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THE

PLANT WORLD

^ i^agaiine of ^Bopular OBotan^

ORGAN OF THE
WILD FLOWER PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA

EDITED BY

FRANCIS ERNEST LLOYD

Volume 9

LANCASTER, PA., and NEW YORK
1906

Volume 9

Number 1

The Plant World

91 iHaja^inr of popular ^otanp
JANUARY, 1906

/^A -^•^ >\^,

lUjIi-liRAR Yjse

TWIGS OF WOODY PLANTS. \%S^ ' '^'^^^

By a. S. Hitchcock, ■"^■

United States Dcpartjncnt of Agriculture.

^^5iAi5><;s>.

The amateur botanist of the nortliern states who is particularly
interested in field work often regrets that he is obliged to suspend
collecting during the winter months. It is true that there is
opportunity for him who seeks fungi, lichens, and mosses, de-
pending somewhat upon the amount of snowfall. But the col-
lector of phanerogams sees his most interesting laboratory closed
for the season and turns to the lower plants as a temporary pas-
time to occupy his time until the advent of spring when his seri-
ous work begins. Such collectors may busy themselves to ad-
vantage during winter by studying deciduous trees and shrubs in
their winter condition. I wish to say a few words here to teach-
ers and amateurs who are not familiar with the twig characters of
woody plants and who would like to know how such plants may
be identified during their dormant period. The twig characters
suffice to distinguish readily all except closely allied species.
Even of the latter there are very few cases in which the species
can not be distinguished by a careful study of the twigs and the
aspect of the whole plant.

Space will not permit of the presentation of a scheme of classi-
fication, but we may look somewhat in detail at the characters
that would be used in such a scheme. A twig is the portion of
the growth in length of the woody stem which has taken place
during the preceding season ; an older portion would be a branch-

2 THE PLANT WORLD.

let. At tliL- base of the twig is usuall}' found a elustcr of scars
niarlving the position of the bud-scales which feU off when the
bud expanded. The twig consists of central pith, surrounded by
a woodv zone. Outside of the woody zone is a zone of softer
tissues, a discussion of which would take us too far into anatomy
for the purposes of this paper. On the outside is the epidermis,
which may become ruptured on the older portions by the growth
in diameter. Alost of this outer zone becomes, in branches, the
layer commonly known as the bark. At regular intervals lateral
structures, leaves, are produced upon the growing stem, which,
at the advent of winter, are shed (in deciduous plants) by means
of the production of a corky layer near the base of the petiole.
The scars thus caused on the sides of the twigs are known as leaf
scars. In the axils of the leaves are normally produced the
lateral buds or nascent branches. The terminal portion of the
twig also usually has a bud which will continue the growth the
following season. These parts will now be taken up more in de-
tail. A few representative examples are given in each case.

PitJi. — The pith is usually solid and continuous, white in color,
and circular in cross section. The pith is diaphragmed in the
walnut and hackberry, that is, though solid in the younger por-
tions, it soon separates into numerous thin, transverse plates. In
the grape vines the pith is interrupted at the nodes by woody
partitions. The color is brown in the smooth sumac, Rhus iila-
hra, and in .UhvifJiiis glandulosiis. The cross section is rhom-
boidal in the buckthorn, Rhaiinius, and in some other distinctly
4-angled twigs, and is 5-angled or star-shaped in the oaks.
Smila.v, and other monocotyledons have no distinct pith..

Tivig. — The surface may be smooth, pubescent, glaucous (Acer
Negiindo) ; roughened with lenticels (Rhus copallina) ; or spiny
( Ribcs, Ruhus, Siuihi.v) ; cylindrical, angled, roughened by
corky ridges (bur oak, sweet gum, i'hiius ahita) : various shades
of brown, yellow, red, green and gray. Tn some cases the odor
of the bruised bark is characteristic as in sassafras and spice
bush.

Leaf-scars. — The arrangement of the leaf-scars may be op-
posite and 4-ranked, or alternate. Tn a few cases there are more

TWIGS OF WOODY PLANTS. 3

than two at a node (sonietiines in Cafall^a). Of the alternate
arrangement there are two series, 2-ranked and 5- to 8-ranked.
Twigs of the latter series are commonly either 5-ranked or 8-
ranked, but in most cases both arrangements may be found in
the same species, often on the same individual; and even a 13-
ranked arrangement may occur.

The shape of the leaf-scars is variable, liut varies within fairly
well defined limits, so that certain general forms are characteristic
of species and often of genera. The catalpa has nearly circular
leaf-scars. In the elms, basswood, and in fact most of the 2-
ranked genera, the scars are oval or semi-elliptical. The walnuts
and hickories have them heart- or shield-shaped. Sometimes the
scar becomes narrow and crescent-shaped or U- or V-shaped as
in the maples and sycamore. The plums bear oval leaf-scars,
while those of the apple are U-shaped.

The vascular bundles which pass from the stem to the leaf are
usually aggregated into definite groups which in the leaf-scar
present scars or dots called bundle-scars. The arrangement of
these is a character to be noted.

In plants possessing well-marked stipules these organs leave a
scar on the twig at each side of the leaf-scar. Certain genera are
characterized by the stipule-scar encircling the twig. Among our
trees may be mentioned the magnolias and their relative, the
tulip tree ; and the sycamore. The bud scales, being modified
stipules, are in pairs encircling the bud. As the bud expands, the
scales fall ofi; and leave these scars. The genus Ficiis and some
other exotics also have encii"cling stipule-scars. Occasionally the
stipules are transformed into spines as in the black locust and
some other woody Leguminosae. In prickly ash similar spines
occur in pairs at the nodes but they are not transformed stipules.
Prickles may be aggregated at the nodes to simulate stipules as
the triple prickles of certain gooseberries.

Buds. — These may be lateral or terminal. The former occur
in the axils of the leaves ; the latter at the end of the stem. In
the ordinary course of development the buds expand in the spring
and the growth in length of the twigs takes place rapidly during
the time that the leaves are attainins: their full growth. The

THE PLANT WORLD.

Description of Fig. i.

1. Twig of Hickory {Hicoria alba (L.) Britt.) showing strong terminal
bud and two superposed lateral buds.

2. Twig of Walnut {Jiiglaiis nigra L.) showing terminal bud, super-
posed lateral buds, heart-shaped leaf-scars, and diaphragmed pith.

3. Twig of Oak (Qiicrcus alba L.) showing lateral buds clustered at
apex.

4. Twig of Ash (Fra.viniis Pciiiisyhaiiica Marsh.) showing termiijal
bud, opposite leaf-scars, felty-pubescent scales, and a continuous central
bundle-scar.

5. Soft Maple (Jeer saccharinuin L. ). Buds opposite, leaf-scars U-
shaped, with three bundle-scars, the angles of the leaf-scars connected by
a line on the epidermis. X 2.

