern cooks up readily, being softer than asparagus; and it has less woody tissue than asparagus as bought in the market, for the wood is not so near the tip as it is in asparagus. The epidermis is, however, somewhat tougher. In food values, it compares well with other vegetables of the kind, of which some common ones are given in the table below. (b). Carbohy- Food Value Edible portion, drates, per lb. in Fresh Water Protein Fat inc. Fiber Fiber Ash Calories (Greeny pease ‘fess Uae se reek oC Ra By ( 1.0 465 Siting beans. 89°25 .12:3.) 33 7.4 1.9 8 195 arate Sa ee 90.2 1.6 2 7.4 3.4 6 115 Cabbage 2) Sie 1.6 3 SN Cat Wed 1.0 145 Brake (c).......91.61 149 .84 5.82 .5(d) 104 141 Radish, 2 8 Cire land a6. 8. UT 1.0525 "da5 Asparagus .......... 94. 1S 2 oye eet) a 105 Fomatoes: 2223 94.3 9 + Deon ico 3) 105 isettuce =... See OA CARR 8 2.9 7 9 90 Celery: sures 2 sp bent Coe Deepa 3a Fo hee 1.0 85 2 3.1 a 5 80 Cucumbers ......... 95.4 8 (b). The chemical analyses, except that of the fern, are taken from Atwater, W. O., and Bryant, A. P., The Chemical Composition of American Food Materials. U.S. Dept. Agric. Bull. No. 28, Revised Edition, 1899. (c). For the analysis of the brake I am indebted to Prof. H. K. Benson, of the Department of Chemistry, University of Wash- ington. (d). An estimate in comparison with that in asparagus. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 29 From the table it may be seen that the brake falls among good foods, its nutritive value being near that of cabbage. In comparison with asparagus, which it most resembles, it proves to be superior, containing .87 as much protein, 1.7 as much fat, and 1.6 as much carbohydrates. It has been shown that it is a good food, and it has been found palatable by most of those who have tested it. But whether it will become a considerable article of diet or not remains to be seen. ‘The love-apple which was once raised in the flower garden as a plant of beauty is now highly prized as our vegetable, the tomato. Ignorance of tastes habit, and a hesitancy in trying anything new, often prevent one from en- joying some of the best of foods. The brake was used by the Indians of the Northwest coast before the introduction of wheat flour, but the part used was the subterranean stem. This was dug up, washed, dried, pounded fine, and the coarse shreddy parts removed by sifting. The starchy powder was used as flour. Its use has been dis- continued since the introduction of wheat flour. The writer has also been told that the young shoots of the brake are eaten in parts of France. Commercially it is possible that the brake might be canned and sold like asparagus. Should it become a commercial pro- duct, the farmer would no longer need to consider it a pest. The season is short, lasting only about three weeks; but the supply is unlimited, and the product may be had for the col- lecting. This investigation was suggested by Dr. T. C. Frye and the work carried out under his direction. To fim I wish to express my sincere thanks for assistance and suggestions in carrying out the work. State University, Seattle, Washington. 30 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. SPRING IN STONY PARK, BY LESTON A. WHEELER. PRING came slowly to Stony Park last year; an open winter was followed by a cold and backward spring. The wild flowers were slow to start and those who pushed bravely up were met by cold winds, cloudy days and an oc- casional snow squall. On April 17th, when I made my first visit to the park, I met with a scant welcome. There were but few things to record except a sort of vague promise for the future. There were a few plants of spring beauty (Clay- tonia Caroliniana) thrusting up their delicate leaves in a sheltered spot beside a rock and a dozen or more stout points were showing where the heal-alls (Habenaria orbiculata and H. Hookerii) had their dwelling. These orchids are in the vanguard of the armies of plants which will later cover the earth with their beatuy. I have known them, when the ground was not frozen, to come up beneath the snow. Other early plants are the Hepaticas (H. triloba and H. acutiloba) blood-root (Sanguinaria Canadensis) and the yel- low daffodil of our grandmother’s garden (Narcissus pseudo- narcissus). None of these are native to the park; a part of the first was sent me by a friend in New York and a part ‘were procured by my sister while teaching in Newfane, Vt. The second I found last year in all its beauty beside a road in Townshend. The last were taken from nearby gardens. All are at home, the last rivaling the natives in earliness. By the 22nd, I found a few of the dainty pink and white blossoms of spring beauty in a warm place and a few more warm days brought them in their millions. Hepaticas were also in bloom; one root showing beautiful blue flowers; the others were nearly white. A cool week passed before I again had time to visit my wild friends again, and when I did so it was to find the army steadily advancing with many new species in the ranks. Viola Selkirkii was blooming in the seam of THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 31 a warm ledge. This violet has such large flowers and so many of them as to be all out of proportion to the size of the plant. Grape hyacinth (Muscari botryoides) was formerly grown in a bulb-bed, since abandoned, within the park but was later set in considerable quantities among the rocks and ledges where it is as hardy as a native. Its dainty spikes of white-tipped, blue flowers form a pleasing addition to the native flora. Crocus also is still persisting in the old bulb-bed. Adders tongue (Erythronium Americanum) commenced flowering about this time and the next few days brought out the first flowers of blood-root, yellow violet (Viola rotundi- folia), Trillium erectum and arbutus (Epigea repens). Ihave never found the bloodroot growing wild in Jamaica. The yellow violet was a little late this year as it should come with Viola Selkirku, but it made up for it by being through blooming long before its contemporary had any thought of quitting the field. Although my arbutus has been in its present position for several years it does not thrive. The situation is evidently too warm and dry to suit it. It is considered one of the most difficult of our native plants to domesticate, although I have had more trouble with the twin- flower (Linnaea borealis), which I have not succeeded in get- ting to live for more than one season. Spring beauty and adder’s tongue were soon carpeting the park and nearby woods by the thousands and white violets (Viola blanda) were commencing to bloom. One bush of Lonicera ciliata was getting well to blooming. This is very abundant in this section, growing on moist banks. On the twelfth I noticed nothing new except the appearance in great numbers of Jacob’s ladder (Oakesia sessilifolia) and a few blue violets (V. palmata var. cucullata) in a warm corner. This and V. blanda were soon blooming by the million in all parts of the park. Two or three more days brought out the 32 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. - modest litle bluets, innocence or quaker ladies (Houstonia cerulea). These daity plants have been slowly spreading since their introduction into the park several years ago. I have seen them covering acres of moist field as with a fall of tinted snow. A few very warm days saw the finish of the early flowers, but their places were already taken by others. On the 18th the wild plum (Prunus Americana var. nigra) growing on a ledge of rock was covered with a fairy cloud of bloom, and a few days later the pin cherry (P. Pennsylvanica) was in its full glory. By the 20th, twisted stalk (Streptopus roseus) which I set last year, was in bloom; also mitre-wort (Mitella diphylla), which my sister procured in Newfane. False mitre-wort, cool-wort or foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia) is native to the park and grows in many parts of it. It is much the prettier of the two and blooms about the same time. On May 28th, Habenaria Hookerti began to bloom. It is slightly ahead of time. All the plants are rank and thrifty, five of them with flower stalks. Only one lady’s-slipper or moccasin-flower (Cypripedium acaule) has bloomed this year, and but two others came up. Their nonappearance is, I think, largely due to what appears to have been a disease which at- tacked them last fall. The parts above ground of nearly all of my plants turned black and died before the usual time for them to retire for their long winter’s rest. I did not like the looks of it at the time but thought perhaps they would come out all right this spring. I did not examine the roots. I had a half dozen that had bloomed for several years and last spring I set eighteen or twenty more. I hoped for great things of them, but was disappointed. Thus does the spring advance in Stony Park. The flowers in the front ranks have fallen out but their work is not yet done; they have, as it were, retired to private life, perfecting their seeds. Many plants have been introduced, THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 33 some for their beauty, others because they were interesting, and still others for the purpose of identification or for speci- mens. Some of them are extremely difficult to transplant, others act as though nothing had happened. I have never hesitated to take up plants whenever I find them regardless of their period of development. It is necessary to shade some for a few days until they get established. | Wood betony (Pedicularis Canadensis), which just began to bloom May 31st, is one of the most difficult plants to move successfully that it has ever been my fortune to find. Somewhat late in the summer, two years ago I found it beside West River, and, it being new to me then, I set a plant in the park. It nearly died and did not recuperate enough to bloom until this year. I tried it again last year and it refused to hold up its head even for a day. Its behavior is very dif- ferent from what I was led to expect from its appearance. Jamaica, Vermont. SOME INCONSPICUOUS FLOWERS. BY WILLARD N. CLUTE. LTHOUGH March is usually cold and stormy, Nature’s preparations for the spring go on with few intermissions. The early plants are accustomed to spring from a rain-soaked earth and the first flowers seem not to require much encourage- ment in the way of warmth. Their is an unbounded confi- dence in the approach of a milder season all the more striking because not founded upon reason. With few exceptions, the early flowers are not what are popularly called such, but are most of them to be found in the shape of catkins. To the average individual, the notion of a flower is something with showy petals and bright color and he is surprised to learn that viewed from the standpoint of the plant or tree, a flower may lack both these attributes and still perform all necessary functions. Because the forest trees have no conspicuous 34 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. blossoms, there are many who suppose they do not bloom at all, and yet, every season, the branches are hung full of flowers and he who will look may be convinced. In nearly every thicket and fencerow, the hazel is soon blooming. Nature, thus early in the year, begins to fashion the hazelnut, or filbert, as it is called when it gets to market. If the nut’s history is traced back far enough it is found that one crop is hardly matured before the plant starts upon another. The catkins are formed in Autumn and every mild day in winter seems to add something to their bulk. It is not, however, until some subtle influence underground touches it, that it begins to grow in earnest. Then the stiff short catkins lengthen and become flexible and sift an immense amount of pollen upon the passing breeze. It is not every plant that can sport two kinds of blossoms; the hazel is one that can. The blossoms in the catkins are all male or pollen flowers. The others must be sought nearby. They appear like tiny crimson stars with five rays, scattered along the branches. In order to form a nut, the pollen must fall upon some of these rays. This is the secret of why so much pollen is produced. There must be enough so that the tiny stars shall not be missed. Down along the water the alder follows the hazel’s ex- ample and in the woodlands the birch will soon do likewise. The brownish color in the alder’s catkins is used by the child- ren in some sections for dyeing their Easter eggs. A few handfuls of the catkins, boiled with the eggs, suffices to give them a rich brown tint. It often happens, however, that Easter, in following the calendar, and the alder, in following Nature, fail to arrive at the same time. Then the dye industry is wrecked for if the catkins open before Easter, their useful- ness for coloring on that day is destroyed. The hazel and alder are called anemonophilous or wind- fertilized flowers because they trust to the wind to carry their THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. faye pollen. The pussy-willow whose silvery catkins now abound along streams and the borders of swamps has found another way of securing the transferrence of its pollen. It has called the bees to its aid. The two kinds of flowers are on different shrubs, often long distances apart, but by providing a reward of honey, the bees are induced to go from one blossom to another, transferring as they go, though quite unintentionally the pollen which clings to their bodies. Since the willows are pollinated by insects, they do not need to produce as much pollen as the hazel and alder, but they must secrete honey and thus loose in one direction what they gain in another. Wind-pollinated flowers commonly do not produce honey, for the wind asks no pay for his services. Among honey-producing trees, must be included the red and white maples, now beginning to bloom along suburban streets. These produce both sugar and honey, but commonly not at the same time. When the tree begins honey making, the sugar maker knows it is time for him to stop, else his product will have a bitter flavor and “taste of the bud,” as he phrases it. It is probable that most of those who have spent their lives in the country, walking under the blooming maples each spring, have no idea what beauties are swinging from the boughts overhead. Yet from each bud, springs several tiny bell-shaped flowers as marvellously fashioned as any that bloom in softer airs. One thing noticeable about nearly all the early blossoms is that they are formed during the preceding autumn. In blooming before the leaves put forth they reverse the usual order of things. Indeed, the witch-hazel which properly be- longs to this class, goes a step further, and, having formed its flower buds in autumn, blooms then, too, amid the falling leaves and is now ripening its seeds in the damp thickets. The true summer flowers do not appear until the plants have got their leaves, and the scientists have advanced several the- 36 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. ories to account for the behavior of the vernal flora, the most plausible of which has reference to the Ice Age, which is also held responsible for the migratory habits of our birds. _What- ever the cause, it is certain that without this provision of Nature, our springtime would be dreary indeed, for we should have to wait for the plants to grow up and make enough food for blossoming. And the flowers, cultivated or wild, which now serve to make outdoors lovely almost as soon as the snow has gone, would be missing, and it might be doubted whether the birds would long have courage to sing under such circum- stances. AILANTHUS. BY DR. W. W. BAILEY. EW trees present more points of general interest than the Ailanthus glandulosus, the “Tree-of-Heaven,” “Gotter- baum”’ of the Germans or ‘“Vernis de Japan,”’ Japanese varnish, of the French. The last name, Lindley tells us, was probably applied to it through some mistake. When at its best it is a large and distinctly handsome tree, to which the immensely long pinnate leaves impart a truly tropical appearance. ‘To cause it to assume a symmetri- cal appearance, its lateral branches should annually be re- moved, when the upper ones will form a wide canopy. Hence in France, Italy, and in some parts of our country, mostly in greater New York, it has been much employed as a shade tree. It is a rapid grower and with us makes itself perfectly at home. In the Hudson Highlands I have seen it, quite remote from villages, maintaining itself amidst sentinel cedars and other native forests trees as a dense and beautiful copse. While its leaves are not generally attacked by insects, it is the favorite food of a superb moth—the Afttacus Cynthia, which, in larva state, infests it. Beautiful as are our Cecropia, Prometheus and Luna moths, they must yield in rich, oriental THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 37 beauty to this silk moth of Japan. The colors are a magnifi- cent blending of olive, rose-color, purple and brown. The leaves are retained till the first autumn frosts, when the leaflets suddenly fall, leaving the stalks for several weeks longer. An objection to the tree has always been the perfectly disgusting animal-like odor of the male flowers,—“redolent,” as Gray says, “of any other odors than those of paradise.” But it is not necessary to plant the staminate tree, and the female in fruit, with its large bunches of ash-like keys, has an added beauty. While, as a rule, these keys are of a yellowish tint, I have seen them near the seashore, at Gloucester, Mass. of a superb scarlet simulating the effect of mountain-ash. In- deed, on one occasion, while at some distance, I mistook it therefore. The plant spreads vigorously by offshoots as well as by © seed, and it has been said of it, that if, by some dire calamity, New York should fall in ruin and for a time be uninhabited, it would in a few years be covered with a forest of Ailanthus. Brown University, Providence, R. I. EARLY BLOSSOMS. BY FRANK DOBBIN,. O WHICH of our native plants shall we give the first place as the earliest bloomer? At first thought one would probably mention the arbutus or possibly the hepatica, but stop a moment; what of the malodorous skunk cabbage that pushes its twisted spathe through the soil some time in March. We bring it home, careful to keep it beyond the reach of our sense of smell, because it is a “blossom.” But even earlier than this, perchance our rambles has led us to some brook already awakened from its winter sleep and we have been surprised and pleased to find the little golden saxifrage in flower. Inconspicuous though it be, here is a herald of spring, as true as the bluebird or the robin. 38 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. Spring; what magic there is in the name! Once more we can go afield and watch for the first comers of the floral procession, confident that though the sharp March winds be blowing yet we shall find signs of Nature’s awakening on every side. Let us stop and examine yonder clump of alders. For so long have their catkins been swaying in the wintry blast that one could almost doubt if there were indeed any stir of life within. But let us examine them closely today and now for the first time we get a hint of the gold inclosed under that dull outer coat. Now we will pass along to that willow and if the day be warm for the season and the sun bright we may find a few early insects hovering about it, ready to carry the pollen to some waiting pistils. Did you ever examine on a breezy spring day, a clump of hazel bushes? Of course you noticed at once the swaying grayish catkins, but did you look farther for the little red tips of the fertile flowers? Here is another of our earliest blossoms. I wonder who is botanist enough to tell from these first signs which kind of a nut that particular bush will pro- duce; whether it will be the one having the long hairy beak, or the one having the nut inclosed in a sort of a ruffled affair, called by the text books an involucre! Now day by day the sun climbs higher and we may ex- pect at almost any time to find in some sunny nook the first hepatica, pushing its downy flower up amid last year’s leaves. Some fence corner will perchance contain a few bloodroot blossoms. Etherial and delicate they are; quite out of keeping with the later rather coarse herbage of the plant. We are speaking of early blossoms so we must not pass by a plant because it does not appeal to us by some striking characteristic of bud or flower. There is the Pennsylvania sedge, with its yellow tassel of stamens adorning many an otherwise barren spot. On shady banks the birthroot with its down leaves and its curious flower, lying almost, if not quite THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 39 on the ground. Crush a bit of the stem or root in the fingers and we have a rich spicy odor, not just like a “breath of Araby” perhaps, but still sufficient to give us a liking for the homely little plant. What though a few snowflakes fall from time to time it is only a momentary relapse! By these signs we know that spring is here and here to stay. Shusan, N. Y. THE PISTACHIO NUT. NLY within a short time has the pistachio nut become known in the United States, though it is almost as old as history. The earliest mention of it is in Genesis XLUHI:II. The pistachio is the nut mentioned among the - list of presents which the children of Israel were commanded to carry down to Joseph to secure the release of their brethern. The list of articles includes myrrh, nuts and almonds. The nuts are the pistachio nuts which are known today. Some authors give the natural habitat of the pistachio nut as Italy, but that is slightly misleading. The nut is really a native of Syria, where it grows in desert places and where there is almost perpetual drouth. It was greatly prized by all the nations of antiquity, and was one of the dainties of the Greek epicures. Notwithstanding this, it has made its way slowly into other countries and is just coming to be known in the United States. The nut itself is not as large as a hazel nut, but is rather longer and much thinner, and the shell is covered with a some- what wrinkled skin. The tree upon which the nut grows is small, rarely being over twenty feet high, and, as has been said is a native of Syria, and probably Persia. 40 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. It is cultivated to some extent in Europe and‘in Northern Africa. The localities where it will flourish are numerous, and it is not easily killed when once it has been started. The tree has pinnate leaves, with two pairs of ovate leaf- lets, and an odd one. The blossoms are borne in racemes. The fruit is ovoid, and about the size of an olive. The nut splits into two halves when ripe. The kernel is of a bright green color and very oleaginous, of a delicate flavor, and with qualities much resembling the sweet almond, though the ex- cellent flavor is more pronounced. ‘The nut is much esteemed wherever grown, but during the days of slow transportation, it was impossible to export them very extensively, owing to their liability to become rancid. The nuts have frequently been called green almonds, but wholly without reason. They are not almonds, nor are they related to the almond in any way. The oil expressed from them is used for culinary and other purposes.—American Nut Journal. FLowers Mopiriep By INsects.—We seldom realize how much that is attractive to us in floral structures, is not primarily due to the flowers themselves, but to insects. Wind- pollinated flowers, as everyone is aware, are not showy and the large number of stamens necessary to produce pollen enough to ensure seed, indicate how wasteful in the matter of pollen this method is. The flowers that have bid for insect visits by the production of color and nectar, have found it quite possible to get along with fewer stamens. But to do this it was necessary to unite calyx and corolla into tubes in order to oblige the insect to enter the flower in the proper position to be dusted with pollen. Thus in response to insect visits the flowers with curiously shaped and brilliantly col- ored corollas have arisen. | NOTE AND COMMENT _ WANTED.—Short notes of interest to the general bot- anist are always in demand for this department. Our readers are invited to make this the place of publication for their botanical items. It should be noted that the magazine is is- sued as soon as possible after the fifteenth of each month. ARROWHEAD PoTaToES.—Many species of arrowhead (Sagittaria) form tubers underground in autumn, which carry the plant through the winter or serve to propagate it during the following year. Tubers of this kind have been observed in Sagittaria latifolia, S. graminea, S. heterophylla, S. longi- loba, S. papillosa, and various European species, and may possibly occur in all our species. Some of these tubers are edible, especially those of S. latifolia. On the Northwest Coast the tubers were formerly much in demand by the Indians and the Chinese are also said to eat them. These tubers are pro- duced at some distance below the surface of the mud in which the plants grow, and when they germinate, a long rhizome is formed, which develops a corm at its tip from which the new leaves and flower-stalks arise. Location oF NeEctTArRtIES.—Not all nectaries are located in flowers. The nectaries on the rachis of the leaves of the partridge-pea (Cassia chamaecrista) and bracken (Pteris aquilina) are fairly well known. The almond and peach have nectaries at the base of the petiole, while certain species of touch-me-not (Impatiens), have nectaries on the stipules. In flowers, a single set of organs does not have a monopoly of the nectaries. In the basswood (Tilia) the sepals produce nectar, in buttercups and their allies the petals perform this office and often these organs are little more than nectaries as in aconite. 41 42 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. The Anther filaments in the beard-tongue (Petstemon) take up the work and in the marsh marigold (Caltha palstris) the pistils are drawn into service. In the majority of plants, however, it is the receptacle that is the nectar-producer and this often produces special glands or disks in which the nectar is found. Root-CLiMBERS.—Plants have various ways of getting up in the world. The morning-glory and hop find it expedient to twine, the grape and Boston ivy develop tendrils that are regarded as transformed branches, while the pea climbs by the rachis of its leaf. Gloriosa superba climbs by the leaf tip, clematis and nasturtium climb by their petioles, and the green- briar (Smilax), by stipules. This does not exhaust the kinds of climbers. There are still the root-climbers, such as the poison ivy and trumpet creeper (Bignonia) that produce aerial rootlets which firmly attach them to their supports. It is be- lieved by many that the contact of the vine with its support is quite sufficient to cause these roots to develop and in general this seems true, but anyone who has seen an old stem of poison ivy must have noticed that the rootlets have certainly not all arisen in response to this stimulus for they spring from all parts of the stem. OrIGIN OF PETALS.—Relying upon the resemblance be- tween leaf-buds and flower-buds, botanists have often asserted that the floral organs have been derived from leaves. While it is doubtless true that “‘a flower is a transformed branch,” the exact order in which these parts have been transformed or, rather, the order in which each part appeared is often mis- understood or lost sight of. It is very certain that there were pistils and stamens long before there were flowers in any common usage of this term. Pollen grains and certain struc- tures in the ovules of plants are simply spores comparable in all respects to the spores that appear in the spore-cases on the THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 43 back of fern leaves or in the cone-like spikes of the horse-tail or Club-moss. These spores seem to be essential to the con- tinuation of the species, so essential, in fact that chey appear in the lower orders of plant life long before true leaves of any kind were evolved. Thus carpels and stamens may be the homologues of leaves, but they have apparently never been de- rived from these structures. When and why petals and sepals arose and whether they were derived directly from leaves or in a roundabout way from stamens and carpels is quite another question. Both views have their adherents, and it is quite possible that in some plants these organs have been derived from leaves and in others from stamens. Funcus Cotorinc.—Recent mention has been made in these pages of the various colors due to fungus growths with- in wood. One color which has probably been noticed by many is due to the green cup fungus, (Chlorosplenium Aeruginos- um). Most commonly seen in the old branches of oak on the ground, the partly decayed wood assumes a beautiful verdigris green. The fungus grows mostly in the spring, but may be seen most any time of the year. The mycelium or root of the fungus, penetrates in microscopic threads, the cells of the wood, producing the color. The wood so colored either by natural methods or by artificial infection, (Minn. Bot. Survey V. 5, p, 267) has been used to some extent in making veneers employed in the manufacture of Tunbridge ware. The color- ing matter can also be extracted from the wood and used for other purposes. The fruit cups of the fungus are not common, but may be found occasionally, not larger than small peas, shaped like an ordinary toadstool, and of the same beautiful green color as the infected host on which it grows.—Stafford C. Edwards, New Brighton, N. Y. VARIATIONS IN THE ToaAp-FLAx.—In examining the Linaria vulgaris Mill, with a class in botany, I found the following remarkable and _ interesting varia- 44 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. ‘ tions in the corolla. The variations were all found on the same plant. In two of the corollas the spur was absent as was also the usual orange colored palate. The corolla in both of these flowers consisted of five petals, but in one of them there were four petals in the upper lip and one in the lower while in the other flower all five petals were in the position usually occupied by the upper lip. The corolla of a third flower was tubular, about-three fourths of an inch long, of greatest diameter at the base and tapering towards the apex. At the base of this peculiarly formed corolla were three spurs separated from one another by about one third of the circumference of the tube. The apex of the corolla was surmounted by an enlarged crown, circular in form, and orange colored like the palate in the ordinary flower. At the upper end of the tubular corolla just below the orange colored crown were three petal-like tips equdistant from one another.—J. B. Turner, Hamilton, Ontario. PLurR-ANNUALS.—Climate and the varying hardiness of plants has made it possible to divide vegetation into several distinct groups depending upon their length of life. The an- nuals last but a single season and the biennials _ store up food the first season and flower and die the next. The perennials, on the other hand, may live for many years and commonly do not flower until one or more years old. There are also variations of these groups. A winter annual is one whose seeds being sown in autumn, germinate and last through the winter to flower and fruit the following spring and then to die. These plants show that annual plants are not all due to the cold. Monocarpic plants are in a sense related to the biennials. They have the nature of biennials, but store up food for more than one season before the supreme effort of flowering. A good illustration is the century plant which does not take a century for food storing as so many people believe. The term plur-annual is rarest of all, though ex- THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 45 amples of this class are familiar to all. A plur-annual may be defined as a plant that ordinarily lives more than one season, but which, owing to being transplanted to a region in which it cannot live for part of the year becomes to all intents and purposes an annual. The tomato, castor-bean, red pepper, cotton and many other garden plants are plur-annuals. MATERIALS FOR SMOKING.—Those who must smoke are not, and apparently never have been, restricted to tobacco. Tobacco is still the principal substance used for smoking and following it comes opium and hashish, the first made, as most are aware from the juice of the poppy and the second from the gum of the hemp. We might call these three the recognized substances for smoking, but many others exist. Many are known to the small boy, such as the pods of the catalpa, mul- lein leaves, bamboo, cornsilk and cabbage leaves, the latter re- puted to be indulged in unintentionally by children of larger growth, when mixed with, their prized Havanas. Possibly it is because the American Indian is more childlike in some things than his white brother, that he mixed a variety of other things with his smoking tobacco. Among these may be men- tioned the bark of wahoo (Euonymus), red osier (Cornus stolonifera), sumac. (Rhus trilobata and R. glabra), silky cornel (Cornus sericea), arrow-wood (Viburnum), black wil- low (Salix nigra), mountain laurel (Kalmia) and ironwood (Carpinus). The leaves and bark of the squaw huckleberry (Vaccimium stamineum) was also occasionally used. Several of these things were commonly used under the name of Kin- nikinick and this name has persisted to the present as one of the names of silky cornel. ‘ EDITORIAL Never before in the history of this magazine have we had so many subscribers upon our books, and never have we had fewer unpaid accounts. This speaks volumes for the interest that is taken in our kind of botany. At the outset there were many who doubted our ability to get support for a publication devoted chiefly to economic and ecological botany, but we are proving that they were mistaken. If we can now add at least two hundred more names to our list, we will at once increase the size of this magazine by adding eight pages to each issue. Is this not worth working for? Speak to your botanizing friends about it. Every new subscriber increases the value of the magazine to you. And while we are about it, we would like to get those remaining unpaid accounts closed up and therefore enclose a bill in this number for all whose accounts are a year or more in arrears. It will not cost our subscribers much of an effort to square up accounts, for the sums due are all small. It may be well, too, to remember our offer of twelve volumes for $5.00. a aS In a single day’s mail this month, we received three orders for sets of the first four volumes of our magazine, The Fern Bulletin. These volumes have long been out of print, and of course we could not fill the orders, but this shows how the demand for the early numbers of a good magazine con- tinues. Nearly fifteen years after publication, these numbers are in greater demand, and command a higher price than when first issued. A similar state of affairs is going to exist, some day, regarding THE AMERICAN BoTanistT. The supply is not inexhaustible. Our urgent invitation for all who can, to get a full set, is not made entirely be- cause we desire to sell the magazine. Of course, we expect 46 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 47 to benefit by such sales, but if a single purchaser thinks that he is not also benefited, he may have his money back upon the prompt return of the numbers. In this connection, we wish also to announce a new special offer as follows: We will send the first ten volumes for $5.00 and make the pur- chaser a present of a year’s subscription. If you have some of the volumes, we will send you any ten volumes you may care to order and will add the year’s subscription. You may order the next ten volumes to be issued if you wish, the gist of the matter being that twelve volumes may now be had for five dollars, and we do not care what volumes they are. Any person in arrears for subscriptions, may take advantage of this offer to pay up, but this part of the offer is subject to with- drawal without notice. BOOKS AND WRITERS. The Plant World, profiting by a good example, has de- cided to go west and hereafter will be issued from Denver, Colo. Like this same good example it will also be issued on the fifteenth of each month. This is the season when garden books are in greatest demand. In most sections it is a bit too early to proceed to actual garden-making, but it is not a bit too soon to get the garden plans under way. It may be said at the outset that books are not half so valuable to the beginner as a single season of actual experiences, yet books are not to be disdained even by the gardener who no longer considers himself a novice. There are hints and ideas to be gained from almost any book. Two helpful new books of this kind have appeared in time for use during the present season’s planning. The first is from the press of Charles Scribner’s Sons and is entitled “The seasons in a Flower-Garden,” by Louise Shelton. After some preliminary chapters on soils and planting the book plunges into the season in September when the good gardener really 48 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. , begins the making of next year’s garden. There are seeds to be saved, plants to be moved and notes taken as to the more desirable things to be planted another season. The book fol- lows the seasons from September with timely hints as to work to be done, the best flowers to plant, how to combat the insect enemies, etc. The book costs a dollar and ought to be worth that to any amateur. A more pretentious book is ‘Common Sense Gardens” by Cornelius V. V. Sewell from the Grafton Press, New York. This not only discusses gardening matters, but devotes con- siderable space to garden furniture, walls, fences and the like. It is not, however, a book of directions for garden making, but appears more the opinions of an amateur who had tried many plants and speaks from experience as to their cultiva- tion. Apparently influenced by the reading of English books the author evinces an overweening fondness for box as an edging and hedge plant. Not enough attention seems to have been paid to the necessity for choosing different plants for different climates and our native perennials get off with scant notice. The book is worth owning, however, if only for the most excellent illustrations, one hundred in number, principally reproduced from photographs. These show scenes from many famous American gardens, as well as walls, specimen trees, etc. The book will be of greatest usefulness in the region of country about New York and Washington. It contains nearly four hundred pages and costs $2.00 net. = THE Fern Bulletin 32 pages, quarterly. Now in its 15th volume. Well illustrated. Notes on rare ferns a specialty. Portraits of Fern Students. Helps for the Beginner. Index to Current Literature. Fern-floras of the States. Check-list of American Pterido- phytes. Monograph of Equisetum. Illustrations of rare Ferns. Only Fern Magazine in the World. Official Organ American Fern So- ciety. 75 CENTS A YEAR First five volumes out of:print. Next ten for sale at 75c each. A set of the ten for $6.00. Only a few sets left. Order now. —S ee THE FERN BULLETIN JOLIET, ILL. Hollyhocks F,,VERYBODY should have Hollyhocks. Though not generally known, there has been as great improvement made in this stately flower, during the past 25 years, as there has in the Canna, Chrysan- themum, Dahlia or Car- nation. The flowers of Lovett's Superb Hollyhocks are not only very large, wonderfully perfect in finish and pure in color, but they are produced in far greater numbers and for a much longer season than the Hollyhocks of ‘‘"Grandmother’s Garden.’’ Strong roots which will flower early the first season, by mail, Separate Colors, - 8 for $1.00; BO for $6.00 All Colors Mixed, 10 for $1.00; 50 for $4.00° Single Hollyhocks,10 for $1.00; 60 for $4.00 All are fully described, together with more than 1,000 varieties of other beautiful hardy flowers, in my catalog of Hardy Perennial Plants; a profusely illustrated, elegant book of 70 pages, replete with valuable information about hardy flowers. It is free to all, J. T. LOVETT, Little Silver, N. J. The value of OUR CATA- LOGUE as a guide to the amateur or professional garden- er cannot be overestimated. We have ready for mailing OUR 106th SUCCESSIVE AN. NUAL EDITION, and it is fully up to our usual high stand- ard, replete, as it has always been, with the most* beautiful half tone ani other illustrations. It contains 144 large size pages covering the largest assortment of high class seeds, etc, ever of- fered. Send for a copy and be con- vinced. Mailed free on application, J M. THORBURN @ CO. 33 Barclay St., Through to 38 Park Place, NEW YORK J Methods in Moss Study Price $1.25 Of the several books which I have written, none appear to be betterappreciated by the public than this little book on Mosses, which is intended as a text book ‘for beginners. These very attractive pion may be found at all seasons, but there is no etter timc than late winter and early spring. Send forcircular. ©, J, Maynard 447 Crafts St. West Newton, Mass. A HIGH POWER MAGNIFIER A Sy epee on ea A LOW PRICE Our new doublet-Aplanat gives a perfectly flat field far superior to Coddington lenses and not to be compared with other cheaper magnifiers. All lenses removable for cleaning. PRICE $1.25 POSTPAID. Collecting Cases $.'75, $1.25, and $1.50. Plant Presses $.60 and $1.00. Large Stage Botanical Aplanatic Lenses $4.00. Microscope with A liberal discount made on Send for list. Williams, Brown & Earle Dept. 32, 918 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. larger orders. ‘THE BEST WORKS ON FERNS OUR FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS, by Willard N. Clute. Octavo, 333 | __ In THE MONIST, January 1906 - - $ .60 HEREDITY AND THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES (illiistratea) By Daniel T. MacDougal. In THE MONIST, April 1906 - - - $. THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA OF THE MUTATION THEORY By J. Arthur Harris, Ph. D. In THE OPEN COURT, November 1906 - - - - $ .10_ BURBANKS PRODUCTION OF HORTICULTURAL NOVELTIES By Prof. Hugo De Vries. THE OPEN COURT, December 1906 - - -- - - $ .10- Will contain A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF PROF. HUGO DE VRIES AND HIS WORK By Prof. H. Hus. These numbers will be supplied on receipt of price. The publishers of THE OPEN COURT and THE MONIST have in preparation a new work by Prof. Hugo De Vries entitled PLANT. BREEDING: COMMENTS ON THE WORK OF NILSSON AND. BURBANK,.a popular and profusely illustrated work which is to be © published January lst at a popular price. THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING CO. 1322 Wabash Ave, Chicago, USA. | pages. 225 illustrations. Eight colored plates. Contains the only il- lustrated key ever published, and a full account of all the ferns of 1 ‘ THE FERN ALLIES OF NORTH AMERICA, by Willard N. Clute. Eastern America. The species can be identified by the illustrations, alone.’ More copies of this--book -are sold annually, than of spe 4 other. Price post paid, $2.50. * Octavo, 250 pages, 159 illustrations, eight colored plates. A companion '“yolume to “Our Ferns in Their Haunts”, containing a full account of the »scouring rushes, club-mosses, quillworts, selaginellas, water-ferns, etc., etc., in North America. Seven keys to the species. A check list with synonyms. The only book on the subject in the English language. Listed in the New York State Library list among The ‘Best Books of — 1905. - Price post paid, $2.00. as SPECIAL OFFERS Fither ‘volume and a year’s subscription to American Botanist....$2.80 — . Either volume and a full set of American Botanist, (10 volumes)... 6.00 _ Both volumes to one address bain Sith! sales Wass e au cy times eae sia eae 3.89. Both volumes and a year’s subscription to American Botanist...... 4.50. — Both volumes and full set of American Botanist, (10 volumes)..... 7.75 Address all orders to WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO,, Joliet, Illinois. Articles of Special Interest to Botanists “ Vo. #2 - APRIL 1907 The AMERICAN BOTANIST CONTENTS SOLOMON’S SEAL - --- - - = - 49 Dro W..W. ees SOME WOOD-DESTROYING FUNGI - 51 L. Augustus’ >Hausman. ~ SOME SPRING FLOWERS - - - - 56 Willard N.- Chute. SAGE BRUSH AND CACTUS - - - Earl Lynd Johnston. — NOTE AND COMMENT ~ “2: - - EUILORIAS ee BOOKS AND WRITERS - - - - - 7 WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO. JOLIET, ILLINOIS Ghe American ‘Bétanin e. * ss A MONTHLY JOURNAL FOR THE PLANT LOVER »s™® Issued on the 15th of each month except July and August Soe) SSS eS ee sr WILLARD N. CLUTE 33 3 EDITOR SPECIAL NOTICE.—This magazine is issued in two half-yearly vol- umes of five numbers each. Subscriptions $1.00 a year. All subsriptions must begin with a volume. To avoid the loss of numbers to regular subscribers, the magazine is sent until we are notified to discontinue and all arrearage paid. No one receives the magazine free except by special arrangement. SAMPLE COPIES.—One cannot always judge of a magazine by a single number. Those who receive extra copies are asked to give them a careful examination. We know when a plant lover becomes familiar with the contents — of this magazine he invariably becomes a subscriber. A single number may often be worth more than is charged for a year’s subscription. The full set is almost a necessity to the plant student. WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., Publishers, 309 Whitley Ave., Joliet, Ill. Entered as mail matter of the second class at the post office, Joliet, Ill. THE ASKING - THE AMATEUR NATURALIST (“ie askinc The only Popular Magazine devoted exclusively to general Nature Study that is untechnical, yet scientifically accurate. It publishes the things you want to know about plant life, birds, animals, insects, minerals, etc., and inter- esting discoveries in astronomy, chemistry, geology, physics, and other natural sciences...Subscription, 50 cents a year. CHAS. D. PENDELL, PuBLisHeRr, ASHLAND, ME. }, VERYBODY should have Hollyhocks. Though not generally known, there has been as great improvement made in this. stately flower, during the past 25 years, as there has in the Canna, Chrysan- themum, Dahlia or Car- nation. .The flowers of Lovett's Superb Hollyhoeks | are not only very large, wonderfully perfect in finish and pure in color, but they are produ in far greater numbers and for a much longer season than the Hollyhocks of ‘‘Grandmother’s Garden.” Strong roots which will flower early the first season, by mail, Separate Colors, - 8 for $1.00; 6O fer $6.00 All Cotors Mixed, 10 for $1,00; 60 fer $4.00 Single Hollyhocks,10 for $1.00; 6O fer $4.00 32 pages, quarterly. Now in its 15th volume. Well illustrated. Notes on rare ferns a specialty. Portraits of Fern Students. Helps for the Beginner. a Index to Current Literature. Fern-floras of the States. : Check-list of American Pterido- phytes. Monograph of Equisetum. Illustrations of rare Ferns. Only Fern Magazine in the World. Official Organ American Fern -So- ciety. 