6. Box-elder {Acer Ncgtiiido L.). Opposite leaf-scars with a peculiar,
thin appendage connecting the angles. The portion of the twig just above
the leaf-scars is compressed in a characteristic manner. X 2.

7. Beech (Fagits Americana Sweet). Bud long and slender, with nu-
merous scales. On each side at the base is a stipule-scar.

8. Honey Locust (Gleditschia triacanthos L.). Twig showing super-
posed buds, the uppermost of which develops immediately into a thorn.
A longitudinal section shows the numerous superposed buds. X 2.

9. Tulip Tree (Liriodcndron Tulipifera L. ). Twig showing flattened
buds and encircling stipule-scars.

10. Azalea (A;:;alea nitdiflora L.). Twig showing terminal flower-bud
and clustered leaf-buds.

11. Sycamore (Platanus oeeidentalis L.). Twig showing conical bud
with a single bud-scale and the encircling stipule-scar. The uppermost
lateral bud continues the growth of the stem. Beside this is shown the
scar of the cast terminal portion of the twig.

12. Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra L.). Twig showing felty-pubescent,
so-called naked buds, U-shaped leaf-scars which enclose the buds, and the
base of the well-developed terminal portion whicli is deciduous.

13. Chestnut (Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.). Twig showing the
terminal scar such as occurs also in elms, basswood, and other 2-ranked
twigs.

y ! ^,,i|

ry .:1

tJS

|X|

l'» ■ 'I'il'

1

Fig. I.

6 Tlili I'LAXr WORLD.

buds for the following year arc formed at this time and the
growth is finished for the season m May or June, the end of n. ■
twig having ]^roduced a terminal bud. Such growth is often
called definite or determinate. The growth in length is not al-
ways so definite and may extend through the season until stopped
by the advent of cold weather. As examples of this may be
mentioned some of the willows and the genus Riibiis. Xo defi-
nite terminal bud is then formed. Other plants have adapted
themselves by an intermediate process which may be termed the
casting of deciduous tips. The smooth sumac is a good illustra-
tion of this. The growth of the t^vig is indefinite, but in the fall
the terminal portion of the twig (some four or five inches), is
cast off b\- the formation of a corky layer in the same wav as
leaves are cast. The uppermost lateral bud is strong and con-
tinues the growth of the twig, while tlie dead portion falls off
during the winter, leaving a scar which represents the end of the
twig. In other genera this habit of casting has become so fixed
that it takes place early in the season, about the same time that
the terminal buds are formed in such plants as the hickory. If
these twigs are examined in early summer the dwarfed terminal
portion, sometimes an inch or so long, can be seen, but it soon
falls away, leaving a scar. Such casting of the tips is common
in the 2-ranked twigs. The elms, mulberry, and basswood will
all show a terminal scar, usually pushed aside by the vigorous
uppermost lateral bud which continues the growth of the stem.
The axes of such plants are. of course, always s\mpodial.

The lateral Ijuds are normally single in the axils of the leaves
but ma)- be superposed, that is, two or more, one above the other,
in which case the uppermost in the largest. Superposed buds
are shown in some of the hickories (c. f^. Hicoria mini ma
(Marsh.) liritt. ) and several Leguminosae (the Kentucky coffee
tree Gyiiiiiocladus, the honey-locust Glcdifscliia, etc ). In Glc-
ditschia, a longitudinal section through the leaf-scar and twigs
reveals a row of six or eight buds, the lower successively smaller
and hidden by the scar, while the ui)])erniost is usuall}- trans-
formed into a more or less branched tliorn.

In some si)ecies the fiower buds are conspicuous during winter

TWIGS OF WOODY PLANTS. 7

and may differ markedly in size and shape from the leaf buds,
as in the azalea, red-bud and soft maple.

Biul-scalcs. — In our elimate the buds are usually protected by
scales, which are modified leaves or stipules. In a few cases the
buds are naked (RIiiis, Asiiiiiiia), the distinction being' that in
the scaly buds the scales drop oft' as the bud expands while in the
naked buds the outermost protecting leaves develop into foliage
and do not fall oft'. This, however, scarcely holds good with our
species as the outer leaves are shaped similar to foliage leaves
but fall off easily and do n(~)t function as mature foliage leaves.
The scales are usually modified leaves or leaf-bases but may be
modified stipules. In fact the latter is usually the case in plants
possessing stipules. When the scales are stipules they occur in
pairs and the transition to ordinary stipules can be traced in the
bud, at least at the time of expansion. ]\Iany of our genera have
stipular bud-scales, as Magnolia, Tilia, Uhniis, Platajuis, Qiicrciis.

The bud-scales may be ])rotected by a pubescent coating, by a
gummv exudation (Popiihis) or by being sunken in the bark
(Gyiniiocladits) .

The above is a mere outline of the subject, presenting facts of
common knowledge to botanists and no claims of originality are
made. But the amateur or even the professional botanist will
find it a pleasing and profitable occupation to classify the local
woody ])lants according to the characters presented in their winter
condition.

On November 1 1 last, Dr. D. G. Fairchild, of the Department
of x\griculture addressed the American Brewing Institute on the
subject, " Pure Races of Brewing Ijarley." The speaker urged
the importance, from the economic point of view, of uniformity
of barley races, and showed evidence that such uniformity may
be arrived at b}" care in the selection of seed. Before this may be
undertaken, however, it is necessary for the practical brewer to
decide on the standards of cjuality desired in the material. It
was evident from the address that there remains very much to
be done in the directions indicated.

8 THE PLANT WORLD.

SUCCESSFUL NATURAL PARKS.

Bv William Palmer.

A board sign ' To Macleay Park ' at the end of the iron bridge
leading to WiUiamette Heights, Portland, Ore., had long been
familiar to me during the early days of the late Lewis and Clark
Exposition, and I had assumed that it pointed the way to a real
estate subdivision. Late one rainy afternoon I had an oppor-
tunity to explore this narrow ravine leading into the hills. With
my portfolio I wandered up the narrow path, collecting a few
plants on the way, and passing through a narrow opening in a
crude sapling fence, I soon noticed several copies of a placard
tacked on trees about a bark-covered tee])ee. My curiosity was
aroused and the following was what I read :

"PICK NOTHING.
" Please Read This.

" There being a strong desire on the part of the citizens, the
Lewis and Clark Board and the Park Board to have one wild
spot in onr city limits that is untouched and untrammeled by the
hands of man. the Park Board has therefore selected as that place
the Macleay Park and such portions of the Macleay Park trail as
come under the control of the board. It is desired that not a fern,
flower, leaf, twig, or branch of any name or nature be disturbed.
While the Park Board feels that about 95 per cent, of the commu-
nity are thoughtful and appreciative, still there are a few that are
careless and indifferent, and to these few it necessitates the board
making stringent laws not allowing any one to pluck or mar any-
thing. A keeper clothed with authority will be constantly kept in
the park rigidly to carry out this plan, by arrest or otherwise. All
good citizens will confer a favor if they will report quietly to the
local keeper any depredation of this kind coming under their no-
tice, and thus assist in keeping this park in its native wild beauty.
There is plenty of room for marauders outside the park premises.
It is requested that no one carry cut shrubs through the park, as
this would give vandals a loophole out of which to escape. The
keeper in charge is hereby requested to carry out the spirit of this

statement.