75 CENTS A YEAR ~ First five volumes out of print. Next ten for sale at 75c each: A set of the ten for $6.00. Only a few sets left. Order now All are fully described, together with more ; than 1,000 varieties of other beautiful hardy flowers, in my catalog of Hardy Perennial Plants; a profusely illustrated, elegant book of 70 pages, replete with valuable information about hardy flowers. It is free to all. J. T. LOVETT, Little Silver, M. J. THE FERN BULLETIN JOLIET, ILL, ‘pousodo yjuvliog “q yOOsJOON “ve “wunLoyng wWiwUobhlod —- "TWAS S.NOWOTOS THE AMERICAN BOTANIST VOL. XII. JOLIET ILE VAPRITE, 1907- No, 3 SOLOMON'S SEAL. LIBRARY BY DR W. W. BATLEY- aby NEW YOR aoe of distinct plants, but all of the Lily family, aregoraa ea popularly known as Solomon’s Seals. The confusion GARDEN. results from a common resemblance to each other in habit and leafage. It is, however, only the species of the genus Polygonatum to which the name properly applies. In these an elongated rootstock, more or less thickened, is observed, marked at intervals by a circular scar denoting where former ascending and leaf-bearing stems have stood. These, as they fall, leave behind them this record of their being. The scars bear a certain resemblance to a seal stamped in wax, hence the name; and as in tradition and fairy tale, a potent seal is attributed to King Solomon, this stamp is con- sidered his. 3 It will be recalled by lovers of the Arabian Nights that Solomon’s seal was enough, so long as it remained unbroken, to confine the tremendous genie, who gave the fishermen so bad a quarter of an hour. In our plants we observe that the much married king, possessed seals of various sizes. Some were official, no doubt; others reserved for his less serious, but frequent correspondence. Polygonatuim giganteum is his Great Seal of State. So far, we have found it powerful enough to ward off Blue Devils if not more potent demons. This larger species, from two to seven feet high, is cylindrical and smooth, usually somewhat recurved, giving it a very graceful habit. The alternate leaves, three to eight inches long, are ovate and partly clasping, the upper ones ~oblong and sessile. All have prominent nerves, an entire Simargin, and are more or less glaucous. In the axils of the = MAY 6 - 50 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. leaves, and gradually diminishing in size are found the cylin- drical, oblong flowers, the creamy white perianth having its six lobes beautifully tinted with apple green. Included are six stamens, and with introrse anthers. The superior ovary is three-celled, with several ovules in each cell, and there is a slender, deciduous style. The capitate stigma is obscurely three-lobed. The resultant berry is globular and black or blue in color. The pendulous peduncles bear from two to eight flowers, the pedicels uniting below into a common peduncle. This plant is showy enough to be introduced into any garden, and in cultivation increases in size and vigor, soon spreading to an alarming extent. It is hence desirable to give it a bed to itself, or to plant it well back of other things which it will not over-shade. The name Polygonatum is from the Greek polus, many and gonu, a knee, “alluding to the num- erous joints of the rootstock and stem.” Our other species, Polygonatum biflorum, is very much smaller from one to three feet high, and as its name implies. usually has two flowers to a peduncle, sometimes only one; occasionally as many as three. The flowers are greenish and of no great beauty. While in P. giganteum the filaments are smooth and naked, in this species they are papillose- roughened. The leaves are more decidedly glaucous. Here in Rhode Island, it is our only species and is very common. It has a wide distribution according to Gray’s Manual, from New Brunswick to Florida, and west to Minnesota, East IXansas and Texas. The False Solomon’s Seals belong generally to the genera Smilacina and Maianthemum, and we have even heard Streptopus and Uvularia so classed. There is, one would think, no likelihood of mistaking any of these for Sol- omon’s Seal, yet in Rhode Island, the dainty little Maianthe- mum is almost universally so entitled. It will be recalled that THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 51 this pretty plant, which in the writer’s earlier days was called a Smilacina, has a terminal recene of small white flowers. Under ground it produces yards of a delicate rootstock which required the patience of Walter Deane to wholly unearth, press and mount. This certainly bears no obvious seals. The Smilacinas of which, here in Rhode Island, we have two species, S. racemosa and S. stellata resemble the last, but on a much larger scale, while Streptopus and Uvularia are so conspicuously different except in foliage, it would seem impossible that any one should confuse them. The writer’s experience is, however, that when people, botanists or other, make up their minds to call anything by a particular name, even the authoritive seal of Solomon himself appended, will not shake their belief. Brown University, Providence, R. 1. SOME WOOD-DESTROYING FUNGI. BY L. AUGUSTUS HAUSMAN. UNGI are veritably and unmistakably plants; of a low or- der, it is true, but still, plants, developed from seeds or germs slightly analogous to, but not wholly homologous with the seeds of higher orders. Besides the larger species there ex- ist forms so minute that their structural pesuliarities are dis- cernable only with the highest powers of the microscope. Of these the mildew, blue-mold and gory-dew may be cited as familiar examples. While fungi attack and destroy much dead wood, they also often attack living trees and cause their downfall. When the spawn of the fungus strikes a substance which is conduc- tive to its growth, the protoplasm or living matter of the cells send forth its vital juice which penetrates the substance and decomposition speedily follows through the rapid growth of the mycelium, the vegetative portion of the fungus. By break- ing open old stumps where these plants are growing the 52 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. mycelium may be traced throughout all their decaying parts. It is composed of countless numbers of fine hair-like processes with tiny outlets which take up such material as is conducive to the growth of the fungus. In order to grow the fungus must have a large per cent of moisture, and often, after a rainy spell, one may find such growths on stumps and fence rails in high, dry places, where before it gave no evidence of its existence. The mycelium was there, however, but in a dormant state until the rain nourished it into action. The genus, which perhaps is represented by the most spec- ies of wood destroying fungi, is the Polyporus. A few of this genus are reported as edible but the greater number are too corky and tough, when mature, to be fit for food. In the species of this genus the tubes are not separable from each oth- er. One of the most common is Polyporus hirsutus, so called from the numerous short stiff hairs which cover the cap, and give it a velvety appearance. It occurs most abundantly on wood of fallen trees but in some cases I have found it on stand- ing trees also. It is usually a sessile species but one may often find it in umbilicate form when it is supported by a short cen- tral stem. The cap is grayish or brown, often zoned with light- er or darker shades. The fruiting surface is at first yellowish, then brown, but exceptions to this rule are frequently met with for I have found plants, comparatively young, whose under surface was as dark colored as many of the older ones. The tubes are very regular in arrangement and may be seen very readily with the aid of a pocket lens. In fact it adds greatly to the interest of the observer if he possesses a good lens, as it brings to light many hidden and interesting facts. A damp wood makes an excellent place for the growth of this fungus, especially after a rainy spell, when hundreds of young plants may be found on old brush heaps and dead branches. It is not found to any great extent in high dry woods. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 53 A second species perhaps the most noticeable of all the polypori is Polyporus betulinus, or birch polyporus, so-called from its habitat, invariably on the birch. I have heard it call- ed the “hoof-fungus’’also, but this name seems to be most ap- plied to Fomes fomentarius. P. betulinus grows in a hoof shape from both living and dead birches and often attains very large dimensions. Often the cap is evident before the fruit- ing surface. In the ordinary plant the cap is white; spongy when wet, but when dried it presents a hard, tough surface which is often utilized in the manufacture of razor straps. The under surface is a deep brown. Under the microscope, the cap is seen to consist of multitudes of fine hairs somewhat analo- gous to the hairs of the mycelium. In fact, any portion of the woody fungi, when submitted to microscopical examinations is found to consist of hairs. As the mycelium itself is compos- ed entirely of fine hairs there can be no doubt but that those which go to make up the fungus proper are merely processes of the same. In the genus Lenzites the spores, instead of being devel- oped in tiny perforations, are borne on the sides of the gills which radiate from that side of the plant which is attached to the wood. Although, in the following species the caps vary greatly in color, the plants may be at once identified by the hymenium which never has any radical change. Lenzites separia is perhaps the more common of the two, and may be at once recognized by the brown papery gills. In my collection of this species I have plants whose caps shade from almost pure white to dark reddish brown, well illustrating its changeable- ness. The average plant however is a deep brown, both above and beneath and the cap is often zoned with darker shades. It is a sessile species, often gregarious and sometimes imbricate. Low, damp woods and high, dry woods are alike conducive to the growth of this plant. It isa pretty and graceful species and thrives under the most adverse circumstances. 54 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. Damp woods and swamps seem best suited to Lenzites bet- ulina. Of course the rule is not inflexible and one may often come upon specimens growing where he least expected to find them. For the most part, however, different species have dif- ferent localities which seems best suited for their development and for this reason I am safe in ascribing these different locali- ties to these fungi. Lengites betulina is even more remarkable for the varia- tion in the color of the cap than the preceding species. While the cap is usually gray zoned slightly, and the gills are yellow, there are many variations. In my collection I have plants whose caps are white, grayish brown, and in one instance gray with red zones. These changes are due, doubtless to differences in the organic matter which they take up. Young plants are soft and yielding but old plants are firm, though somewhat spongy. The pileus in old plants is often tinted green, due to the growth of algae. The plants in the genus Fomes were formerly classed with the genus Polyporus, but modern mycologists prefer to classify them in this group. Fomes fomentarius is the most common representative of this genus and is found in both dry and damp wood on logs and stumps. The cap is dark brown, usually with darker zones and the hymenium is the same. The mouths of the fruiting tubes are large and irregular and may be readily seen by the naked eye. The peculiar shape of the tubes distinguish this species from all others. I have found the largest and most flourish- ing plants growing in damp woods, particularly besides brooks where the running water keeps the wood on which they grew wet continually, thus affording the plants sufficient moisture to enable them to attain large dimensions. The caps of plants found growing in dry places are lighter in color and more cor- rugated than the caps of those found growing in damp places. As a rule, the plants grow in single, sessile growths, but in THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 55 1903 I took a specimen with two distinct caps. This plant is often called ‘‘German tinder” and it is said that it is used large- ly by the Germans for making fuses. This is done by removing the tube system and beating the fungus until flexible, and then dipping it into saltpetre. In Bohemia they are said to be util- ized as flower pots by cutting out the tube system, inverting the plant and filling the hollow portion with earth. The most beautiful species of this genus is Fomes lucidus, so-called from the shining cap which presents a beautiful sur- face, appearing as if varnished. ‘The color of the whole plant is yellowish then chestnut red. In mature plants the tubes are brown. The surface is quite woody and tough when the plant has matured. Dry stumps are usually the habitat of this plant and it is seldom found in any but comparatively dry places. This beautiful fungus succumbs so quickly to the attack of cer- tain insects which are fond of fungi, that it is difficult to find a mature plant in a perfect state of preservation. Fomes applanatus has a hard, woody shell, much harder than that of Fomes lucidus, in fact it is the hardest of these fungi. The cap is brownish or gray, sometimes white; corru- gated, and strongly zoned with annual rings for this plant is perennial. The surface of the tubes is white and the mouths are scarcely visible to the naked eye. Bruises of the tubes turn brown and for this reason it is often collected and drawn upon with a sharp instrument. The plants usually are sesile and single and grow on logs or stumps alike in wet or dry places. It is the longest lived of any of the fungi, for the reason that, being so hard it neither decomposes from an over abundance of moisture, or succumbs to the ravages of insects which attack and destroy so many of the softer species. At certain seasons of the year the cap is covered by a reddish, powdery substance due “to the numerous spores or conidia which are developed on the upper surface of the plant in addition to the smaller spores developed in the tubes on the under surface.” (Atkinson.). 56 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. These conidia are somewhat analogous to the spores of Dae- dalea quercina. The genus Favolus has but one representative which is na- tive to our woods; the Favolus Areolarius, which occurs on dead twigs, particularly hickory. The tubes are large at first, hexagonal in form and radiate from the stem. The stem is either lateral or absent though in most cases it is difficult to judge whether or not the tubes radiate from the center of the stem or from some other point. The cap is white, often with tiny markings of black. The periphery is sometimes involute. The plants are thin and pliant when fresh, but when fully ma- tured they are hard and coriaceous. They never attain large dimensions. Dry twigs seem to be the usual habitat. So ends the list. I have not mentioned one-half of the species in this large group, which are common to our woods. This branch of nature has been least developed of them all, and although of late years, the compound microscope has done much toward enlightening us in some points, the life-history of the majority of species has still to be disclosed and the pros- pects of new discoveries for those who persevere in this neg- lected study, are great. SOME SPRING FLOWERS. BY WILLARD N. CLUTE. ARLY in the year, the season is always a little in advance of the observer, no matter how keen his perceptions. When spring has fairly begun everything develops so rapidly that none can exactly keep pace with it. In time there comes a dsOy} 0} doRId dard sIaMOY Sutids uayM porsod youNsIP e—]]N] of summer—but at present it is not the making of flowers we are viewing but merely their unfolding. Nature has been pre- paring for this longer than we imagine. Six months or more ago the flowers were formed and the food for their nourish- ment stored up in compact parcels underground so that there THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 57 should be no delay when the time came. It needs but a cer- tain number of sunbeams to set them free. In the procession of the flowers each has its appointed place. The date upon which it blooms may vary, but it is pretty constant as regards its place with regard to the others. We may predict with some confidence the time when any spec- ies will be at the height of its flowering season, but the first of their race, the heralds of the coming army, spring up be- fore we are aware of it. Some sheltered nook which gives a slight advantage in the way of moisture and sunshine may contain a little colony in full bloom some time before their less favored kin appear. It is the search for these firstlings that gives so much zest to our spring rambles. Among spring flowers, there are always a few that lead the rest in popularity. The Dutchman’s breeches is one of these. The flowers are rather choice as to location and are valued accordingly, but they are constantly becoming rarer under the treatment they are subjected to each spring. Their favorite dwelling place is on the ledges of shaded rocks, or in rich woodland soil. One cannot fail to note how decorative the handsome foliage and slender recemes of waxy white blos- soms appear against a background of gray rock. The plant is a relative of the cultivated bleeding heart and closely resembles it except that the two petals are prolonged into spurs at base. Each receme of flowers looks not unlike several pairs of tiny breeches hung on a line and thus the plant gets its common name. Were the brownies as well known when plant names were given as they are now, it is likely that the flowers would have received another name. The breeches look as if they might easily fit those rotund little sprites. The bloodroot flourishes in thickets along streams but in many places is rare or entirely absent. It is always an object of interest to the young people who dig up the thick rootstocks and break them to see them bleed. It is apparently goo4 red 58 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. blood that flows from the wounds, not a weak looking fluid in which a vivid imagination is required to see any resemblance to blood. It is said that the Indians once used this juice as a part of their war paint. Makers of cough medicines have also found a use for it. The bloodroot is a member of the poppy family all the members of which are characterized by a thick colored juice. In the poppy this juice is white; in the common celandine it is yellow. Although the juice of the bloodroot is red it bears a pure white flower of wax-like texture. Before blooming it is wrapped up in the only leaf the plant possesses. The yellow bell-shaped flowers of the adder’s tongue are attractive enough of themselves to command our attention, but the plants have a singular trait in the behavior of their bulbs which make them doubly interesting. The plants are usually very abundant in wet places, their brown-blotched leaves mark- ing every hollow in the woods. All who have attempted to dig up the plant in flower, know that it springs from a compact bulb at a considerable depth in the earth, often a foot or more. How this bulb got so deep in the soil was long a mystery for it was known that the seed falling on the earth produces only small bulbs near the surface. In such positions they do not bloom. For some unknown reason they must be deeply buried to flower. Certain other plants have thick roots that after get- ting firmly established contract and pull the plant into the earth, but the adder’s tongue has a unique way of its own which consists in developing long runners which worm their way into the soil. These might be described as a sort of portable bulb, for before the summer ends, each has formed a new bulb at its tip, and the parent bulb has withered away. If the runner has gone deep enough, all is well, but if not, the plant has to try again another season. The cunning of the plant, however, has fallen a little short of its object for the runners sometimes come to the surface and spread out laterally instead of descend- ing and it may be several years before the plant, with which THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 59 we cannot fail to sympathize, is able to bloom. But it has some gain for its losses. Commonly it has more than one runner which not only multiplies its chances of success, but multiplies the species as well, so that what started at the surface as a sin- ele bulb may be several when it blooms. When the bulbs have reached a proper depth, they stop sending out runners, and de- vote their energies to producing blossoms. The plant is called yellow lily in some sections, and John Burroughs has proposed for it the name of fawn lily, in allusion to its spotted leaves. The rapidity with which the early flowers spring up every- where is remarkable, but no less so than their equally rapid disappearance a few weeks or months later. Before mid-sum- mer all traces of many of them will have vanished, and the oth- ers will be overshadowed by summer flowers. Yet somewhere in the earth, the spring flowers will be almost prepared for a new spring. When the cold autumn mornings and bright days take the semblance of another vernal season they are oc- ~casionally beguiled to put forth. More than thirty different species of spring flowers have been known to bloom thus in autumn. SAGE BRUSH AND CACTUS. BY EARL LYND JOHNSTON. ¢¢Q AGE Brush and Cactus!’ I well remember as a school- boy of reading in the geographies of these plants as the “characteristic vegetation” of the western portion of our coun- try known as the Great Plains. At that time I had little or no conception as to what that really meant. The cactus I knew well and often wondered if the sage brush was as repulsive in appearance and at the same time pitying and wondering how the people managed to live “out west.” However much I felt for these people I was soon to learn that they little needed my sympathy. I caught my first glimpse of the prairie and prairie plant life on a Christmas day a few years ago. As I crossed the 60 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. eastern portion of this stretch of semi-arid country I saw many things to arrest my attention. It was a wonderful sight to me —the barrenness of this region covered extensively at this time with the leafless perennial stalks of the sage brush (Arte- musia). It seemed to have taken up a homestead on every por- tion of the land; for every direction one may look he sees it in great numbers. Although growing very abundantly and dense- ly covering the ground each plant seemed to preserve its indi- viduality to such an extent that as far as eye could reach we were able to pick out, as the train rushed on, individual speci- mens and the approximate space covered by each. If the sight of the sage brush in winter was one to inter- est a person how much more did it the next summer. Eagerly ’ T watched it from the time it put forth its first leaves in Feb- ruary until it ripened its seeds late in the fall. As it begins to get somewhat green it becomes a conspicuous plant at all eleva- tions. I have seen it from the dry plains to the desolate regions far up in the Rockies. I well remember finding hid among the alpine rocks, as though doubtful as to the propriety of peep- ing forth, the diminutive species. A. scopulorum. At this elevation (13,000 feet) it was abundant and partook of the characters of the sub-artic flora found there. All the speci- mens I secured were less than six inches long contrasting greatly to the plant of the plains which is generally two feet or more tall and branching sufficiently to cover several square feet of ground. The general impression the sage brush makes on one is resolved into a pleasant study as acquaintance proceeds. As with other plants its adaptations for its existence amid its sur- roundings is a cause for thoughtful study. We are often led to wonder how this plant thrives where others succumb; in fact how it manages to live where many others die. If we are observing we can easily find out. It secures and conserves its water supply by a long, thick, woody and somewhat branching THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 61 root varying from three to six inches in thickness and descend- ing to a depth of from four to nine feet. Those not accustomed to desert life and the way plants manage to exist on an arid plain and in an arid atmosphere would certainly be surprised at the immense roots some of these especially adapted plants have. The sage brush can hardly be said to represent even an average in the matter of root devel- opment; for many plants as the “soap weed’ ( Yucca) and the bush morning glory (/pomea) have truly enormous roots. - This plant is also provided with very rudimentary leaves and a corky layer of bark encasing the root as well as the stem above ground. These modifications give little chance for trans- piration to take place. Thus it circumvents all attempts of the thirsty sun to steal the life-moisture so hard to secure from an apparently moistureless soil. Again we find that this plant has a bitter acrid taste from which it derives the name wormwood. Animals are forewarn- ed of this taste by the peculiar aromatic odor the plant pos- sesses, which thus protecting itself from the attacks of herbi- vorous animals. In time when the ground is covered to the depth of several inches with snow when other articles of food are scarce it is eaten regardless of taste and has been reported to cause the death of domestic animals. We find in this plant certain medicinal qualities which are supposed to give it value as a tonic for numerous ailments. Like others of the wild things of nature it tends to recede as civilization advances for one never finds it in cultivated ground. The genus to which this plant belongs is very interesting botanically as thirty-nine species are reported from Colorado alone. The variations which are now considered of sufficient importance to give specific rank are many and quite difficult to’ make out. One who has never seen the sage brush should have (if this description is graphic enough) the following mental pic- ture: It is a plant covering large areas of the plains very thick- 62 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. ly although not massed closely together. At a distance it ap- pears globular in form resembling the tumble weeds in this particular. A closer examination reveals a plant about two feet high on an average with a root all out of proportion to its size. Numerous slender stems spring from the crown. These stems branch somewhat and are covered with patches of very small leaves. Some species are shrubby, others herbaceous. Its inflorescence is inconspicuous. It is a plant which seems to hold a title of preemption which others dare not gainsay. So far I have failed to say much concerning its “boon companion.” But wherever you find the sage brush you are also certain to find a clump of cacti of the genus Opuntia and and sometimes many others of different genera. The Opuntias, commonly called prickly pears, are always interesting especially when a close acquaintance is made unex- pectedly. These attempts at friendship soon teach the animals that roam the prairies that any undue curiosity or familiarity is not desired. These prairie denizens soon understand and give a tract of land containing the cacti a wide berth. The species of this genus are many and are characterized by very succulent and much branched stems shaped not unlike a pear in outline. These stems are used for storing up of the moisture thus differing from the sage brush which uses its roots for that purpose. These stems are so protected that the moisture is given little chance to evaporate. The innumerable spines and prickles scattered over the surface and the tough, thick and impervious skin incasing the stems arrest the dessi- cating power of the sun. So succulent are the stems that they are in great demand by gazing animals and would be heartily eaten were it not for the little forts of tireless watchers whose reminders are not readily forgotten. Various methods are adapted for removing these prickles after which the plant makes an excellent and op- portune food for sheep and cattle in seasons of prolonged drouth. Man too sometimes has recourse to them to quench THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 63 his thirst: the round species being cut open and drained of the almost pure water it contains. One perhaps has oftentimes wondered where the leaves of the cactiare. What are known botanically as stems are usually known as leaves by most people. However, one can readily see the difference if he examines these organs and notices that they all branch and that the flowers spring from them. These char- asters which are never true of leaves will readily convince him of the fallacy of calling them leaves. The leaves are modified for the necessary function of protection and hence we have a remarkable example of degenerate leaves in the spines of the cactus. These modifications have made the cactus an ideal desert plant. Cacti have other economic value from that as food for grazing animals. ‘The fibers are used by certain tribes of In- dians for making baskets. The spines of some species are used for toothpicks. The fruit of the Opuntia is often eaten some say with relish. The taste is rather pleasant at first but a little more than half one “apple,” as the fruit is called, will generally suffice for persons not used to it, the taste being a sickening sweet one. In Oklahoma and elsewhere the Indians are said to make a meal of them. The flowers of all the various species if they could be col- lected in one garden would form a rare conservatory of beauty unequaled by the efforts of any florist anywhere. Last of all the cactus should be of special interest to us when we know that it is peculiarly a plant of the New World. Europe knew it not and Asia never saw it before the time of Columbus. It is unheard of amid the isles of the Pacific. Its home is in the Western Hemisphere and there it grows luxur- iantly and in many varied forms counting upwards some eight hundred species. The name, cacti, given to this group of plants by Linnae- us, was perhaps borrowed by him from the Greeks. These people used the word as the name for a plant which was some- what spiny. Evans, Colo. NOTE AND COMMENT WanTED.—Short notes of interest to the general bot- anist are always in demand for this department. Our readers are invited to make this the place of publication for their botanical items. It should be noted that the magazine is is- sued as soon as possible after the fifteenth of each month. Birps As BoTANIsts.—Apropos of the interesting note on Birds as Botanists in your February issue, I noticed last spring in a cactus clump on the Mojave Desert a bird’s nest prettily interwoven with the blossoms and stems of a small yel- low flowered annual of the desert, Baerta gracilis. I do not know the bird that used the nest, but it was a small sparrow- like species—certainly not a bird of prey. The cactus, by the way, is a favorite building site for the desert birds, the sharp spines making an excellent defense for them against snakes and egg-eating animals.—C. F. Saunders, Pasadena, Cal. XEROPHYLLUM ASPHODELOIDES.—That is a formidable name, yet the only common one of which we have any knowl- edge is not much better, being “turkey’s beard.” More than all the common name has no significance nor appropriate- ness whatever. The small flowers are borne in a dense raceme at the top of a stalk and are pure white, the only tinge of color about them being a hint of yellow given by the small but bright yellow anthers. Every year when this plant comes into bloom, we feel that it ought to be brought into more prominent no- tice. It grows in low moist land in shady places. It can be cul- tivated by imitating nature as nearly as possible. The plant may be easily recognized, its leaves are long and narrow, all starting from the ground, and look very much like those of the old Northern corn lily, (Hemerocallis fulva). The flower 64 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 65 stalk starts from the center and reaches a height of from eigh- teen inches to three or more feet. The flowers are borne in a dense cluster, at the top, from three to six inches long.—Flor- ida Agriculturist. EpisLE FEerns.—I have never eaten a bracken, but in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada, have found the early shoots of ostrich fern (Onoclea struthiopteris), employed as would be asparagus with us. It is quite as delicious, if not more so.—IV. Whitman Bailey, Providence, R. I. [Several other ferns appear to be edible. The young “fiddle-heads” of the cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) are often eaten and the rare floating fern (Ceratopteris thalictroides) is re- ported to be used as a pot-herb by the natives in tropical lands. It grows in several places in the United States but usually goes into the herbarium instead of the pot when found. The bracken (Pteris aquilina), dried and pressed into cakes, is said to be a regular article of commerce in Japan.—Ep. ] TWINNED PIsTILSIN PARTRIDGE PEA.—In the late autumn of 1905 while on a botanical excursion with a party of students I found that on a specimen of partridge pea (Cassia Chamaecrista) one of the flowers had twinned pods. This hint suggested looking for more, and on our next excursion we carefully examined the plants in a dense growth of this species which we passed through, with the results that we found many twinned pods, and several cases where the pods were in threes. In most cases we found them only after the petals and sepals had fallen, but in several flowers the two pistils were found while the flower leaves were still present. The occurrence of more than one pistil in flowers of certain leguminous genera is well known to botanists, but I venture to say that probably few readers of the AMERICAN BoTANIST are aware that by a little close searching they may be seen in this common plant.— Prof. Charles E. Bessey, Lincoln, Neb. 66 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. Tue Pistacnuio Nut.—tThe pistachio nut, an account of which was given in the last number is derived from Pistachio Vera, one of the Anacardiaceae:—W. W. B. PUBESCENCE OF PLANTs.—I was interested in a note ap- pearing in the February number of this magazine on the pro- tective covering of plants. Here in the vicinity of Los Angeles there are comparatively few plants entirely free from pubes- cence, the percentage of “protected” plants among the five largest families being about as follows: Compositae, 77% ; Cruciferae,73% ; Leguminosae, 70% ; Scrophulariaceae, 69% ; and Umbelliferae, 23%. The very marked difference between the Compositae and Umbelliferae can evidently be explained by the fact that 64% of the latter grow in damp places while all but 29% of the Compositae ordinarily grow in dry soil. Many of them also bloom during the dry season and in this case the pubescence is usually very dense and often the plant is glandular viscid.—IV. Scott Lewis, Garvanza, California. PetortaA.—In the March number of this magazine J. B. Turner of Hamilton, Ontario, tells of a curious form of toad- flax he discovered while out with a botanical class. It was that peculiar teratological condition of Linaria vulgaris, known to botanists as “peloria,”’ and, I think first noticed and named by Linnaeus in this particular plant. At that time and for long after, it was regarded as a mere curiosity ; now it 1s view- ed as a key to interpret the ancestral form of Linaria. In the old times before us we now believe that Linaria was a regular and symmetric flower, with 5 spurs, 5 divisions of the calyx and 5 good stemens. Perfect peloria—a reversion to the old type—exhibits all these requirements. But we found as Mr. Turner did; two or three spurs only. The irregularity of our modern plant, which as in most similar gamopetalous corrolas is accompanied by a suppression of one or more stamens, was no doubt the result of insect visitation. Observation has shown THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 67 that peloria occurs, as a rule, only in the upper flower of the raceme, where there is full chance to expand on every side. I once had a funny experience with this condition. I had long known of the phenomenon, as it is mentioned and figured in various text books, for instance in Le Maount and Decaisne, but I had never seen it in nature. One day, walking alone on a street in the residence portion of Providence, I saw, in an open, unoccupied lot, a large bed of common toad-flax. With a bit of prescience I said to myself, “’Tis now or never, I'll look for peloria.””. To my astonishment, I found nearly every plant, a dozen or more, in full peloria, and from that day to this, over twenty years, I’ve never seen it again. The phenom- enon here described occurs in our native Linaria Canadensis; in the fox-glove, (Digitalis purpurea) and in other figworts. The whole matter is fully discussed and illustrated in Maxwell T. Master’s “Vegetable Teratology,” pp. 219 to 239 inclusive; also in the Gray’s Structural Botany, Vol. I, page 186 and foot- note—W. Whitman Bailey, Brown University, Providence, Tes: TuHeE Direction TAKEN By Roots.—The roots of plants exhibit many evidences of intelligence that seem entirely out of keeping with their structure and position. The first or tap root invariably starts by the shortest route, straight downward while the secondary roots, as if aware of the plant food in the upper layers of the soil, spread out at right angles to the tap- root. The tap-root, however, will alter its course when its in- terests prompt, and should there be moisture to the right or left and none below, it will at once turn toward the moisture. ‘The very ability to perceive this difference or to turn at all, would be astonishing if it were not so common. It is of immense ad- vantage to the plant, for without it, the first obstacle met with in the soil would stop further growth of each root. Not all parts of the root possess this ability to turn, but only the parts a short distance back of the root tip. Another illustration of 68 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. roots that know how to adapt themselves to circumstances and to the plants’ advantage is found in the ceriman (Monstera deliciosa) cultivated specimens of which are frequent in con- servatories. This climbing arum produces two types of roots. One set grows out from the stem, like the roots of poison ivy and fastens the vine to its support; the other depends straight downward and finally enters the soil and secures more food for the plant. The latter roots often reach a length of more than fifty feet before reaching the earth. Rapip GROWTH OF PLANTs.—Sometimes, after a warm spring rain, plants spring up with such rapidity that it is not uncommon to hear it said of them that one can almost see them grow. In high schools and colleges, too, by means of an aux- anometer one can almost see plants grow and if he cannot ab- solutely see the motion, he can in a very short while, by con- sulting the scale, perceive that growth has actually taken place. This is as near as one can easily get in our latitude to seeing plants grow but in some tropical plants it is not very difficult to actually see stems elongate. The bamboo has been known to grew fifty-seven centimeters or nealy twenty-three inches in a single day or at the average rate of a quarter of an inch in a quarter of an hour. Since plants do not grow at a uniform rate throughout the whole day, but have certain maxima in which most of the growing is done, the elongation of the stem at certain hours is doubtless much more than a quarter of an inch in fifteen minutes, a rate that can actually be perceived. SCARLET FLOWERS AND DroutH.—lIt is sometimes said that plants with scarlet flowers stand drought better than oth- ers. The British Gardening World mentions this and says that there are but two scarlet flowers native to England, the poppy and the scarlet pimpernel, both of which giow best in dry and sunny spots. It will not do, however, to reach a conclusion in such a matter without more facts. The two plants with the THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 69 most vivid scarlet flowers in Eastern America, are the cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) and the bee balm (Monarda didy- ma). The first when wild is almost invariably found on the banks of river or pond rooting 1n the mud, and the other is fond of wet spots in meadow and pasture. The painted-cup (Castilla) too, is fond of wet meadows. On the other hand, the red-or fire lily (Lilium Philadelphicum) grows in dry up- land woods far from moisture of any kind. Our only red cinquefoil (Comarum palustre) is found in deep bogs and so the list runs. Apparently the color in America, at least, is not to be correlated with lack of moisture in the soil. CaAULIFLorY.—In temperate regions the flowers are so uniformly borne on the young wood that we come to think of them as restricted to such places and it is something of a sur- prise to find in tropical countries many plants whose flowers and fruits are borne on the trunk instead of the small branches. The cocoa plant from which our cocoa and chocolate come, has this habit and a grove in full fruit looks like a peach orchard with melon-like pods hanging from the trunk and_ larger branches. Although a tree with its trunk in full bloom is an odd sight to botanists of the temperate zone, the occurrence is not at all mysterious or contrary to plant habits when we come to examine it. As we have stated, the flowers, with us, are borne either on young stems of the year, or on wood that was formed the previous year. The grape is an example of the first and the cherry of the second. In tropical trees that do not require a thick bark to protect the stem, there is no reason why flowers should not occur on the trunk and they are very often found there. They are supposed to be produced by dor- mant buds and are often restricted to the main stem only. In temperate regions, however, we are not entirely devoid of trees which show a tendency to cauliflory, as the phenomenon is call- ed, for the red-bud ( Cercis Canadensis) commonly has flow- ers from branches more than two years old. EDITORIAL Most lovers of flowers have heard of the remarkable collection of glass flowers at Harvard University, but many doubtless think as the editor did that they have been greatly over-praised. A visit to the collection, however, will at once dispel this notion. We expected to see some glass models somewhat resembling the living plants, but were quite un- prepared for the marvelous exactness of the specimens. It is not an exageration to say that if living plants were laid be- side the glass specimens, the real could not be distinguished from the artificial at a distance of a dozen feet. Minute parts such as stamens, styles and hairs, are quite as correctly re- produced as larger ones and the coloring is beyond criticism in most cases. While it is granted that the collection is not of use from the systematic standpoint, we are of the opinion that the flower-lover will find few more interesting objects in Boston and vicinity. The collection now numbers nearly six hundred specimens. x * xk We probably know more about the first flowers to bloom in New England than of any other section. New England winters are proverbially bleak and the first flowers are there- fore all the more welcome, when they do appear, besides there are more botanists in New England to write about their flow- ers than there are in other sections. But every section has some botanist, though the flowers are not alike, and these botanists are represented among the readers of the BoTANISsT. It would be interesting to know what flower is first in each locality and thus we invite each of our readers to send us, on a postal card, an account of their earliest flowers. In the edi- tor’s region the first flower is certainly not the trailing arbutus for it does not grow there. Possibly the harbinger-of-spring (Erigenia) would be entitled to the award, though Draba 70 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. rig Caroliniana is not far behind. Of course the South, West and Northwest have still different species. Can we not have a symposium in some future number of this magazine with regard to the first flowers? Which flower is first? When does it bloom? What is it like? Where does it grow? Is it gathered for bouquets? Has it any other uses? What flower competes with it for first place? What enables it to bloom so early? Has it a store of food? If so, where? The cultivated flowers should be rigorously excluded. Such a symposium would be of much value and we trust our readers will find time to contribute their own observations. Through the kindness of Prof. J. Y. Bergen, author of numerous botanical texts, we explored Concord, Massachu- setts, last summer, under exceptionally pleasant circumstances. With the crowds of other visitors, we viewed the historic spots about town, including the graves of its famous men, but we were quite as much interested in the original Concord grape-vine, which still climbs over the dwelling of the late Ephraim Bull, its discoverer. Some weeks later, as we stood on the shores of Keuka Lake, and observed the vineyards ris- ing, tier upon tier, from the waters’ edge to the hill-tops, and called to mind the vast numbers of these vines stretching away across western New York, northern Ohio and Indiana, not to speak of the countless numbers in other regions, we reflected that this obscure man had possibly done quite as much for the world as his more famous townsmen. Another treat at Concord, was a look at Thoreau’s herbarium and some of his manuscripts which with other relics of local interest are pre- served in the excellent public library. The herbarium is in good condition and the plants are labelled in Thoreau’s hand- writing. The covers bear evidences that they were manu- factured at home. BOOKS AND WRITERS. The appearance of Bergen and Davis’ “Laboratory and Field Manual of Botany” Calls ‘attention anew to the excellent series of botanical text books of which it isa part. In the opinion of the reviewer the Bergen texts as they are fre- quently called, are the very best and most practical books for use in high schools that can be found. The present manual is a laboratory guide for use in connection with Bergen and Davis’ “Principles of Botany” issued last year. Both books are de- signed to cover a year’s work and of course follow the modern sequence which begins with the seed and runs through the structure of flowering plants in the first half year and mainly discusses the spore-plants in the second. Very little adverse criticism can be made of the “Principles of Botany.” Its treat- ment of the subject is up to date and it is the only one of the Bergen books that is strictly a text and not partly a laboratory euide. Ecology is treated as a separate branch of botany but in the judgment of the reviewer should be blended with struc- ture, physiology, etc., in a work like this. The new “Labora- tory Manual” may appear to many to attempt too much. It is at once a book for use ina half-year or a year’s course in the high school and a manual for normal schools and colleges. Such a volume may be confusing to any class without an un- usually efficient teacher skilled in the selection of material. The experiments are for the most part illustrative and easily per- formed but there are several that require longer periods of time for results than seems desirable. In one the student is di- rected to watch his experiment for a month. It is doubtful if the interest of a high school class in any experiment can be sus- tained for thirty days. While the fullness of the book will detract in a measure from its usefulness in the high school, it will render it doubly valuable to all teachers. In addition to di- rections for the study of the entire subject attention is given to culture methods, botanical microtechnique, collection of mater- ial, etc. All in all it is a book that few teachers of botany will care to be without. 72 TF YOU LIKE THIS NUMBER OF THE American Botanist Remember that mcre than sixty other numbers have been pub- lished, just as entertaining and instructive, and just as. desirable fo read. They never get out of date; facts never do. A complete set of the magazine is a botanical library in itself. The 1,200 pages contain up- wards of 1,800 articles and notes. We offer the set of 10 half-yearly volumes for $4.50 post paid, The articles are ACCURATE, the illustra- tions are EXCELLENT, and every number of PERMANENT INTER- EST. Get a set. before they are gone. - Special Offer If ycu would like to see more of the magazine before subscribing, send us 25 cents and we will send you 12 different numbers. There are no complete vclumes’in this offer; it means simply 240 pages of good reading for a quarter. This sum may be deducted from the price of a complete set if ordered later. WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., Joliet, Tl. The value of OUR CATA- LOGUE as a guide to the amateur or professional garden- er cannot be overestimated. We have ready for mailing OUR 106th SUCCESSIVE AN- NUAL EDITION, and it is fully up to cur usual high stand- ard, replete, as it has always been, with the most beautiful half tone and other illustrations. It contains 144 large size pages covering the largest assortment ef high class seeds, etc, ever of- fered. Send for a copy and be con- vinced. Mailed free on application, J.-M. THORBURN @ CO. 33 Barclay St., Through to 38 Park Place, NEW YORK oO Methods in Moss Study Price $1.25 Of the several books which I have written, none appear to, be better appreciated by the public than this little book on Mosses, whichis intended as a text book ‘for beginners. These very attractive plants may be found at all seasons, but there is no better timc than late winter and early spring, Send for circular. C.J ‘Maynard o * e y a 447 Crafts St. West Newton, Mass. A HIGH POWER MAGNIFIER A LOW PRICE Our new doublet-Aplanat gives a perfectly flat field far superior to Coddington lenses and not to be compared »with other cheaper magnifiers. All lenses removable-for cleaning. PRICE $1.25 POSTPAID. Collecting Cases $.75, $1.25, and $1.50. Plant Presses $.60 and £1.00. Large Stage Botanical Microscope with Aplanatic Lenses $4.00. : A liberal discount made on larger orders. Send for list. Williams, Brown & Earle Dept. 32, 918-Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. In THE MONIST, January 1906 - - .60°— HEREDITY AND THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES (Illustrated) By Daniel T. MacDougal. ; In THE MONIST, April 1906 - - 60 $ . THE EXPERIMENTAL DATA OF THE MUTATION THEORY By J. Arthur Harris, Ph. D. 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Wed hese wa ees 3.80 Both volumes and a year’s subscription to American Botanist...... 4.50 Both-volumes and full set of American Botanist, (10 volumes)....: 7.75 Address, all orders to WIL L. -ARD N: CLUTE & cO.. Joliet, inois ae gh cH Ng VOL, 12 MAY, 1907 THe AMERICAN BOTANIST CONTENTS COLLINSIA VERNA Willard N. Clute. LIANES Dr. W. W. Bailey. AN AFTERNOON IN THE HELDER- BERGS Frank Dobbin. OUR BIRD’S NEST FUNGI _ - - - NOTE AND COMMENT EDITORIAL BOOKS AND WRITERS .- - WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO. JOLIET, ILLINOIS Ghe American Botanist ~ ss A MONTHLY JOURNAL FOR THE PLANT LOVER ss % Issued on the 15th of each month except July and August = Ser aE AT 8 2 ee eee ee WILLARD N. CLUTE 33 3 EDITOR SPECIAL NOTICE.—This magazine is issued in two half-yearly vol- umes of five numbers each. Subscriptions $1.00 a year. All subsriptions must begin with a volume. To avoid the loss of numbers to regular subscribers, the magazine is sent until we are notified to discontinue and all arrearage paid. 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CHAS. D. PENDELL, PuBLISHER, ASHLAND, ME. A Free Subscription to The American Botanis We will send this magazine for one year, free, to every person purchasing a set of the 12 half-yearly volumes, at the reduced price of $5.00. This offer is made simply to reduce the stock of certain volumes and will be withdrawn as soon as this is accomplished. Now is the time to get a full set for $2.00 less than usual price, Including the subscrip- ticn you will get 1,600 pages and 2,500 botanical articles for $5.00. Order tceday. Any person who has subscribed during the past year may accept this offer, and deduct his subscription from it. Address WILLARD N. CLUTE & CoO., JOLIET, (ILL. et a. ed ney “a oe ~ 4 “a on ft a = _ a "i D ¥ - ‘ f Se yim \ ee ‘a 7 r ’ 2 | ~ _ Td ei ; i ; 5 3% A &)¢ wo s= >" ‘ - - ’ “* 7 i). INNOCENCE.— Oollinsia Verna. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST VOL. XII, JOLIET, ILL., MAY, 1907. No, 4 COLLINSIA VERNA. BY WILLARD N. CLUTE. HERE are certain flowers in every locality whose bloom- ing makes so profound an impression upon the season as to eclipse and put into the back-ground all others that chance to open their flowers at the same time. Sometimes it is the whole country-side that is placed under the spell, again it is only the bits of boggy meadow, the thickets or even the road- sides. Some of the flowers of which this is true readily come to mind as daisies, goldenrod, dandelions, buttercups, bluets and lupines. Most of these, however, become cheap and com- mon by reason of a too lavish display of bloom, but this charge can never be honestly brought against the beautiful subject of this sketch which among the children goes by the names of wild for-get-me-not innocence, and blue-eyed Mary and to scientists is known as Collinsia verna. Without having visited Japan we dare say that our woodlands are as well worth a visit at Collinsia season as any oriental wood is when the cherry flowers are unfolding. That we do not make holiday to see this rare sight is a matter of race not of comparative beauty. While the Collinsia is in bloom it is literally true that one cannot enter its favorite haunts without treading on flowers. It is spread as thickly through the woodlands as ever bluets were in a meadow and the two-colored blossoms nodding and swaying in the dappled shade of bush and tree make a sight not soon forgotten. The flowers are among the oddest of blossoms. They 74 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. are two-lipped and at first sight appear to have but four petals each, although the plant is a member of the figwort family where five petals is the rule. Nor does there appear to be either stamens or pistils in the flower until upon further in- vestigation we find the missing petal forming a sac beneath the lower lip and entirely concealing the stamens and pistil. This curious arrangement is an adaptation for cross-pollina- tion and reminds one of similar contrivances in the peas, beans and their allies. That it is successful is shown by the great number of seeds the plant is able to ripen. Another singular feature in the sharp contrast in color between the upper and lower lip. The two upper petals are pure white and the two lower dep blue. Although but four petals are visible it has a very violet-like appearance. The flowers encircle the stem in several successive whorls of about five each and form what someone has characterized as a “many storied flower cluster.” The lower circles bloom first and the blooming impulse slowly mounts to the top. There are several other species in the West, but all seem to agree in having bi-colored flowers. To- ward the East our common species barely reaches western New York, which botanizers in New England may well regret. The usual habitat of the plant is in moist woods and not in open meadows as some writers of popular botany, having confused this with the bluet on account of a similarity of common names, would have us believe. Nor are the upper petals blue and the lower ones white as one prominent guide to the wild-flowers asserts. We who know the Collinsia strongly suspect this particular guide to have written up the plant from the Manual and not from specimens. The fanci- ful nature of blue-eyed Mary is often given in books, but innocence is much better and even this, in common parlance gives way to wild forget-me-not at least in my own region. LIANES. BY DR. W.-W. BAILEY, HE Spaniards have a melodious word to designate a pecul- iar type of plant which reaches its highest development in the tropics, though not unknown elsewhere. The beauti- ful name Liane is applied to the trailing plants of quite di- verse families, which, in equatorial forests swing from tree to tree reminding one, according to their size, of the cables or cordage of shipping. As a rule these free-growing plants are not parasites, that is, they do not prey upon the other trees or shrubs to which they are attached. The true Liane is not even a climb- er in the botanical significance of that word. It has no ten- drils or prehensile stems or roots of any kind, but, in its effort to lift itself out of the struggle below into light and air, it trails over other plants, or mats itself about them. ‘Thus, while, in a sense, fragile itself, it makes stouter plants sup- ~port it. Indeed, we somtimes find a mass of lianes complete- ly replacing a tree, which it originally merely embraced. Its Laocoon-like clasp, becoming tighter and tighter, and its dense foliage interfering with the natural display of the trees own vegetation, causes the latter’s ultimate enfeeblement and death. These false trees, representing others of an utterly different nature that have entirely disappeared, often exhibit superb masses of verdure. | Says Kerner Von Marilaun, the great Vienna botanist, whose word-pictures are among the most graphic of any nat- ural history writer: “Often it happens that the name of a plant affects our imagination by its pleasing or harmonious sound. One asso- ciates with the name not merely the idea of the form of a certain plant, but more than this, its whole surrounding in which it grows and flourishes. One conjures up a picture 75 76 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. of a flowery meadow or scented wood with which the plant with pleasing name can harmonize. It may be some far back reminiscence is bound up with the pretty name, or we have read a vivid description in a book long ago. Thus idealized, one shrinks from approaching it with critical eye, from examining it with knife and microscope, and from classifying and de- scribing it in the dry language of the specialist. I am think- ing here specially of the word ‘Liane.’ He then proceeds to describe in his own inimitable manner, a scene in an equa- torial forest where lianes are a prominent feature. In such a dense tropical forest, where constant rainfall alternating with powerful sunlight makes vegetation thrive to an extent unknown to us, plants in indescribible confusion are piled up, interwoven and twisted. The enormous trees rise like pillars, while between them swing living ropes, or are stretched bridges of verdure. These lianes are at times so interlaced as to make forest or jungle impenetrable. Green draperies, carpets and curtains, often ablaze with flowers, are the rule, but in tropical woods it is noticed that the blossom- ing occurs well aloft, and it is there that the gorgeous butter- flies and moths, and the transcendent humming-birds, like living gems fly from flower to flower. Here, too, such creat- ures are more imitative of plants or of each other, than they generally are with us. One may choose an exquisite butterfly, and be almost upon it, when it disappears, and the hunter sees but a dry leaf. If he is led to watch the leaf, suddenly it is again an insect. A passing breeze sets the lianes swaying and forming swings or hammocks for Ariel or Titania. “In other places they stretch in luxuriant festoons from bough to bough and from tree to tree * * * * there are even actual arcades with pointed and rounded arches. Isolated tree-trunks are trans- formed into emerald pillars by the crossing of woven lianes, or more frequently become the center of green pyramids over THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. ne the summits of which, the crown spreads out in verdant , plumes.” The stems themselves are curious objects, twisted like the strands of a cable, coiling like a cork-screw, plaited or flattened like ribbons, pitted or formed into elegant steps, the so-called monkey-ladders. Nor do those frisky athletes neg- lect them as they scamper about the trees in wild play, using, in American forests only, their prehensile tail as a fifth and most important hand. Among the massed lianes, is the place to look for aerial orchids, most marvelous of all flowers in form and color. Here too, ferns love to find their “coign of vantage’ where, as Bunyan says, the “‘air is delicate.”’ Kerner regrets that “the sweet word liane’ has not found its way into botanical language, and, practically it has. It orignated, he says in the French Antilles, but has never found its way into most languages. We have seen that it refers to a type, not to any definite family or association of plants. In this view we find some of our own temperate plants falling under the head of lianes, as the very pretty Roxbury wax- work, some jessamines, barberries, and roses. In the tropics, the Bignoniads or plants of the trumpet-creeper family are very typical lianes; so also are certain pipe-vines. These may form huge, stranded cables. Thin cross-sections of small twigs of those, display under the microscope most exquisite patterns and designs. Certain aroids, plants of the Calla fam- ily produce long trailing roots, as we know does also the ban- yan, but these are not lianes. To be such the stem must trail with an upward habit. Such roses as the now familiar crim- son rambler, might be called lianes, while our Virginia-creeper, growing by an attachment to a support would not. Providence, R. I. AN AFTERNOON IN THE HELDERBERGS. BY FRANK DOBBIN. EAVING Albany shortly after noon, a half hour’s ride by train brought us to a small station within walking distance of the range of hills known as the Helderbergs. These hills have given their name to two geologic periods and because of their peculiar formations and the fossils contained in their rocks, they are of special interest to the geologist. However it was not as geologists but as lovers of out-of-door life and students of botany that we essayed their exploration on that March afternoon. Tramping leisurely upward through the woods which cover the ascent to the cliff, rising eighty to one hundred feet to the level ground above, we made a casual examination of the lichen and moss flora. Here we found the lichen Bia- tora verualis but little else of special interest. We made our way slowly upward by the side of a mountain torrent which issues from Sutphen’s cavern. At the cavern we found on a rock in the bed of the stream thatssomewhat rare lichen Pla- codium elegans. The stream at this time of the year almost completely fills the mouth of the cave, thus effectually shut- ting off further exploration in that direction. The cavern is said to have been explored for a distance of two and a half miles. After a short rest we attempted the last hundred feet of the climb which is by a narrow path up the face of the cliff. Just then the path was filled by the remains of the winter’s drifts through which we were obliged to stamp a path, one step at a time. Reaching the top at last through a narrow crack, which might aptly be termed “fat man’s misery,” I was surprised to find cultivated fields to the very verge of the precipice; some of them containing fine orchards of pear and apple trees. Indeed this whole region seems to be well adapt- ed to fruit growing. 78 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 79 About a mile from where we reached the top we found growing on the edge of the precipice the moss Hylocomnium (Hypnum).rugosum. This spot is one of the few known sta- tions for this rare moss in the state. The bear berry, Arcto- staphylos Uva-Ursi, grows here in abundance, forming dense mats on the brow of the cliffs. Other mosses found were Anomodon viticulosus, Raphidostegium cylindrocarpum, and Thuidium abietinum. After lingering for a while to gaze at the beautiful wa- terfalls formed by the melting snows in the fields above the cliffs we slowly took our way downward by a different path than that by which we had ascended. Here I collected my first wall rue, Aspleniuim Ruta-muraria, and was surprised and pleased to learn that this was a new station for eastern New York. Many fossils are to be found about the cliffs, mostly cer- tain crinoids and fossil shells of Pentamerus galeatus, more or less perfect. We recalled our half-forgotten geology enough to recognize some of them and others were carried away to be farther studied with the aid of a text book. A downward plunge of several hundred feet was made by hanging on to bushes which grew beside what might by cour- tesy be called a path. However it was a short cut and saved us two miles of hard walking. Twilight found us hurrying _to the little station to cateh a later train to the city, well pleas- ed with our afternoon tramp in the Helderbergs. Shushan, N. Y. OUR BIRD'S NEST FUNGI. T is probable that most lovers of out-doors have seen at one time or another various species of our bird’s-nest fungi. They are not uncommon on the earth or on old logs and look like little cups or vases, less than an inch high filled with small roundish balls. These cups are known as the peridia 80 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. of the fungus and the small balls are peridioles. The likeness of the two to a nest with eggs has given the common name to the group. In our species each peridiole is attached to the peridiun by a slender cord or funiculus which when wet becomes very elas- tic. The peridioles are filled with microscopic spores and these latter furnish characters by which mycologists distinguish the plants. They are not difficult to distinguish from one an- other, and we condense the following account of our four com- mon species from the December number of “Mycological Notes.” Crucibulum vulgare is usually found on sticks, chips, etc. The cups are subcylindrical in shape and less tapering than in other members of this group. The color when young is yel- lowish and this is the only species of this color. When old the cups bleach out. In young specimens, the mouths of the peridia are covered with a thin yellowish membrane called the epiphragm. The peridioles are white and this is the only one of the bird’s-nest fungi that has white eggs. Cyathus striatus is usually found on sticks but sometimes on the ground, in the latter case attached to buried sticks. While Crucibulum vulgare has more of a “domestic” nature, being found often around houses, on chips in the wood-yard, on board walks, etc., Cyathus striatus has more of a wild nature and is generally found in the woods on brush-heaps, etc. It can always be known by the striations or lines on the inside of the cups. Cyathus striatus is the only species in th United States or Europe that has these marks. The color of the cups is dark brown or black and the European plant is darker than the American. The latter is sometimes known as the variety Schweinitzu. The peridioles of C, striatus only fill the lower part of the cup below the striations. They have a thin whit- ish surrounding membrane or tunica, but the eggs would be called black. C. striatus is easily recognized by its striations. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 81 Cyathus vernicosus is the only species likely to be found growing in unmanured ground. Sometimes it is attached to buried sticks, but it rarely if ever grows on wood as the other species do. Like C. striatus it is of a wild nature, being found usually on bare ground in fields, borders of woods and similar places. It is readily known by the cups which are thicker, firmer, more flaring, smooth inside and smoother outside than the other species. The eggs or peridioles are black though covered with a thin white membrane and are much larger than any other species known. Cyathus stercoreus is a manure loving species and is usual- ly found in manured ground such as lawns, gardens, fields, etc. The cups are even inside and with shaggy hairs outside. When old they become smoother and are sometimes mistaken for C. vernicosus. When once learned,however, the plants can read- ily be distinguished by the cups. The peridioles have no mem- brane whatever, hence they are blacker than any other species. They are about twice as large as those of C. vernicosus. The first three species are usually abundant both in Europe and the United States but C. stercoreus while common in the United States is very rare in Europe. AERENCHYMA.—One of the least known of plant tissues is that which goes by the name of aerenchyma. As its name indicates it is an aerating system being composed of large thin-walled cells with large intercellular spaces. It is com- parable to cork but unlike cork the cells contain no deposit of suberin. Aerenchyma is usually if not always confined to water plants. Sometimes it is found only at the lenticels, but at others it forms a thick covering on submerged stems entire- ly replacing the bark. Probably no plant in our flora better illustrates aerenchyma than the water willow or swamp loose- strife (Decodon verticillatus). In this plant it is often an inch in thickness. NOTE AND COMMENT WaNTED.—Short notes of interest to the general bot- anist are always in demand for this department. Our readers are invited to make this the place of publication for their botanical items. It should be noted that the magazine is is- sued as soon as possible after the fifteenth of each month. Croton TinctoruM.—A little known and interesting in- dustry of the south of France is the culture of great quantities of this little cottony, ash-white stiff-stemmed annual, the dried plants of which are shipped by boat-loads to Holland. The Dutch extract from the leaves and fruits the red dye with which their ball-shaped cheeses are colored. This croton has nothing in common with our ornamental greenhouse crotons. —Gardening World. VITALITY OF SEEDS.—The opinion is pretty general that some seeds may retain their vitality for centuries. Botanists usually scout the idea that seeds that have lain so long dor- mant will grow, but they are not always able to refute the statements that plants have been raised from such seeds. Oc- casionally a newspaper yarn whose verisimilude is such that the general public readily believes it, will recount the raising of corn from seeds found buried with a mound-builder, or the growth of wheat found entombed with an Egyptian mummy, but in cases where plants have apparently been produced from such seeds it is usual to find that the claim in which the seeds were found had been “salted.” known to the Egyptians, and when a gullible American is able to raise maize from seeds found with a mummy in Egypt the circumstantial evidence is pretty strong that he has been 82 Maize or Indian corn was un- THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 83 fooled. On the other hand botanists have not been wanting who believed that seeds occasionally germinate after long per- iods of time. Gardening World quotes Dr. Lindley the well known British botanist as follows: “I have at this moment three plants of raspberries raised from seeds taken from the stomach of a man whose skeleton was found 30 feet below the surface of the earth at the bottom of a barrow which was open- ed near Dorchester (England). He had been buried with some coins of the emperor Hadrian and it is therefore probable that the seeds were 1,600 or 1,700 years old.” A YELLOW TRILLIUM.—Yesterday while on an excur- sion to the woods with my class we came across a Trillium of a shade of color which I had never seen before and which it would appear has never been seen before by any one in this part of the country. The inner three leaves of the perianth were wholly a pure sulphur yellow, the outer leaves of the perianth were pale green below but as bright a yellow above as the inner part of the perianth. The other parts were nor- mal in color and size. The flower was a newly opened one and grew amongst a larger number of specimens of Trillium grandiflorum. ‘The peculiarity of color struck me as being so unusual that I want to inquire if any of the readers of THE AMERICAN BotTanist have come across a similar freak in color.—kR. S. Hamilton, Galt, Ontario, Canada. | The new botany is vitally concerned with these curious plants which systematic botanists are too often inclined to dismiss as mere freaks. The editor of this magazine is gradually assembling a living collection of these and will welcome additions of any- thing unusual. Botanizers who come upon any of these “freaks” are urged to remove them to their gardens for further observation. In cases where the plant is difficult to remove, seeds from the aberrant plant will usually produce the same form. Starting with one of these strange departures from the 84 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. normal, and continuing to encourage its peculiarities, it is quite possible to breed up a pure strain very different from the original. In these sudden changes of color, leaf form, shape of petal, or doubling of parts, we see one of the muta- tions of which present day evolutionists make so much. At some future date, the editor hopes to give an account of some of these oddities in his own collection.—ED. | SEED STALK OF BLacK Acacta.—Nature does some things with such exactness that we must always marvel at them. One may be justified in saying that nature can count for she rarely makes a mistake in the proper number of parts to the flower, whether it be five-parted, three-parted or composed of some other number. She always hangs out the same kind of flowers in exactly the same way and practically never gets pansies or sweet-peas upside down. A further instance of this exactness may be seen in the seed stalk or funiculus of the black acacia of Califor- nia to which our attention has been directed by Dr. W. W. Munson. Our thanks are also due to him for the material for the accompanying illustration. In this acacia the seed stalk is unusually long and makes two nearly complete folds about the seed. One might think that with so many seeds to look after, nature might be excused for an oc- casional slip but such slips practically never occur. Each seed stalk upon leaving the seed passes half-way around it, then doubles back on itself and goes around the seed until it nearly meets the first turn after which it again bends back and is at- tached to the pod. The length of the seed-stalk itself, is re- markable. There are few genera of plants that can match it in this respect. The magnolia family has something similar, but here the seed stalk is more delicate and is coiled or folded within the pulp that encloses the seed. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 85 ANTS AND SEED-DISPERSAL.—We seldom think of insects as distributors of seeds of plants. In the arrangements for pol- lination insects hold first place, but the plants usually bid for larger assistants, such as mammals and birds when their seeds are to be scattered. There are very many adaptations in the fruits of plants that make the conclusion irresistable that they were intended to entice animals to distribute the seeds. Few if any modifications which would cause seeds to be distributed by ants have been noted though some are in- clined to think the caruncle of seeds like the bloodroot is an adaptation to make them easy for the ants to grasp. It is well known, however, that ants are great gatherers of seeds. The most of these are carried off and eaten, but probably as great a proportion are dropped and forgotten as of the hickory nuts carried off by the squirrels. Among the seeds that ants are most fond of may be mentioned shepherd’s purse, chick-_ weed, fumitory, nettle, snap-dragon, flax, cress, pigweed and various grasses. HELIOTROPISM OF THE WATER FERN.—The curious fact that the water fern (Marsilia) like the clover and oxalis, closes its leaves at night, has long been known, but Robert F. Griggs has recently noted what appears to be a new motion of the leaves to enable them to face the sun. Thus far the habit has been noticed in but one species, M. vestita, but it is likely that other species may be found to act in the same way. According to the writer quoted, the leaves at evening squarely face the west, while shortly after sunrise they will be found to face the east. The movement seem to be produced by the petiolules of the individual leaflets, rather than by the petiole of the leaf. The motion which causes the closing of the leaves at night is also located in the petiolules. One striking differ- ence between the night position of marsilia and oxalis leaves is that in the former the leaflets are erect and in the latter the 86 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. leaflets droop. The explanation for this seems to be a physio- logical one. In the oxalis the stomata, or openings through the epidermis, are mostly on the under surface, and the drooping position of the leaflets protects them through the night. The stomata of marsilia, on the other hand, are mostly on the upper surface, and the leaflets naturally bring their upper surfaces together in the night position.—Fern Bulletin. PLant DistrrpuTion.—It is often a narrow line that prevents some cultivated plants from becoming weeds. If petunia, tomatoes, pumpkins and other food-plants of tropical origin could survive our winters we might soon find it neces- sary to hoe them out of spots in the garden where they were not wanted. These plants, however, cannot usually get through our winter even in the seed. An illustration of what might happen if they could is found in an insignificant Mexican weed, Galinsoga parviflora, that has slowly invaded the Unit- ed States. The mature plants cannot endure our winters, but the seeds can and as a consequence the plant is steadily increasing its territory. Doubtless there are other plants of this character, the jewel-weeds (/mpatiens) for instance. POLLINATION IN EVENING PrIMROSE.—It will probably take several generations of botanist gardeners to correctly in- terpret even half of the peculiarities possessed by plants. Dar- win’s theory of evolution by slow gradations made it neces- sary to account for every thorn and prickle, every shape and turn of a leaf and all color, and as a consequence the litera- ture of botany since Darwin’s time has been full of explana- tions that in the light of our present knowledge do not explain. The thorns of the hawthorn do not appear to be necessary to the preservation of the species, nor does any significance ap- pear to attach to the color of the juice of the poppy-worts. The foregoing has been suggested by an observation of De THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 87 Vries in his “Plant Breeding.” The common evening prim- rose (Oenothera biennis) has an elaborate arrangement for cross-polination, including odor, nectar, color and the ripen- ing of stamen and stigma at different times as well as a differ- ence in position of stamen and carpel, and yet De Vries finds in some specimens that the stamens pollinate the stigmas in the bud and the corollas may even fall off without expanding. All the odor, color, nectar, etc., of such flowers is superfluous and goes to waste. Just as we have figured out how the flow- er acts, it acts differently! Fruit AND TEMPERATURE.—It is usual to think of fruits in connection with the warmer part of the year, but it would be more correct to connect them with a cooler season. In fact, low temperatures favor fruiting. Although many of our fruits do not mature until summer or autumn they are nearly all begun, that is, the flowers nearly always appear, in the cold spring months. Our apples, peaches, cherries, plums, strawberries, currants, etc., all bloom so early in the year that they are likely to get nipped by a late frost. The crocus and other bulbous plants also refuse to send up their flower-spikes if kept in too high a temperature. When the apple tree is transplanted to warmer lands it may continue to grow, but it soon refuses to produce fruits because the temper- ature does not go low enough to induce blooming. BRACKEN PROTECTED BY LAw.—In America the bracken (Pteris aquilina) receives scant attention from the land-owner, who probably never thinks of it unless he is devising a way of eradicating it from his flelds. In England, however, the case is different, as indicated by the following communication re- cently published in Gardening World: “I have read with con- siderable surprise a letter in your issue to-day on the subject of utilizing the young shoots of bracken as food. Your cor- 88 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. respondent does not mention the locality in which she resides, which may differ materially from others, but here in Banstead, and for many miles around, the young bracken shoots are protected by very stringent laws, inflicting a heavy fine on any person cutting or mutilating the bracken before notice allowing them to do so is issued. This generally appears about the middle of September. The bracken is then dry and of a beautiful golden brown and then any person can cut any quantity he pleases.” The usual fine is. $25.00 and costs. The correspondent does not indicate the uses to which the bracken is put, but it is probably used in packing vegetables and protecting tender plants outdoors, much as straw is used in America.—Fern Bulletin. CHANGES IN NOMENCLATURE.—Those who are always ready to adopt the latest fad cannot understand why conserva- tive botanists object to changing the names of plants. The fact is, however, that the names of plants cannot be changed without working much mischief to the literature of botany. The monumental works of Darwin, Kerner, Schimper and many others use what is now-a-days termed a conservative nomenclature. Books on medicine and pharmacognosy adopt the same nomenclature and even the drugs of the pharmacist are labeled in the same way. Ina few years, if all the propos- ed changes are adopted, druggist, scientist, physician and stu- dent cannot understand these invaluable books without a glossary or a knowledge of the two styles of nomenclature. And upon what ground are we asked to adopt new names? Simply in order to conform to somebody’s “‘system’”’ or to honor some dead-and-gone botanist who failed of recognition in his own day. We shall continue to maintain that the name of a plant is of no significance beyond being a convenient and universally understood term to indicate it and the less it is changed, the better. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 89 New Races oF PLants.—It has been shown by Prof. G. Klebo of Germany, that remarkable metamorphoses can be produced in plants by artificial methods of cultivation. From several remarkable results obtained by him from experiments with Veronica chamoedrys and other plants he expresses the opinion that new races can arise as a result of changes in external conditions.—Gardening World. EpisLt—E FEerNs.—Prominent amongst the grand display of ferns at the exhibition of the Royal Botanic Society of London on April 24th were specimens of the pithy cyathea (C. medullaris) a noble species from the Pacific Isles of a comparatively hardy character. This greenhouse evergreen tree-fern forms in its native country a common article of food with the natives. The roots and the lower parts of the stem are soft and pulpy and have a pleasant smell and taste, so that the medulla of this fern, which abounds in a reddish glutinous juice is nearly as good as sago. The silver tree fern (C. deal- bata) a beautiful species from New Zealand is said to be eaten in the same way. Alsophila excelsa and A. australis are two magnificent umbrageous trees belonging to an allied genus. The middle of these trees from the root to the apex consists of a white substance resembling a yam and which tastes like turnip.—Gardening World. Tue DEFENSES OF THE Cactus.—When we think of the means by which plants protect themselves from their enemies, the cactus at once comes to mind as a striking example. Al- though the regions in which cacti grow are veritable deserts for much of the year subjected to great heat and devoid of rain-fall, the plants themselves are usually thick and succu- lent, and would be toothsome morsels for the animals of the desert but for the terrible armor of thorns and spines with which nature has equipped them. Man is about the only ani- 90 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. mal that the cactus cannot repel with spines. When thirsty he is not averse to slicing off the top of the bisnaga (Echino- cactus Emoryi) and obtaining a good drink of not unpalata- ble water. There are other cacti, however, with spines small or absent entirely and at first glance one is inclined to wonder why these have not long ago been devoured. Investigation shows that their immunity is due to the possession of bitter or poisonous juices. These latter species, then are even more successful than the spiny forms for they protect their juices from even the lord of creation himself. DroutH AND CoLtp.—The physiological effects of drouth and cold are very similar. Drouth hastens the fall of the leaf just as cold does. Plants, such as pines, which do not cast off their leaves in winter, are often found both in cold and warm climates and in both they have the same needle-like leaves adapted to retard transpiration. A search for the cause of such adaptations in different climates reveals the fact that the southern pines dwell in soils that are physically dry, while the northern pines grow in soils that for part of the year are physiologically dry through cold. Plants are as_ likely to cast their leaves in a dry season in the tropics as they are at the approach of winter in the temperate zones. ORIGIN OF FLorAL NUMBERS.—Take a straight vigorous twig of any alternate leaved plant and beginning at one of the lower nodes, pass a piece of twine from leaf to leaf up the stem. In all normal specimens it will be found that the leaves have a very definite position on the stem. The twine may pass one or more times around the stem before coming to a second leaf that is exactly over the one selected at the beginning, but in all cases, the leaves are arranged alike in the same species. Ina large number of cases the twine goes round the stem twice and passes five leaves or buds before coming to =~ ote THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 91 a leaf directly over the first. In others the twine goes around but once and the fourth leaf is over the first. Now looking down on the end of the stem or sighting along it, we see in the first instance that the leaves are arranged in five longitudinal rows, and in the second they are arranged in three. From the fact that five and three are numbers so characteristic of the parts of flowers, it is assumed that the flowers also correspond to the arrangement of the leaves, the principal difference being that the leaves are arranged in an ascending spiral, while the floral parts are in circles. Sometimes, however, as in the magnolia, even the floral parts are in spirals. THe Way WoopBinE Ciimps.—The books are full of instances in which an error once made in print is repeated again and again by authors too indolent to examine for them- selves. One of these relates to the Virginia creeper or wood- bine (Ampelopsis quinquefolia). Several books examined re- ~cently aver that this vine climbs by means of adhesive disks on the end of its tendrils. Other books assert that the tendrils twine as do the tendrils of the grape. The writer of this para- graph contends, however, that both are wrong, for the wood- bine not only has twining tendrils but it has adhesive disks as well. In some regions but one form is found; in others, both occur. The question then arises, shall we call each form an “elementary species’ or are the two forms interchangeable? Net much is known about the distribution of the two forms and here is a case in which everybody who knows this common vine may be of use to science by recording the form or forms that grow in his own locality. But who can say, off-hand, which form is found in his locality? It is easy to see that even familiar species have many unknown points about them. It would be interesting to grow the two forms side by side for comparison. We expect to do this and hope to report conclusions later. 92 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. ORIGIN OF THE CUT-LEAVED SuMAc.—In extensive dec- orative plantings one may occasionally find a shrub that is evidently a sumac, but with leaves so fern-like as to make the plant quite unlike any native species. According to Parks Floral Magazine, however, this cut-leaved form is merely a sport from one of our common sumacs and was found some years ago growing wild in Chester County, Pa. It is said to be seedless but is easily propagated from root-cuttings. Now and then nature inspires some plant to put forth something new, and if the new form happens to be useful for decoration or for food, it may make a fortune for the discoverer. Sev- eral of the cultivated blackberries are simply especially luscious forms of the common wild species, and the well-known con- cord grape is also a sport of a native vine. DANDELIONS AS Foop.—As a nation we have not yet tak- en up the cultivation of the dandelion in earnest—possibly be- cause it grows with us all too freely without cultivation—but this despised weed seems to be steadily gaining ground as an edible and in the Old World is frequently cultivated. In the markets of our larger cities the cultivated dandelion is often exposed for sale while in smaller towns the plants that grow so profusely in waste grounds are not disdained. Dandelion greens furnish many a healthful meal to the foreign part of our population every spring. But even in so apparently sim- ple a matter as cooking dandelions there seems to be some tricks. The majority simply cut off the leaves, wash them and cook until tender. A better way is to select the large plants and after digging remove most of the green part of the leaves and all of the root except just enough to hold the leaves together. The lower part of the leaves are blanched from being in the ground and are sweet and tender. They should be washed thoroughly, parboiled for a few minutes and then cooked as usual. They may be served with mayonnaise THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 93 dressing or in any other way preferred. Such a dish is a great improvement upon the old fashioned dandelion greens. The time-honored custom of using a kitchen knife for digging the plants may be abandoned. A spade is much better. Mustarp AS A Pot-Hers.—The entire cress family to which the mustards belong, have certain qualities that make them eminently fitted for the table. We have but to recall the fact that the water-cress, turnip, radish, cauliflower, kale, cab- bage, brussels sprouts, horseradish and pepper-grass also be- long to this family to realize how useful it is. Some species, however, have become troublesome weeds, for instance wild mustard or charlock (Brassica sinapistrum). An acquaintance of the editor’s whose garden is badly infested with this weed has made a virtue of necessity by setting apart the worst cor- ner of the garden for a mustard bed and regularly harvesting the crop which is cooked like any other pot-herb. There is an old saying that “one year’s weed makes seven years seed” meaning that it takes seven years to get rid of the seedlings from one crop of weeds. This particular garden spot seems to have had several years weed to judge from the number of seedlings, but the owner counts this an advantage and looks for a supply of palatable greens for the entire summer. The charlock is especially harmful to grain fields in this coun- try but 1f we should all begin eating it, it would doubtless soon be as difficult to raise and develop as many insect and fungous foes as any other inhabitant of the garden. EDITORIAL The fourth season of work in Nature-Study at the Con- necticut State Chatauqua begins July 12th at Plainville, Con- necticut. The Nature Study is under the direction of the edi- tor of this magaziné and consists of a daily talk on out-door subjects followed by an excursion in wood and field. From a small beginning this department of the Chatauqua has grown to be one of the most important, and those who would like one or two weeks outing in the woods with a company of people interested in birds, flowers, etc., are invited to investi- gate its merits. The expenses are low and the accommodations good. Those who wish further information may address The Connecticut Chatauqua Association, 411 Windsor Ave., Hart- ford, Conn. Before Bishop Vincent attained his present eminence he was for some time the minister in one of Joliet’s churches. Recently at an anniversary of the church, the Bishop preached a sermon from which we cull the following extract. While not strictly botanical, it voices so nearly the things for which the journal stands that we are sure it is worthy of a wider audience: “He is a wise man who resolves to live, whatever his oc- cupation, in the widest sphere of life possible to him. Books give vision and vistas to men. Books make men travelers. Books turn ordinary men into scientists, philosophers and the companions of poets and sages. I pity little narrow limited shut in and shut up souls who toil and tramp and dicker and bargain, and eat and drink and sleep, and die, having neglected this packed and glorious universe of sights and sounds of science and splendor all about them—calling to them, beckon- 94 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 95 ing to them, trying to win their attention and allure them to accept their inheritance. I am specially discouraged over a class of Christian believers who are contented to live in com- parative ignorance when they live in the center of all kinship. Music allures, science invites, art beckons, literature urges, religion pleads, astronomy flings out her radiant beams but they answer ‘No, business calls me, my dinner bell rings, or I , must sleep, let me alone.’ ’ BOOKS AND WRITERS. Several years ago, G. Frederick Schwarz, author of “For- est Trees and Forest Scenery” set about an investigation of one of the southern pines which forms much of the forest from North Carolina to Louisiana, and the results of his ob- servations have recently appeared in the form of a small book on the “Long-leaf Pine in Virgin Forest” from the press of ~John Wiley & Sons, New York. The book will be a mine of information to foresters, lumbermen, and owners of southern timber-lands, and is not without its value to the ordinary bot- anizer who may recognize young specimens of this tree in among the Christmas decorations of the Northern States. Thus far, few trees have been considered of ¢nough impor- tance to merit an entire book devoted to them. The book in- cludes twenty-three illustrations from photographs, and 127 pages of text. The price is $1.25 net. Every time a new gardening book appears it seems as if nobody would have the courage to write another because the field is already so well occupied. Two new candidates for the favor of gardeners have recently appeared, however, and apparently cover new ground. The two might be called companion volumes though written by different people and issue by different publishers. The first is French’s “The Book of Vegetables” and the second Sedgwick’s ‘““The Garden Month by Month.” The reviewer, who has a garden of his own, 96 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. has made almost constant use of the “Book of Vegetables” since it appeared. A more usable volume for the amateur would be hard to find. Practically everything grown in Amer- ican gardens is given a place and as the subjects are arranged alphabetically any information one is looking for is soon forth coming. After a short general discussion of a plant there follows very definite information on soil, how and when to sow, thinning, transplanting, cultivating, fertilizing, harvest- ing, storing, plant diseases, etc., etc. The book is a well il- lustrated 12mo. running to 300 pages and is issued by the MacMillan Company at $1.75 net. We wish somebody would make a similar book of annual flowers, and another of peren- nials. The “Garden Month by Month” is a usable book of an- other kind. It is devoted to flowering plants, but is not so much interested in recommending special flowers for culti- vation as in offering to the amateur information as to color, height and time of blooming of the hardy perennials. From this array it is expected that the gardener will be able to se- lect his plants, as an artist selects his colors, and therewith paint his border and beds in any color or combination of colors desired. The flowers of every month from March to Septem- ber are thus treated, all the flowers of each color being list- ed together, so that if one chooses to have a certain border blue or red in June for instance a very short reference to the book will give all the species available for the work together with their common and scientific names, height and require- ments as to shade and soil, their usual season of bloom, des- cription of the flowers, how propagated, etc. The book is a fine specimen of the printers art, and contains more than 500 octavo pages and 150 superb illustrations. A color chart illus- trating 63 named colors with which the colors of the flowers treated have been compared, makes possible an exact selection of flower colors. (New York, The F. A. Stokes Co., $4.00 net.) IF YOU LIKE THIS NUMBER OF THE American Botanist Remember that more than seventy other numbers have been pub- lished, just as entertaining and instructive, and just as desirable to read. They never get out of date; facts never do. A complete set of the magazine is a botanical library in itself. The 1,200 pages contain up- wards of 2,000 articles and notes. We offer the set of 12 half- yearly _ volumes for $5.00 post paid. The articles are ACCURATE, the illustra- tions are EXCELLENT’, and every number of PERMANENT INTER- EST. Get a set before they are gone. Special Offer If ycu would like to see more of the magazine before subscribing, send us 25 cents and we will send you 12 different numbers. There are no complete volumes in this offer; it means simply 240 pages of good feading for a quarter. complete set if ordered later. This sum may be deducted from the price of a WILLARD N. CLUTE & co, Joliet, Ill. : THE Fern Bulletin 32 pages, quarterly. Now in its 15th volume. Well illustrated. Notes on rare ferns a spccialty. Portraits of Fern Students. _ Helps for the Beginner. Index to Current: Literature. Fern-floras of. the States. Check-list of American phytes. Monogtaph of Equisetum. Illustrations of rare Ferns. Only Fern Magazine in the World. Official Organ American Fern So- ciety. -75 CENTS A YEAR First five volumes out of print. Next ten for sale at 75c each. A set of the ten for $6.00. Only a few sets left. Order now. THE FERN Bl ‘BULLETIN Se JOLIET, IE: Pterido- Methods in Moss Study Price $1.25 Of the several books which I have written, none appear to-be better appreciated by the public than this little book on Mosses, which is intended as a text book ‘for beginners. These very attractive plants may be found at all seasons, but there is no better timc than late winter and early spring. Send for circular. Cc. 5 Maynard 447 Crafts St. West Newton, Mass. A HIGH POWER MAGNIFIER AT A LOW PRICE Our new doublet-Aplanat gives a perfectly flat field far superior to Coddington lenses and not to be compared with other cheaper magnifiers. All lenses removable for cleaning. PRICE $1.25 POSTPAID. Collecting Cases $.'75, ort 25, and $1.50. Plant Presses $.€0 and $1.00. Large Stage Beeanteat Microscope with Aplanatic Lenses $4.00. A liberal discount made on larger orders, Send for list. Williams, Brown & Earle Dept. 32, 918 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. : Comments on the exper- Plant Breeding iments of BURBANK & NILSSON. By Hugo DeVries, Professor of Botany in the University of Amsterdam. Pages, XIII by 351. 114 Illustra- tions. Printed on fine enamel paper. Cloth, gilt top; $1.50 net; $1.70 postpaid. (7s. 6d. net.) Under the influence of the work of Nilsson, Burbank, and others, the principle of selection has, of late, changed its meaning in practice in the same sense in which it is changing its significance in science by the adoption of the theory of an origin of species by means of sudden mutations. The method of slow improvement of agricultural varie-- ties by repeated selection is losing its reliability and is being supplanted by the discov- ery of the high practical value of the elementary species, which may be isolated by a single choice. The-appreciation of this principle will, no doubt, soon change the whole | aspect of agricultural plant breeding. Hybridization is the scientific and arbitrary combination of definite characters. It does not produce new unit-characters; it is only the combination of such that are new. From this point of view the results of Burbank and others wholly agree with the theory of mutation, which is founded on the principle of the unit-characters. This far reaching agreement between science and practice is to become a basis for the further development of practical breeding as well as of the doctrine of evolution. To give proof of this assertion is the main aim of these essays. THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING CO. 1322 Wabash Ave., Chicago, U.S. A. THE BEST WORKS ON FERNS OUR FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS, by Willard N. Clute. Octavo,.333 pages. 225 illustrations. Eight colored plates. Contains the only il- lustrated key ever published, and a full account of all the ferns of Eastern America. The species can be identified by the illustrations, . alone. More copies of this book are sold annually than of any other. Price post paid, $2.50. * THE FERN ALLIES OF NORTH AMERICA, by Willard N. Clute. Octavo, 250 pages, 150 illustrations, eight colored plates. A companion volume to “Our Ferns in Their Haunts”, containing a full account of the scouring rushes, club-mosses, quillworts, selaginellas, water-ferns, etc., -etc., in North America. Seven keys to the species. A check list with synonyms. The only bock on the subject in the English language. Listed in the New York State Library list among The Best Books of 1905. Price post paid, $2.00. SPECIAL OFFERS Either volume and a year’s subscription to American Botanist....$2.80 Either volume and a full set of American Botanist, (10 volumes)... 6.00 Both: volumes. to: one address... cee it a eee eke eee 3.80 Both volumes and a year’s subscription to American Botanist...... 4.50 Both volumes and full set of American Botanist, (10 volumes) .. ee 7.75 Address all orders. to WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., Joliet, Mlinois JUNE, 1907 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST CONTENTS WHY AND HOW TO BEGIN STUDY OF FUNGI 2 Stafford C. Edw Sai WAYSIDE FLOWERS Dr. W. W. Bailey. THE PINE BARRENS OF NEW JERSEY THE GREAT PRIMEVAL FOREST - NOTE AND COMMENT - BOOKS AND WRITERS - WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO. JOLIET, ILLINOIS Ghe American Botanist Se & A MONTHLY JOURNAL FOR THE PLANT LOVER “ s %& Issued on the 15th of each month except July and August eS A ee eer ee PT WILLARD NW. CLUTE 33 3 EDITOR SPECIAL NOTICE.—This magazine is issued in two half-yearly vol- umes of five numbers each. Subscriptions $1.00 a year. 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It publishes the things you want to know about plant life, birds, animals, insects, minerals, etc., and inter- esting discoveries in astronomy, chemistry, geolcgy, physics, and other natural sciences... Subscription, 50 cents a year. ~— CHAS. D. PENDELL, PUBLISHER, ASHLAND, ME. A Free Subscription to The American Botanist We will send this magazine for one year, free, to every person purchasing a set of the 12 half-yearly volumes, at the reduced price of $5.00. This offer is made simply to reduce the stock of certain volumes and will be withdrawn as soon as this is accomplished. Now is the time to get a full set for $2.00 less than usual price. Including the subscrip- tion you will get 1,600 pages and 2,500 botanical articles for $5.00. Order today. Any person who has subscribed during the past year may accept this offer, and deduct his subscription from it. Address % WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., JOLIET, ILL. 7 "= “er ’ ? Pe Ae ANE pt ta ss ieee - THE AMERICAN BOTANIST VOLES XIE JOLIET, ILL.,, JUNE, 1907. No, 5 WHY AND HOW TO BEGIN STUDY OF FUNGI. BY STAFFORD C. EDWARDS. N EARLY every one enjoys a walk in the fields and woods. If we ask ourselves concerning the pleasure thus deriv- ed, we would doubtless conclude that we are attracted by feel- ing the soft earth and leaves under our feet, by smelling the delightfully cool and fragrant air, by seeing the delicate plants just from nature’s workshop, as yet unharmed by rude and vulgar contact, other plants perchance not seen by us before, and in other places great logs and stumps in the natural pro- cess of decay, untouched by the ravages of fire, a clean ex- ample of natural return to elements from which it was con- structed. If we see a beautiful bird and hear some of nature’s sweetest music, so much is added to the total recompense for the walk. To those brought up in the noisy, dusty city, and unaccus- tomed to the “lonely’’ woods, the interest is but fleeting and shallow. To pick a few blossoms and leaves, soon to be thrown away, to throw stones at a few frogs and birds, and perhaps to climb a tree, these are the round of amusemenis af- forded by the woods. To the one who has learned to “see” things when abroad, the ramble over hills and among the trees has quite a different meaning. If we are acquainted with ten plants we meet, if we know the names of the trees, if we notice several kinds of rocks, if we have seen among the birds some that we know, we have met so many old friends welcome and charming. We are still more delighted to meet a new friend if one concerning which we have heard or read _ presents himself among those already known. Any one who 98 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. has experienced these pleasures can readily understand why the naturalist does not need the company of his fellow man for long periods at a time to make his happiness. A city bred person often does not contemplate with pleas- ure the prospect of a forced sojourn in the country. He does not know how to amuse himself. He does not have the advantage with the naturalist of meeting on every hand, so many of his friends. We can not all hope to become natural- ists but the more of the out-of-door friends we claim as our own the greater pleasure is ours each time we go afield. Probably many who are in the habit of taking strolls in the woods and meadows, and who derive much pleasure there in meeting known friends, have seen the plants of various form and color commonly called “toadstools.” With this practical designation, the whole class has been passed by. I would that more know how easy it is to make these humble members our cherished friends though lowly they may be in the scale of plant life. Exclusive of puffballs, the most common fungi met with in field and wood may be readily placed by the ordinary observer into one of four classes. By examining the underside of the fungus when found, it will be seen to possess either pores, very small, yet easily seen with the unaided eye, or gills, or spines or a smooth surface. Probably the greater part found will be of the first class. The fungus having pores may be shelving out from the side of a log or stump (fig. 1.) or it may have a central stem like the common mushroom (fig. 4) or again it may have a lateral stem as is in figure 7. The pore fungi constitutes a very large order, which order contains some of the fungi most commonly met. But for the beginner it should suffice simply to know the pore bearing from the others. The fungi having gills to be the most commonly observed are the central stemmed ones (fig. 5) and one other variety of THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 99 the shelving kind (fig. 2). Then those will be found that seem to partake of both characteristics, gills and pores called daedaloid, meaning ornamental, the most common one grow- ing on oak stumps and logs, having gill-like channels, the walls of which are connected by partitions at irregular intervals or so closely together that the surface resembles the first class in being porous. The next class to be observed with ordinary frequency are those fungi whose spore bearing surface is smooth. Where pores or gills appeared in the former named classes the under surface is unbroken by channel or tube. The Stereums (mean- ing smooth) are mostly of the bracket type and closely re- semble on the upper surface some of the common porous va- rieties. The fourth great class of fungi to be mentioned here are those whose spore bearing surface is covered with spines or teeth. The Hydnums (meaning spine bearing) may be found in nearly every shape, central stemmed (fig. 6) side stemmed (fig. 9) shelving (fig. 3) or in irregular masses. After noting the above mentioned four types of spore bearing surface, the beginner can give attention to the ap- pearance of the upper surface of the various forms of fungi. They may be smooth and papery, or minutely hairy or with a coarse, wooly covering, or again with fibrous scales. In color the dull browns, perhaps, predominate, but fungi may be found with almost any color—red, purple, yellow, green, white, or black. These colors may be evenly distributed over the surface or displayed in concentric or radial bands. In texture, fungi may vary from the very hard woody ones, through various grades of tough leathery forms, to the fleshy and spongy varieties, even to jelly-like masses. Fungi with stems may be easily separated into several classes by noting a few very plain features. In some the gills run part way down the stem, in others they may be notched 100 THE AMERICAN BOTANIS' so as not to touch the stem at all. The stem may be fleshy or fibrous, solid or hollow, adorned with a ring around the top, or inserted in a cup at the base, or both the last named feat- ures may be present in the one specimen,—in which case be- ware! Every one accustomed to the woods knows that fungi may be found almost anywhere, in the meadows, in old pastures, about old buildings, among shady bushes, in the deepest wood- lands, on the ground and on wood in all stages of decay. It is a matter of equally common observation that fungi grow most abundantly during the cooler months, even into the depths of winter. On the fifteenth of January last I gathered a large pan full of the savory oyster mushrooms. To those interested in fungi otherwise than from a botan- ical standpoint, the first question presenting itself is how to tell the ones good to eat. To answer the question by a sim- ple rule for determining would immediately brand its author as an unreliable guide in the matter. The only rule I ever heard which seems to be thoroughly reliable is, “Eat them and if you live they are edible, and if you die they are poisonous.” Since mushrooms are not a necessity, to the average person, the application of the above rule seems hardly practical. One should know mushrooms before attempting to eat them. Many varieties are good eating and truly a great delicacy, others are harmless and without flavor, while some few are extremely poisonous. If one is interested from the culinary standpoint, a little patient observation, together with study of a good book on the subject will give much of the desired information and incidentally reveal a new pleasure. New Brighton, N. Y. WAYSIDE FLOWERS. BY DR. W. W. BAILEY. NY country may be known by its wayside flowers. The hedges and copses along the highways and paths of Eng- land show a peculiar flora. Those of Germany, France, Italy or Spain are again distinctive. Quite different are these as a rule from ours, although, as the home of the immigrant from all lands, one finds here a cosmopolitan collection. This is true, however, only near the cities; in the country American plants predominate. British flowers have become a sacred part of English lit- erature. From Chancer and the older bards, down to Mathew Arnold and Tennyson, the poets have revelled in them. Who does not know cowslips, oxlips, primroses, fox-gloves, cuckoo- pint and Canterbury-bells; daisy and dandelion, thyme, Mar- joran and “All the idle needs that grow In life’s sustaining fields?” Our own wild flowers too have been chronicled in sweet verse by Longfellow, Bryant, Lowell, Emerson, Thoreau, Whittier, and Holmes. Of course the kind of flowers found by the highway will vary with the season. In June we notice the broad cymes of elder, like some rich and mellow point lace, creamy with age. Reflected in the still water it is very lovely. Wayside meadows are studded with Rudbeckias—“black-eyed Susans,” very splendid. Another field may be white with oxeyes, a billowy sea of foam. In low moist places one observes the dainty Pogonia, an orchid pink in hue and fragrant of violets. Do not mistake it for Arethusa, so like yet different. The latter is odorless and of deeper color; leafless too, while Pogonia has one leaf half-way of the stem. Calopogon, an- other orchid, is near it, peculiar for its erect crested lip. Usually it bears several magenta colored flowers. This is a tint esteemed by nature, and, as a rule, abhorred by man. 101 102 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. Here too, may be found the round leaved sun-dew, carnivor- ous in habit, a plant about which much has been written by Erasmus Darwin, his distinguished grandson, and other noted observers. One notices in the fields tall and slender spikes of the blue lobelia, garnet gems of Deptford pink, and yellow stars of St. Johnswort. Nature is especially fond of yellow, and keeps something of that hue all summer. Thus in some sections the roadside will show in succession, coltsfoot, ragwort, St. Johnswort, yellow-topped chrysopsis, pretty little sensitive plants, autumn dandelions, and last of all, golden-rods. Thus is she lavish of her gold. A very pretty and delicate wayside flower of midsummer is meadow beauty, Rhexvia, with its peculiar funnel-like sta- mes, and four crimson petals. We may note, too, fine tufts of white meadow rue, groups of yellow, red, and orange lilies, slender blue iris, viburnums, cornels and button-ball. Few people seem to know how many and varied are our clovers. Besides the fine old familiar dark red one, of forage fame, there is the little running white one, the lovely pink alsike, the Hungarian with its crimson pompon, and the two yellow hop clovers. Then, in dry districts rabbits-foot is common, with calyx teeth silken and feathery. It is a dainty little plant, like most of its kind adventive from Europe. Do not mistake the lucerne medick and alfalfa for clovers, nor yet the melilots white and yellow. They are of close affiliation, but have pinnately compound instead of palmate leases. Surely any record of wayside flowers would be incomplete that omitted the wild roses, raspberries and brambles. “Thy fruit full well the school-boy knows, Wild bramble of the brake, Then put thee forth thy small white rose, I love it for his sake. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 103 Though woodbines flaunt and roses glow O’er all the fragrant bowers, Thou needs’t not be ashamed to show Thy satin-threaded flowers. One can hardly speak of pond-lilies as wayside flowers, and yet, in a sense, they are so. Very refreshing it is to catch glimpses of their white, cool, odorous blossoms, anchor- ed on some shaded pond, their leaves just tipping to the breeze to show their crimson lining. Among them grows yellow spatterdock, handsome in its place but coarse and mal-odor- ous. It must be realized that our wayside flora will of necessity vary with locality. Along the sea beaches one will observe sea-lavender, jointed knotweed, rose hibiscus, yellow loose- strife, camphor-weed, maritine goldenrod and sea-side aster. Again, among the mountains will occur wild flowers not seen in the lowlands, mountain chickweed, dwarf azalea, Peck’s geum and the like. Geology and geography both take a part in distribution as well as more subtle and accidental agencies. Brown University, Providence, R. I. THE PINE BARRENS OF NEW JERSEY. HOSE who have gained their knowledge of the New Jer- sey “pine barrens’ from a few weeks sojourn at Bar- negat, Tom’s River or other towns along the coast, supple- mented by sundry glimpses from the car window as the train rushes along, may yet have but a faint idea of what the real pine barrens are like. To see them at their best—which in this case is also their worst—one must get further away from civilization than the railway will carry him. But before one leaves it, indications of what is to come are not wanting. The railroad dwindles from four tracks to two and finally one; the stations become smaller and draw further apart; and the vegetation steadily grows more dejected in appearance. At 104 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. the last change of cars—nobody can get into the heart of the “pines” without several such changes—one finds a train of two or three cars drawn by a wheezy engine which after some miles of jolting over uneven track finally comes to a standstill as if too tired and discouraged to go further. This is the end of the road and the few houses which constitute the last village are clustered about in a spot whose fertility, al- though slightly above that of the surrounding country, 1s still sufficient to make it a veritable oasis in this all but desert land. In all directions from its borders the gray sand extends, tenanted by stunted specimens of pitch pine whose stems are little more than poles, with a brush of yellow-green foliage at top which scarcely shades the small oaks and huckleberry bushes forming the principal underwood. Upon entering the pines, one is impressed, not only by the paucity of species but also by the small number of individ- uals. The vegetation in may places is so scattering, that if the smooth level sand were solid, the bicycler might ride through the woods, choosing his own path, and meet with very few obstructions. With a wagon, one may drive about where he pleases. It is nevertheless the fashion to keep to the beaten path, even when a new one might promise better traveling. Once a road is broken, it is never wholly reclaimed by Nature, although travel on it may subsequently cease. One frequently comes upon such derelicts aimlessly sprawling across the country but apparently leading nowhere. It seems scarce- ly possible that the passing of an occasional wagon could keep the way open, but it is difficult for the plants to get a foothold in the dry soil, and the wind helps somewhat by blowing the sand about, so that the roadbed soon sinks below the surface, sometimes to the depth of a foot. In the yielding sand at the bettom the tires of the wagons are lost to sight. Three miles an hour is considered rapid traveling over such roads. As much rain falls upon this part of New Jersey as upon any other, but the thirsty sand rapidly sucks up the moisture THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 105 and in a few short hours after a storm, the earth is dry again. These arid conditions have a very noticeable effect upon the few other species that here and there struggle with the pines and oaks for existence. For the most part they are heaths or heath-like plants with thick leathery leaves that are slow to let their scanty supply of moisture go. The wintergreen and trailing arbutus are common as is their near relative the bearberry. This latter is a prostrate shrub with small shining leaves and a profusion of red berries, very attractive to the sight, but containing a juiceless mealy pulp within. Appar- ently these berries once had juice, but the plant long ago gave up the idea of acquiring enough water in such a place to pro- vide them with it. The cactus is the only green thing in the region that seems absolutely happy even in the driest weather. Its thick stems act as so many reservoirs storing up water during wet weather against a time of need and parting with it very grudgingly in dry times. This is probably the only plant that can produce juicy fruit no matter how dry the season. In June and July the plants are fairly full of the dark red “prickly pears.” It is sometimes difficult to understand how certain species of sand plants are able to exist at all until the underground portions are examined. It is then seen that the top is but an insignificant part of the whole plant, the thick roots often descending straight down for a distance of nearly six feet in their search for water. A notable exception to this is a spe- cies of “reindeer moss,” a gray wiry lichen which forms little rounded knolls like pincushions on the bare sand. It lies loose- ly on the earth and appears not to be attached to i* at all. At mid-day it is seemingly dead and the stiff branches crunch under foot, but as soon as the dew begins to fal! it revives and at once becomes moist, pliant, soft as velvet and full of life. Desolate and barren as the pines ordinarily appear, the extreme is not reached until one has seen the tract of iand 166 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. known as “the plains” lying due west from Tuckerton. They are seldom visited save by the berry picker or an occas- ional traveller taking a short cut to some distant village. If one can imagine a slightly undulating piece of ground, stretch- ing away in all directions to the horizon and covered every- where with diminutive pines and oaks, which, although not more than knee-high, bear their cones and acorns as plenti- fully as their more favored kin in better soil, he will have a fair idea of the region. The natives express its sterility by asserting that the only land tortoise ever captured in the locality was inquiring the way to the poor-house. In ail this expanse, the tallest tree—a sassafras—is but fifteen feet high. To the botanist this section is of considerable interest since it contains several plants that are rarely found elsewhere. Among these may be mentioned the crow-berry, a low heathy plant which very few botanists have seen growing. Among the most attractive spots in the barrens are the low places where the water comes to the surface. Here the sand vegetation suddenly gives way to cranberry bogs set thick with sundews, bladderworts and pitcher-plants all busily en- gaged in trapping insects. Or a greater depression may con- tain a cedar swamp whose tangled depths are the source of one of the amber-colored streams which leisurely wander away to join one of the numerous small rivers of south Jersey. As one emerges from the plains in the direction of Wading river, these bogs become very numerous, notwithstanding which, it is claimed that there is no malaria there and the natives drink from any running water with impunity. The mosquito is everywhere in evidence, but by day these are not the greatest of the stinging, biting pests that inhabit the barrens. The crow-flies, black as night and as large as grass-hoppers, and several kinds of horse-flies which apparent- ly consider man much better than a horse, are abundant and dwarf the mosquito’s puny efforts into nothingness by com- THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 107 parison. When these bite, blood flows from the wound. Horses are rendered fairly frantic by their attacks. At sun- down these insects retire from the field, leaving the mosquitos much reinforced, in full possession. The cranberry bogs are usually thickly fringed with huckle- berry bushes. Upon these two crops nearly all who inhabit the barrens depend for an existence. During the few weeks that the berries are ripe everybody is employed and even at the small price obtained for the berries it is not uncommon for a good picker to make ten dollars in a day. While some of the berries are picked by hand and some by means of an instrument not unlike a coarse comb, the greater part are “scooped.”” The “scoop” is a basket-like affair with the top covered over as far as the handle on one side. The open side is swung against the tops of the bushes by the operator with such skill that few except ripe berries fall into the scoop. The berries are then winnowed by being slowly poured from one basket held a few feet above another while the wind blows through them, carrying away any leaves which have fallen with the berries. Host of the huckleberry pickers live in or near the barrens and daily journey to the best grounds in all sorts of picturesque conveyances. The outsider who visits the region for the huckleberry season may usually be found camping out in the most primitive style near some town along the railroad where he may readily turn his berries over to the agent of the commission man. Later in the year, the cranberries afford employment, but since they are for the most part cultivated and only a small price is paid for picking, the pickers earn much less. There are, however, many places where the cranberries grow wild and may be had for the picking. The huckleberries are con- sidered free everywhere. The bogs again afford many plants to interest the botan- ist. The bog asphodel, an orchid-like plant with a spike of 108 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. lemon-yellow flowers is found nowhere else in the whole world and is valued accordingly by the plant collector. It is only occasionally found and seldom in great abundance. The curly grass is another plant worth more than passing notice from the fact that it is the smallest fern in eastern America. A fair sized plant roots and all, may be covered by laying a sin- gle finger upon it. Its leaves are like very slender blades of grass, coiled corkscrew-fashion and one must get down on hands and knees to find it. New Jersey is the only state in which it grows. These bogs are regarded as paradises by the botanist and in their season furnish a wealth of orchids and other rare plants not to mention commoner things which attract the plant lover. If one consults a map of this region, he will find many places marked upon it which fail to materialize when search is made for them. It usually turns out that they are the sites of iron furnaces which were once employed in extracting iron from the bog ores. With the diminution of the ore supply the furnaces were gradually abandoned until all that now remains of many are crumbling walls and decaying timbers about the hollows where dwellings once stood. A few small hamlets have managed to exist after the fires in their furnaces died out, but the greater number are deep in decay, tenanted only by the lizard who delights to bask in the sunlight upon their fallen walls—New York Tribune. THE GREAT PRIMEVAL FOREST HE great primeval forest, which is perhaps represented on a more impressive scale than anywhere else in South America, is the same that was described by the brothers Schomburgh in 1848 and 1850. We traveled up the middle course of the Essequibo river for seventy miles without finding a solitary clearing; not a single break in all the forest except where tributary streams flowed into our own. On both banks THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 109 of this chocolate-brown stream at a distance of seventy miles from its mouth, where the width of the stream is still from one to two miles or four or five times the normal width of the Mis- sissippi river the great curtain of the primeval forest hangs virtually untouched by man. If I were asked to state briefly the distinguishing characteristics of this forest, I should find it difficult to frame a reply or to give to it proper perspective in comparison with the forest elsewhere. The great South Amer- ican primeval forest is impressive; is imposing, but at the same time it is forbidding. With the great walls of vegetation rising to a height of 175 and 200 feet, with the crown of the forest carried at this enormous height above the spectators, and with innumerable creepers and trailers binding the whole into an almost impenetrable maze, the eye that is on the ex- terior has difficulty in finding points of rest or repose. But little sunlight penetrates into the recesses of the interior, and what there is of it comes out in scattered flecks of brilliantly reflected light and not as sunlight areas. In its botanical relations the forest does not look particu- larly tropical, if by tropical we mean an aspect of vegetation which is dominated by types that one habitually associates with the lower climes and whose general physiognomy differs from the types of temperate regions. It is true that the eye fails to note the familiar forms of the oak, the maple, beech birch or poplar, but the general contour of tropical fol- iage, especially where it appears lost in mass, is not very differ- ent from that of these trees or of trees that in one form or another make up the bulk of the north woods. Except where clumps of palms stand out in particular relief, the trees of the South American forest have, apart from exceeding luxur- iance and magnitude of dimensions, so nearly the charac- teristics of the foliage of the trees of our own region that the traveler could easily misinterpret the landscape of which they formed a part. Even where palms are present, they gen- erally lose their crowns in the wall of vegetation that rises 110 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. above them and no longer appear as dominating or physiog- nomic types in the landscape; they are hardly more than sporadic components of the vegetation. It is only when we penetrate into the interior of this great forest, when we study the individual elements that compose it, that we begin to be impressed with distinctive characteristics. One can truly say that almost every tree of the South Ameri- can primeval forest is a botanical garden of its own. Rising up in supreme magnificence, the trunk hardly sending out a branch before it has attained a height of 125 or 150 feet, and completely overgrown with creeping and climbing plants, aroids and orchids, it is wholly different from the trees of the northern woods as it well can be. The tendency to spread- ing umbrella-like crowns differentiates the forest components of the south, as do also the giant buttressed roots which dis- tinguish so many of the species. Alfred Russell Wallace, who has enjoyed unusual advan- tages for the study of the general characteristics of tropical vegetation, has emphasized as one of the marked features of the tropical forest the absence of flowers. He says, indeed, that one may travel for weeks at a time along the streams of the Amazon region without once realizing those aspects of floral development which, whether by profusion of growth, or by size and color, impress the landscape of temperate re- gions. This picture does not seem to apply to the forest of the river-banks of the Guianas, and its inaccuracy has been point- ed out by that acute student of nature, Mr. Inturn. The streamers of purple, red and white which hang down over the forest curtain easily recall in profusion and wealth of color the flowers of the north—the field daisy, clover, and butter- cup. Indeed, it would be difficult to recall in forests of the north, even as rare instances, that display of flowers which so requently repeats itself here—From an article by Prof. An- gelo Hielprin in National Geographic Magazine. NOTE AND COMMENT WantTep.—Short notes of interest to the general bot- anist are always in demand for this department. Our readers are invited to make this the place of publication for their botanical items. It should be noted that the magazine is is- sued as soon as possible after the fifteenth of each month. VerRjuIce.—The civilized palate craves not only food, but various condiments which of themselves have little if any food value. Mixed with the food they give it a certain relish. Some of the well known condiments are pepper and other spices, vanilla, vinegar and red pepper. A condiment much prized in earlier times was called verjuice. This was made by expressing the juice from green apples, crab-apples, unripe grapes and other unripe fruit. Verjuice was intensely sour and used like vinegar or lemon juice is at present. It is said to still be used to a limited extent. VioLtet Hysrips.—Dr. Ezra Brainerd has been growing some of the reputed species of blue violets from seed and ihe results have shown what all of us have felt morally sure of, namely, that many of the recently named species of blue violets are simply hybrids. Dr. Brainerd says that the seed- lings of the pure violet species resemble one another very close- ly, but the hybrid offspring are not only unlike each other but often unlike their parents. In cases like the latter we would le inclined to inquire whether the reputed pure parent species were not themselves hybrids. At present, the genus Viola in the Eastern States is regarded by radical botanists as being composed of a considerable number of closely allied species {hat freely interbreed, but we ask, why are these radical bot- 111 112 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. enists so cock-sure that these are species, why not sub-species cr forms? If we consider them forms they will serve just as well as an attachment for the name of a botanist and that is all any such fine distinctions are good for. When species of violets are split so fine that a violetologist cannot name his @wn species without looking at the labels it is nearly time to stop. Know1nG Beans.—The man who “doesn’t know beans” is considered of not much account, but there is a great deal about this common vegetable that is not familiar to the aver- age individual. We usually speak of beans as if there were but one edible species; in reality there are more than half a dozen commonly cultivated. The kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is the one with which we are most familiar, the common bush bean being of this type. The lima bean (Phase- olus lunatus) is also well known, especially in Southern gar- dens. The scarlet runner bean (Phaseolus muiltiflorus) 1s seldom used as a garden crop with us, but its bright red flow- ers and gaily colored pods make it sought to some extent for decorative planting. In Great Britain it is commonly culti- vated and is there called runner bean. The root is perennial and may be kept over winter in the cellar. Another British favorite is the broad bean (Vicia faba) often called the horse bean and without doubt the species fed to his horse by the im- mortal Captain Jinks. The seed is not very bean-like and the plant itself looks more like a pea than a bean. It, too, is perennial and loves a cool summer. For this reason, many more are grown in Canada than in the United Staes. The soy or soja bean (Glycine hispida) is the bean ot the Japanese. It is becoming common in cultivation in our own country, but as yet only as a food for cattle aud hogs. The hyacinth bean (Dolichos lablab) is another bean used for decorative pur- poses that is edible. It produces very long pods and is in consequence called asparagus or yard-long beans. The velvet THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 113 or banana bean (Mucuna utilis) completes the list of our com- mon beans. This latter is a native of the tropics and is likely to be redistricted to the warmer parts of America. It is used for a forage crop and for plowing under to enrich the soil. HoREHOUND FOR THE MILLION.—One of the weeds that amount almost to a pest in Southern California is the com- mon horehound (Marrubium vulgare) of the old fashioned herb garden. It is abundant wherever the ground is culti- vated, and its matured seed-vessels cling by prickles to the wool of animals and to the clothing of pedestrians in the per- sistent fashion of the begar’s ticks and Spanish needles of the East. The average Eastern tourist with interest enough in plants to notice it at all, usually mistakes it for catnip, but curiously enough the latter herb seems never to have become wild here. At least, I have never seen it, nor do the local manuals list it—C. F. Saunders, Pasadena, California. ButTTer-cups AND Datstes.—It would be hard for resi- dents in some sections of the Eastern States to imagine a re- gion in which the common butter-cup and daisies are rare or unknown but such a condition prevails in the editor’s vi- cinity; indeed, at the present time, a thriving bunch of the plant which in other regions is the despised white weed or ox- eye daisy, is blooming among the other flowers in his garden. New and then, one may find a tuit of this plant along the rail- road like a tramp looking for fresh fields, but the flowers are as yet an absolute novelty to most people who have never made a visit to the east. As to butter-cups, while there are plenty of indigenous species Ranunculus acris so common in the east is decidedly a rare plant. In this connection it may be of interest to note that the black-eyed-Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) rarely if ever fills up single fields to the exclusion of every- thing else as it does in the east. Here it occurs scattered among other species that hold it within bounds. 114 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. NaTurRE’S ExactNness.—Your observations on Nature’s exactness in the Note and Comment department of your May . issue, reminds me of a little aster-like flower which I have collected on the desert, Monoptilon bellidiforme. Each flower- head is composed of perhaps 15 or 20 florets, each of which produces a single seed, and every spring tens of thousands of these little plants come into being, making myriads of seeds thus produced. The marvelous thing about them, however, is that on the upper edge of each of those myriad seed is horne one tiny bristle which drops with the seed. It is a case of degenerate pappus, and the wonder is that nature, busy es she is the world over, never forgets that solitary bristle for each of those little florets away out there among the coyotes end prairie dogs of the Mojave Desert.—C. F. Saunders, Pas- adena, Cal. NOMENCLATURE AGAIN.—lIt is not botanists, alone, that are bothered with the name-tinkers. In a recent number of Science, J. L. Kingsley writes that he has been looking for fixity in zoological names for thirty years and the end seems as far away as ever. We quote from his article as follows: “Tt is all very well to indulge in these antiquarian researches, these games of taxonomic logomachy, 1f they be recognized as such, but the players fail to recognize one thing: Names of animals and plants are but means for easy reference; nomen- (lature is not the end and object of all biological science. This digging up of forgotten screeds means but the relegating of the great masters of the past to a secondary position; this framing of ex post facto laws offers a precedent for the future subject of that intolerable disease once known as “mihi itch” to set aside as lightly the laborious schemes of the sciolists “if today. Biologists may apparently be divided into two groups: one contains those who find great enjoyment in re- taming things already well named and who regard names as the object of all science. The other group have something to THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 115 tell about animals and plants and they regard names merely as a means of identification of the forms referred to. The question once was, “who reads an American book?” If the present tendency continues it will soon be “who can read an American biological work?” PENNSYLVANIA WILD FLOWERs.