" George H. Williams,

"J. D. Meyer,

" Ion Lewis,

" L. L. Hawkins,

"Park Board.
"The Park belongs to you, kindly .\ssist in protecting it."

The possession of m\- ])ortfolio would naturally have suggested
to a stranger that I had botanical intent on the plants, and

SUCCESSFUL NATURAL PARKS. 9

although it seemed improbable in the drizzling rain that I should
meet the keeper, I at once turned back through the fence opening,
hid the portfolio under a log, and again returned to explore the
character of the place. In a few minutes I met the keeper and
spent some time with him learning of the nature of the park.
An old resident of Portland had left the ground, less than two
hundred acres, to the city on condition that a path should be
maintained through its wilderness, but that the natural beauty
should not be changed. The Park Board of the city, headed by
the mavor, is evidently faithfully carrying out the intent of the
donor. The watchman, deeply interested in the matter, keeps the
path clear and as dry as possible, cuts partly through fallen logs,
so as to permit easy stepping, removes stones, and trims the side
of the path where the bank is steep : provides for the drainage
across the path, especially where the ground is soggy, but in-
variably leaves everything untouched except in the narrow wind-
ing way.

A few crude log benches have been erected with a bark liut
and teepee ; in the rocky stream several small dams have been
made, the accumulated waters turning crude but picturesque
waterwheels and pumps which are constantly in motion to the de-
light of the juvenile visitors. Outside the park, except in almost
inaccessible places, much of the vegetation, especially the larger
ferns, are badly broken and trampled, but inside one looks in
vain for evidence that anything has been touched. No one can
miss seeing the placard, and evidently its warning is rarely, if
ever, disregarded. The fence consists of a few uprights driven
between trees and supporting slender saplings held by wire. The
entrances are openings in this fence, less than two feet wide, be-
tween two uprights, yet although 'a public road borders one side,
the isolation of the park is complete. On fine days and on holi-
days the visitors may number several hundreds ; usually a dozen
or so visit it every day, and workmen pass through as a short
cut between their country homes and the exposition side of the
citv. The object is a success, the expense nominal.

And when, as is rapidly occurring, forests have been obliterated
from the vicinity of Portland, the cit\- may congratulate itself

lO THE PLANT WORLD.

tliat the foresight of one individual wih permit tlie people to enjoy
forever a little of nature's former abundant wilds.

A mueh grander park, closer to a large and growing city and
containing magnificent forest growths, is Stanley Park at \"an-
couver, B. C. Huge forest trees are abundant here ; ferns are
everywhere, but the wilderness is marred somewhat by attempts
at horticulture, the bane of almost every efifort to set aside a piece
of natural wildness. Pathways cross each other in many direc-
tions and there are good driveways, with little effort at improve-
ment. It is essential perhaps that at the principal entrance of a
natural park there should be erected suitable buildings for pur-
poses of supervision, luit it does seem unnecessary to erect green-
houses and to maintain flower beds. Some member of a park
board at some time or other will persist in iiiipnrz'iiii:;, first the
driveways, then other areas, until finally little is left of the
Natural Park, a montrosity of landscape gardening costing thou-
sands of dollars, replacing a bit of nature that in all probability
the ingenuity of man cannot restore. It is well, perhaps, that
provision should be made for children's swings and for baseball,
but the natural wildness should be preserved untouched.

In the city of Halifax, N. S., are two parks. In one an old
Scotch gardener has produced a bit of landscape gardening un-
ec[ualed in my experience ; culture is evident everywhere, every
bit of area being maintained in perfection for definite purposes.
The whole is superb. On the outskirts of the city another but
larger park has been established, a natural park. It has a fine
entrance with splendid Inuldings and a boun(lar\- wall, but noth-
ing more except well-kei)t drives and paths with the smallest
possible amount of culture. However, little of the park seems
to be of the original forest ; yet nature will find her own way if
only man will fix the boundaries and protect the effort.

What has been done in these instances can be done in others.
There is no reason why everv community should not set aside a
small or large tract of wild, perhaps rocky, ground within or near
its limits. A few congenial spirits nught be associated in almost
any community to carry out such a plan and to cooperate with
some landowner who has more than he knows what to do with.

FOREST BELTS OF WESTERN KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. I I

or who needs a helping hand to interest him in caring properly for
his property. The preservation of wild plant life wonld thus
fall along easy lines and perhaps become a dominant feature.

The writer was one of a few who leased an island in the Po-
tomac river above Washington some years ago. We have built a
cottage and some crude narrow paths, yet in other respects, as
nature made it, so we leave it — a beauty spot, a bit of nature
amidst the surrounding culture, where the botanist, the orni-
thologist, the entomologist and others may pursue their investiga-
tions, but not by destructive methods — a place where we seek
seclusion from city cares and which we hope will remain as
long as the Potomac flows past our rocky shores.

FOREST BELTS OF AVESTERN KANSAS AND

NEBRASKA.

A Bulletin of the Forest Service Dealing With Use and
Means of Extending Them in This Region.

That forests will extend, of themselves, even under disad-
vantageous conditions, over the moister soils of western Kansas
and western Nebraska, and that this natural extension may be
fostered with profit, are the interesting facts brought out in Bul-
letin No. 66 of the U. S. Forest Service, of which Royal S. Kel-
logg is the author.

The climate of nearly all this region is essentially semiarid, be-
ing characterized by light and unevenly distributed precipitation,
high winds, excessive evaporation, and great fluctuations of tem-
perature — conditions clearly unfavorable to the thrifty growth of
manv forest trees. Fortunately, however, most of the scanty
rainfall, which would otherwise often prove insufficient, comes
during the growing season. As regards trees, the result of ad-
verse climatic factors is that the common hardwoods are con-
fined closely to the water courses or to comparatively wet situa-
tions. Even the permanent subterranean water is not sufficient
for all species ; the excessive evaporation also limits plant dis-

*

tribution. Trees have been killed in seasons of severe drought.

12 THE PLANT WORLD.

The steps by which forestation begins are often apparently
insignificant and unobserved. On the streams, the sandbar wil-
low and the false indigo play an important part, their roots hold-
ing the banks and bars from shifting until tree species can get
a foothold. After the sand is fixed and other species have
started, the willow dies, but its mission has been fulfilled. Its
seed is carried by the water as well as by the wind, so that the
same flood which makes the sandbar often seeds it with the tree
which will redeem it. In heavier soils other shrubs, such as the
smooth sumac, the wolfberry, and the wild plum, which grow in
clumps and are able to win in the fight against grass, are fore-
runners of the forest.