—About the middle of May a party of five crossed the Susquehanna River at Millers- burg, Penn., intent on finding as many specimens as possible on which there were open flowers. Our territory covered that part of Perry County between the landing and Mt. Patrick. Directly after landing we discovered our old friend, common blue violet, (V. cucullata), and growing near were the white violet, (V. blanda), and yellow violet, (V. pubescens). Scat- tered among these was pale corydalis, (Corydalis glanca) and not far away cinquefoil, (Potentilla Canadensis) celandine, (Chelidonium majus) and wild cranesbill. (Geranium macu- latum). Soon one of our number spied what seemed at a distance to be a white star-like flower but on coming nearer we found it to be dog’s tooth violet (Erythronium Dens-canis) living within calling distance of its near relative yellow adder’s tongue (£. Americanum). As none of us had ever before found the former, it was with difficulty that we left the patch in which grew millions of a plant that we had considered quite rare. Separated from this colony by a shallow stream, we discovered smooth lungwort, (Mertensia Virginica), wild blue phlox, (Phlox divaricata) and Dutchman’s _ breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) growing in such profusion that we could but wish that the contributor to the AMERICAN BoTan- Ist, who lived where Dutchman’s breeches would soon be a rare flower, might have enjoyed with us the splendid flowers and luxuriant foliage. Mingled with these we saw sweet cicely, (Osmorrhiza longisiylis), crow’s-foot, (Dentaria laci- miata) and bitter-cress, (Cardamine rhombeoidea). On the margin of a near-by field, long-leaved stitch wort, (Stellaria 116 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. longifolia), rock-cress, (Arabis lyrata), hedge mustard, (Sisymbrium officinale) and pepper-grass, (Lepedium Vuir- ginicum) had found an abiding place. We had now almost reached Mt. Patrick, a settlement which from a distance bears a strong resemblance to a Swiss village, and turning home- ward by a different path we found spring beauties, (Claytonia Virginica) and ground ivy (Nepeta Glechoma) while in a neighboring woods were butter-weed (Senecio vulgaris) and Jack-in the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum). A lonely colum- bine (Aquilegia Canadensis) and a bare half-dozen wood anemones (Anemone nemorosa), near which in a very sandy soil grew a few horse-tails ended our list and we, having com- pleted our circle, boarded the steamer, feeling that the trip was worth all the fatigue it had caused us.—Katharine P. Smith, Millersburg, Penn. EprpLE FLowers.—The cauliflower and artichoke are by no means the only kinds of flowers that are used as food, though, from an edible point of view, Dr. Johnson was prob- ably right when he said the former was “the finest flower of the garden.” Cloves and capers are well known to professors of the culinary art and both consist of flowers, the former be- ing the dried flowers of a pretty myrtaceous plant from the far east while capers come from the shores of the Mediter- ranean and other temperate climes and are made from the partly opened blossoms of a trailing bramble-like shrub. These are all well known edibles but there are many flowers used for eating in other countries that we only admire for their deli- cate beauty. The Chinaman, for instance, has a penchant for pork served with a sauce made from various members of the lily family, the flowers being first dried and powdered, while the ginger family, besides the root produces flowers that are much relished by native tribes in the Himalayas. In various parts of India and also in New Zealand the pollen of certain flowers is made into bread, while the little brown man from THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 117 Japan likes his chrysanthemum salad, made from the petals of his national flower. In England the taste seems to run to drinks, and just now the children are busy gathering cowslips to make cowslip wine. —Gardening. FASCIATED DANDELIONS.—From Miss Mabel Dimock, Peekamose, N. Y., we have recently received excellent speci- mens of faciated dandelions. In these specimens there has apparently been a slip in the machinery of nature with the re- sult of uniting what would ordinarily be two or more flower- heads into one. In some years these freaks are quite common and may be distinguished from the normal flower-heads at some distance by their unusual size. Fasciation has been re- ported in many other flowers, and De Vries, by cultivation has been able to produce a race of fasciated plants from sev- eral including the dandelion. It is interesting to note that the coxcomb (Celosia cristata) often found in old fashioned gar- dens is a fasciated plant that has almost replaced the normal form. THE FARMER’S MENTAL EQUIPMENT.—It is believed by some dwellers in the city that the farmer lives on a farm be- cause he hasn’t brains enough to do anything else. The Ash- land Gazette sizes the case up differently and says that a suc- cessful farmer must know considerable of several sciences. “He must have botany enough to enable him to understand the nature of his crops and how they grow; geology enough to know the different kinds of soil and their properties; entomology enough to know which insects are pests and which are friends; ornithology enough to know which of the birds are injurious and which are helpful; forestry enough to know how to properly reserve, extend and harvest his woodland; and horticulture enough to know how to manage his fruit and vegetable gardens.’’ Ordinarily the farmer does not go in much for botany as such; in fact, he may imagine he has no 118 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. botany because he may not have taken this study up in school, yet the successful farmer is one of the best of practical bot- anists. He may not always understand the fundamentals of every operation requiring botanical knowledge but he knows what to do to produce effects. Long before the scientists ascertained why leguminous plants enriched the land, the farmer was familiar with the fact that clover plowed under added fertility to the soil. RANGE OF Lycunis ALBA.—The white evening campion (Lychnis alba) is a weed so recently introduced that it failed to be noted in any but the most recent Manuals and the range is given as Ontario and the Middle and Eastern States. It is very evident that it has come to stay, however, for it is steadily increasing its territory. It has been known for some years from Joliet and no doubt may be found in the environs of Chicago. An account of this plant was published in vol- ume I, of this magazine. POLYEMBRYONY.—When we plant a seed we expect it to produce a single new plant, but instances are not rare, in which the seed contains more than one embryo and then we may get several plants from a single seed. Polyembryony as this con- dition is called is found in at least a dozen plant families and in thirty or more different species. As is well known, the single embryo found in ordinary seeds is produced by the fer- tilization of a single cell, the egg-cell, within the embryo-sac of the ovule. The extra embryos found in polyembryony arise in different ways, sometimes from other cells within the embryo sac, at others from cells just outside of it. In the June Torreya M. T. Cook records his experience with the seeds of the mango tree (Mangifer Indica) in which he found at times no less than eight embryos. The orange (Citrus aurantium) was the first plant in which polyembryony was found and it still remains one of the most frequent exhibitors THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 119 of this feature. Now that plant breeding is progressing on scientific lines, this polyembryony is likely to cause much bother to the horticulturist because usually only one of these embryos comes from the fertilized egg which results from careful pollination and when several seedlings spring from one seed, he is quite at a loss to know which is the hybrid and which are mere offspring from the plant pollinated. Honey Guipes oF Burninc Busu.—The burning bush (Euonymus atropurpureus) is an attractive object in the autumn woods when its pinkish seed-pods begin to open ex- posing the red-arilled seeds inside, but the flowers that produce these seed-pods are quite as interesting. They are rather small and dull dark red in color, suggesting at once the specific name of the plant. There are four petals, and the ovary is surrounded by a thick disk, such as may be seen in many maples and other near relatives. The chief interest centers in the stamens with bright yellow anthers which alternate with the corolla and are very noticeable against the back ground of dull red. Soon after the flower expands the anthers fall off leaving the short thick filaments, like little posts, in the flower. Since the filaments are also red, one can tell by a glance at the flower whether it is a fresh one or not and the contrasts in color may serve as an indication to visiting insects. PEACH AND PLUM LEATHER.—Man has discovered a va- riety of ways for preserving fruits after their season is over. Some like the apple may be kept fresh by simply storing in cellars, others like the fig and prune are dried, still others like the olive are preserved in brine or, like the cucumber, in vinegar, while others are canned as are pears, cherries and the majority of our fruits. A variation of the drying pro- cess applied to peaches and plums consists in drying the crushed pulp of these fruits on a platter in an oven forming a fruit “leather.’’ A few hours soaking makes the leather ready 120 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. for use. The Italians and other foreigners ofter preserve tomatoes, of which they are very fond, in the same way. This process is not far removed from that by which guava and cactus ““dulce’’ is made in the tropics. In this connection the Turkish method of preserving grape juice may be mentioned. The juice is boiled down until it is about as thick as molasses and is then further thickened with starch or flour, and spread out in thin sheets to dry in the sun. Trees InJureD.—Our chilly and prolonged spring has not seemed to affect cur native trees, except the sycamores (Piatanus occidentalis). All of these that I have seen in this section had their new leaves nipped, apparently by frost, just after they had begun to put them out—when the largest were about two or three inches broad and all that I have seen here- abouts are covered with the dead leaves. They have started a new set of leaves, but the young leaves are now only about as large as the first set was when nipped, presenting a marked contrast to the maples and other trees now in full leaf.—Elwyn Waller. Morristown, N. J. [It is just possible that the trees have been attacked by a fungus. In the vicinity of New York, many of the oriental plane trees (Platanus orientalis) are killed back each spring by this fungus.—Ed. ] THe Eartu Stars.—According to Mr. C. G. Lloyd, who has pretty thoroughly searched this planet for specimens, there are but forty-six marked forms of the curious little earth-stars (Geaster) in existence though, as is usual in such matters, one hundred and twenty-seven names have been proposed for them. Mr. Lloyd thinks that seventeen of the forty-six forms are not worthy of specific rank, and what he thinks on this subject is nearly certain to be right for no man has seen more of these plants than he. If those who make “new spe- cies”’ of plants were required to see their plants growing be- fore giving them a name, there would be fewer names to both- THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 121 er real students. It may almost be set down as an axiom that the maker of the most “‘new species’ knows least about the plants in the field. One may even become so unacquaint- ed with living plants as to be unable to recognize them. “Let us dry it and then see how it looks” said New England’s most distinguished botanist when asked for the name of a plant that was not familiar to him. SAssAFRAS.—I do not think I have seen it recorded that one seldom finds a sassafras tree 8 or 9 inches in diameter, of which the top has not been broken out by some high wind. The break is, of course, an inducement to rot and the broken top often shows rotten wood, but the original cause of the break appears to be due to inherent brittleness in the wood and not to weakening through rotting —Elwyn Waller, Morris- town, N. J. GrowTH OF PERENNIALS.—FEven from its seedling stage, the ordinary perennial is a plant of very deliberate ways. The annuals are the active individuals. They must be up and doing or cold, drouth, insects, other species or the gardener may for- ever prevent their accomplishing their life work. But the perennials, able to withstand the cold of winter, are in no hurry, apparently counting a firm root-hold in the soil and a small amount of stored food accomplishments enough for one growing season. One can almost tell whether a seedling is an annual or perennial by the rapidity with which it grows. The purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is one of the latest of weeds to appear each season, but no one ever saw the “pusley”’ crop short for lack of growth. EDITORIAL According to our custom, no numbers of this magazine will be issued for July and August. The number for Septem- ber will be issued early so that when our subscribers return from their vacations they will find the first number of the new volume awaiting them. We trust that all our readers will have a pleasant summer and return from their outings with full note-books. We dare not expect that their pocket books will be in the same condition. * KK XX The botanically inclined often have occasion to observe the truth of the old couplet that “°Tis strange what difference there can be *Twixt tweedledum and tweedledee.”’ This is well shown in the mere identification, of plants. Take a plant in hand to a botanist for name and he will identify it, give you its family history and tell you what it is good for and consider your thanks adequate pay for the trouble. But take a plant in your throat to the physician and he will identi- fy it as diphtheria, and charge you well for telling what is good for it, or rather what is good for you by being bad for it. Nobody thinks the physician should work for nothing; he has studied hard in order to identify just such frisky bacteria and cther plants that make our anatomy the scene of various colonizations, and his money is well earned when he has aided our bodies to exterminate the would-be colonizers. But the botanist belongs to a different class. Though he studies as long as the physician he usually works for nothing. The great Linnaeus, himself, dubbed botany “the amiable science” and its votaries ever since have been an amiable lot of men and women who have done more work without reward than any 422 4 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 123 other group of scientists of like attainments anywhere. And the botanists, themselves, are usually so animated by a love of the subject that they do not complain. The contributors to the botanical magazines write without pay, the editors de- vote their time and talents without thought of compensation and the publishers half expect to find themselves in a finan- cial hole at the end of the year. As a matter of fact, we can- not recall a single botanical magazine now published except THe AMERICAN Boranist that is not backed up by some soci- ety pledged to make good any deficit and usually called upon each year to do so. Since this magazine is not backed up by a botanical society, we find it necessary to make it pay its own way. We have practically said to it what nature has said to the flowers, namely, if you cannot survive without aid, you must perish. Thus far the magazine has survived and we ex- pect it to go right on surviving, but at this time, when, a large number of subscriptions are due, we would call attention to the fact that an increased subscription list will mean a better, or rather a larger magazine. We see all the botanical maga- zines published in America, and we know there are none bet- ter if judged solely by the amount of information supplied. Of course there are many larger, but the technical articles, which interest only the few, take up much of the space. It is not the easiest thing in the world to find subscribers interested in our particular kind of botany. It requires a pretty thor- ough knowledge of plants in order to appreciate a great deal of the matter we publish, and the majority of botanizers are, unfortunately for us, interested in little more than the names of plants. It is a satisfaction to know, however, that once a subscriber is secured we rarely lose him and sooner or later he orders a set of the back numbers. So we purpose continuing our endeavor to please our present audience and to urge our friends to help us increase it. We send out bills with this issue to all whose subscriptions expire or have expired and 124 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. hope that all will renew. The magazine is sent until ordered discontinued in order to please most of our subscribers. If you no longer wish the magazine kindly notify us. In order to induce new subscribers we offer to send two copies of this magazine to different addresses for $1.60. If you induce a friend to subscribe at $1.00 you save forty cents on your own subscription, or you may divide the saving with him. Most of our readers have acquaintances who are also interested in botany. It would be easy to induce them to subscribe and thus double the subscription list. If this is done, we will double the size of the magazine without extra cost. We promise that the coming volumes will be as good as any that have appeared, and on these grounds invite all our subscribers to renew. BOOKS AND WRITERS. Most of the works on American botany have been writ- ten in the United States but Canada now come to the front with “Studies of Plant-Life in Canada” by Catherine Parr Trail, well known as an author of other volumes on Cana- dian subjects. The plants to receive attention in the present volume are practically identical with those growing in the woods and fields of the Northern States. No attempt has been made to include even all the showy flowers and the fact that it is not designed as a manual of the region is shown by the lack of a key of any kind. The text is entirely concerned with interesting bits of information about the conspicuous plants of the Canadian woods in which are interspersed many quotations from the poets. The grouping follows, in a meas- ure, the sequence of the seasons. Twenty plates, some of which are in color, embellish the work. The book is an octavo of some 200 pages, and will be very useful in winning a wider regard for the wild-flowers of the region covered. (Toronto; Wm. Briggs, $2.00 net.) IF YOU LIKE THIS NUMBER OF THE American Botanist Remember that more than seventy other numbers have been pub- lished, just as entertaining and. instructive, and just as desirable to read. They never get out of date; facts never do. A complete set of the magazine is a botanical library in itself. The 1,200 pages contain up- wards of 2,000 articles and notes. We offer the set of 12 half-yearly volumes for $5.00 post paid. The articles are ACCURATE, the illustra- tions are EXCELLENT, and every number of PERMANENT INTER- EST. Get a set before they are gone. reading for a quarter. complete set if ordered later. —— Special Offer If you would like to see more of the magazine before subscribing, send us 25 cents and we will send you 12 different numbers. no complete volumes in this offer; it means simply 240 pages of good This sum may be deducted from the price of a WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO,, Joliet, Il. There are THE Fern Bulletin 32 -pages, quarterly, Now in its 15th volume. Well illustrated. Notes on rare ferns a specialty. Portraits of Fern Students. Helps for the Beginner. » Index to Current® Literature. Fern-floras of the States. : » Check-list ~of American Pterido- phytes.. Monograph of Equisetum. Iilustrations of rare Ferns. Only Fern Magazine in the World. Official Organ American Fern So- ciety. 75 CENTS A YEAR First: five volumes out of print. ’ Next ten for sale at 75c each. A set of the ten for $6.00. Only a_few sets left. Order now. - ‘THE FERN BULLETIN JOLIET, ILL. e Methods in Moss Study Price $1.25 Of the several books which I have written, none appear to be better appreciated by the public than this little book on Mosses, which is intended as a text book ‘for beginners. These very attractive plants may be found at all séaSons, but there is no better time than late winter,and early spring. Send forcrcular. ©, J, Maynard 447 Crafts St. West Newton, Mass. A HIGH POWER MAGNIFIER A LOW PRICE Our new doublet-Aplanat gives a perfectly flat field far superior to ‘Coddington lenses and not to be compared with other cheaper magnifiers. All lénses removable for cleaning, ‘PRICE £1.25 POSTPAID. Collecting Cases $.75, $1.25, and $1.50. Plant Presses $.60 and $1.00. Large Stage Botanical Microscope Aplanatic Lenses $4.00. with A liberal discount made on larger orders, Send for list. Williams, Brown & Earle Dept; 32, 918 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa, ° Charuente on the exper- Plant Breeding iments of BURBANK & NILSSON. By Hugo DeVries, Professor of Botany in the University of Amsterdam. Pages, XIII by 351. 114 Illustra- tions. Printed on fine enamel paper. Cloth, gilt top, $1.50 net; $1.70 postpaid. (7s. 6d. net.) | Under the influence of the work of Nilsson,,Burbank, and others, the principle of selection has, of late, changed its meaning in practice in the same sense in which it is changing its significance in science by the adoption of the theory of an origin of species by means of sudden mutations. The method of slow improvement of agricultural varie- ties by repeated selection is losing its reliability and is being supplanted by the discov- ery of the high practical value of the elementary species, which may be isolated by a single choice. The appreciation of this principle will, no doubt, soon change the whole aspect of agricultural plant breeding. Hybridization is the scientific and arbitrary combination of definite characters. It does not produce new unit-characters; it is only the combination of such that are new. From this point of view the results of Burbank and others wholly agree with the theory of mutation, which is founded on the principle of the unit-characters. This far reaching agreement between science and practice is to become a basis for the further development of practical breeding as well as of the doctrine of evolution. ~ To give proof of this assertion is the main aim of these essays. THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING CO. 1322 Wabash Ave., Chicago, U.S.A. THE BEST WORKS ON FERNS OUR FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS, by Willard N. Clute. Octavo, 333 pages. 225 illustrations. Eight colored plates. Contains the only il- lustrated key ever published, and a full account of all the ferns of Eastern America. The species can be identified by the illustrations, - alone. More copies of this book are sold annually than of any other. - Price post paid, $2.50. THE FERN ALLIES OF NORTH AMERICA, by Willard N. Ciute. Octavo, 250 pages, 159 illustrations, eight colored plates. A companion volume to “Our Ferns in Their Haunts”, containing a full account of the scouring rushes, club-mosses, quillworts, selaginellas, water- ferns, etc., etc., in North America. Seven keys to the species. A check list with synonyms. The only book on the subject in the English language. Listed in the New York State Library list among The Best Books of 1905. Price post paid, $2.00. SPECIAL OFFERS Either volume and a year’s subscription to American Botanist....$2.80 Either volume and a full set of American Botanist, (10 volumes)... 6.00 Bath voltimes tosone address ve ec | oes ci et on a ee ae ese ... 3.80 Both volumes and a year’s subscription to American Botanist...... 4.50 Both volumes and full set of American Botanist, (10 volumes)..... 7.75 Address all orders to WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., Joliet, Illinois THE AMERICAN BOTANIST DEVOTED TO ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL BOTANY T EDITED BY WILLARD N. CLUTE “e Volume XIII JOLIET, ILLINOIS WILLARD N. CLUTE & COMPANY 1907 ——2_ CONTENTS _5-— CONTRIBUTED ARTICLES. A New Botanical Garden........ Mrs. Cora E. Pease, 3 miekrin too Momnt qin. til. Se... Frank Dobbin, 74 Emre Avrarsh lower sci ifo/< 4 en oe: W.W. Batley, 101 reakane Into. Botany. 6.0 sae As 3 os T. J. Wilkinson, 36 BNGORG Ac tatee th co the cm eae kes Dr. W. W. Batley, 54 Wencemuns Allis... on, Poe ase oe Willard N. Clute, 3 Mencerninies VV MMOws... 2.5 ee Frank Dobbin, 33 Does the Botanizer Need a Microscope? A. E. Warren, 104 Enchanter’s Nightshade...... Miss Emma E. Laughlin, 99 mlewers.of ‘a Dry Wand.) <5 y225s oe: C.F. Saunders, 21 Sehost Plants vac adc son Miss Grace Greylock Niles 49 Overcoming Difficulties........ Mrs. M. F. Bradshaw, 52 rrr b ratte SUnnOWwers... ks. a s-o4 Willard N. Clute, 25 PAO Gish) DPLRY neha Ras, a's ans cn 5 eo Dro W. We Batley, 07 Some Airican Plowerss 52.2.4 s «es Dr. W. W. Bailey, 7 Sie BIAZing State. si wee woe we oS Willard N. Clute, 73 ditie Gents Acrostichumis... 2.5. nc 3.4 Willard N. Clute, 97 TIDES Sie Ie oh eae ee oo ay ee Dr. W. W. Bailey, 7 REPRINTED ARTICLES. pavamtace Ot Practical Knowledge. 22.0.2 6252 oe. oe 62 Pilcher direes: Am, MUbUIAIet eke sao do sha ie A sense Si 79 Ealbiiuiime-or the Cinnamon Perm... 15.5. .2..49. 5 1 Gg Hes (Oh a ea (aU eg a nee oer 107 Scant bby At tira ial Ne (a aia te 6 ae cca sae. wes ase 105 ie coive Ok thes Vieretables,. 2 G.\t ls ant. ae Se 56 IELAVHMOW ETE Goa MIeN a tty aoe aan aR Rar ag a 22, 46, 70, 94, 120 Eara ERE oai gra bt Yat er 2) cae pment or as eo a eee 24, 48, 72 NOTE AND COMMENT. Acclimatization. .ca.ccee ees A Nature Study Society. ee ote 10 Ant: Plants!ic osm eceen omer 118 Ants, Dhe Pood! of.ti;s.aeu 82 Barberry, Law and the...... 111 Biennials are Rare Plants.. 18 Birdsas' +» Botanistsea- senses 109 Boulder Fern, the,and Water 82 Books and Paper Aneta ence 88 Bialbs. se lantiness aria sac. <2 41 Cactus, The, and: Cold: ..... 86 Calopogon, "An albino...... 43 Cassia, Seed Dispersal in... 44 Catalpas, Late Flowering. . 43 Carolina Poplar, Name er suis Carolina Poplar, Seeds of.. 43 Clover, A new, Wanted... 42 Cold, Protection Against... 65 Cold: ‘The. “Cactus. and-..3. 86 Color Changes in Weigelia 11 Composites, Fasciated...... 14 Crops, Fertilizers and...... 92 Cultivated Plants, Helpless- MESSis Oly eerste nee seas ee 21 Cytopteris fragilis, Habitats (OY Lee ORE mee S CLE RAR OEE 11 Datura Pollination of....... 45 Dogwood, Flowers of...... 64 Drouthe Mernspand eee 11 Fascinated Composites...... 14 Fern, The Boulder, and water 84 Mennsmandsleitniesecrcriiee Berns) and Droutilesaneae ae 12 Fertilizers and Crops....... 92 Flora, Our unstable:.:....- 19 Flowers, Cut Keeping Fresh 83 Flowers; Deserts .c2 oS ale la) Flowers of the Dogwood.. 64 Flowers of the Hop, The...114 Flowers, Yellow, from red ONES ates ae ttee oe ke ero een 14 Field Mouse, Food of the.. 68 Freezing, Plants and....... 67 Fruit, Plants that seldom.. 39 Germination, Delayed...... 91 Gingko, Antiquity of....... 13 GlandulareePlantssisncce eee 90 Grasses, Tree Roots and.... 40 Haws and Hedges.........116 Hop, The Flowers of the..114 Hornbeam’ Dreess.-.-..- 422 19 Hybrids and Variations....112 Linnaeus, Origin of the IN SIG 2 ene ore eae 20 Liverworts, Aromatic........ 81 T,oco-weed = Poison... -. ase 89 Locust, The single-leaved... 63 Lygodium as a Decoration.. 89 Moss Used in Decorations.. 88 Mutating Rudbeckias....... 87 Orchid@Notess a2 eeee 85 Orchids Seedsics--e eee ee 92 Oxalis, Virescens in........ 116 Palm -The“"Talipote..-5 ee 113 Polygonum, Seed Dispersal AT oooh apetet She ate ere eiseepene ate 115 Poplar, “Thelen eee 15 Peanuts a Foot Long....... 43 Perennials Defined.......... 19 Perennials, Time to Move.. 17 Plant» Distribution ssseee ee 110 Plants Glandular eens 90 Plant) -Phylat oa. 113 Plants that Seldom Fruit... 39 Plants, The Productiveness OF kis Re Sh see 41 Plants. vatalityva ots 114 Pond) ily; =“ellowe eee 40 Pollination of Datura....... 45 Poplar, Carolina, Name of...17 Proliferous Venus’ Fly-trap 65 Ramis sce eee 64 Richweed and Woodchucks. 13 Roots, Direction of Growth LY OES oN Oe REE 82 Roselle sea eee 68 Rudbeckias, Mutating....... 87 Rudbeckia Hirta, Names of. 42 Sassafras and Other Teas.. 84 Sawlog, The Sudden....... 15 Seed Dispersal in Cassia... 44 Seed Dispersal in Polygo- 7A E GG 0 Uae he eo peMiae Manet: pretence mae rine 115 Seedsnandmbioht. sea mereee 119 Seeds of Carolina Poplar.. 43 Seeds) sOrchid.2 =. joe 92 Seed iStudy. Sot.4 soe ee 89 Seeds Violetasa: jee 86 Seeds: Weed etecasnseees 118 Sphagnum, Spore Dispersal in a Sterile Soil, Plants and..... Stomata, Function Olde ae Sycamores, Injured..10, 90, 110 Teas, Sassafras and Other.. 84 Wriliiunas. yiellowaeeee cee 14 Tree Roots and Grasses.... 40 Variation, Hybrids and...... 112 Wieed2Seeds oe aa ree 118 Vegetative Reproduction.... 66 Venus Fly-trap, Pooliferous. 65 VioletSeedsi.. = s..ctaneeoins 86 Wirescens in Oxalis)...22.0. 116 Water Clover; IDhe......-.. 10 Weigelia, Color Changes, in 11 Wildflowers, Cultivated..... 16 | vor.13 SEPTEMBER, 1907 No.1 The AMERICAN _BOTAN IST CONTENTS. THE BLAZING STAR - - - - - - | By Willard N. Clute, A NEW BOTANICAL GARDEN - - Gt Sa Bar Mrs. Cora E. Pease. FALL FRUITING OF THE CINNA- -MON FERN |. - - - | | THE SPURGES | | By Dr. W. W, Bailey. | NOTE AND COMMENT - _ |, EDITORIAL | _ BOOKS AND WRITERS "WILLARD 5 a CLUTE & CO. _JOUET, ILLINOIS . Ghe American Botanist is * * A MONTHLY JOURNAL FOR THE PLANT LOVER bs *. Issued on the 15th of each month except July and Avegue eee WILLARD N. CLUTE 333 EDITOR | Be a SPECIAL NOTICE.—This magazine is issued in two half-yearly vol- ‘umes of five numbers each. Subscriptions $1.00 a year. All subsriptions must ~ begin with a volume. To avoid the loss of numbers to regular subscribers, © ithe magazine is sent until we are notified to discontinue and all arrearage paid. JNo one receives the magazine free except by special arrangement.. SAMPLE COPIES.—One cannot, always judge of a magazine by a single number. Those who receive extra copies are asked to give them a careful — examination. We know when a plant lover becomes familiar with the contents of this magazine he invariably becomes a subscriber. A single number may often be worth more than is charged for a year’s subscription. The full set is almost a necessity to the plant student. WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., Publishers, 309 Whitley Ave. Joliet, Til Entered as mail matter of the second. class at the post office, Joliet, Ill. THE AMATEUR NATURALIST 78" The only Popular Magazine devoted exclusively to general Nature Study oe that is untechnical, yet scientifically accurate. It publishes the things you Se want to know about plant life, birds, animals, insects, minerals, etc., and inter- esting discoveries in astronomy, chemistry, geology, physics, and other. natural sciences...Subscription, 50 cents a year. CHAS. D. PENDELL, PUBLISHER. ASHLAND, ME. bast Sid E. IF YOU LIKE THIS NUMBER American Botanist Remember that more than seventy bther numbers have been pub- lished, just as entertaining and instructive, and just as desirable to read. They never get out of date; facts never do. A complete set of the Magazine is a botanical library in itself. The 1,200 pages contain up- wards of 2,000 articles and notes. We offer the set of 12 half-yearly — volumes for $5.00 post paid. The articles are ACCURATE, the illustra- tions are EXCELLENT, and every number of PERMANENT INTER- EST. Get a set before they are gone. ——= Special Offer—— If you would like to see more of the magazine before dubactibiae® send us 25 cents and we will send you 12 different numbers. There are no complete volumes in this offer; it means simply 240 pages of good reading for a quarter. This sum may be deducted from the price of a complete set if ordered later. WILLARD N. sees & CO., ‘Joliet, Til. THE BLAZING STAR.—Lidtris Scaviose. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST VOL. XIII. JOLIET, IEL., SEPTEMBER, 1907- No, 1 THE BLAZING STAR. BY WILLARD N. CLUTE. HE flora of the prairies has long been reputed to be one of the most beautiful in existence. Throughout the spring and summer months there is a succession of handsome flowers that submerge the grasses beneath waves of color and rival the best of other regions, but it is not until autumn draws near and one after another of these blossoms give way before the advancing army of composites, that the prairies really prove their claim to the possession of the finest flora in the land. The golden-rods and asters of other regions are here, the bonesets, the rudbeckias, the iron-weeds, and others com- mon to the low grounds farther East flourish, but to their numbers are added in this region many that are frequently known only by name to the inhabitants of New England and the Middle States such as Lepachys, Echinacea, Coreopsis, Actinomeris, numerous species of Helianthus and last, but by no means least, the blazing stars. The pioneers who called these plants blazing stars were extremely felicitous in their choice of terms. When one comes unexpectedly upon a clump of these plants with their purple blooms borne high on slender stems above the grass-like leaves they seem a very constellation, indeed. Quite in keeping, too, with this picturesque appellation is the name of gay feather by which other species are known. Man, however. is too utilitarian to simply admire; he must endeavor to find uses for even beauty itself, and so we have certain species called button snake-root and rattlesnake-master from their reputed THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. ci) paver to cure the bites of the rattlesnake. The generic name Liatvis meaning invulnerable, also alludes to this belief. {here are several members of this family common to the West. When not in bloom most of them so nearly resemble open grassy places and natural meadows of the South and the grasses among which they grow as to pass unseen. Even tiiose whose radical or lower leaves are lanceolate show their velationship to the others by producing grass-like leaves on the stem. Underground also, they are much alike, the stems springing from a hard, dark tuber-like organ, which pro- duces tufts of roots from its lower surface. Gray calls it a corm or tuber and there seems to be no doubt that it is a form of stem though frequently called a root. In the largest speci- mens it may reach the size of one’s fist, but the plants begin to bloom when their tubers have become half an inch in diam- eter and thereafter yearly increase both the size of the tuber and the number of flowering stems until the latter sometimes number more than twenty. The most showy of the common species are probably Lia- tris spicata and L. pycnostachya. They often produce trusses of flowers two feet or more long. L. spicata has the larger flowers and is further distinguished by having obtuse scales while in L. pycnostachya they are acute and squarrose. Liatris scariosa, shown in our illustration, has roundish flower-heads the bracts of which are tinged with purple. While still in bud it is quite as fine as many other flowers when in bloom. L. squarrosa has a general resemblance to this species, but it is not as tall and the involucral scales are pointed andspreading. It also extends farther east than any of the others, reaching the Atlantic coast in some places. These two species are the ones usually called blazing stars and L. scariosa is also called gay feather and button snake-root. It is one of the tallest of the genus, often reaching six feet in height. A fifth species L. cylindracea is not so conspicuous as the others. Its flower- THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 3 heads, though large, are few in number, but make up for lack in numbers by remaining in good condition for a long time. The flowers of all the species are remarkably alike in color, but a color not easy to describe. Purple is a general term for all flowers of a similar color but these would be scarcely called purple. They remind one both in shape and color of the flow- ers of the ironweed (vernonia) thought they are never to be confused with that plant even at a distance. The plants seem to prefer dry, gravelly soils but will thrive anywhere and are extensively planted in parks and other decorative plantings. A NEW BOTANICAL GARDEN. BY MRS. CORA E. PEASE. WILD Botanic Garden having many distinctive features has been established within the past year by the teachers of botany in the city of Minneapolis. From year to year these teachers found it more difficult to procure plants for study in their classes, often having to take the train to distant local- ities at wasteful expenditure of time, money and energy for rare things, as pitcher plants, orchids, sundews, ferns, etc., that once grew within the city limits. A section of unimprov- ed park land containing a tamarack swamp, a bit of meadow and of woodland appealed to them as very desirable to pre- serve in its natural condition for the beginning of a wild botanic garden. They had no difficulty in interesting the State University, the Park Board and public spirited citizens in their scheme, so that the desired land was set aside for the garden; to be protected and all necessary labor to be done by the Park Boad, while the teachers have the control of its management, including, of course, the plan of planting. A minute topographical survey of the land has been made, so that what is already growing, and what is to be planted can be mapped out on every foot of the ground. It is intended to 4 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. avoid all artificiality of treatment. Sometimes when a partic- ular species grows in great abundance, a portion may be re- moved to make space for something more desirable, but there is to be no trimming into special shapes. Plants are to be allowed to grow as they will, not as people may will them to grow. As far as possible the garden is to be representative of the flora of Minnesota, the introduced plants to be set out, as nearly as the conditions will allow, as they are found growing in their natural environments. Thus the garden is designed not only to teach systematic botany, but also ecology and for- estry, and to demonstrate that our native plants are as beau- tiful and decorative as those introduced from abroad. The garden has been enclosed by a fence, and vines plant- ed to trail over it in this order: woodbine, clematis, honey- suckle, wild grape, bittersweet and smilax interspersed with moonseed, (menispermum) yam, apios and hop. Most of these vines already grew in the garden and were simply transferred to the necessary localities. Fallen and decayed limbs have been removed, and stepping stones placed in the bog. Before long it is hoped to annex an adjacent section of land containing a brook which will be planted with the for- get-me-not, cardinal flower, orchids and other brook-loving things. A watery depression in the bog is to be enlarged to a small pond for other aquatic plants. The teachers are formu- lating still other ideas for enhancing the beauty and scientific interest of the garden. Each year graduating students will place with appropriate ceremony some new plant in the garden as a class memorial. Sixteen species of trees are naturally growing in the en- closure, the most abundant being tamarack, the white and the yellow birch, black ash and hop hornbeam. There are about twenty-five species of shrubs, including cornels, cherries, sumacs, viburnums, willows, shad-bush and red-berried elder. Among the most interesting herbs already established are or ' THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. pitcher plant, sundews, linnaea, cypripediums, gentians, miter- worts, gold-thread, trilliums, wild buck-bean, marsh marigold, dwarf cornel, clintonia, wild calla, grass of Parnassus, violets and meadow rues. The most abundant ferns are the clayton, cinanmon, sensitive, maiden hair, bladder fern (fragilis), lady, fern and botrychium (Virginianum). The swamp is rich in mosses and lichens. . The teachers of botany in Minneapolis have certainly un- dertaken a most fascinating and important work if only they succeed in saving in a natural condition the wild things al- ready established within the garden. One can hardly compre- hend the result of extending its flora until it includes that of the whole State. Not only the young people passing through the schools, becoming participants in the work, will be incalcul- ably benefitted, but it will be of great pleasure and profit to mature citizens also; for a bit of natural growth is a source of greater delight to the true nature lover than the most beautiful and most highly cultivated formal garden could ever be. Malden, Mass. FALL FRUITING OF THE CINNAMON FERN. LTHOUGH the cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) is one of our most abundant species, it is quite apparent that we do not know all about it. It has an interesting trait of fruiting in the autumn in the southern States, and as yet no explanation of this peculiar habit has been given. That it normally fruits in spring there can be little doubt. In southern Louisiana I have thus found it in March, and Mr. W. C. Dukes writes me that in the vicinity of Mobile, Ala., he finds it in full fruit by the last of February, and occasionally some fronds by the middle of that month. In the same line the observations of Mr. W. C. Steele for Florida indicate that the plants fruits there in spring. It is among the earliest of our 6 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. ferns to fruit, and in its farthest southern haunts begins to grow shortly after the new year begins. In February, 1900, I collected it in fruit near Guava Ridge in the Island of Jamaica at an altitude of about 3,500 feet. The difference in altitude between this station, which, by the way, is the only one in Jamaica, and the Florida station would equalize the difference in latitude between the two. Thus the fruiting impulse may be said to begin in the West Indies and the Gulf Coast in February, passing over the southern States during March, reaching the northern States late in April and going on into Canada in May. The second fruiting season appears rarely, if ever, to reach very far north. Mr. Steele has noted it in Florida, and in a recent publication Mr. A. A. Eaton says (doubtless incor- rectly) that “Its common time of fruiting appears to be early November, as it was in full fruit in the middle of the State at that date, and bore no indication of fruit in March, save in the case of one plant.” Mr. W. C. Dukes found them fruit- ing about Mobile, Ala., at least three weeks earlier. He, too, found the fruiting general, and says, “I have run across col- onies where scarcely any failed to develop a fertile frond. In one place I counted over fifty plants fruiting, but noticed that the fronds were not so robust as those found in spring and not as tall. As to the cause of the fall fruiting the suggestion made by Mr. Dukes seems to offer the best explanation. He observes that the fall fruiting seems to be most prevalent in those years when summer extends far into autumn. The rains that follow form a second spring-like season, beguiling the ferns to fruit. It would be interesting to know just how general the fall fruiting of this species is, and how far it extends northward. Do the ferns fruit every year in autumn? Do the same ferns fruit again in spring? Do all, or nearly all, the ferns fruit in THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 7 autumn? Are there more fruiting fronds produced in autumn than in spring? If our readers can give answers to any of these questions, we shall be glad to have them.—IVillard N. Clute in Fern Bulletin. rE Sr URGES: BY DR. W. W. BAILEY. MONG the plants annually sent the writer for determina- tion, none 1s more frequent than the cypress-spurge. It seems the infallible ill-luck of beginners to meet with the od- dities and freaks of nature, and even the trained botanist meets with few greater eccentricities than those of the genus Euphorbia. With the confidence which comes of a few lessons under a competent master, the young student, though constant- ly warned that he may meet with pitfalls and barbed wire in his course, proceeds with confidence to tackle what the old hand puts aside for a very rainy day. Dr. Asa Gray used to remark of Euphorbia that properly constructed ones were put in South Africa or other remote lands, in order that the man of science should have his knowl- edge properly tested. The botanist was first, on data presented by the species he familiarly knew, to build up a theory, which later would be confirmed by discovery. The trouble with Spurges—and the Spurge family in gen- eral—is that nature has played with them many varied tricks of omission, and again, has exalted things usually trivial into bodies or organs superficially resembling parts of common occurence in other plants. She seems to have put to herself the problem of how to form a flower unlike any other, and with as few parts as possible. Yet, when one looks at a spurge or any of its congeners, he never doubts that he has a perfect and complete flower. So far as stems and leaves go, there is, as a rule, nothing peculiar. Most of the plants possess a milky, acrid juice, in 8 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. some species, like croton and castor oil, of great medicinal value. Hence we sometimes hear them called milk-weeds, but as a matter of fact, they are not related at all to the beau- tiful genus Asclepias. Let us look at our common cypress spurge (Euphorbia cyparrissas), aS a type. It is an introduced plant found in old country cemeteries or on waysides near older houses. It rarely wanders far away, but like the tawny day lily loves the old home and colonial story. It grows in bunches or clusters, generally less than a foot high, with numerous linear stem leaves. Those nearer the flowers are heart-shaped. The flow- ers are arranged in umbels. Let us look at one of these. Mark Twain used to say of New England weather, that the observer and prophet was pretty confident till he came to our borders, ‘Then see his tail drop!’ With our spurge the beginner is toplofty till he gets beyond the umbels, when, as modern slang has it, he “wonders where he is at.” \What ap- pear to be flowers consist of cup-shaped involucre, looking like a calyx or corolla—and even so called by old authors. This cup bears thick, yellowish glands in its notches. Within the cup are two kinds of flowers—numerous male ones, con- sisting each of a single stamen, with anther sessile on the flower stalk—and jointed thereto. There are no floral en- velopes at all. A single female flower, consisting only of a three-celled ovary, on a long pedicel, projects from among the staminate flowers, and like them, has neither calyx or corolla. To resume, what appears to be a collection of single flowers in an umbel, is a group of inflorescences each imitat- ing a flower—and each consisting of many male and one female blossoms. The joint in the flower-stalk shows where the calyx and corolla should be, and where in certain confirmatory exotics they really are. Let the reader now understand that we have described but THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 9 ene species of a single genus of a very large family. Its freaks, queer enough to start with, are played upon in a hun- dred different ways till they become the dread even of the pro- fessional. Take examples from the one multiform genus Eu- phorbia. How could we ever imagine that the splendid Poin- settia with its long scarlet bracts, or the snake-like Euphorbia of hothouses, or the very pretty “snow on the mountains” of our Western States, or the little weedy ones suggesting purs- lane, and growing between bricks in a pathway, were not only of one family but one genus. While the recognition of a plant as a spurge is not difficult, to relegate it to its proper po- sition in a system, or still more to describe it, will test one’s utmost skill in taxonomy. One curious fact should be added, namely, that in hot dry desert regions in the old world, they re- place the Cacti of the New and imitate their concentrated forms. Providence, R. I. FERNS AND LiMeE.—It is often assumed that all ferns love limestone and that certain species will not thrive unless in a soil of this nature. This was once said of the walking fern and it is still the custom to mix limestone, old plaster, etc., with the soil in that part of the fern garden where these ferns are to be placed. But since this idea became current the walking tern has been found on a large number of rocks that contain no trace of lime, and at present not a few believe that the teason for the occurrence of some ferns on limestone is the same as the reason for certain plants growing in alkaline soils or in deserts, namely, that they cannot hold their own against the tenants of other soils. Not only is this true that many ferns are not lovers of lime, but there are some species that cannot endure it. Lomaria Spicant and Cryptogramma crispa are reported as unable to survive if watered with water con- taining much lime.—Fern Bulletin. (=. a i : NOTE AND COMMENT | WaNTED.—Short notes of interest to the general bot- anist are always in demand for this department. Our readers are invited to make this the place of publication for their botanical items. It should be noted that the magazine is is- sued as soon as possible after the fifteenth of each month. A Nature Stupy Socrety.—Prof. M. A. Bigelow, Teach- ers College, N. Y., has undertaken the formation of a society for the advancement of all phases of nature study and the co- operation of those interested in the work is requested. Prof. Bigelow will be glad to have them communicate with him at the address given. THe WaTER CLover.—There never can be rules for the making of common names. The common people will call the plants what they please. In the Garden Magazine we find Marsilia quadrifolia called water clover, a name that is quite descriptive, although Marsilia does not belong to the same grand division of the plant world that clovers do.—Fern Bul- letin. INJURED SyCAMoRES.—Commenting on Mr. Elwyn Wal- ler’s note in the June number of this magazine regarding an injury to the sycamores (Platanus occidentalis) in New Jer- sey apparently due to frost, Mr. Chas. C. Plitt, notes the same appearance in the vicinity of Baltimore, Md. The editor, also, saw evidences of the same thing in Connecticut, later in the season. ‘The injury seems to be very widespread, but as was suggested in the first note, it is due to bacteria and not frost. We are confirmed in this by Dr. M. A. Bigelow of the Teach- 10 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 11 er’s College in New York who writes that the dead leaves were caused by the attacks of a fungus parasite. So far as we could learn in summer the only effect of the parasite upon the trees was to give them a temporary check. New and vigor- ous branches had risen above the zone attacked. This disease has not long been reported from America and at present has not reached the Middle West, so far as we are aware. HABITATS OF CYSTOPTERIS FRAGILIS.—There are few ferns in the world more widely distributed than the common bladder fern (Cystopteris fragilis). It has been reported from Alaska, the West Indies, Cape of Good Hope, New Zealand, China, and Europe. Its predilection for moist rocks is well-known and in regions where such habitats are to be found, the fern is rarely found elsewhere, but in the woodlands that border the streams through the prairie regions of our Middle West, where no rocks are to be found, the fern grows in the soil like the lady fern usually does. In such woods this fern is usually the most abundant species, and frequently is the only fern to be found.—Fern Bulletin. CoLor CHANGES IN WEIGELIA.—An interesting bush often found in the old gardens is Weigelia rosea. When its flowers open they are nearly white but they soon change to rose-color, hence the specific name. Several of our American bush honey- suckles (Diervilla) are closely related to weigelia and it is interesting to note that all have the same trait of changing color. The common bush honeysuckle (D. trifida) opens cit- ron-yellow and later turns to red or scarlet, D. rivularis opens yellow and turns to dull red, D. sessilifolia opens citron-yellow and changes to a deeper shade of yellow, the lip becoming orange. In all the lower lip of the flower is most deeply col- ored. It is supposed that these changes of color in the flower are due to pollination and have been evolved as an aid to the visiting insects by showing them which flowers have been pol- 12 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. linated. The change, however, is doubtless due to a differ- ence in the cell sap at different ages in the flower and would probably occur whether the flower was pollinated or not. If the insect is a gainer in the matter it is simply his good for- tune. FERNS AND Droutu.—lIt is-well known to botanists that drouth is very effectual in causing plants to flower and fruit, and the same thing seems applicable to the fern-worts. The behavior of the various species of Marsilia are quite in ac- cordance with the rule. When growing in plenty of water they rarely fruit at all. Fruiting specimens must be looked for among the dilapidated specimens in drier ground. The same is true of Pilularia and the species of Jsoctes. Some of the so-called “‘terrestial’”’ species of the latter fruit at the begin- ning of the dry season, and then drop their leaves, but if sup- _ plied with water throughout the year do not drop their leaves and rarely produce spores. Other species fruit late in summer when most likely to be exposed to drouth. The fact thus illus- trated is of wide application among the ferns, and may have an influence upon the production of such forms as Onoclea sensibilis obtusilobata and Osmunda cinnamomea frondosa. Many have conjectured that the last mentioned form is due to a fire sweeping through the locality, while others claim to nave found specimens where there were no signs of a forest fire. Drouth at the proper season, however, might account for both occurrences. Prof. Atkinson has held that the obtusilo- bata forms of Onoclea and Struthiopteris can be produced at will by removing the early sterile fronds, but: some of those who have tried to duplicate his results have been unable to do so. It may turn out, after all, that dry weather must be taken into account in producing such forms. Many other hab- its of ferns point to this theory. Practically all tropical ferns fruit at the beginning of the dry season, and our own ferns, with few exceptions, fruit when their habitat is the driest. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 13 Everybody is familiar with the fact that specimens growing in dry ground or in sunlight will be more fruitful than speci- mens of the same species in shade and moisture. The whole subject is worth a careful investigation.—Fern Bulletin. RICHWEED AND Woop-CHucKs.—Readers of Thoreau’s “Walden” will recall that he early discovered the wood-chuck’s fondness for beans for they nibbled off clean a half acre of his crop. Almost any plant may form food for this sly inhabitant of our fields but he has his preferences in the matter of diet as all of us have. Mrs. E.- J. Smith, New Britain, Conn., sends us specimens of richweed or clear-weed (Pilea pumila) with the note that this is one of his favorites. ANTIQUITY OF THE GINKGO.—The maidenhair tree (Gink- go biloba or Salisburia adiantifolia) is one of the most inter- esting of trees. While it belongs to the division of the plant kingdom in which the pines, spruces and cedars are found, its leaves are broad and flat and, as both the common and one specific name suggests, are much like the pinnules of the maidenhair ferns. The tree is also worthy of notice because of the fact that it will grow in smoky regions where few of our common trees will thrive. It is apparently the only sur- vivor of a race that once flourished over a wide area. Re- garding this feature we quote as follows from Veitch’s “‘“Man- ual of Coniferae.”” The existing species is the sole survivor of an unknown number of others widely dispersed during geological ages over what is now the temperate and colder parts of the northern hemisphere. Fossil remains of Ginkgo have been discovered in systems that show its ancestral form antedates that of every living tree. It thus presents to us at least one form of vegetation that flourished on the earth when it was inhabited by unwieldly icthyosauri, gigantic toads and monster deinotheriums ages before man entered on his inheritance.” 14 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. YELLOw TRILLIUMS.—Dr. W. W. Bailey writes regarding our recent note about yellow trilliums that he has twice seen a yellow form of Trillium erectum; once on Mt. Wachusett and again at Fredericton, New Brunswick. In the latter case it persisted for years. FASCIATED CoMposITES.—We have recently received a fas- ciated specimen of the common ox-eye daisy (Chrysanthe- mun leucanthemum) sent from Ulster County, New York, by Mr. Elwyn Waller. While fasciation has been reported in many other plants, the composites seem especially prone to it. In some years or in some localities the black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) affords many curious examples. Several years ago, the editor of this magazine described and figured various forms in Mechan’s Monthly. In one the flower-heads were consolidated, but some of the stems were not, showing very plainly that the specimen was not an unusually large flower-head, but was really several heads joined in one. YELLOW FLOWERS FROM RED OneEs.—The idea that we may expect white forms of flowers in those species with flowers cf red. yellow and blue is as old as botany itself. The reverse, however, is not so certain. Most plants whose flowers are not normally white nay produce red flowered forms, but blue forms of white flowers are exceedingly rare. In a majority of cases, the red flowers are due to the presence of a substance called anthocyan. If but a trifle is present the flowers may be pink; 1f more, deep red or dark purple. This coloring is not confined to the flowers, but occurs in the red and brown tints of leaf and stem, and a superabundance causes seeds and fruits to be black. Underlying this red color and closely con- nected with it, is a yellow hue and when, by any chance, the red is absent, the yellow comes out and becomes the dominant color. This is the explanation of the many yellow berried THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 15 forms of plants whose fruits are normally red. Thus the holly and winter-berry (J/ev) have yellow fruited varieties, and so has the belladona whose fruits are usually black. The yellow trilliums that are reported from time to time are with- out doubt due to this cause. If red were not such a rare color in our flora, it is probable that numerous other yellow forms would be known. Since white flowered forms are due to the absence of all color, it would seem that the red and yellow usually fade together for white forms of red flowers are much more abundant than yellow ones. THE SuppEN SAawtLoc.—The so-called North Carolina poplar, a tree believed by some to be a distinct form of poplar and by others to be merely a staminate cottonwood, has the reputation of being the fastest growing tree in America. It is common to find trees that have attained heights of fifty feet in fifteen years. But even this marvellously rapid growth is both literally and figuratively put in the shade by the black or Norway poplar (Populus nigra) of Europe. According to Forestry and Irrigation a tree of this species has been known to grow to a height of 20 feet with a diameter of four inches at the base in three years. The tree has been called the “‘sud- den sawlog”’ and comes pretty near deserving the name. THE PopLar.—This tree always comes to mind when the editor reads in Longfellow’s “Voices in the Night’ the lines “And all the broad leaves over me Clapped their little hands in glee With one continuous sound.” It is almost worth while planting a poplar near one’s dwelling for the cool sound of its rustling leaves in summer which move with the slightest breeze. The Roman’s called some species of poplar, arbor populi and this is said to have given the name Populus to the whole genus reappearing in another form in the common name. There are many, howey- 16 . THEFAMERBICAN: BOTANIST: er, who would derive the name from the popping sound made by the leaves. A still more appropriate derivation would be from the old word popple—to move quickly up and down, as a cork on the waves. Popple certainly has some connection witli poplar, but whether popple was derived from poplar or the reverse is beyond our ken at present. CULTIVATED WiLpD FLowers.—The people who do not stop to think—and there are many such—assume that there is some fundamental distinction between the flowers of the field and those of our own gardens. One class they are accustomed to call wildflowers, the other ‘‘tame” or cultivated flowers. But cultivation means something more than growing plants in a garden. Plants, like men are not cultivated by mere growth; there must be improvement as well. A wildflower that has been brought into the garden and made more valuable by deepening its color, increasing its perfume, multiplying its flowers or increasing them in size, is truly cultivated. We may even agree that doubling certain flowers is a phase of culti- vation, but not all double flowers are cultivated, if by the term we mean improved. Imagine a double orchid, or iris! A double sweet pea or snap-dragon or columbine is simply a monstrosity, but a double rose, buttercup or daisy need not be so stigmatized, for in the first case, the beauty of the flower depends upon its form and in the second it depends in a measure upon the multiplicity of parts. The cultivated flowers, then, form but a small part of our garden flowers. The others may still grow wild, somewhere, and even the cultivated flowers were once in that condition. The parent of the “golden glow” rudbeckia is still most plentiful along our streams and swamps, its few-rayed flower-heads giving no visible hint of the relationship existing between them. A better division of the flowers would be into the native and exotic species, the exotics being all those that are not native THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 17 to our own particular region. When we investigate our flow- er gardens with botanical manual in hand we soon find that many that we prize most highly, if not native to our own re- gion, are native to the next state or county. Yet there are many who consider that a plant has no beauty if it grows wild in the fields. We find a good illustration of this in a paragraph from a current nursery catalogue as follows: “We have recently received a long and indignant letter from a cus- tomer who complains that many of the plants we had sent him were wild-flowers, some of them growing in his own neighborhood. Two of the things he complained of were dogwood and Lilium superbum. Surely these fine things are none the less fine because they grow in many places. If we could find sufficient variety in the wild growth of our neigh- borhood we would give it the preference, as it would be certain to thrive in our climate and soil. Our customer complained that we fooled him with high-sounding names. Now we are not responsible for the names and we do not want to fool any- one, but we fear we must continue selling wildflowers.” THe TIME To Move PERENNIALS.—A friend who culti- vates many of our wild plants in his garden told the editor recently that he had discovered the proper time to move peren- nial plants. When asked when this time was, he _ replied “whenever you find them.” There is a great deal of truth in this statement. Ordinarily gardeners, it is true, prefer to move plants in the late fall or early spring when they are dor- mant, or nearly so, but nearly any plant can be moved in full flower without loss if the cultivator will but take the necessary care of the plant until it gets settled in its new location. The essential things to be observed are to get as many of the roots as possible, to keep them cool and moist while out of the ground, to lose no more time than necessary in replanting, to shade for a few days if the sun is hot, and to water the plant 18 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. if needed. The editor has moved many plants the past sum- mer, often when they were in full bloom without the loss of a single one. Plants to go a long way by mail are best sent in spring or fall, but in moving them from the field to your home, any time will do. BIENNIALS ARE RARE PLANTsS.—A writer in a recent num- ber of Nature Notes holds that there are no true biennial plants and insists that if left to themselves all plants that are not strictly perennials will reproduce themselves within the year. The contention is that the reason our carrots, parsnips and the like are biennials, that is, take two years to come to maturity and ripen their seeds, is because we hold their seeds back in autumn and do not plant them until spring. In the regions to which they are native the seeds fall from the plant in autumn, begin to grow and enduring the winter as seed- lings ripen new seeds within twelve months. That they appear adjusted to two years of life by reason of the nourishment which it is their habit to store in the taproot is no criterion, for the radish which fruits within a quarter of a year, has this same habit. It is well-known, as bearing on the subject, that certain annuals may be made to live in two years by sowing their seeds too late for fruition in one, while other annuals may be made to simulate perennials by preventing all fruit- ing. - But casting aside all the plants that are not true biennials, according to our definition, we still have the century plants that are neither, annuals nor perennials but that still require several seasons for growth. These are usually called plur- annuals. No doubt many other plants may be found that after all, seem to prefer two seasons in which to grow. At present a biennial is usually defined as a plant that requires two years in which to come to maturity. We may have to modify this and put it that a biennial is a plant that prefers the warmer parts of two years to come to maturity. THE. AMERICAN BOTANIST. 19 No HornseaAM TREES.—Those who speak of hornbeam trees are guilty of tautology for the word beam itself means tree. We see the same idea in the word, boom, applied to parts of a ship, and in the beams of our houses. Even sun- beams are said to be derived from this source. PERENNIALS DEFINED.—There is no doubt about a tree being a perennial. Year after year the same trunk puts forth new leaves, adds new twigs and for many years increases in height and girth. With the so-called herbaceous perennials, however, whose parts that carry them over the season, are under ground the case is quite different. Many of them are true perennials, and put new stems each year from identically the same underground parts, but there are many other plants called perennials, that produce new parts each year from which the plants arise. Most of our lilies are of this kind and so are the adder’s-tongues. A single bulb of the common yellow adder’s-tongue (Erythronium Americanum) may, at the end of the season, be two or three bulbs, none occupying the place of the original bulb. Such plants might almost as correctly be termed peculiar forms of annuals. Our UNSTABLE FLorA.—In botanical works we often read of the “struggle for existence’ among the plants, but a casual walk in the fields seldom reveals evidences of the struggle. This struggle is always going on, however, the big plants trying to choke out the little ones, the dry ground plants crowding the marsh plants and these latter in their turn usurp- ing the habitats of the true water species. But when any of these become supreme in a locality, winners of the fight, as it were, they are victors only for a time. Rainfall, wind, sun, cold and many other agencies are constantly though slow- ly changing the very land itself and what is now the ideal habitat of a plant may in a few centuries hence be quite un- 20 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. suited to it. The tendency of all land areas is toward one of the other of two formations,—grassland or woodland. It is not a mere matter of chance which it shall be. A meadow in many parts of the Eastern States would not forever remain meadow if untouched by man. Slowly one tree after another would come in and at length it would become forest again as it was when man took up his residence in the region. On the contrary, the prairies of the Middle West would probably always be grass-land. Man, himself, finds it difficult to keep trees growing upon them. Such forests as are planted do not tend to reproduce themselves. It is a region in which grass is to be supreme. ORIGIN OF THE NAME LINNAEUS.—The world having re- cently celebrated the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of the great Swedish botanist it is interesting to record the origin of the family name. It is well known that the Swedish people in general have no family names, the son of Sven Carlson being known as Ingemar Svenson and the latter’s son as Carl Ingemarson. When anyone rose above the mere peasant class it was usual for him to select a new family name and in this way Nils Ingemarson, the father of the botanist, when he entered the “gymnasium” took the name of Nils Linnaeus from a celebrated linden tree (Tilia Evropaca) in the vicinity. This linden tree was very old and large and was regarded as a holy tree by the peasants. Pefore ‘Linnaeus was born, two uncles, brothers of his grandmother. had also taken a family name from this same tree, calling themselves Tiliander, from the Latin for linden and the Greek for man. Still another branch of the family called themseives i mdelius. thus the tree bore at least three family namcs as well as its own fruit. The origin of the word, linden, is equally interest- ing. ‘he Latin word for flax is Jinuwim and the.word tor thread spun tiom Jinwit was naturally line. The thread: ike inner THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 21 bark of the linden tree readily suggested the name it now bears. The tree is also called lime tree and this name may be traced to the same source as the others. It was formerly line-tree. HELPLESSNESS OF CULTIVATED PLANTS.—We rarely real- ize how helpless man has rendered the plants he cultivates by the centuries of protection from their weed enemies that he has given them. An experiment that well illustrates this point was made on one of the Government farms some time ago. A field about one acre in extent upon which wheat had been grown for forty years in succession was not harvested but allowed to stand and shed its seeds as it would. The next year a fair crop of wheat came up but the weeds were gaining the ascendency and by the fourth season all the wheat had disappeared from the field and the weeds held full sway. If man should suddenly disappear from the earth it 1s certain that his cultivated crops would soon follow him. And yet these very plants held their own against their competitors before man took them under his care. The reason they can no longer persist in the face of competition is not alone because they have grown weaker, but in a measure because the weeds have grown stronger. In protecting his crops man has constantly killed out the weak and least persistent weeds and only those were left to perpetuate their kind, that were able to elude man himself. One species, the self heal (Prunella vulgaris), which ordinarily grows a foot or more high has produced a variety so low that it is able to thrive on a closely mowed lawn. Dar- win never considered the lawn-mower as one of the factors of evolution but undoubtedly this yankee invention has played its part in the great struggle. EDITORIAL “Lest we forget’? we say again at the beginning of a new volume, that this magazine is not issued in July and August. During these two months, the editor, like the bee, goes in search of flowers and such sweets as he discovers are brought home to enliven these pages during the winter months. We can fairly promise that the present volume will be the best one yet and we hope every subscriber will send us at least one new name to add to our list. There are plenty of people yet who have never heard of this magazine. When everybody knows about it our circulation will allow us to give twice as many pages for the same price. Help the work along by mentioning the magazine to your friends. * * * In every issue of this magazine are articles or notes which we would like our brother editors of the gardening and horti- cultural press to see. In the immense mail that most of them receive, these small items are likely to be overlooked, and we shall therefore begin with this issue sending marked copies of such items to all. If any of these notes appear worth reprint- ing or commenting upon, we trust that credit will be given this magazine for them. x * * Not long ago, a subscriber to the Nature-Study Review stopped her subscription because she could borrow a copy of a friend, and in a letter to the editor asked who received the profits from his magazine. To this the exasperated editor replied that thus far the magazine had not only failed to make money but in three years had cost him individually about a thousand dollars. The editor further intimated that he did not intend to stand such an arrangement much longer, but that is because he has been an editor for only three years. Af- 22 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 23 ter a longer apprenticeship with pencil and shears, he will begin to realize that his case is not unlike that of other editors in the same line. The trouble with all of us is that there are not enough people in this country interested in our varicus specialities to form a remunerative subscription list. We Americans are fond of boasting of the intelligence of our citizens, but the intelligence of the vast majority does not go far beyond mere animal acuteness. After intelligence comes culture and as a nation we are as yet far from being a cultured one. We have a fair number of cultured individuals and it is to this steadily growing circle that publications dealing with things entirely aside from bread and butter or mere en- tertainment, must appeal. The editors of the scientific period- icals of the present are in a very literal sense pioneers and subject to quite as many hardships, though of a different na- ture, as were ever experienced by those rugged folk who clear- ed the forests and subdued the wildernesss of the New World. In botany, at least, there appears never to have been a publica- tion devoted to plants and their surroundings until the advent of THe AMERICAN Bortanist. Agricultural and gardening magazines have flourished for many years, and some few periodicals devoted to descriptions of new species or investiga- tions of their minute structure have attained a respectable age, but in ecological botany this magazine seems to be the pioneer. We cannot expect, at present, more than enough subscribers to enable us to pay the printer’s bills, but we do expect to keep right along in this line until we have made a permanent de- mand for such a magazine. The editor is personally acquaint- ed with many of his subscribers and almost without exception they are people of influence in their respective communities. And he is pleased to fancy that their interest in real botany is an indication of the qualities of mind necessary in such positions. New Books for Winter and Spring The following list contains many recent books in addition to those better known. They will be sent postpaid at the prices quoted. We can supply any other book at publisher’s prices. Reviews of those marked with a star will be found in American Botanist. *Seed- Dispersal. Beal! sc Sse eee = oe oe eS phe eee ee ieee $ .40 *Seed' Travellers” Weed. ..00.: sue cnet cs 2 oho teint Be ee eee .30 Howto Know the Buttertiies, Comstock cia, so soca cea ear 2225 *Species: aid! Varieties: by Mutation “DeVries: S920) Jem er oe eee 5.00 ihe Booked «the Uris) lynch 260.05... snes dee oe a: See eee eae 1.00 +Shiet Boole of thet (aliyays Goldirinie:. csv ee a ee ae eee 1.00 ‘The Book on the Wild Garden. “Hitzhienb ett cease eee: aera 1.00 TheaBook of Shrubsa. (Gordon...5:... 152. locus. (heen ne eee 1.00 ‘lalonw, wor leamony, NNGIlGl Neekin LEncllese bo osc acosueoucaccnucscscactoonsansse 150 ANMouhtarm VWWaildtlowenrs @L Aunertcas \ rlenshiaws eeece se eerie en Lea 2.00 =Otr Northern Shrubs. ikeeler (io3¢cscct coheed oe ee eee ee 2.00 @ur Native (irées, Keeler oe ie. ethic. ce soe a Aree ee 2.00 ‘Plant Breedings’ DE€Vites 220. 262 cee n+ oe Seek ae ee eee 1.60 EMVGtH) the. Trees: (Goines... 2... Se eke eae eae ee Oe 1.00 With the Wildflowers: “Going: .22522..645. 22 u ree = omnes Oe sete eee mene -T he Book vol Vegetables: “French = is 2.5- .. ta. ones ea tae chhe Garden Wonth by, Month. “Sedgewick >-—o..-maaee aoe poe aoe eee 4.00 “Plante are tn Canadav (Parr... 25.0 sete ees econ eon ce ee 2.00 Ciudecto. the Treés— Iouwnsberty 0225.25 os a oe ioe eee 1.75 Guide store, Wildilowers, “Wounsbenty 222.) -2-.45- ee oe eee 1 +Southern? Walddowers: and Trees.: Lounsberry .. 292. 225 ee ee 3.50 bield=Book or Amenican Waldilowesgs. ~“Miatthewsy ane. acre eee eees low; ton kenow the= Wildilowers: [Danas 2 een. ee ee 2.00 a Nccondimes ito ocason: * Wanlay oc. 5c COE oe ee eee Asis Nenodinisland “Waldilowers; Batleys -= .- 2-425: see eee ao eee eee 705) Bio tamizime ns AS alley eek ea Maes eke Sant ka cen atone) ake Geena SCE re one Oe ee oe, Blossomepelosts and amnsect Guests.) (GiloSomiy se eee eee ene 80 Grays Wianaaiall. 9 ety artes cas nee a cs hems ee ke GS ee faves Wicodes: Class BOOlkmnOt IBOtariys -5.2s0te at Ge ousce i cee pa eee 2725 Brittoms: Miamitrall sce. 8 2c. ops osc a er eee ea oe Re a eee POEs RG TEE nn Ohi Haven Syonnirlleigitensuentesy asumneillilOr, wesecs soc ble Gar ouese oem u sho Souaneso- 4.00 Books on Ferns, Mosses, Etc. Ope Tsrms, ae enc lems, (Cite sose6sdooneseue SARS eA EEP WD eI Se ae 2.00 Sheri Allies Ob oNortm “Acmerica-ae Cliuitemers.i ee eames ier bats eee 2.00 Kerm:Collector's (Gide. ei Clibel sa5 ses er goes cere eee em cee ics onl 2.00 iemnsy< , Waters G26 5.5.8. 4720 Aas Me ee OE an eae eee oo 3.30 DWew sbneland: Fers-and) Allivess (Hastniam ees. ole. oc eee eee es: Mowers, Grows -Slossont: .2 5 Sac caer ices ace ek 4.00 Howitorknow siesiennss | M2amGoTiSmes ear eer ten ek ee a ee lere Dy One Native: Térnsen Underwood! 225 tee teat in oo ea ee 1.00 Kerns and>Kern (Allies of New. Englands Dodge <2... --.) ...3).:5 eee 50 = Vrethodsum Mosse study. jaVliayraair ci ae crereie rn ote foots eee 1.25 Moulds: Mildews and Mushrooms. Underwood ]..4-....-..---.554- Puen ot DO Plonmneies sinh iiGroms inal Iinene® lekeayormes. Wien? 5.554-censdsesncccoa- ce eecace 2.50 IOCM I Naocenamlgbevenh, IuicliIhvenbMe va; ooucorepeeoauscoueunouao be ecdaeeecccss- 5.00 Test=Book. of Lichenolosy. Schneider t 4.227. See. ee eee 4.25 Special Offer When The American Botanist is ordered in connection with any of the above, the subscription price will be 80c. Address all orders to WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO.,, Joliet, Il. 3 Comments on the exper- iP lant. Breeding iments of BURBANK & NILSSON. By Hugo DeVries, Professor of Botany in the ‘University of Amsterdam. Pages, XIII by 351. 114 Illustra- ~ tions. Printed on fine enamel paper. Cloth, gilt top, $1.50 nets fi. by postpaid. (Ts. 6d. net.) ; under the influence of the work of Nilsson, Burbank, and others, the principle of BS 1 iat has, ‘of, late, changed its’ meaning in practice in the same sense in which. it is _ changing its significance in science by the adoption of the theory of an origin of species ae by means of sudden mutations. The method of slow improvement of agricultural varie- _ ties by repeated selection is losing its reliability and is being supplanted by the discov- ery of the high practical value of the elementary species, which may be isolated by a single choice. The appreciation of this principle will, no doubt, soon change the whole iq ie of agricultural plant breeding. Ate ‘Hybridization is the scientific and arbitrary combination of definite characters. It does not produce new unit-characters; it is only the combination of such that are new. ‘From this point of view the results of Burbank and others wholly agree with the theory of mutation, which is: founded on. the principle of the unit-characters. This far Teachion agreement. between science and ‘practice is to Decome a basis for ‘die ‘further development of practical breeding as well as of ‘the doctrine of evolution, To give aha of this assertion is the main aim of these essays. THE OPEN a PUBLISHING CO, 1822 Wabash Ave. Chicago, U.S. A. Methods in Moss Study Price $1.25 Of the several books which I have written, none 5 ? appear to be better appreciated by the public than Bents’ Prices... fo sae this little book on Mosses, which is intended.as a r - | text book ‘for beginners. These very attractive Everybody reads. ‘more than one pape may be found at all seasons, but there is no | S ine. You can get yours at less etter timc than late winter andearly spring. Send for circular. C J Maynard 447 Crafts St. 'West Newton, Mass. Ske feitee ane one THE FERN BULLETIN hi 4p eal Sr ae of the whole mat- 32 pages, quarterly. We will send AMERICAN BOT. | Now in its 15th volume, isT: ($1.00) and any other dollar Notes on rare ferns a specialty. ine apok one Aehd 2) for: on 60, a Portraits of Fern Students. Helps for the Beginner. m Index to Current Literature. ah “SPECIAL OFFER, : _. Fern-floras of the States. ‘Wehave arranged with TECHNIC- | Check-list of American Pterido- phytes. A ; WORLD MAGAZINE, to send Monograph of Equisetum. full year with AMERICAN Illustrations of rare Ferns, | BOTANIST for $1.80. The Technic- | Only Fern Magazine in the World. Vorld Magazine is the finest illus- Official Organ American Fern So- Fe ciety. . : trated: magazine published | on the sub- | ~~ "5 CENTS A YEAR Nay ect of applied science, Alone it costs Biyaripus valbares Outiok ptict % Our ‘combination price repre- Next ten for sale at Tic each. A set of the ten for $6.00. Only a few sets left, Order now. ~The Fern Bulletin. Joliet, TH. et il, Do you want some beautiful plants wenich you ‘can turn loose in fo) _ 50 ee eee Califoratoua! (cream) "5 cents. 50 Aaah Bcalente ne pants sort, 50 cents. OUR FERNS IN THEIR HAUNTS, by Willard N. Pak pate, 333. pages. 225 illustrations. Hight. colored plates. © ‘Contains the only il lustrated key ever published, and a full account of all the ferns of Eastern America. The species can ‘be. identified by the illustrations, alone. More copies of this. ote are sold animal than of am Deer Price post paid, $2.50. THE FERN ALLIES OF NORTH AMERICA, Wy Willard N ‘Clute ‘Octavo, 250 pages, 150 illustrations, eight. ‘colored plates. A companion volume to “Our Ferns in Their Haunts”, containing a full account of the scouring rushes, club-mosses, quillworts, selaginellas, water-ferns, etc., etc., in North America. Seven keys to the species, | A check list with. synonyms. The only book on the. subject in the | English language, ‘ Listed in the New York Siate Libeaty list hain ‘The ani inners of 1905. Price Pest paid, $2.00. ey SPECIAL OFFERS Either volume and a year’s subscription to American Botanist. aa epee hah | Either volume and a full set of American Botanist, (10 volumes) .. B00) rit Both volumes to one address. + i nae oh dc sah REM AUN RP RUM Oe sais es o79 Bi | ' Both volumes and a year’s subscription to Aiwbdean ‘Botanist-. Both volumes and full set of American Ie ibigees ay ibe niegees Address all orders to ouR. PR RAIRIE SUNFLOWERS | a ‘By, Willard Ne Clute. “FLOWERS OF iA DRY LAND. -7 72% a By Charles Francis Saunders. - SOME A AFRICAN FLOWERS - By Dr. W, Ww. Bailey. CONCERNING WILLOWS _- mse a BY, Frank Dobbin. "BREAKING INTO BOTANY. ak By. boas A Wilkinson NOTE AND COMMENT ) EDITORIAL : | 0G _ BOOKS J AND WRITERS 4 lake 8 ie OGhe American Botanist sss A MONTHLY JOURNAL FOR THE PLANT LOVER Sth ol Issued on the 15th of each month except July Lod August “WILLARD N. CLUTE 333 EDITOR er ar ee SPECIAL NOTICE.—This magazine is issued in two’ \ele-eaelh vol umes of five numbers: each, Subscriptions $1.00 a year. All subsriptions must — begin with a volume. -To avoid the loss of numbers to regular subscribers, — the magazine is sent until we are notified to discontinue and all arrearage Date No one receives the magazine free except by special arrangement. _ SAMPLE COPIES.—One cannot always judge of a magazine by a single number, Those who receive extra copies are asked to give them a careful — examination. We know when a plant lover becomes familiar with the contents. of this magazine he invariably becomes a subscriber. ,A single number may often be worth more than is charged for a year’s subscription. The full set is almost a necessity to the plant student. WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., aes ics 309 Whitley Ave., Joliet, “TL. Entered as mail matter of the second class at the post office, Joliet, UL < THE AMATEUR NATURALIST "gms" The only Popular Magazine devoted exclusively to general Nature Study — that is untechnical, yet scientifically accurate. It publishes the things - “you — want to know about plant life, birds, animals, insects, minerals, etc., and inter- esting discoveries in astronomy, chemistry, geology, physics, ant other na Sciences... . Subscription, 50 cents a year. CHAS. D. PENDELL, PUBLISHER, ASHLAND, ME. IF YOU LIKE THIS NUMBER American Botanist Remeniber that more than seventy other numbers have been pub- lished, just as entertaining and instructive, and just as desirable to read. They never get out of date; facts never do.. A complete set of the * x magazine is a botanical library in itself. The 1,200 pages contain up- =} wards of 2,000 articles and notes. We offer the set of 12 half-yearly © volumes for $5.00 post paid. The articles are ACCURATHE, the illustra~- tions are EXCELLENT, and every number of PERMANENT INTER: ly 4 EST. Get a set before they are gone. — Special Oilers a : If you would like to see more of the magazine before sdbseribingt send us 25 cents and we will send you 12 different numbers. There are - no complete volumes in this offer; it means simply 240 pages of good- reading for a quarter. This sum may be deducted from the Pres of a. complete set if ordered later. WILLARD N, CLUTE & CO., Joliet, Ill, Se Helianthus Gros THE AMERICAN BOTANIST VOL. XIII. JOLIET, 1EL., OCTOBERS 1907. No, 2 OUR PRAIRIE SUNFLOWERS. BY WILLARD N. CLUTE. HE name Helianthus, by which the sunflower family is known among botanists, was very evidently given to the plants in allusion to the resemblance of their flower-heads to the sun, for when the word is dismembered it is seen to consist of the Greek words helios, the sun and anthos a flower. The circular clusters of disk florets and their surrounding halo of yellow ray-flowers are certainly near enough in appearance to our conventional idea of the sun to merit being named for it, and it is quite possible that the two kinds of flowers found in each head, the ray-flowers and disk flowers, have also received names from this resemblance, but the plants have other traits that link them with the god of day and with other forms of blossoms might still be sunflowers. Many of them set leaf and flower to face the sun in the early morning and as he slowly describes his arc through the sky they as stead- ily follow and face him. Since one is supposed to grow like what he contemplates, it is pleasing to fancy that this turning toward the sun through the long ages of sunflower evolution has been the determining factor in giving form to the blossoms. The sunflowers were the original fire-worshippers. Few plants, at least in our part of the world, love light and warmth more. By right they should all come into full bloom on mid- summer day instead of opening their blossoms so late in the year that there is barely time for ripening their seeds before frost. Theirs is the full enjoyment of summer, however, and during the hot season they wax strong and vigorous—putting up their tall stems that are later to be crowned with their 26 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. splendid clusters as a_ possible farewell to their favorite season. When we recall the sunflower nature it is no surprise to find the race most abundant in the dry prairies of the Mid- dle West and in the barrens of the Southern States. A cloudy and dripping sky has no charms for them and but few have adapted themselves to the conditions necessary to the exten- sion of their range to the Atlantic seaboard. To those who have never seen the prairie species, the word, sunflower, usually calls up the image of that coarse denizen of back yards and ash-piles Helianthus annuus. This, however, is regarded by many as an interloper in our territory, proper- ly belonging in Brazil, and no more to be considered typical of the race than the average Brazilian would be of our own. In the typical prairie sunflowers, the disk is reduced to the minimum and the chief glory of the flowers resides in the long and broad ray-flowers. From tip to tip of the rays, the flow- ers are often more than five inches across and of this diameter the disk seldom occupies the space of an inch. Great diver- sity of branching is found in the various species. Some bear only a few large flowers at the top of the stem, others branch from the very base, making a tall pyramid of bloom. The brightness which the sunflowers give to the early autumn days, has made them prime favorites with the gard- ener. Various species, but these not always the best, are to be found in the catalogue of every up-to-date nurseryman. One of the most frequent is H. orgyalis a fine plant whose long, very narrow leaves makes it most conspicuous among the other broad-leaved members of its tribe. Another species that presents as great a contrast is H. mollis with broad downy leaves of silky softness. The majority of the species are rough and harsh to the touch, and Helianthus scaberrimus, as its name indicates is the roughest of the lot. Its heads are of medium size and have brown disk florets instead of the THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. nw ~ usual yellow ones. Another species in all the dealers’ cata- logues is H. maximiliani. It is a fine late species well worth planting. The Western sunflower (H. occidentale) whose medium sized flowers have a tinge of orange in them is the least leafy of our native sunflowers. In sterile soils the leaves are practically all at the base, and the slender stems, often five feet high bear several flower-heads on stalks so fine that the flowers seem floating in air. The name of showy sun- flower is given to H. laetiflorus and it is well deserved. In this group of showy species the descriptive term could only be applied to something out of the ordinary. Its sole imper- fection is that its flowers are comparatively few in number. Helianthus giganteus, as its name indicates is a gigantic spe- cies as to stature, with flowers not much inferior to those of H. laetiflorus. It is often confused with several species that at first glance seem identical with it. One of these, how- ever, H. grosse-serratus need never be mistaken, for taking all things into consideration it is our handsomest native spe- cies. The stem is smooth and glaucous, branching profusely and covered in September with a multitude of large bright yellow flower-heads. The leaf is peculiarly serrated and the plant may be identified when not in flower by this single characteristic. The accompanying illustration, much reduced, was made from a small lateral branch springing from the axil of one of the stem leaves. The plant grows to a height of eight feet or more and when in full bloom is exceeded in beauty by few plants, wild or cultivated. FLOWERS OF A DRY LAND. BY CHARLES FRANCIS SAUNDERS. 