The one thing which, above all others, makes for improved
conditions on the plains, and gives assured hope for better tree
growth in the future than in the past, is the cessation of fires.
Before the country was settled fires were both frequent aitd ex-
tensive. Only the trees along streams could survive, and, at best,
make a stunted, scrubby growth. Reproduction was extremely
uncertain, owing to the loss of seedlings, and grass gained the
ascendency over all other forms of vegetation. But with the
nearly complete stoppage of fires since the country has been per-
manently settled, conditions are greatly improved. Several tree
species have succeeded, despite other most adverse circum-
stances, in forcing their way into the very heart of the plains by
following up the water courses tributary to the Missouri River.
It is therefore quite certain that with protection they will in the
future steadily gain new territory.

As a result of the study it becomes clear that the forests of this
region are much more restricted in area and poorer in character
than they need be. That it takes a long time to grow trees fit for
any practical purpose is true, yet a region without trees is seri-
ously handicapped, and few farmers can do better for their
property than to establish groves upon it. The government is so
well convinced of the practicability of growing trees from seeds
in this region that it has created two forest reserves, containing
208,000 acres, in the sand hills of Nebraska for this purpose.

EXPERIMENTS WITH WATER CULTURES.

13

A SBIPLE METHOD FOR EXPERIMENTS WITH
WATER CULTURES.

By Burton Edward Livingston.

The methods commonly in use for fixing seedlings in jars for
water cultures usually involve absorbent cotton or some similar
material the purpose of which is to hold the plants in place. One
of the most frequent causes for the failure of such experiments is
the accidental moistening of this material and the subsequent
growth of fungi therein, which sooner or later causes injury to
the stems at the points of fixation and often result in damping off.
Furthermore, these methods of wedging the plant stems into

lniffti%

Fig. 2. Method of germinating seeds on paraffin-coaled disks floated by

means of cork stoppers.

openings in cork stoppers or other jar covers always require con-
siderable care in preparation and more dexterity in manipula-
tion than is possessed by the average student of plant physiology,
at least in beginning classes. For the research worker, the time
required for the setting up of such cultures is an important con-
sideration and a method adapted to more rapid work would allow
the use of more cultures and tlie accompanying greater accuracy
of results.

14 THE PLANT WORLD.

A method which has been devised in the laboratories of the
Bureau of Soils of the U. S. Department of Agriculture is much
simpler in operation and in man}' other ways nuich more satis-
factory for many water culture experiments than any other with
which the writer is acquainted. It can be used for cultures of
any plant in which the stem does not increase too markedly in
diameter during the period of the experiment, and is well suited
to such plants as wheat, and the allied grasses, buckwheat, radish,
etc. The writer has used it mainl\- for wheat, a plant which gives
excellent responses to all manner of treatments and deserves a
more prominent place in physiological experimentation than it
holds at present. Seeds of wheat or some similar grain are
germinated on paraffin-coated disks of galvanized iron wire net-
ting of a convenient size, having a ^-inch mesh, and are floated
just at the surface of a pan of water by means of several cork
stoppers pinned to the under side of the disk close to its circum-
ference. In coating the disks they are repeatedly dipped in
melted paraffin and the openings are thus decreased to a size
allowing the needed contact with the water but keeping the seeds
from falling through. If, after paraffining, the openings are too
small, they may be enlarged by cutting out the superfluous para-
fin with a small cork-borer. The w^ater below the disks is from
two to three inches in depth. It must be changed often, several
times a day in warm weather, to prevent injury tc^ the seedlings
from the accumulation of materials which the seeds exude and
from the products of bacterial and fungus growth during germi-
nation. Fig 2 shows the method of germination. The water
has been removed from both pans for taking the photograph. In
the pan at the right the paraffined disk is supported on a ring
stand in order to show the corks and roots. These seedlings are
of the right size for placing in the bottles.

Shortly after the first true leaf has begun to emerge from its
sheath the seedlings are removed from the gernnnating apparatus
and placed in the culture bottles. These bottles are wide-
mouthed and of a low, broad form, containing eight ounces,* and

* The most satisfactory bottle wliicli has been found for the purpose is
No. 5677 of Elmer and Amend's catalogue of chemical supplies. It is
made of a green flint glass which is fairly free from the objection of
being soluble in water.

EXPERIMENTS WITH WATER CULTURES. I 5

are provided with flat cork stoppers one-half inch in thickness.
Each bottle is covered with opaque black paper or is painted ex-
ternally with asphaltum varnish or other opaque covering" to pre-
vent the access of lig-ht to the roots. The stopper is prepared by
cutting ten uniformly spaced vertical wedges from its lateral
surface, these being about one-eighth inch broad and of some-
what greater depth, and extending from top to bottom of the
stopper. Each cork wedge, after being cut out, is truncated at
its inner angle by the removal of enough cork to allow it to be re-
placed in position after a seedling has been placed in the groove
from which the wedge was cut. The stem of a seedling is placed
in each of the ten grooves, the seeds being just beneath the lower
surface of the stopper, and the wedges are pressed into position.
They should wedge the stems into place just firmly enough to
hold them when the stopper is inserted in the bottle. After all
are in position a rubber band is placed around the stopper about
one-eighth inch from its upper surface, to hold the wedges in
place. The stopper is then pressed firml\- into the neck of the
bottle, the latter having been filled to the shoulder with any
desired solution.

If the culture is properly set up all joints are so tight that
practically no opportunity is ofifered for the direct evaporation of
water from the bottle. Either the solution should be renewed
or the bottle should be replenished with distilled water every three
or four days, according to the character of the experiment, to
make up for loss of water by the transpiration of the plants.

Such cultures of wheat can be continued for three or four
weeks or even longer without difficulty. Since the water loss
therefrom is only through the plants, the entire cultures may be
weisfhed at each change and the sum of the losses recorded mav
be taken as the total loss by transpiration of ten plants for the
period of the experiment. This total water-loss, being propor-
tional to the area, and hence to the size of the leaves, a convenient
method is thus offered for determining the relative growths of
several cultures. f At the end of the experiment the green and

t Livingston. B. E., Relation of transpiration to growth in wheat. Bot.
Gaz. 40: 178-195. 1905.

i6

THE PLANT WORLD.

dry weights of the tops and the dry weight of the roots may be
taken as additional criteria of growth.

The method here described may be used for studies of the
nutrient or stimulating value of various substances. A striking
illustration of the value of the endosperm to the young seedling
may be presented by making two cultures in the same solution, the
seedlings of one culture having had the seeds removed at the
time of setting up. while those of the other are normal. A
single example to illustrate the kind of results which may be ob-

FlG. 3.

tained is given in Fig. 3. No. i is in pure water, No. 2 in a
Knop's nutrient solution containing 112 parts per million (0.0112
per cent.) of total salts. The succeeding cultures have the same
nutrient solution, each one being twice as concentrated as the pre-
ceding one of the series. It is seen that the optimum strength lies
in the range of concentrations from 224 to 14336 parts per mil-
lion ( Nos. 3 to 9 in the figure), and that variations in concentra-
tion within these limits do not markedly effect the growth of the
plants. The solution in No. 10. containing 28672 parts per mil-
lion of total salts, is obviously too strong for the plants.

THE HOP-HORNBEAM OR IRONWOOD. I /

THE HOP-HORNBEAM OR IROXWOOD.

Osfrya Jlr<^iiiiaiia.
By Mary S. Van Hook.

A tree that borrows most of its good points from its neighbors
and yet succeeds in being individual enough to be interesting
deserves to be noticed. The branchlets of the hop-hornbeam re-
sembles those of the elm, its leaves are very like those of the
birch, while the appearance of its fruit, so similar to that of the
hop vine, gives the tree its name ; yet the tree has its own peculiar
charms and piques immediate further study, when once it is ob-
served.

Graceful and dainty in appearance, seldom over thirty feet
high, throughout the year the hop-hornbeam attracts atten-
tion by its beauty. In the spring the vivid green of its leaves, and
in the autumn their brilliant coloring", make the tree an ornament
wherever it grows. Late into the winter many leaves remain,
withered it is true, but still a pleasing brown, and with them
hang the pistillate aments. the hop-like fruit clusters, like little
lanterns on the tree. Each seed, shaped like an apple seed but
light colored, is enclosed in a small sac from which it does not
escape until spring. On the same tree are the staminate catkins
in groups of three, each one, in the winter condition, not more
than an inch long, but in the spring stretching out to twice that
length.

The wood of the hornbeam is its most characteristic feature.
Close grained and very hard, it almost defies destruction and is
indeed like iron. The ancients employed it in making chariot
wheels, and it is now used for the handles of small tools and
weapons. In the young trees the bark, smooth and reddish
brown in color and marked with short white lines, suggests that
of young cherry trees but later on it becomes rough and grey
more like that of the elm.

A near relative to the hop-hornbeam is Osfrya Carpi ints, the
bluebeech-hornbeam. Its leaves resemble those of the beech,
and the trunk is often blue or slate color, whence the name. Tlie

I 8 THE PLANT WORLD.

bark of the \()iin,f;- tree is often perfectly smooth with curious
ridges upon it and with its pecnhar color, the trunk of the tree
actually resembles a column of iron in appearance as well as in
character. O. car/^liiiis grows to be much taller than O. J^ir-
giniaiia and prefers the rich woods and banks of streams to the
sandv hillsides which / 'iri^^iiilaiia elects. ISoth trees love to be
alone and are never found growing in groves as are oak or
beech trees.

THE DEVIL'S TONGUE.*
By Olga Whittlesey.

When the plant first started to grow it was a round, brown,
corm with knobs on its hard surface. It was about five inches
in diameter. In the middle was a round disk with a little pinky
knob in its center which was the plant just beginning to grow.

The plant was placed in a glass jar with a cloth under it and
two glasses holding it firmly against the side of the jar. It was
only given water a few times. The first eleven days it grew five
inches but the next twenty-two it grew two feet nine inches.

As the plant grew the corm became smaller until there was
room between it and the glasses to put a finger. Meanwhile the
little pinky part grew, first slowly and then very fast. Before it
was two inches in height it changed in color, becoming a dark
speckled green. It grew in one straight, heavy, stalk with little
flaps forming the outside covering. Later it became one smooth
stalk with a reddish blade at the end.

In about three days there was a great change in the plant. It
had attained the height of five feet six inches and its coloring had
changed greatly. The lower part or corm had become wrinkled
and the leaves at the bottom of the stalk were very loose. They
were a light magenta and the stalk had changed from a mottled
green to the light color of the leaves with brown spots. The
greatest change of all had taken place in the thick part at the
top. From it had come a long tongue-like formation which

*This is a first-prize compL'titive essay emljodying the original observa-
tions of the author (aged 13, a pupil in the Trenton Model School) on the
development of the curious aroid AniorphophaHiis Rh'icri. — Ed.

THE DEVILS TONGUE. 1 9

looked as if it were the flower of the devil's tongue. The tongue
and the leaf which enveloped it were a rich magenta in color
giving the whole plant a weird look. Certainly the plant was
well-named for its flower is remarkablv like a huge tongue.

The flower faded when it had been in bloom a few days. The
long tongue or spadix withered and both it and the spathe hung
down limply. The leaves near the bottom became dry and brittle,
the corm became still smaller and the stalk thinner, causing the
outside skin to wither. Nothing was left of the gorgeous plant
but a dejected looking mass of faded magenta, hanging from a
shriveled stalk.

Xow that the flower was dying we could ])ull it ajjart and look
at its stamens and other organs. We found that the stamens
were above the pistils, at the base of the tongue. They were
reddish brown in color while the pistils were bright red. As the
stamens were fastened above the pistils and did not ripen until
after them, it was hard to see how the pistils were fertilized.
The devil's tongue has no nectar by which to attract insects but
it has another device equally good if not as pleasant.

The tongue is hollow and has in it a ver^■ bad-smelling secre-
tion. This liquid smells like decaxing meat and attracts the
carrion flies who bring pollen on their legs and wings.

The leaf of the devil's tongue is almost as curious in its growth
as the flower. The leaf-stalks grow directly from the corm and
the scars, which were on the sides of the corm when the flower
began to grow, are left by them. The stalk is dark green in
color, mottled with white like the flower stalk when it first began
to grow. It is about three-quarters of an inch in diameter and
its cells are spongelike and contain a watery liquid.

The leaf is compound. As the stalklet divides a great many
times and into a varying number of parts, it is called decom-
pound. The first division of the leaf-stalk is about three feet
from the ground. At this point it divides into three parts. The
stalklets, from here on, instead of being bare, are bordered
throughout their whole length bv oval leaflets arranged alter-
nately and connected by a strip of leaf varving from a ([uarter to
an eighth of an inch in brcadtli. The leaflets arc a dark, glossv

20 THE PLANT WORLD.

green on tlic upper side and a lighter green on the under side.
The leaf is very graceful when growing.

At present the devil's tongue seems like a very useless plant but
perhaps it may become a useful one in later years through Mr.
Burbank's wonderful experiments.

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS.
Edited by Dr. C. Stuart Gager.

As stated in the December Plant World, the U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture is distributing to schools and colleges for use
in teaching economic botany and commercial geography, samples
of plant fibers, which formed part of the fiber exhibit of the De-
partment at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

Such a package, received lately at the Wadleigh High School,
New York City, contained samples of five kinds of fibers from
different parts of the world — cotton, sisal, Jaumave istle, hemp,
and flax. Each sam]:)le was plainly labeled with the common and
Latin name of the plant, together with a brief description of
the method of preparing the fiber, and its commercial uses.