7° the Eastern herborizer, used to a country where the ab- sence of rain for three weeks is akin to a calamity, the Southern California landscape in September before any winter rains have fallen and after four or five months of drought, is 28 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. surprising 1n the abundance of its plant life in flower. These autumnal bloomers are not the struggling starvelings that one might naturally expect a drought-baked soil to produce, but cheerful warriors of the sun, sturdy and full of vim, brought up—the perennials at least—to hunt deep and far for water— not supine waiters for it to be poured upon them. As a matter of fact, however, after a normal winter rainfall, the subsoil loses its moisture quite slowly. In digging some post- holes, as I have been doing recently, I have had to break the hard, dry surface ground with a mattock; but at twelve to eighteen inches down the earth becomes appreciably damp, while at two feet it is mellow enough to be easily tilled. So the thirsty roots have less distance to delve than one might imagine. This robust autumn flora does not as a rule excite the admiration that the delicate beauty of the spring flowers awakens; nevertheless I find it of exceeding interest. From the veranda where I write, I see stretches of unbroken land densely covered with the tall, wand-like, leafy stems of Heter- otheca grandiflora, one of the commonest of autumn flowers here and near cousin to the golden aster of the East. Topped with panicles of bright yellow blossoms, patches of it present at a distance somewhat the effect of goldenrod. The latter is here somewhat of a rara avis, but we occasionally come upon one species (Solidago Californica)—truly a rod of gold, the flowers being borne in long, slender spikes. Very abundant at this season is a tall, snaky looking com- posite, with slender, leafless branches darting this way and that, bearing of mornings small, bluish white stars of bloom like depauperate chicory flowers. Indeed until I examined it critically one day, I took it for granted that it was some species of Cichorium; but it is generally different, being the closely related Stephanomeria virgata. The flowers close at midday, and in the afternoon the branches become more or THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 29 less showy in the sunshine with fluffy balls of pappused seed poising for flight. A composite characteristic of the deserts of Eastern Cali- fornia, not infrequent in the sandy washes of the hills near Pasadena and which makes a bright show in the September sunshine, is Lepidospartum squamatum. It would be a boon if someone would give it an easy common name, for it is too much to expect the non-botanical to be interested in a name like that. It grows in clumps, the mass of stiff, green branches being leafless like so many dormant sticks, but when the flow- ers appear—rayless but the disks a vivid yellow—the bushes are changed, as by a Midas touch, to gold. Unfortunately for the posy gatherer, the plant exhales an insidious, disagreeable odor not unlike soap-fat, and a glorious bunch that I picked for home decoration on the day of my first acquaintance with the flower, had to be dropped as soon as plucked. Another beautiful composite that blooms only after the dry season is well under way, is Senecio Douglasti, whose graceful, lemon-yellow blossoms, the size of half a dollar, surmount a plant as graceful with grayish green, finely cut foliage. But showiest of all the composites is the sunflower— the same Helianthus annuus that forests the levels of the Middle West with its stout, arboreal stems and supplied the old time Indians with fuel, food and hair oil. Out here on the Pacific Slope, it makes cheerful thickets along washes and by neglected roadsides, but I have never seen it attain the luxuriant growth it reaches in Kansas and Nebraska “sloughs,” where it overtops a man on horseback. Besides composites—and there are many more of such dry weather lovers than I have space to enumerate—there are now abloom several interesting plants of other orders. One that fairly dyes the dry plains blue in many spots is a species of blue curls (Trichostema lanceolatum) with the curious curled stamens so prominent in the Eastern a bushy annual 30 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. species of the same plant, and with a peculiar, heavy, terebin- thine odor which is not unpleasant if you happen to like the smell of furniture polish. More agreeable to most olfactories is the minty aroma of its cousin, Monardella lanceolata, which grows in similar situations, and bears neat little heads of rosy purple flowers. The fragrances of the plants of arid regions make a study in themselves, and lend a special poetic touch, I think, to a tramp through the wild places. Only a few are positively disagreeable to everybody; most are pleasant, and some are delicious. The leaves of the California Sage (Ar- temisia Californica), which comes into bloom in the fall, give out a particularly exquisite aroma when crushed. As its spicy incense arises from beneath my feet or carriage wheels, my spirit joins with that of the ancient Hebrews who gave thanks to God, that among other blessings, He had sent them sweet perfumes. Pasadena, California. SOME AFRICAN FLOWERS. BY DR. W. W. BAILEY. ELIGHTFUL as it must be to see new countries and to study different peoples, travel, itself, is often deterrent. Given even those coupons upon which utter freedom of action is dependent, there are many annoyances incident to journeying which make one quite content to stay at home. “Apart from mosquitos, flies, tarantulas, scorpions and creatures of larger and more determined mien, there is that miserable survival, the custom house in some countries, the passport in others. If not confronted by imperative officers obdurate to the blandish- ments of a cigar, a paternal government receives them on their return as hardened malefactors. Hence one concludes that it is pleasanter to travel by paragraph than by passage; by lines of print than by lines of railway. By this means, or by steamer, one escapes all sorts of aggravations and dangers, short of THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. Ba! accident, and allows the writer to do the hard work and to incur the nuisances and perils while he, himself, luxuriantly enthroned in his easy chair enjoys the comforts. To be a proper cicerone, however, the writer of travel should not only be a natural as well as a skilled observer, but should possess an agreeable and grapic style so that what he seees the reader also observes and what he concludes may be considered it authoritative. There are writers of voyages and travels over whom one falls into uneasy sleep. They lack even the power of inducing dreamless slumber. Others there be who delight us from title-page to colophon; we wonder, in- deed, how they can make so much of so little. Such a writer is Sir Harry Johnson who, a few years since, gave us those sumptuous volumes “The Uganda Pro- tectorate.’’ It is not our province or intention at this late day to review this grand work, but to merely call attention to some of its botanical features. Lesser libraries cannot possess it, nor can the ordinary reader and student, so some account of its contents may be useful. Let us call attention to some of the more remarkable plants mentioned. First among these everywhere in the dense forests about the Nyanza lakes is a perfectly gorgeous species of Erythrinie, a genus of the pea family represented by some handsome plants in our own Southern States. This African kind pro- duces beautiful clusters of orange or flame-colored blossoms on the familiar style of Wistaria and Laburnum. In the low- lands, also, along the lakes is everywhere seen the graceful pa- pyrus, the plant which should be apotheosized by the press as the origin of paper. Marion Crawford in his “Rulers of the South” describes it as growing about the river Arethusa in Sicily and as being no longer found in Egypt. However that may be, it is common enough on the Upper Nile where its umbrella-like tufts are a charm forever. Africa is a country of surprises. Only a few years ago 32 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. we were told that Tanganyka was the highest mountain on that continent. Now, almost under the equator are found the sublime Ruwenzori a range about thirty miles in length rising to 20,000 feet in altitude. This tremendous height. surpassing the Swiss Alps, it will be observed, is not so very far short of the Himalayas—except their very highest peaks. To conceive of these figures, let one remember that Mt. Wash- ington is but a little over 6,000 feet—a mole-hill to these grander mountains. The equatorial situation of the Ruwenzori carries its flora to a great height and gives one a grand opportunity to study altitudinal zones as contrasted with those of longitude. Nat- urally at the middle elevations it assumes a temperate char- acter, while the sub-alpine region is carried far above the alpine or even lifeless districts of our higher hills. One finds buttercups, for-get-me-nots, brambles, sunflowers, anemones and the like as high as 10,000 or 15,000 feet above the sea. Mingled with the familiar temperate types, however, are pe- culiarly African forms. Most startling to the reader, as they must be to the observer, are giant Lobelias, from ten to fifteen or twenty feet in height. Fancy a cardinal flower be- coming almost a tree—and clothed with gorgeous flowers. They are not unique in flowers alone, but most extraordinary in appearance. As the long-pointed dracaena-like leaves fall in succession the lower part of the stem is left bare, so the plant, with its tuft of foliage and flowers looks precisely like a dragon tree, the shape of the blossoms, alone, giving it away. This is a very suggestive fact. It shows how types have persisted for countless ages all over the world and how envir- onment has acted to differentiate them. Also it points out conclusively that some time or other, in an extremely remote period, there was more intimate connection of lands than now. Even the tyro in science recognizes a Lobelia, be it here or THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. ew oo there, the type is pronounced and nearly unchanging. It is in less important details, as stem or leaves, habit of growth and height that time and surroundings have effected a modifica- tion. Africa is the special home of the heath plants, not neces- sarily Ericas or Callunas but their natural relatives. The Cape region is particularly full of them but in the mountains of Uganda they assume an arborescent form and beauty. Here, too, are tree-like groundsels, and cinerarias. Those of the Ruwenzori are yellow, but there are whole fields of the re- lated Emulias, purple or lavender in color. Space does not permit anything like an exhaustive account of the many plants described or figured in these volumes, like the splendid Spothodea or the huge Euphorbias. The country is a paradise of color in plants and birds. Yet, strange to say, the author tells us that it is all lost on, at least some tribes of natives. They appear color-blind, or at least indifferent to its charms which is, to be sure, another thing. In the eden-like lower country, so that the picture may present a reverse, is found the puff-adder, graphically figured as “death.” Its bite is absolutely fatal in an hour or less. In consideration of such a creature, we are confirmed in our belief that for us, arm-chair travel is the most desirable. Brown University, Providence, R. I. CONCERNING WILLOWS. BY FRANK DOBBIN. N taking a stroll in the country, especially if it lead near a stream, one cannot fail to note the number and variety of our native willows; varying all the way from a shrub three or four feet in height to a tree seventy or eighty feet high with a bole sometimes three feet or more in diameter. Of wide distri- bution, the willow may be found from the forests of Florida 34 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. to the frozen wastes of arctic America, where it is reduced to a small matted shrub a few inches in height. The grace and symmetry of their foliage add much to the beauty of our winding streams and make them desirable trees for planting where there is sufficient moisture in the soil to insure their growth. Not less are they valuable for planting along streams where the rapid current is likely to tear away the banks. Their extensive root system binds together the soil and in a measure checks the inroads of the stream. In attempting to identify the species of willow inhabiting any particular region one must be constantly on the lookout for hybrids, as many species hybridize freely with others. In this respect they resemble the oaks but probably hybridization is more frequent between them than between members of the genus Quercus. Perhaps this may in a measure be accouted for by the large amount of pollen produced by each staminate tree or shrub, and the ease with which it is carried by the wind to the waiting pistillate blossoms of other individuals. The first willow that one beginning the study of the genus would be sure to notice would be the shining willow (Salix lucida) its beautiful shining leaves appearing as if coated with varnish, making it a conspicuous tree wherever it grows. Un- fortunately it is not common, at least in most localities. The white willow (S. alba) is another noticeable tree, having its leaves covered with a white, silky down. It is an introduced species and said to hybridize with some of our native willows. Another foreigner which has now made itself thoroughly at home with us, is the crack willow (S. fragilis). This is a tall, handsome tree which was planted at an early day in eastern Massachusetts from whence it has widely spread. It no doubt gets its name of crack willow from the ease with which the twigs may be separated from the main stem; only a slight blow being sufficient to break them off. After a hard storm in which the branches are threshed by the wind, the ground THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 35 under the tree will be found thickly strewn with the broken twigs. One of our most common willows is the one known as Bebb’s willow, (S. Bebbiana; S. rostrata). Yt is a shrub or small tree and unlike most of its relatives it is often found growing in dry situations, sometimes on rocks where the soil is poor and scanty. It is easily recognized and when once known need not afterward be confused with other willows. The heart-leaved willow (S. cordata) is a shrub sometimes reaching a height of twelve feet and can be recognized by its large serrulate and persistent stipules. This species is said to occasionally cross with the glaucous willow (S. discolor) the latter a fine, large-leaved species having the under side of its leaves glaucous and nearly white, and making it easy to rec- ognize at a distance if the wind be blowing enough to turn the leaves. Another species not easily mistaken is the prairie willow (S. humilis), which has pubescent twigs and long leaves, with slightly inrolled margins, covered beneath with a dense, grayish down. In swamps and bogs one sometimes meets with the small hoary willow, (S. candida), usually not more than five feet in height. This is a rarity with us, and I know of only one sta- tion where it inhabits a sphagnum bog along with some of our native orchids and other rare plants. Perhaps the most common of all the shrubby forms is the silky willow, (S. sericea) which inhabits swamps and the mar- gins of streams almost everywhere from Maine to Michigan. Of tree forms probably the most abundant is the black willow (S. nigra) or its variety falcata. This is a beautiful tree and well worthy of preservation. Its narrow scythe-shaped leaves and its graceful manner of growth make it a conspicuous tree along our river courses. Time and space would fail me to speak of all the numerous forms of this interesting group of plants, but its species are of 36 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. such wide distribution and grow in such abundance that their study is comparatively an easy matter to all who have access to field and stream. Shushan, N. Y. BREAKING INTO BOTANY. BY T. J. WILKINSON. LLOW me to make a few suggestions that may be of in- terest to beginners in botanical knowledge, taking my own case as illustrative of the matter. Some years ago I found that a knowledge of the flora would add interest to outdoor life and with this in view I purchased some of the popular hand-books on flowers but soon found they were not what I wanted. I purchased some of the older botanical text books (Wood’s, ete.) and then learned how to make plant analysis and in correct botanical language. This ended my second year in pursuit of flower knowledge. Next spring with note book in hand I commenced a more scientific campaign. I wrote in botanical terms a description of my new finds, then with Gray’s Manual in hand I traced the plant and made much progress. Some plant problems were unsolvable but each season I attacked the unsolved problems of the year be- fore and some I succeeded in solving, while many I did not. A few of my problems I asked the Academy of Natural Sci- ence to solve and Mr. Stewardson Brown always kindly as- sisted me, but as I dislike troubling others I kept up my inves- tigations of the book store and finally located Britton & Brown’s “‘Illustrated Flora.” This I purchased early in the summer and it is to this 3-volume publication that I am most indebted for renewed interest and added knowledge. It solv- ed the difficulties of an untrained, undirected amateur, and has given me the key I long wished for. I do not think any one with a love for the science would misuse the Britton & Brown volumes; by this I mean just turning the pages to find the picture of the plant in hand. An intelligent plant analysis is far more interesting but after THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. ise) ~ deciding from Gray’s or Britton’s Manual the name of the plant, then as a court of appeal turn to Britton & Brown. Philadelphia, Pa. [Mr. Wilkinson’s account of his efforts to get acquainted with the plants will have a familiar sound to a large number of our readers. It is the road many of us have traveled and the same that many others have before them. Our schools and colleges are teaching botany, but it is not the kind of botany that is calculated to make the general observer more deeply interested in the flowers. Ordinarily the botan- ical course begins with seeds and seedlings and runs on through the form and structure of roots, buds, stems and leaves, until the beginner, who took botany because he thought it had something to do with flowers, begins to wonder whether flowers are a part of botany. From a pedagogical standpoint there can, however, be no criticism of this course as compared with the older study of plant analysis and flower dissection. The province of school botany is not to produce botanists but to train the observing and reasoning powers of the pupil, give him exact ideas of the structure and evolution of plants, and perhaps incidentally to inculcate an interest in the plants as individuals. The botany that the general public is inter- ested in—the public that buys such books as “How to Know the Wildflowers’’—is seldom taught in up-to-date schools. It usually has to be picked up here and there as chance affords. It thus happens that nearly every town has several people who would be glad to take up the study of plants if they only knew how to begin, but who have become discouraged and have concluded that botany is not for them. To many such, the so-called popular flower-books like Dana’s “How to Know the Wildflowers,” Lounsberry’s “Guide to the Wildflowers,” Matthews’ “Field Book of American Wildflowers,’’ Henshaw’s “Mountain Wildflowers of America’ and others have partially opened the way to the subject, but all of these books have two 38 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. great drawbacks. They treat only of the showy flowers and they do not fit the student who becomes interested for going further. The only real way to become skilled in the identi- fication of plants is to get a scientific manual and begin at the beginning. ‘To those who would try this way we can recom- mend Wood’s “Class-book of Botany.” Any person of aver- age intelligence who will read through the chapters in this book and answer the questions at the end, will be equipped to identify practically any plant in his vicinity. Of course, like Mr. Wilkinson, he will find some problems hard to solve, but continued study will give the power to solve them. The “Tllustrated Flora’? mentioned contains illustrations of all our flowering plants and is excellent for reference but its price puts it out of the reach of many. It may be said, however, that no single book written will give one a complete survey of botany. For the mere naming of plants a good manual like Gray’s Manual or Wood’s “Class-book” is sufficient, but one who is making a dead set at naming the plants of his vicinity can look ahead to the time when there will be no new plants to name. Then what? When this question presents itself it is usually answered in one of several ways. The student may become a specialist in some line that attracts him, such as the grasses, carices, willows or hawthorns; he may turn his attention to the flowerless plants and devote his attention to mosses, ferns, fungi or algae; he may become a nomenclaturist and spend the rest of his days wrangling about the mere names of plants; or he may become interested in plants as living things—in ecological botany, if you will— and find the field of study ever widening before him. Then it is that he will find a new need for books and in time he will make place on his shelves for Kerner’s “Natural History of Plants,’ Goebel’s “Organography,”’ Lubbock’s “Flowers, Fruits and Leaves,” Rendle’s “Classification of Flowering Plants,” Henslow’s “The Making of Flowers,’ Darwin’s THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 39 “Origin of Species,” De Vries’ “Species and Varieties by Mu- tation,’ Henslow’s “The Origin of Floral Structures’ and many another of like merit as well as lesser works. Each one adds something to the botanical story. The editor’s library, which makes no pretensions to completeness, contains five or six hundred volumes on botany and would contain as many more if the circulation of this magazine was large enough to permit of his buying them. But knowing of the good things between the covers of those he already has, he is inclined to envy the students who have these things still in store for them until remembering what these same individuals have missed he is not sure that they should not envy him.—Eb. | PLANTS THAT SELDOM FRuIT.—The knowledge that the common white potato (Solanum tuberosum) seldom produces fruit, is so widely diffused that the barrenness of the plant causes no comment. Indeed, since the tubers in a measure function as seeds we have partially transferred the name to them. It is usual to speak of potatoes intended for planting as “seed potatoes.”’ Real potato seeds may be found, however, if one searches the potato-fields long enough, and from such seeds new strains of potatoes may be raised. The potato is not alone in its strange ways. Many other plants, of which the ground-nut (Aptos tuberosa) and lily-of-thé-valley (Con- vallaria majalis) are good examples, rarely produce seeds. It is noticeable that all such plants have other excellent and efficient means of propagation and it may be assumed that finding one method requiring less effort than the other they have gradually adopted it. When plants have more than one means of multiplying, as, for instance, seeds above ground and tubers or runners below ground, they usually subserve two distinct uses. Those below ground serving to multiply the plant in its own locality, and those above giving it a chance of gaining a foot-hold in distant lands. ee L NOTE AND COMMENT WaANTED.—Short notes of interest to the general bot- anist are always in demand for this department. Our readers are invited to make this the place of publication for their botanical items. It should be noted that the magazine is is- sued as soon as possible after the fifteenth of each month. YELLOw Ponp Lity.—Although the yellow pond lily (Nuphar advena) does not attract much attention now-a-days, it was once esteemed as a vegetable in this country. The In- dians ate great quantities of it and there are indications that they cultivated it in a certain rude way. The thick but porous rootstocks are the parts eaten. They are said to be slightly sweet and glutinous. The seeds seem to have been occasionally eaten, also, being first parched. Among the common names of this plant are splatter-dock, frog lily and brandy-bottle, the latter in allusion to the shape of the pistil. TrEE Roots AND GRAssES.—The well-known difficulty of keeping up a good lawn beneath trees, has usually been ascrib- ed to the shading of the grass, to the absorption of the moisture by the trees and to the withdrawal of the plant food by the tree roots. Some experiments recently made, however, seem to point to a more fundamental cause. In this competition of grass with trees it is not always the grass that suffers. In sev- eral cases trees were found to be very materially affected by the grass growing beneath their branches. On the other hand, not all trees have a harmful effect upon other plants though some certainly do. Potentilla fruticosa, a shrubby cinquefoil, appears to be unable to live in the shade of the butternut (Juglans cinera) though it thrives in the same locality under 40 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 41 other species of trees. In the case of the grasses it was found that certain species of trees, notably tulip, dogwood, maple, cherry and pine seriously checked the growth of grasses grown in their vicinity and this injurious effect seems to be due to the excretion of substances by the trees that are harmful to the grasses. PLANTING BuLzss.—Whether one be of the race dubbed “dry-as-dust”’ botanists or merely a flower lover he will make no mistake in planting at least a few spring flowering bulbs. Coming into flower, as they do, close on the heels of winter, no other flowers can take their place. There is quite a long period in early spring when these are the only flowers to be had. If one has a surfeit of the more familiar crocuses, tulips and hyacinths, he may find new delight in the less prominent blossoms like winter aconite, Tritelias. crown imperials, Chiono- doxa, Scilla, Camassia, and the hosts of others in every dealer’s catalogue. None of them cost very much and the interest and pleasure one gets from their appearance above the last snow- bank of spring is out of all proportion to their cost. THE PRODUCTIVENESS OF PLANTS.—It is estimated that the American corn crop for this year will be nearly three billion bushels, and the wheat crop 1s known to amount to more than five million bushels. These are but two of the many crops of fruits, roots and seeds that will be gathered and yet they all represent a surplus of over and above what the plants needed for themselves. Most astonishing of all is the fact that all these millions of tons of food products were made by the green cells of plants from the carbon dioxide in the air and the water from the soil. All animal life, whether man or lower types, are food destroyers and absolutely unable to produce food, even for themselves. The plants thus carry a double load and must make the food for all living things. One of the chief constituents of plant foods, carbon, exists in the air 42 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. in very minute quantities combined with oxygen to form car- bon dioxide. There is about three-tenths of one per cent of this in ordinary air and the plants have to sort over enough of it to make all the immense crops gathered by man and his little brothers in feathers and fur. NAMES OF RUDBECKIA HIRTA.—When a plant becomes common it soon gets a common name, or several of them. This is true of Rudbeckia hirta which within the memory of man has spread eastward from the great plains until there are few places in the Eastern States where it is not a familiar weed in meadows and along roadsides. In the North it has been dubbed yellow daisy, black-eyed Susan and ox-eye daisy, the latter more properly applied to Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, and in the South it goes by the names of cone-flower, nigger- head and golden Jerusalem. In some places it is called sim- ply rudbeckia, but by any name it would thrive as well. A New Cover WaNTED.—At a recent meeting of the Vermont Botanical -Club, Hi... M. Seely called) atten- tion to the fact that while red clover has an abund- ant supply of nectar, our domesticated nectar-gath- erer, the honey-bee, has a tongue too short to reach it. He therefore suggested that it would add greatly to the honey crop if we should breed up a race of red clover with shorter corollas in which the nectar would be accessible. By measur- ing the tongues of the bee it is found that the carolla would have to be not longer than twenty millimeters. It is probable that corollas of such length may be found in our fields at present and need only to be selected. The growing of such a clover would not be beneficial to the apiarist alone, but would greatly increase the tonnage of hay throught the increased production of seed due to the pollinating of the flowers by the visiting bees. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 43 LATE FLOWERING CaTALpas.—In this country, the catalpa trees are usually done flowering by the middle of July, but according to Nature Notes they flower a month or more later in England. Several trees are reported as blooming the first week in September. AN ALBINO CALopocon.—Three years ago I found a pure white flower of Limodorum tuberosum (Calopogon). I have never found one since nor have I ever read of an albino form occurring in this species. Does anyone else know of one?'—Mary E. Hatch, Cambridge, Mass. Peanuts A Foot Lonc.—The Garden Magazine does make some most astonishing breaks in its botanical informa- tion. In the October number it is stated that the long seed- pods of Catalpa speciosa look like peanuts and scatter seeds all winter and that the tree is not as showy as C. bignonotdes. This statement is quite true except that the pods have not the slightest resemblance to peanuts, the seeds are not scattered until spring, and the tree is the showiest of our native catal- pas,—at least in the region where the catalpas are native. SEEDS OF CAROLINA PopLar.—Of late years a hardy and very rapid species of poplar has been extensively planted un- der the name of Carolina poplar. Some contend that this is a separate species of Populus but most nurserymen are con- vinced that it is merely the staminate form of our common cottonwood of the Middle West. It is well known that the male and female trees of this species differ considerably in the form of the leaves. According to the Garden Magazine the Carolina poplar is objectionable because of the “silky pappus shed in summer,” but if, as the nurserymen aver, this is a male cottonwood it is a little difficult to see where it gets that silky pappus to shed. If any of our readers know of a seed- bearing Carolina poplar we would be glad to hear from them. 44 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. SEED DISPERSAL IN Cass1A.—The great pea family (Le- guminosae) has evolved numerous devices for the distribution of its seeds. The tick-trefoils (Desmodium) have a trait, so common among the composites, of catching into the clothing of animals for transportation, and various locusts (Robinia), while not able to produce samaras have, nevertheless, pro- duced winged fruits, for the pods split open and each half blows away with its quota of seeds clinging to it. Fleshy fruits, in the ordinary sense, are rare, but there are not a few species in which a part of the pod is made edible to the delec- tation of some mammal and the consequent distribution of its seeds. The great majority of the family appear to depend up- on the splitting of the pod to sufficiently scatter the seeds. In some this splitting is a tame affair and the seeds lazily tumble out on the ground, but in others the pods split with a sharp snap and jerk the seeds for some distance. This is true of partridge pea (Cassia chamaccrista) which is able to throw its seeds several feet by this means. The pods are so constructed that as they dry an unequal tension is produced and when this reaches the breaking point, away go the seeds. The force of the discharge is increased by the twisting of the pod which thus forms a veritable catapult. PLANTS AND STERILE SoiL.—lIt is apparent that botanists: have not yet got to the bottom of the great question why cer- tain plants grow in sterile soils. It 1s assumed, with pretty good reason, that some plants have taken up their abode in such soils because at least one phase of the struggle for exist- ence is less intense. Although the cactus has to provide for a drouth and resist evaporation, as well as protect its supply of moisture from thirsty animals it does not have to compete with grasses, and burdocks and many another plant that would crowd it in more fertile soils. There are other plants, how- ever, that seem to prefer the barrens and when removed to THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 45 good soil and protected from their enemies do not appreciate it. Of such plants, the butter-fly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) the partridge pea (Cassia chamaecrista) and the Western sunflower (Helianthus occidentale) may be taken as examples They will grow in good soils, but they are never so showy as when, contending with the inhospitable phases of nature. In good soils they run to leaves. Desert and alpine plants are well-known to have larger flowers in proportion to their size than plants in milder regions and if we are to make them at home in our gardens, we must not favor them too much. They are plants looking for trouble and not quite satisfied unless they find it. POLLINATION OF DatuRrA.—The fact is pretty generally accepted that the showy corrollas of flowers have been called into being for the purpose of securing the visits of pollinating insects. Certain it is, that plants without showy flowers are seldom visited by bees and butterflies and few if any wind pollinated flowers are showy. Notwithstanding this, the flow- ers of the common jimson-weed (Datura stramonium) seem to be pollinated before they open and so have no need of open- ing at all. The corolla is in one piece, as in the morning glory but the five petals that compose it are plainly to be traced. In the center of each petal, toward the base, is a long deep well of nectar, and as the flower opens it gives out a strong sweet odor that is unmistakably for the attraction of insects, and yet, if we look at the very instant of its unfolding, we find that the anthers are open and some of the pollen already shed upon the stigma. Unless pollen brought from other flowers is more powerful on the stigma than its own pollen, it is difficult to see how the color, nectar and odor serve the plant. ——_EDITORIAL The return of the “subscription season” always brings to us, along with sundry specimens of the “coin of the realm,” many kind wishes from subscribers for the continued growth and success of the magazine. This building up of a subscrip- tion list among people interested in our kind of botany is slow business, however, and we shall doubtless have to rely upon the co-operation of our friends for some time to come 1f the maga- zine is to be made in any sense a howling success. We believe that the kind of botany we are concerned with is ultimately to be the principal kind of botany but until that time arrives we shall have to make common cause and win adherents from those who at present are not enough interested in plants to subscribe for any kind of a botanical magazine. * Unless one has an independent income it is not possible to make a big magazine on a small subscription list. An appreciation of these facts has led several of our subscribers to take an active part in extending our circle of readers, and we greatly appre- ciate their good will. If readers generally realized that our success means a bigger and better magazine for them without increase in price, we are sure they would miss no opportunity of recommending the magazine to their friends. * * * It is very apparent that the establishment of a parcels post in this country would give a great impetus to gardening and horticultural affairs. At present a great deal of the money you spend with your florist and seedsman, goes to pay the needlessly high rates of postage. If we but had a parcels post, such as nearly every other civilized country has, flowers, seeds and fruits would be cheaper and certainly more abundant. As it is at present our government has established a parcels post with some foreign countries and it now costs less to send 46 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 47 a parcel from Chicago to Berlin, Germany, than it does to send it from Chicago to New York. The establishment of a do- mestic parcels post would mean reduced rates on botanical specimens sent in exchange and a reduction on the cost of such bulbs, seeds and plants as you may wish to purchase from the florist and nurseryman. Very little except good can result from an American parcels post, and we hope our subscribers will talk and vote parcels post until we get it. *K *K *K As 1908 approaches, increasing uneasiness is being man.- - fested by American botanists at the prospect of being obliged to describe all new species in Latin after that date as agreed at the Vienna International Botanical Congress. Of course only those are complaining who failed to become intimately acquainted with Caesar, Cicero, and the rest of the old Romans of their school days. Some are strongly insisting that as we are an English-speaking nation, able to look after our own flora, there 1s no need for us to obey this new rule, quite for- getting that if this is true, the Japanese, Russians and Persians have just as much right to describe their new species in their own language, much of which looks in print as if it were a cross between the alphabet and the multiplication table and is just about as decipherable as the label on a pack of fire- crackers. No, let us have the Latin and then even these En- glish-speaking, species-making, name-tinkering nomenclaturists will have to learn but one extra language in order to keep in the game. To most of us, whether we know anything more than dog-latin or not, the prospect of trading off French, German, Hungarian, Norwegian and Italian plant descriptions for descriptions uniformly in Latin, is quite attractive. Nor can we feel much sympathy for the scientists who for nearly a generation have confused and confounded us with the pro- teus-like changes of their “stable nomenclature.”” They may now get a taste of their own medicine. BOOKS AND WRITERS. Readers of Dr. E. F. Bigelow’s “How Nature-Study Should be Taught” will have no difficulty in recognizing the same point of view in his recently issued “Spirit of Nature Study.”” The book might be described as a bundle of sug- gestions for teachers of the subject. It will not tell them how to teach, but it ought to start several new trains of thought. The book contains many sound ideas mingled with much that is whimsical, but all told in a manner that makes reading a pleasure. A number of fine photographs of nature study classes in a proper environment add to the book. A. S. Barnes & Company of New York are the publishers. The fact that ecology is rapidly taking its place among the other branches of botanical science is indicated by the in- creasing number of books devoted wholly or in part to the subject which are beginning to appear. Old books are be- ing re-written from the standpoint of ecology and new books are dominated by it. One of the best of these books now at hand is Clements’ “Plant Physiology and Ecology” recently issued by Henry Holt & Co., New York. It is probably the first real attempt in America to make a book for college use along such lines. The matter is arranged under such heads as the water of the habitat, adjustments to water, light, tem- perature and gravity, adaptations to water and light, the ori- gin of new forms and much about plant distribution. The book is well written although the author shows great fondness for unusual scientific terms, and the “experments” outlined are, many of them, not experiments at all. The illustrations, 125 in number, are excellent and of much aid to the beginner in the study. The book is an octavo of 300 pages and is well worth a place in the library of all interested in ecology. 48 Choice Hardy Perennials - For Outdoor Planting Below we give a partial list of the showy wildflowers we are offering for fall end spring planting. They have been selected with regard to their decorative qualities and will be found among the best for planting in borders and herbaceous grounds. All are first-class, full size, strong, healthy plants with their tissues stored with reserve plant food. If planted now they are sure to bloom next season. Lepachys pinnata, Drooping Cone-flower. A tall plant with numerous large erect yellow flower-heads, the rays long and pendant. One of the earliest of the sun- flower type to bloom. Fine for the border. Liatris scariosa. Blazing Star; Gay Feather; Button Snakeroot. - Handsome plants with wand-like stems strung with globular flower-heads. Plant often five feet high with showy purplish flowers. Very attractive to butterflies. Will thrive in poor soil and bloom from August until frost. Helianthus occidentalis. Western Sunflower. One of the finest and earliest, blooming from July until September. Leaves nearly all radical. Flower heads borne on tall wand-like stems that make them seem to float in the air. Flowers medium size, golden yellow. Helianthus grosse-serratus. Tall sunflower. Absolutely our finest native sun- flower. Flower-heads often four inches across, the disk small and the rays long and showy. Reaches a height of ten feet in good soil, forming a perfect pyramid of bloom. Stems smooth, purplish, with narrow leaves which show off the flowers to advantage. Blooms in September and October. Helianthus laetifdorus. A tall slender species with few branches, bearing at top a cluster of very large flowers. Leaves ovate-lanceolate and flowers very showy. Fine for the border. Solidago rigida. Stiff Goldenrod. A large smooth-leaved species resembling the sea-side goldenrod (S. sempervirens). Flowers is erect panicles, large for the genus and the whole plant quite unlike the typical goldenrod in appearance. Heliopsis laevis. Ox-eye. A leafy-stemmed plant like a sunflower in appearance with-medium sized copper-yellow flowers. Excellent for the border. Silene Virginica. Fire Pink. One of the handsomest of the genus with flowers of vivid scarlet. Grows in sun or shade and not particular as to soils. Perfectly hardy. Blooms in June and July. Pentstemon pubescens. Beard Tongue. A hardy plant of sterile soils with racemes of purplish blossoms like the snapdragon and interesting for the hairy tongue-like fifth stamen. Fine for sloping banks and the rockery. Digitalis purpurea. Foxglove. This is an improved variety of the common wild foxglove of the Old World. Has long spikes of large bell-shaped purple and white spotted flowers. The clumps we offer are six months old and well estab- lished. ; Var. Maculata superba. A fine spotted form. Var. Monstrosa. Large thrifty plant of excellent form. PRICES. Single plants, 20c each, prepaid. Any six plants, 10c each, prepaid. Any two plants, 15c each, prepaid. 25 plants, $2.25. Any four plants, 1244c each, prepaid. Special prices on larger lots. Extra large plants will be sent by express for the same price if purchaser cares to pay for transportation. SPECIAL FREE OFFER. With every new subsciption to The American Botanist at the regular price of $1.00 we will send prepaid your choice of any two plants in the above list. For every dollar’s worth of back numbers ordered you may also select two plants. Be sure to name second choice in case we happen to have sold out the others. Plants ordered too late for fall planting will be sent early in spring. Address all orders to WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., Joliet, Ill. New Books for Winter and Spring The foilowing list contains many recent books in addition to those better known. They will be sent postpaid at the prices quoted. We can supply any other book at publisher’s prices. Reviews of those marked with a star will be found in American Botanist. eSeed Dispersal: Beall \.cn.05 6 ete Geo.s- org are ore eeepc eee olen eR a $ .40 Seed Iravellers, . WiGEd ess tors cto osc soca ede hen eee eee .30 How tolMmnow, the Buttesiitess. | Comstock a. ee oe ete eee enna 2.25 FSpecies: and Warleties! Diya Wvltbatcvome, elie \Viaie spe erie ee meee eee 5.00 +The Bool of thie, Irts. ‘Wayareh .ccee <5. cess aca ceo Seer ee ee eee eee 1.00 #Ehe Book .of ‘the ibys, Goldring’ 2. ). sc..0 tee ae ae 1.00 “ihe Book of the Wald)iGardens | itzhenberts es --eee eeeeeeeeeeee 1.00 «ire Book. of Shrubs. . “Gordon: a..cncee ese ee een Poe ee eee 1.00 lElOnin wo) Garon WWallal Ieiaouis, (Greil sb neooceaunsaaeaccoduccuccuacaovcce: 1.50 ~—NMiountaim VWaldtlowers of Ammernzcas | Ilensitavy, seen ieeieiereceen eterna 2.00 +O, Northern Shrubs. Keeller 2s og. spectre cee a sie cee raene ee eere 2.00 Our Native Trees, ” Keeler 2.4... 0 sccanee ce 6 Sood oe ee eee 2.00 “Plank Breeding: We Wrists ons y 55 one a oreo 2 ae cues cee SPO CRO ae 1.60 *Mitie thie “Prees: ‘Gotte> cites es cakes qed Se Pe ae a ae eee 1.00 Wharthethe VWildilowers, “Gone % 325 fei eos pec ee eee ee 1.00 hie iBo0ok, of Wesetabless Siirench ices eee eee eae bet “he Garden Month by Month, “sedeewick s.- oceans ae eee oc 4.00 EP lant leite im Canada. “Path ...)) sacstes. «AGG ao te eee 2.00 Gude: tothe Preess) dlounsbetry -.2. 2s deo seen nae eee ge Gindesto the WVildilowers: | Iounsbetizy cnet te ae eee cee ee abet) Southern Wildflowers and Trees. Tounsberry -% .. 22-7504. Eee eee 3.50 Field=Book of Amiericam Wildilowers: Matthews 95.5052 9) oe eee ene ee low tow iknow they Waldilowens:. Damals5as. ct cua eee een rennet 2.00 TACCORGina ton Seasons, ~ MATa) csigiccis od eas, Mere ane we ree ee ee Lute New Kugland Wildilowere Bailey... 0a... vad kee or eae on eee ee he Botanizmie. ~ Batley wkcs cic nother o eee knoe SS OE Oe ee eee eh Blossom ilostseand ainsect aGuests a GilbSon es. 1a eer eee tan .80 Graysr |ivicimuialll. 2) odivccs a anole nmtbepsncholvceccats a bene cis wie aie cack acre ae 75 Wioods ‘Class=Bookcot (Blotantyg yan reece gerne cs 5 <0 Liat ee ane a eee 2.50 Biritkomrs: Varia” ac Stetson aes etek ee IN aioe see a ee Se ee 2.25 HMionras Of. thes Southern) otatesa motel lupe ric seis tee areolar ieee eCiereeiee 4.00 Books on Ferns, Mosses, Etc. Our heris in, thein haunts. “Cite: 3.15 deme ae nes Aas See ee oo 2.00 sherm Allies of North) Americas) aClitempeeeerecn ones aetna 2.00 FerneCollectors:Guide, Chuté 3. i: 2.220 eee es oS a ee ce eee 2.00 Aes: WATCES oi... Joi aseiitocan banc Meat PRISE Oe de Bors a 3.30 "New England. Ferns and Allies. Bastmianyg.. >. ..6:2.. 