Accompanying the package was a very instructive illustrated
pamphlet by Mr. Lyster H. Dewey, Botanist in charge of In-
vestigations of Fiber Plants, Bureau of Plant Industry, entitled
" Principal Commercial Plant Fibers." The writer divides vege-
table fibers into three distinct classes: (i) The cottons, with soft,
lint-like fiber one-half inch to two inches long, composed of single
cells, borne on the seeds of different species of cotton plants.
(2) The soft fibers, or bast fibers, including flax, hemp, and jute;
flexible fibers of soft texture, ten to one hundred inches in length,
composed of man\- overlapping cells, and borne in the inner bark
of the plants. (3) The hard, or leaf, fibers, including manila,
sisal, mauritius, New Zealand fibers, and istle, all having rather
stifif, woody fibers one to ten feet long, composed of numerous
cells in bundles, borne in the tissues of the leaf or leaf stem. A
detailed description of the difl^erent fibers has the following in-
teresting introduction :

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS. 2 I

" One of the most important manufacturing industries of this
country is that which iuchides the various Hues of textiles. Leav-
ing out the silk and woolen mills, which use chiefly animal fibers,
there are the cotton factories, the linen and jute mills, and the
twine and cordage mills, which use plant fibers exclusively.
These number about 1,200 distinct establishments, representing
an invested capital of more than $500,000,000 and giving pro-
ductive employment to more than 300,000 persons.

" The source of the raw material required by this great in-
dustry is an item of no small interest. ^lost of the cotton is
produced in our southern states, but nearly all the other vegetable
fibers are imported. The importations of raw fibers, including
cotton, during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1903, amounted to
$46,161,172. These figures cover only the raw fiber. The im-
portations of all the different kinds of textile plant fibers in the
various stages of manufacture, from yarn and coarse twine to fine
woven goods, laces and hosiery, amount annually to more than
$80,000,000."' M. AI. B.

A'alue of Nature Study. — One of the most gratifying fea-
tures of our educational progress is the growing interest in na-
ture study. Nature study at the very outset turns the child's in-
quiring mind to the things near at hand ; it is the first step in
practical education ; the first thing to make the child think of his
schooling, not as a foreign, unnecessary accomplishment, but as
a vital thing that is to blossom and bear fruit in his everyday
experience.

We are more interested in the development of the nature stud}-
idea, too, because nature study is the stepping stone, the logical
introduction to the studv of agriculture. This is the policy
favored by our North Carolina school authorities, and the policy
which Dr. F. L. Stevens has kept steadily in mind in Teachers'
Bulletin No. 5, " A Course in Nature Study," just issued by
Superintendent Joyner. Prepared only after the most exhaus-
tive study; clear, practical, and admirably arranged, this bulletin
ought to be in the hands of every teacher in the South, and we
take it that Professor Joyner will send copies to all applicants.
as long as the supply lasts.

22 THE PLANT WORLD.

NOTES ON CURRENT BOTANICAL LITERATURE.

The very rare little fern. Schi::aca ('iisllla ha.s been found by
George E. Nichols about two hundred miles northeast of the
station reported in 1879 by Mrs. E. G. Britton, at Grand Lake,
Nova Scotia. The new locality is on Cape Breton Island, about
ten miles from Northeast Alargaree, \'ictoria County. In this
northern station the i)lants are dwarfed, being hardly two inches
high. (Fcni Bulletin, 13: Oct. 1905.)

Another interesting find has been made b\- Mr. A. B. Klugh, in
CJntario, that of Scolopcndriuui z'til_^an\ the Hart's-tongue fern.
(See Pl.\xt World, Nov.. 1905.)

The Popular Science }[outIi!\' for Januar}' contains an article
by T. G. Montgomery, University of Nebraska, entitled " \\diat is
an Ear of Corn? " As opposed to the generally accepted theory
that the ear originated from the fusing together of a number of
two-rowed spikelets, the author maintains the view that the ear
developed directly from the central spike of some tassel-like
structure similar to the corn tassel. The evolution of the car is
traced from a much-branched grass, each branch terminated by a
tassel-like structure bearing hermaphroditic flowers, to a central
tassel producing only staminate flowers. At the same time, the
lateral branches produce only pistillate flowers.

In the Journal of the A't"et.' York Botanical Garden for Decem-
ber. Dr. Murrill has an interesting account of a Fungus collecting
trip in Maine, as a result of which he brc^ught l)ack about 1,500
specimens. He found agarics only here and there, while the
large woodv funsri are exceedingly common, and are verv de-
structive to the elms. Much damage is done by wood-destroying
fungi in the lumbering districts of Maine. Most of the wild
cherry trees scattered through the woods were entirely dead, and
their trunks covered with an imdescribed species of Poria. Dr.
Murrill finds a close relationship between the fungi of Maine and
those of the old world, particularl}' of F.urope and Siberia.

Robert F. Griggs has written a monogra])h of " The Willows
of Ohio "" as No. i 1 of the Special Papers, being volume 6. part 6,
Proc. Ohio State .\cad. of Science. The paper comprises 58

REVIEWS. 2^

octavo pages and is illustrated by sixteen half-tone plates. This
\vork should be of interest to students of local floras, and will, no
doubt, stinuilate the study of these difficult plants, the willows, in
the region comprehended in the monograph.

Bulletin Xo. 89, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department
of Agriculture, is entitled " Wild Medicinal Plants of the United
States " by Alice Hengel. This is a full list, so far as the plants
are known, giving their scientific and common names, the kinds
of places in which they are to be found, and the parts which are
used.

The Department of Agriculture will do a good work in edu-
cating people up to the cultivation of many of our drug plants
for the market. There is in them a source of income yet little
appreciated.

H. A. Gleason publishes in the Ohio Naturalist (vol. 6, No.
2: Dec. ]'j05) a revised annotated list of the St. John's worts
(Hypericaceae) of Ohio.

John H. Schaft'ner. in the same, gives a key to the Ohio Dog-
wods in the Winter Condition, a paper which will be of special
use to teachers.

" Free-floating Plants of Ohio " is the title of an interesting
little article of biological notes, also in the same journal, b\' Mabel
Schaffner.

REVIEWS.

Wild Flozccrs of California. I-"rom water-color drawings by
Elisabeth Hallowell S.vunders. $1.50. Philadelphia:
^Mlliam M. Bains.

L nder this title is published a collection of twelve very artistic
water-color sketches of some familiar Californian wild flowers.
Each sketch occupies a separate sheet of heavy paper, interleaved
with a tissue on which is printed the popular and scientific name,
together with a brief description of the plant in c|uestion. written
by Air. Charles F. Saunders. The sheets are placed unbound
within a heavy folder. Mrs. Saunders' work is especiallv to be
commended for the purity of color and the artistic arrangement,

24 . THE PLANT WORLD.

which has not been permitted to interfere with the accnracy of
the drawing. Among the subjects of especial exceUence may be
mentioned the Mariposa tuhps. CaHfornia poppy, wild pansy,
and wild heliotrope. The book is a charming gift and an excel-
lent souvenir of California's floral charms. C. L. P.

PERSONALS.

Dr. Daniel T. MacDougal, formerly assistant director of the
New York Botanical Garden, has accepted the position of Director
of Botanical Research in the Carnegie Institution. Dr. ^lac-
Dougal is now at the Desert Laboratory of the Carnegie Institu-
tion at Tucson, Arizona, where he will remain for the rest of the
winter.

Tucson is to become the residence, also, of two of the Board of
Editors of the Plant World. Professor Francis E. Lloyd has
resigned from the Teachers College, Columbia University, to
accept a position on the Research Staff of the Desert Laboratory.
Professor Lloyd will, however, continue to be editor and pub-
fisher of this magazine.

Dr. Burton E. Livingston, recently of the Bureau of Soils, U.
S. Department of Agriculture, whose valuable article on " A
Simple Method for Experiments with Water Cultures " appears
in this number of the Plant World, is now a member of the
Staff of the Desert Botanical Laboratory.

Dr. C. S. Gager, who edits the department for teachers in the
Plant World, has resigned his position as instructor in biology
in the Morris High School, New York City, to become Director of
the Laboratories of the New York Botanical Garden.

Volume 9 Number 2

The Plant World

9t iflaja^inc of popular ^otanp
FEBRUARY, 1906

THE OCCURRENCE OF ICE IN PLANT TISSUE.

By K. M. Wiegand.
Cornell Uiiiz'crsity.

It is a commonly observed phenomenon that when the tempera-
ture falls below the zero point centigrade many plants undergo a
change in texture as well as to some extent in form and color.
When the temperature again rises these same plants are afifected
in a definite manner. Either they return to their normal condi-
tion, or they immediately wilt and in a short time inidergo almost
complete disintegration. An examination of the interior of such
plants, while still rigid, discloses the presence of ice crystals,
usuallv in large numbers, in some cases appearing to almost fill the
leaf, stem or bud, in others occupying certain definite regions
in the tissues of these organs — in other words, the organs are
" frozen."

Although the fact that plants freeze and are often killed by
freezing" is well known to every one, the details of the process are
known to Imt very few, as most text-books give little attention to
the subject. It is not the object of this paper to present the re-
sults of many new investigations, but to bring together in acces-
sible form what is already known of the subject.

The early Greek philosophers gave the matter their attention
in an attempt to account for the death of plants by cold. Not
understanding the cellular structure of organisms, they believed
the injurv due to the rending and mashing of the various organs
bv the ice-formation, which they correctly discovered often oc-

25

26 THE PLANT WORLD.

currcd extensively enough to make sueh injury appear natural.

After the discovery of cell structure in plant tissue De Bufifon
and Du Hamel were about the first to present a definite theory of
ice-formation, and consequent death. To them death seemed due
to the formation of ice within the cells. Since water when chang-
ing" to the solid form increases in volume, it seemed to them fair to
suppose that the cell-sap would, on freezing, increase in the same
way, thereby stretching the cell-walls until they ruptured. It was
supposed that the Huid from the ruptured cells flowed together
and froze as one piece. Only in this way did it seem possible to
account for the large ice masses found in frozen potatoes, beets
and other thick succulent material. ?\lany other investigators
since that time have held the same view, among whom were Hales,
Miller, Stromcr, Sennebier. Thonin. Sprengel and Schubler.

Goeppert" in 1830 seems to have been the first to point out that
in some cases ice forms in the intercellular spaces instead of
within the cell. Sachsf in i860 showed that it forms almost
always in the spaces. Sachs and Nageli| both showed that the
expansion caused by all the water in the cell would not be suf^cient
to rupture the wall. Nageli discovered that cells of Spirogyra
which had been frozen and thawed still showed some power of
osmotic action, which he thought could not have been the case
had the cell-wall been ruptured by the freezing. The relation of
the protoplasmic membrane to osmosis was not then understood.
Both Nageli and Sachs attributed the loss of turgidity accompany-
ing the freezing process to molecular changes in the cell-wall
which thev likened to the change occurring in frozen starch paste
whereby the paste-like nature and abilit\- to retain large quanti-
ties of water are both lost. This was an important comparison
and holds good even now if protoplasm is substituted for cell-wall.

* Goeppert. Ueber die Warmeentwickelung in derm Pflanzen, deren
Gefrieren, und die Scluitzmittel gegen dasselhe. Book 1830.

t Sachs. Krystalll)ildung Krystallbildungen bei dem Gefrieren und
Veranderung der Zellhaute bei dem Aufthauen saftiger Pfianzentheile.
Bericht. u. d. Verhand. d. Kon. Siichs. Gesell. d. Wiss. zu Leipzig, Nat.
Wiss. Klasse, 12: 1-50. 1860.

t Nageli. Ueber die Wirkung dcs Frostes aut die Pflanzenzelk-n. Sitz.
der Konig. baycr. Akad. d. Wiss. Miinchen, r: 264. i86l

ICE IN PLANT TISSUE. 2/

Since i860 the studies of Goeppert.* Prillieux.f AIuller-Tluir-
gan.]; Kunisch.§ and ■\rolisch|| have all shown that, in nature, ice
very rarely forms within the cell, and that cells are rarelv, if ever,
ruptured by ice formation. The cases where the sap freezes
within the cell have been found limited to large cells that are verv
rich in water, containing little protoplasm, and having large
vacuoles, as for example, the large internodal cells of Chora and
A'itclla, the epidermal cells of Tradcscaiitia (Molisch), and a few
similar cases. Even in Chara and Xifella the ice is produced
within the cell only when the freezing is rather rapid. Cells that
are cutinized nearly all the way around, and which consequently
have no external water film in which ice may start, also produce
ice within. The cells of varicnis plant hairs are of this nature.
?\Iolisch has studied in detail the freezing of Spirogxni threads,
finding that the water passes to the surface in almost every case,
while the cell itself collapses completely. Kunisch found the same
true for Xitel la. Colin* claims to have found ice between the
wall and protoplasm in Xitella syiicarpa. and Goeppert the same
in Cladophora fracta, but no one else has verified these observa-
tions. On the other hand, Mtiller-Thurgau has shown that ice
forms exclusively in the intercellular spaces only when the tissue
is very gradually brought to the point of ice formation. Fresh

* Goeppert. Ueber Einwirkung niederer Temperatur auf die Vegetation.
Gart. Flora Deutsch. Russ. u. d. Schweiz. 1879.