02a ee Les How. Ferns Grow- SIOSSOM From the Standpoint of the Development and Functions of the Tissues, and Handbook of Micro-Technic. __ res mh By WILLIAM CHASE STEVENS 1a a Professor of Botany inthe University of Kansas. Oe. ‘ With 130 illustrations. Octavo; 349 pages. Just Ready. Cloth, $2.00 net. . Pepe 5: VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY An Introduction to the Subject By J. REYNOLDS GREEN, Se. D., F. L. S., F. R. s Late Professor of Botany in the Pharmavewtioal Soniesy oe Great Britain; formerly Scholar of Trinity College and Sen-— ior Demonstrator in Physiology, University of Cambridge. Second Edition, Revised. 182 Illustrations. Octavo; 459 pages. Just Ready. Cloth, $3.00 net. ah: ORGANIC MATERIA MEDICA AND” PHARMACOGNOSY | An Introduction to the Study of the Vegetable Kingdom and the Vegetable and Animal Drugs. By LUCIUS E. SAYRE, B. S., Ph. M. Professor of Materia Medica and Pharmacy in the University of Kansas. Third Edition, Revised. With 377 Illustrations. Octavo; 692 pages. Cloth, $5.00 net. 1 MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE PHILIPPINES By T. H. PARDO DE TAVERA ae Donker of Medicine in the Faculty of Paris; Scientific Commissioner S. M. in Philippine Islands, ete. ~ Translated and Revised by JEROME B. THOMAS, Jr.,A. B., M. D., Captain and Assistant Surgeon, Unite ve States Volunteers. : . 12 mo; 268 pages. Cloth, $2.00 net. P, BLAKISTON’S SON & CO, Publishers ie | BIOLOGICAL, MEDICAL, CHEMICAL 4ND 4116 SCIEN TIFIC BOOKS a 1012 WALNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA — voL,13 JANUARY, 1908 No. WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST CONTENTS THE GENUS ACROSTICHUM - By Willard N. Clute. ENCHANTER’S NIGHTSHADE By Miss Emma E. Laughlin. A TRUE MARCH FLOWER =- - By Dr. W. W. Bailey. DOES THE BOTANIZER NEED MICROSCOPE ? mein esl al beat etek By A. E. Warren. THE PRICKLEY PEAR .§- - FLOWERS IN HIDING - - NOTE AND° COMMENT EDITORIAL - - - =| = JOLIET, ILLINOIS % % % A MONTHLY JOURNAL FOR THE PLANT LOVER + & Issued on the 15th of each month except July and August POT LE SE AT TE EP ET ES IE IE SA Ghe American Botanist WILLARD N. CLUTE 333 EDITOR Beha: oe EP Bi SPECIAL NOTICE.—This magazine is issued in two half-yearly vol- umes of five numbers each. Subscriptions $1.00 a year. All subsriptions must begin with a volume. To avoid the loss of numbers to regular subscribers, the magazine is sent until we are notified to discontinue and all arrearage paid. No one receives the magazine free except by special arrangement. . SAMPLE COPIES.—One cannot always judge of a magazine by a single number. Those who receive extra copies are asked to give them a careful examination. We know when a plant lover becomes familiar with the contents of this magazine he invariably becomes a subscriber. A single number may often be worth more than is charged for a year’s subscription. The full set is almost a necessity to the plant student. WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., Publishers, 309 Whitley Ave., Joliet, Ill. Entered as mail matter of the second class at the post office, Joliet, Ill. THE AMATEUR NATURALIST “he iscnc ” _The only Popular Magazine devoted exclusively to general Nature Study that is untechnical, yet scientifically accurate. It publishes the things you want to know about plant life, birds, animals, insects, minerals, etc., and inter- esting discoveries in astronomy, chemistry, geology, physics, and other natural sciences... Subscription, 50 cents a year. CHAS. D. PENDELL, P uBISHER, ASHLAND, ME. IF YOU LIKE THIS NUMBER OF THE American Botanist Remember that more than seventy other numbers have been pub- lished, just as entertaining and instructive, and just as desirable to read. They never get out of date; facts never do. A complete set of the magazine is a botanical library in itself. The 1,200 pages contain up- wards of 2,000 articles and notes. We offer the set of 12 half-yearly volumes for $5.00 post paid. The articles are ACCURATE, the illustra- © tions are EXCELLENT, and every number of PERMANENT INTER- EST. Get a set before they are gone. ——= Special Offer—— If you would like to see more of the magazine before subscribing, send us 25 cents and we will send you 12 different numbers. There are f no complete volumes in this offer; it means simply 240 pages of good | ~ reading for a quarter. This sum may be deducted from the price of a my, complete set if ordered later. eS :. WILLARD N. CLUTE & CO., Joliet, Il. “a wee RE eon A aye a ae ‘ =. Be hS A Son. ACROSTICHUM ALATUM. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. VOL. XIII. JOLIET, ILL., JANUARY, 1908. No. 5 THE GENUS ACROSTICHUM. BY WILLARD N. CLUTE. HEN Thoreau wrote that nature ‘“‘made ferns for pure leaves, to show what she could do in that line”’ it is evi- dent that he did not have a typical Acrostichum in mind for of all plants, the majority of this group are least like the convent- ional idea of a fern. Beginners in the study may occasionally press the leaves of yarrow, tansy and other plants with much divided leaves under the impression that they are ferns, but they rarely discover that the Acrostichums are such until they have made considerable progress in naming the ferns. More than two-thirds of the hundred and fifty species belonging to this group have simple entire leaves that are more like the leaves of plantain and dock than anything else. The author quoted, however, was nearer right than ap- pears on the surface for nothing could better illustrate nature’s versatility than this fact that she has made a hundred differ- ent species in a single genus by merely modifying the outline of a simple leaf. In some species the leaves are broad, in others narrow, some are long and others short, some rounded at the apex and others pointed. The bases may be wedge- shaped or rounded, or heart-shaped and the surfaces may be scaly or smooth. By combining these various characters in different groups the varied forms have resulted. Many botanists are inclined to put all these simple .. fronded ferns in a genus by themselves and to assert that no — species with divided fronds should be included in it, but the ; &d () cy < VAR method of fruiting seems to bind together both the species with simple fronds and those in which the fronds are divided. LIFRAR NEW Y BOTA GARD! 98 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. In the method of fruiting, too, this group is peculiar. In or- dinary ferns the spore cases are to be found on the under side of the leaves in tiny groups of various shapes, but Acrostichum seems dominated by the principle that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well and when it sets out to fruit, it spreads the entire under surface of the spore-bearing fronds with spore-cases, while in a few species a finishing touch is put on the job by the addition of a coating of spores on the upper side of the frond as well, a trick that other families of ferns do not seem to know. Spore-bearing is serious business with Acrostichum and in some of the species with finely divided fronds, the fronds which bear the spores are made broad, and entire so that there shall be plenty of room for the spore-cases. A similar method of bearing spores is found in the stag- horn ferns (Platycerium) of the green houses and faint traces of it are seen in such genera as Gymnogramma and Lomaria which is regarded as an indication that all these genera are rather closely related. The habitat and habit of the plants are as varied as their other characteristics. Some live on the earth in exposed places, others may be found on the branches of trees and others, unable to flnd a perch on the branches, send their stems straight up the trunks to a considerable height or creep among the mosses on old logs. ‘Those that live on trees are among the most interesting since their fronds are decorated with soft brown scales that are often so abundant as to conceal the green tissues below. In others the scales are restricted to a delicate fringe on the margin of the fronds. Those that live in the soil usually do not have these scales, from which it is apparent that the scales are useful to the epiphytic species in aiding the fronds to retain their moisture. The smaller Acrostichums are not more than two or three inches high, and the species with simple leaves rarely have fronds more than two feet long, but some of the other mem- THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 99 bers of the group may be eight feet high, as is the case in one species belonging to our own fern flora—Acrostichum lomar- toides. The Acrostichums are essentially a tropical group but in their region are abundant both as to individuals and species. Only two species reach the United States—in Southern Florida —but are not uncommon. The species we have chosen for il- lustration is a form of the widely distributed Acrostichum con- forme which is found in nearly every part of the world where Acrostichums occur. The varied forms are often regarded as distinct species, and the one here illustrated is usually called Acrostichum alatum. ENCHANTER’S NIGHTSHADE. BY MISS EMMA E. LAUGHLIN. OME plants attract by means of their showy blossoms, some by their fragrance, and others by some unusual form; but there are plants which, like some people, can be ap- preciated only when well known. They are like Wordsworth’s “Violet by a mossy stone, Half hidden from the eye,” and do not become interesting until the observer stops, notices closely what might otherwise be lightly passed by, and so learns intimately the life story of a charming personality a new plant. Among these unassuming plants 1s Circaea Lutetiana or enchanter’s nightshade. It is a rather common plant of moist woods and may be found blooming from June to September. It was supposed to have been used by Circe in her enchant- ments so Linnaeus named it Circaea, and added Lutetiana from Lutetia, the name of an ancient Gallic city which was located on the present site of the city of Paris. Circaea is a member of the Evening Primrose Family. When it first appears in the early spring as a cluster of fresh, 100 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. thrifty, green leaves, a cursory glance will asign it to the Violet Family. The leaves then are ovate in form, slightly dentate, and somewhat rounded at the base. Later, a stem grows up out of this rosette of leaves, and its leaves are of the pronounced Circaca type, keeping the same general form, but becoming acuminate and having the veining quite distinct. These leaves are slender-petioled and opposite. From the axils of the upper leaves a few branches grow, and these, to- gether with the main stem, terminate in racemes of small white or pinkish flowers. The peculiar characteristic of this plant 1s the number two which appears in every part of its flower as well as in the arrangement of its leaves. There are two sepals, two petals, two stamens, and two pistils which are united into a two- celled ovary containing two ovules. To preserve this sym- metry the petals are obcordate, sometimes appearing to be bifid. While the flowers are too inconspicuous to be called pretty, yet there is a certain daintiness about the wand-like recemes which is attractive. The fruit is obovoid in shape, much resembling a club in miniature, and is densely covered with stiff hooked hairs or bristles. When mature each fruit is deflexed at an angle of about forty-five degrees. These burs often adhere to clothing or to animals and so are carried far from their place of growth. Cuircaea may be reproduced from these seeds but a surer method is by means of underground runners. By the first of August it will be found that each plant has sent out perhaps as many as a dozen slender creeping root- stocks, white in color, and often more than a foot long. These form a network just beneath the surface of the ground, or a part of their length may be upon the surface, but the buds at the ends will always be found under the ground. After frost has destroyed the parent plant these white rootstocks become separated from it and lie dormant until spring when the leaves THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 101 appear again and a new cycle of existence is begun. Some- times the stems becomes swollen at the joints or nodes and take on a red color which adds to the attractiveness of the plant. When this occurs the flowers also are tinged with red, or rather pink. Another Circaea found in colder woods is Cir- caea alpina. This is a smaller variety and is less common. Barnesville, O. A TRUE MARCH FLOWER. BY DR. W. W. BAILEY. HE first real flower of the year as that term is popularly understood, is, in Southern New England, the whitlow- grass, or Draba verna of science. It is a member of the large and very natural family known as cresses, or mustards. The alliance, owing to its well-marked characters was recognized by Theophrastus, Dioscorides and other early botanists,. These characters are, in the flower, a calyx of four dis- tinct, erect sepals, a corolla of four spreading petals, with stalks or claws, as a rule alternating with the sapals; and six stamens, of which four are longer than the other two. This goes to show that so apparently trivial a factor as number and length may play an essential part in classification. Still’more distinctive is the peculiar pistil, consisting of two carpels (pistil-leaves), and hence structurally one-celled, but in fact,be- coming two-celled by a false partition caused by an extension of the thin placentae into a separating membrane. This is what makes the silvery shining portion so characteristic of the garden plant called honesty. The peculiar ovary may be compared to a parlor, separat- ed by folding doors, into two compartments. As on the walls of said parlor pictures are hung, so in this cell are suspended the ovules or young seeds. In certain Californian plants of the 102 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. family, the folding doors, so to say, are only half drawn or, to speak accurately, the placentae fail to unite across the cell. It is always delightful to discover these gradations, confirming a philosophical theory worked out antecedent to their finding. Plants of this family,while commonly herbaceous,as is the case with all eastern ones, may sometimes, as in the mustards here, or Thelypodium in the far West, attain a height of 12 or more feet. In some parts of the world, indeed they are woody. The common cabbage, in one of its forms, as cultivated in the channel Islands off the coast of France, grows into a well- marked little tree. So various are the habits and appearance of different kinds of cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Kohl- rabi, and cauliflower, that one viewing them without antece- dent knowledge, would certainly never guess their origin. The curious Rose-of-Jericho, prevalent on the plains of Syria, is one of this order, and is famous for its peculiar man- ner of drying up into a ball, made of the incurved, fruit-bear- ing branches. In this condition it is widely blown about over the country, till reaching a moist and favorite spot, the branches unfold and scatter the seeds. Hence its name, in common with several other unrelated things, of the resurrec- tion plant. A club moss of the Far West, for instance, is sometimes sold on our streets as the true rose-of-Jericho, an unpardonable misnomer for a species of Selaginella. A characteristic of all cresses, which indeed, endows them with their name Cruciferae, is the cruciform corolla. This is produced by the four petals, so displayed as to appear, when looked down upon from above, as a well-marked cross often Maltese in pattern. The order has an interest also from the fact that its members are, without exception, harmless and, indeed, anti- scorbutic, 1 e, preventives of scurvy. Often has their discovery proved the salvation of an infected ship. They are, however, THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 103 in this regard no longer so important as formerly, for the canned vegetable industry serves to counteract the excessive use of salt provender, the cause of the disease. Our tiny Draba, in common with nearly all weeds found in the eastern United States, is adventive from Europe. This reminds one of a story told of Sir Joseph Hooker when on the Arctic Expedition with the Erebus and Terror. It is said that Sir Joseph’s ship stopped for one night off the South Shetland Islands, as remote and inhospitable as almost any place on earth, and he, desiring to ascertain in a general way, what grew in such a spot, asked some sailors who were bound ashore, to pluck any plants which, in the darkness, they might encounter. They returned, much to his amusement and chagrin, with a tuft of shepherd’s-purse—one of this family—which grows in every English lane. Draba verna, owing to its small size—it is only a few inches in height, and owing also, to its thin, wiry stems and rosette of small radical spatulate leaves, is very incon- spicuous. Its flowers are white and, as they are almost im- mediately go to seed, it requires a sharp eye to reveal them. The pods of Draba verna are ellipsoid but later, a native species, Draba Caroliniana has long, narrow capsules. All the species of the genus are classed as frequently “‘alpine,’’ which means, not that they are confined to the Swiss Alps, as people are apt to interpret them, but are distinctive of high mountains the world over, near the snow line. Such mountain forms are very pretty, often with yellow flowers. They may easily be transplanted and made available for rock-work. Providence, R. I. DOES THE BOTANIZER NEED A MICROSCOPE? BY A. E. WARREN. S a compound miscroscope worth its cost to an amateur botan- ist? Not being an oracle my only way of tackling the prob- lem is by the light of limited personal experience. Of course everybody knows the miscroscope must be used in studying the lower crytogams and in general plant histology, but this talk is to the ordinary botanizer who confines his attention to pickable posies. Let us hypothetically classify a plant in which the es- sential floral organs are barely discernible to the eye. The lazy way to analyze (?) in an obscure case is to look for its picture (!) But illustrated popular books don’t bother with inconspicuous flowers; they deal with the more showy blossoms. Consequently whether we are lazy or industrious we must depend on our own abilities. Now we all know how very hard it is to be absolutely ac- curate in our early observations under such conditions. It is so very easy to ‘guess’—but guessing is an unpardonable scientific sin. The use of a hand magnifier helps us along to some extent. The same magnifier mounted over a dissecting stand having hand-rests at the side is another step in the right direction. With these facilities a surprising amount of detail may be made out by a patient observer. But again a limit is reached. With important structural details still just beyond our powers of discernment the danger of guess-work is again at hand. Suppose we now have access to a low power compound microscope. The tiny ovules suddenly enlarge into marvelous little translucent globes filled with changing lights. Details of placentae are no longer obscure. Pollen grains are little pearls covered with intricate tracing of dainty design. Growing pollen tubes may be seen pushing on their wonderful way. 104 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 105 Heretofore unnoticed hairs at the base of the stamens are liv- ing things through whose transparent cellulose walls mystery laden protoplasm is seen streaming along its complex currents. Dos this sort of thing pay—these occasional glimpses into some tiny corner of old Mother Earth’s illimitable store? The compound microscope is the only entrance gate. Diagrams and book-talk don’t admit one into the inner circle. As for pay—well it pays some people. It will not pay one who never has time to look at a sunset, nor gives note to rainbow colors in a drop of dew, nor listens to the old robin singing in the elm tree across the road. It depends on whether the particular amateur botanist we are ‘advising’ is in touch with the tranquil beauty which underlies all this great pulsat- ing world of matter and energy or whether “The primrose by the river’s brim A yellow primrose lis] to him And nothing more.” Ada, Ohio. THE PRICKLY PEAR. T the mention of the word cactus, our thoughts instinc- tively travel to those dry and arid wastes where the conditions of growth are so rigorous that few plants, save the thickest skinned and most stolid can hold their ground. It is something of a surprise, then, to be told that cacti are found in many places where a more luxuriant flora prevails. Several species are found on the plains as far north as the Dakotas and Minnesota, and one strays into Manitoba. In the Atlantic States, one species, the common “prickly pear’ (Opuntia vul- garis) reaches the northeastern limits of its range in Massa- chusetts and is fairly common in the vicinity of New York city. Like all cacti it loves the sun but accepts winter’s cold with composure, and true to its instincts, selects the most exposed 106 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. places for its home. It may frequently be found basking in the sun on the crests of the exposed rocks, rooting in soil so thin that it is a perennial wonder how it lives at all. In such rock situations it seems scarcely in keeping with the scene. No matter how often it is passed its unusual form seldom be- comes completely blended with the other vegetation. But in the “sand barrens” of Long Island and New Jersey it gives the finishing touches to the picture of barrenness, sprawl- ing over the hot sand in places where nothing else will grow. Many of those who chance to find this plant, take the flat joints of the stem for leaves. The real leaves are seldom noticed. They are thin narrow, scale-like structures that ap- pear of little use to the plant and soon fall away. From their axils are commonly produced small spines or bristles which protect the plant from grazing animals. All the functions of leaves are performed by the stems. The cactus understands how to reduce living to its sim- plest terms. It is as if it had withdrawn both leaves and branches inside its trunk, resolved to take everything serene- ly. In the place of bark, the stem is covered with a thick epidermis that is slow to part with the moisture entrusted to it, let the sun shine as hot, or the wind blow as cold, as it will. It lives slowly, like a toad. The flowers appear in June from the edges of the flat stems. They are among the handsomest blooms that the bar- rens produce, being yellow in color, with numerous petals and stamens like other cactus flowers, but with considerable re- semblance to the water lily. No two flowers, however, could be further apart in disposition and habits. They divide fire and water between them and each is supreme in its own element. For the lily, water; for the cactus, sand and sun. In similar fashion they divide the hours, the lily’s day ends as the prickly pear’s begins. The flowers are succeeded by dull red, pear-shaped fruits THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 107 about an inch long that stand erect on the smaller end and make the plant almost as conspicuous as the blossoms do. They are ripe in late October. The prickly pears that come to the autumn markets are the products of a southern species, but our native prickly pear is very like the other, except in size and is also edible. It can scarcely be called palatable. There is a certain wildness of flavor about it, however, which those who welcome new experiences from Nature will always be glad to taste.—From an article in New York Tribune. FLOWERS IN HIDING. HE ancients told of a flower, the asphodel, which bloomed only in the sunless meadows of the underworld. Mod- erns long ago set the story down as a bit of poetic fancy, but the myth really has a counterpart in fact—so hard is it for the imagination to transcend entirely the realm of the real. I found this out one day in late spring when I plucked up a purple violet by its roots, and lo! radiating horizontally from the base were a number of subterranean blanched stalks tipped with tiny pink and purplish buds which had been buried with the roots in the earth. These are true flowers, producing abundant seed underground, but are without petals, fragrance, or nectar. Any one may see for himself these gnomes of flow- ers by examining the bases of blue violet plants in late May or June. In some species of violets the secret flowers are borne not on the horizontal creepers, but on upright stalks, and such flowers are not buried, though in other respects they are similar to the underground kind. There are others of our wild plants less common than the violet that produce subterranean blossoms. One of these is the polygala or milkwort, a small herb frequent in sandy soil, which may attract us by its pretty spike of purple flowers that give never a hint of the underground runners tipped with plain- 108 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. er bloom. Another is its cousin the fringed polygala or flower- ing wintergreen, one of the most charming of all our wild blos- soms; and I have found also in the pine barren region of our Atlantic coast a grass that mingles earth-born flowers with its roots. In all these cases the underground flowers are quite small and never develop petals, but they are more prolific in the production of seed than the showy ones of the upper world. Imprisoned in the dark, hidden away from the diversions of a sunlight life, they have nothing to do but devote themselves strictly to the business of seed making ; their capacity for beau- ty has been checked in the bud, and from infancy they have been disciples of the practical life while other flowers are lead- ing a debonair, open-air existence, entertaining the bees and dispensing fragrance and beauty to every passer-by. So have we seen the Gradgrinds of business shut themselves in their dingy counting-houses with no thought but to turn their ener- gy into dollars; while other men are wholesomely helping their neighbors, enjoying God’s blessed sunshine, and taking their families upon a holiday now and then. But flowers have other ways of hiding than burrowing in the ground. The fig tree, for instance, has such a secretive - method of flowering that people who have lived within the shade of one all their lives, will sometimes contend that it never blooms. As a matter of fact the branches bear every year tens of thousands of blossoms, not one of which is ever seen by the human eye. They are borne on the inner walls of hollow, jug-like receptacles, which just before the leaves ex- pand in the spring, push out upon the young twigs. In this darkling chamber, into which the sunlight never penetrates, the tiny florets packed side by side in a sociable company, mature and produce their seeds. The snug little house grows rapidly and gathering juiciness as it grows, becomes the delicious fig that we all like. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 109 Less completely hidden than the fig’s blossoms, but still concealed from all but the most prying visitors, are the flowers of many plants of the arum tribe—the family to which the Jack-in-the-pulpit, dear to every childish heart, belongs. Here the homely little flowers nestle about the base of a spike which is inclosed within the arching “pulpit,” and are entirely shut off from public view. The skunk cabbage, earliest of all our wild bloomers, belongs to the same tribe, and hides its floral chil- dren even more effectively. In late winter, before its rank leaves have unfurled, this plant sets upon the still frozen marsh a mottled, purplish cradle, not unlike a conch shell in shape, within whose twilight depths blooms a small ball of flowers, spreading a breakfast of pollen for winged insects that mar- velously find them in their hiding-places.—C. F. Saunders in Young People. Birps As Botanists.—We have several times noted in this magazine instances in which birds of prey have been known to decorate their nests with various fresh plants, and further notes on this point are given in a recent number of Science. Branches of green laurel have been found in the nest of the golden eagle and when these were taken away: others were brought to replace them. The osprey is reported to carry fresh seaweed to its nest and the herring gull adds grass and various other green materials to its nest. Freshly-cut sprays of hemlock have been found in the nest of the red-tailed hawk. The collecting of these materials is regarded as due to a “recrudes- cence of the building instinct” and it is said that no significance attaches to the fact that the materials gathered are fresh and green. It may be pointed out, however, that when the birds are really nest-building they rarely, 1f ever, collect flowers and leafy things for the work. NOTE AND COMMENT WaNTED.—Short notes of interest to the general bot- anist are always in demand for this department. Our readers are invited to make this the place of publication for their botanical items. Jt should be noted that the magazine is is- sued as soon as possible after the fifteenth of each month. INJURED SycAMoreEs.—In the 18th Report of the Mis- souri Botanical Garden Hermann Von Schrenk reports that in Missouri and various other parts of the country the young leaves of the sycamore were killed by the severe frosts in the spring of 1907. While it is not to be doubted that sycamore leaves may occasionally be killed by frost, yet the fact remains that some sort of fungus attacks the young leaves making it a difficult matter, at first glance, to decide whether the injury was caused by frost or fungus. PLant Distripution.—Every species inhabits the areas which it has been able to reach and occupy from the starting point of its place of origin. Neither its birth-place nor any of the places within its range may offer the most suitable condi- tions for the best growth and highest development. Beyond seas, Over mountain ranges, across the equator or past other equally effective barriers, may lie plains, valleys, plateaus and even continents, where if once introduced it might overbear all competition from the plants already there, extending its dis- tribution a million-fold. Let the barriers be once passed and it enters into a new kingdom as the various invasions of weeds amply testify. The soil, the various factors of climate, the course of the seasons and the actual composition of the plant 110 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 111 covering already present in the region, may be such that the intruder becomes an integral part of the flora and it may indeed perish in its original habitat and in the places success- ively occupied by it, leaving us no clew as to its place of origin. —D. T. MacDougal, in Plant World. Law AND THE BARBERRY.—Plant students of the present day are familiar with the fact that the wheat rust, which does great damage to various grains, ordinarily begins its existence by producing cup-like fruiting parts, called aecedia, upon the leaves of the barberry. By means of spores borne in the ae- cidia it is able to spread rapidly to the grain later in the sea- son. Long before the real nature of the wheat rust was dis- covered, observant farmers had noted the connection between the barbarry and rusted grain and as early as 1755 the then Province of Massachusetts passed “An Act to Prevent Dam- age to English Grain Arising from Barberry Bushes” which fixed a penalty of a two-shilling fine for every bush left stand- ing after a certain date. DESERT FLowers.—A desert is popularly regarded as a vast stretch of sandy sterile soil upon which no rain falls and in which, therefore, plants cannot grow. A more accurate definition of a desert would be, a region in which rain falls at such long intervals during part of the year that most plants cannot maintain a continuous vegetative existence. Cer- tain plants like the cactus and agave or century plant, store up water during rains for use in drouths and are thus con- sidered true Xerophytes, but many thin-leaved annuals have learned the habits of the dessert and thrive even in such inhos- pitable regions. At certain seasons of the year, especially im- mediately after the rainy season, plants spring up as if by magic and carpet the waste with flowers. In many places there are so many plants that they crowd one another. A count of 112 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. some regions has shown more than a hundred seedlings to the square inch. All these desert annuals are noticeable for the rapidity with which they develop. This is doubtless due to the fact that they are the descendants of a long line of plants which have time and again had it forced upon them that they must ripen their seeds before the precious moisture in the soil has disappeared. The seeds, too, seem to understand some- thing of this, and in years when, for one cause or another, the rains are scanty, they do not grow at all but lie in the soil until another year of greater rainfall. Hysrips AND VARIATIONS.—The prominence given these subjects at present makes the following list of titles of articles published in this magazine of interest. The number preceding the colon indicates the volume and the other the page. Hy- bridizing plants 6:111, violet hybrids 7:117, 12:11, wild hy- brids 12:16, Hybrid lobelias 5:101, Asplenium ebenoides a hybrid 3:51, crossing orchid genera 5:37. The citrange, tan- gelo and plumcot, 5:119, variation in pecan, 2:57, variation in round leaves orchid 7:55, variation in plants 3:48, variation in common polypody 5:55, elementary species 8:97, making new species 10:17. Making a new variety 9:73. Possibilities of species-making 11:21, the interpretation of species 10:117. The American hop trees 11:43, more extinct species 3:52, 9:15. Species of varieties 4:74, origin of species by muta- tion 3:26, new species of plants 7:111. Cinamon fern fruiting in Autumn 2:44. Two forms of Virginia creeper 3:35. For- mation of leaves in water 3:35. Varying size of Jack- in-the-pulpit 9:78, Variation in toad flax 12:43. A large Arisaema 11:40. A large head of sunflower 11:88. Single volumes may be had for 50 cents each or for 40 cents when ordered with a year’s subscription. The numbers are not sold singly. See advertising pages for complete sets and other numbers for different lists of titles. THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 113 Tue Taripot Patm.—tThe talipot Corypha umbraculi- fera) is one of the most beautiful of palms with a tall mast- like trunk sometimes reaching a height of over a hundred feet. The great semi-circular, fan-like leaves are often as much as fifteen feet in radius giving a surface of about 350 square feet. The natives claim that the talipot can be used for one hundred and one purposes, the principal ones being as a rain coat and a sun shade. When a talipot palm reaches maturity its leaves decrease in size and finally a gigantic but nearly four feet in height is developed. This bud bursts open with a report and an immense inflorescence unfolds itself, appearing like a pyramid of cream-colored flowers rising to a height of 20 feet or more above the leafy crown. Innumerable nuts follow in due course and their appearance is a sign that the tree is near- ing its end. It gradually begins to droop, the leaves wither and in less than a year it falls dead.—Plant World. PLant PuyLa.—Most people are familiar with the fact that the genus is not the highest group in classification. Be- yond the genus is the family which includes many genera as the genus includes many species, and beyond the family is the order containing numerous families. Beyond the order is the sub-class, beyond this the class, and at the top of the list the Phylum. The phylum is the name given to the great groups of the plant world. By many these have been con- sidered to be only four in number, namely, the Thallophyta or algae and fungi, the Bryophyta or mosses and liverworts, the Pteridophyta or ferns and fern allies and the Spermato- phyta or flowering plants and conifers. In a recent publica- tion entitled “A Synopsis of Plant Phyla” Prof. Charles E. Bessey has rearranged the phyla and their lesser divisions and now recognizes 12 Phyla, 34 classes, numerous orders and 636 families. The largest number of families is found in the An- thophyta or flowering plants which contain 280 and the next 114 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. largest is the Carpomyceteae of fungi with 145. Each family, order, sub-class, class and phylum are briefly described and show more clearly than usual the relationship of the plant world. VITALITY OF PLANts—The vitality of many plants seems largely a matter of moisture. A plant that cannot endure frost, and which, of course, would be killed by a heat many degrees below the boiling point of water, can cut off its seeds, each of which contains a plant like its parent, and after these are thoroughly dried, they may be subjected to heat above the boiling point or exposed to the greatest degree of cold that can be produced and escape unharmed. Give these seeds water, however, and they act exactly like the parent plant in their relations to heat and cold. The change in the seed, which enables it to endure extremes of heat and cold, while due largely to lack of water, is also due to other causes, for the protoplasm becomes harder, more granulose and denser, and changes somewhat in chemical composition. THE FLOWERS OF THE Hop.—The hop (Humulus lupu- lus) is one of the plants known as dioecious, that is it produces pistillate (female) flowers on one plant, and staminate (male) flowers on another. Some recent observations by W. W. Stockberger have shown that the power to produce stamens is latent in the case of the female plant and flowers containing both pistils and stamens have been seen. A second observa- tion bearing on the same phenomenon is that the underground runners which produce new plants may give rise to plants that are of the opposite sex from the plants which produce the runners. The question of the origin of dioecious flowers has yet much of mystery about it. In all probability the flowers of different sexes have been formed by the dropping out of one set of essential organs in each, but how this has been of ad- THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 115 vantage in the evolution of such species is still problematical. The whole willow and poplar alliance have dioecious flowers and might form good subjects for experiment along this line. The power to produce the structures lacking in each type of flower is doubtless latent in each plant if one could discover the conditions necessary to bring it out. FunctTIon oF StoMata.—In all the higher plants the leaves are covered with a thin skin or epidermis that is nearly impervious to water and air, but since the vital processes of the leaf cannot go on without access to the surrounding air, the epidermis is provided with millions of small openings called stomata. These consist of two, usually crescent-shaped, cells which are currently supposed to open and close as the needs of the plant require. In dry air they were expected to close and thus retain the moisture of the leaf, but in moist air they were supposed to open and allow transpiration. Every book on botany makes this statement but like so many other things in botany that have been taken for granted, it is now known to be incorrect. Whatever else the stomata do, they do not open and close in response to varying amounts of moisture in the air. SEED DISPERSAL IN PoLyGoNUM.—It is a common failing with scientists to over look any publication that does not make great pretentions to authority. In consequence many botanical facts that may be well known are again “discovered” by scien- tists who do not take the trouble to look up the literature of the subject. An instance of this came to notice recently in a publication by two botanists with the suggestive names of Reed and Smoot, in which the seed dispersal of the Virginian knot-weed (Polygonum Virginianum) is discussed. Essent- ially the conclusions they make were published in Kerner & Oliver’s “Natural History of Plants’ many years ago. In substance the principal method of dispersal is this. The fruit 116 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. stalk has a joint at the base which becomes very brittle as the fruit matures. The walls of the stalk are rather hard and rigid and the growth of the pith so compresses the cells in the interior that considerable tension is developed. At the slight- est touch, therefore, the seeds are projected for some distance. The plant also has a second means of distributing its seeds for the slender bakd fruit is barbd and readily catches into the coat of any animal that brushes past it. VIRESCENCE IN OXALIs.—The student on the watch for the curious in nature may occasionally find flowers in which some or all the parts have taken on the color, if not the char- acter, of leaves. When the color and not the form is affected, is called virescence, but when the form also is affected the phe- nomenon is called frondescence. Several instances of frondes- cence have been recorded and illustrated in this magazine and the green rose and green carnation are familiar phrases of the same thing. The latest contribution to our knowledge of the subject is made by Henri Hus, who found at St. Louis a green flowered race of Ovalis stricta which he calls viridiyora. In this the petals have taken on a deep green color, but are little altered otherwise except for being a trifle smaller and thicker. The plant sets seeds abundantly and th peculiarity of the flowers is transmitted to the seedlings. Haws ANbD Hepces.—lIt is pleasant, occasionally, to speculate upon the derivation and meaning of the words con- nected with plants. Take the case of the word haw, which at present stands as the name of the thorn-tree’s fruit (Cra- taegus). This is only a secondary definition, apparently, for the original haw meant an enclosed garden or yard and we may assume that these thorny trees, growing on the borders of the haw or garden would soon be called hawthorn if, indeed, they were not given this name because their well armed stems THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 117 were first used to fence in the haw. When haw is spelled haugh, however, it means a low-lying plain beside a river and haw-haw is the name given to a sunken fence, wall or ditch. In this last we see the name transferred from the ground surrounded by a wall to the wall itself and haggard which is allied to haw originally meant of the hedge or woods. Hedge and haw are in a sense synonymous, though there are some who would derive hedge from edge by the prefix of an h in the style of some of our English cousins, and point to the fact that we still speak of edgings for borders as a confirmation of their view of the matter. NAME OF CAROLINA PopLar.—Considerable difference of opinion exists, as to whether or not the Carolina poplar is a distinct species. Prof. C. E. Bessey has been investigating the subject and his results are summed up in a reprint from the Report of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture for 1906-7. The first use of the name, Carolina poplar, was made by Aiton in 1789 in connection with Populus angulata. This name has been used at intervals since by numerous authorities. Bailey’s “Cyclopedia of Horticulture” calls the tree var. Caroliniensis of Populus deltoides. The specific name, deltoidces, it may be remarked, is applied to the species better known as Populus monilifera. Prof. Bessey concludes that there are three com- mon cottonwoods in the Eastern and Central States to be named as follows: Carolina poplar (P. angulata), Eastern poplar (P. deltoides), Western poplar (P. occidentalis). In connection with these we may mention the two native aspens, the large toothed (P. grandidentata) and the common (P. tremuloides) and the three poplars from the Old World com- monly cultivated, namely, the white poplar (P. alba) the Nor- way poplar (P. nigra) and the Lombardy poplar (P. dilatata). To make our list complete several others might be added. 118 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. Ant PLants.—A few years ago, nothing seemed surer, in the stories of returned travellers and botanists, than the fact that certain species of tropical plants maintained body guards of stinging ants as a defense against leaf-eating animals and in return for their services fed and housed the entire regiment. Recent unsentimental students of this matter assert that the plants can get along without the ants quite as well as a dog can without fleas and thus all the “adaptations”? which the plants were supposed to have evolved with reference to the ants must be translated in some other way. ‘The ants, how- ever, are said to be completely adapted to the plant and do not seem to prosper at all without them. If the plants derive any advantage from the presence of the ants this seems a mere incidental. In this connection it may be observed that we have an ant-plant in the Northern States in the form of the blazing star (Liatris scariosa). In old plants the center of the tuberous underground parts usually decays and almost invariably the cavity thus found is inhabited by a colony of ants. The pres- ence of these ant colonies doubtless keep various creeping in- sects away from the plants, but the benefit is not apparent for other plants that lack a colony prosper in spite of it. WEED SEEDs.—In a general way we are familiar with the fact that every wild species maintains its existence only by a constant struggle, but we seldom fathom the depth of the struggle. A grass field, for instance, looks peaceful enough, but a moments reflection will convince that the plants in this particular field are here only because they are the survivors or rather victors of a thousand battles in which uncounted multi- tudes have gone to their deaths. These battles have possibly been waged most fiercely between plants of the same species, but there are other battles of species with species, of plant with insect of plant with cold and drouth and heat and food. The pistils of necessity must receive the precious pollen, and THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 119 the seeds produced must not only be strong and viable, but they must escape destruction by birds, mammals, insects and various elemental forces.