Ueber das Gefrieren, Erfrieren der Pflanzen und Schutzmittle dagegen.
Stuttgart (book), 1883.

t Prillieux. Snr la formation de glacons a I'interieur des plantes. Ann.
Sci. Nat. ser. 5, 12 : 125. 1869.

t Midler-Tliurgau. Ueber das Gefrieren und Erfrieren der Pflanzen.
Landw. Jahrb., g: 133. 1880 and 15: 453. 1886.

§ Kuniscb. Ueber die todlicbe Einwirkung niederer Temperaturen auf
die Pflanzen (book). 1880.

II Moliscb. Untersuchungen iiber das Erfrieren der Pflanzen (book).
1897.

Oberdieck. Beobacbtungen lilier das Gefrieren der Gewiicbse. etc.
(book). Ravensburg. 1872.

Dalmar. Ueber Eisbildung in Pflanzen mit Riicksicbt auf die anatoni-
iscbe Beschaffenheit derselben. I-'lora, 80: 436. 1895.

* Cohn. Report of a paper read before Die Schlesiscben Gesellschaft f.
vaterland. Cultur. P'ot. Zeit. 29: /2^. 1871.

28 THE PLANT WORLD.

sections cooled quickly produced ice within the cells. The writer
has found this to be true also of Xitclla and Spirogyra cells. To
this is probably due the finding of ice within the cells bv the older
authors. In many of their experiments bits of watery tissue were
usually placed abruptly in the freezing mixture, or exposed di-
rectly to outside temperature. In the natural process of freezing,
however, the fall of temperature is so gradual that ice formation
within the cell does not occur.

In considering the structure and arrangement of the ice masses
produced when plant tissue freezes it mav be best to commence
with those formed on the free outside surface of organs.

As shown by Sachs and others, all moist substances, when
cooled very gradually and protected from evaporation, at length
become covered with an incrustation of ice. This crust possesses
a definite structure in that it is composed of innumerable little
prisms placed side by side palisade fashion, perpendicular to
the substratum. Perhaps the most familiar instance of this
sort is in connection with the freezing of damp soil. In little
cavities underneath boards or other covering which prevents
evaporation, we often find in winter ice crusts of considerable
thickness consisting of prisms set rather loosely together and
often more or less curved. If the soil is well protected, ice crusts
often one to two inches in thickness are formed, the individual
crystals of which are quite stout as compared with those formed
on plant organs. This is largely because the water in the soil is
not held with as much force as in plant tissue. Hugo V. Mohl*
has described an especially fine case occurring in the Black Forest
where the outer layer of the earth froze and was afterward raised
by an ice crust forming beneath it and drawing its water from the
unfrozen earth below. The crystals were from two to five cen-
timeters long, and from the thickness of a needle to that of a
goose-quill. Similar cases were described by ^^liiller-Thurgau,

Sachs found that succulent plant tissue such as beets, turnips.

* Hugo V. Mohl. Ueber die anatomischen Veranderungen des Blatt-
gelenkes, welche das Al^fall der Blrittor, herbeifiihren. Bot. Zeit. i8: i6.
i860.

See also, Monthly Weatlier Review, U. S. Dept. Ag. 26: No. 5, 217. 1898.

ICE IN PLANT TISSUE.

29

potatoes, etc.. wlien presenting- a moist cut surface, became coated
with an ice crust exactly similar to that produced on soil, hut only
when protected from evaporation ( V\g. 4, C). Ex]Dosed tissue
usually produced no prisms at all. Good crusts were formed only
when the fall of temperature was very gradual, and in such cases
the prisms often reached the length of several millimeters — always,
of course, with one end closely applied to the freezing tissue.
Large artificial or abnormal chambers in turnips, etc., also became
lined with a similar crust. In the interior of each prism was

Fig. 4. Diiigrammalic reyresenia'uon of ice-masses produced on or
within frozen beets, potatoes, etc. A, in tlie interior. B. near the periph-
ery. C, on a freshly cut surface.

ustially a chain of minute air bubbles lying longitudinallv near the
axis. These probably came from air dissolved in the cell sap and
separated from it in the process of freezing. On melting, these
bubbles remained in the water for a long time undissolved, thus
forminc' a sort of foam.

30 THE PLANT WORLD.

Such ice prisms grew solely by additions at the end in contact
with the tissue, but they showed no obvious relation to the cells
upon which they rested. In many cases the cells were nmch
smaller in diameter than the crystals so that one of the latter might
cover two or three of the former with no regularity whatever. In
other words, the water going to form the crystals seemed to come
from the whole tissue in general rather than from any particular
cell. Indeed they seemed to form indiiTerentlv upon the paren-
chyma, upon a cross-section of the bundle, or upon a longitudinal
section of the latter. The thickness of the crystal depended onlv
upon the molecular force to be overcome, not upon the morpho-
logical nature of the substratum. Sachs found no relation be-
tween the cr}stal formation and the structure of the cell-wall, or
the kind of substances in the cell-sap. Subsequent investigators
have fully confirmed these observations. Similar incrustations
have been found also on and within animal tissue according to
Miiller-Thurgau.

For observing the formation of such ice crusts on the surface
of single cells where the whole process can be easily followed, the
writer has found Spirogyra and NitcUa especially easy and in-
structive. P^ilaments were mounted in cedar oil, as first suggested
by Molisch. Then by placing the microscope and slide out of
doors they were gradually subjected to a freezing temperature
while still in the field of the microscope. In this way the forma-
tion and growth of the needles could be seen with remarkable
clearness. These were produced closely packed side by side all
over the outer surface of the wall, and the growth of the crystal
was so rapid that the increase in length could be easily seen to
occur while one looked through the microscope. As this increase
continued the cells began to collapse, until finally no vacuole re-
mained, and the walls were almost in contact. The crust did not
form all over the cells at the same time, but began at certain
localities from which the prism-formation extended rapidly in all
directions. The growth of the crystals here is clearly due to the
addition of molecules of water at the end in contact with the cell-
wall, and no increase in thickness of the crystals was observed to
occur after their inception. Thus Sachs's observations are sus-
tained.

ICE IN PLANT TISSUE. 3 I

Regarding the formation of ice within the tissue, one of the first
detailed accounts was also by Sachs. In the first edition of his
" Lehrbuch " (1868) he described the appearance of ice masses
in the petioles of artichoke, Cyiiarca Scaly in us. In this plant the
bundles of the petiole are somewhat free in the tissue. On freez-
ing, ice cylinders, each made up of radiating ice prisms side by
side, were formed around each bundle. The epidermis of the
artichoke was usually completely separated from the remainder of
the petiole by a subepidermal ice layer, leaving the epidermis
hanging about the petiole like a loose sack when the ice had
melted.

Prillieux more careftdly studied the ice masses within the
tissues. His conclusions were, in brief, that the large ice clumps
formed in plant tissue were composed of ice-needles placed close
together ; that the cells were not ruptured, but that often when the
quantity of ice was very great and the intercellular spaces were
not sufficiently large the cells were forced apart to accommodate
the large clumps. Sometimes the epidermis or bark was ruptured
and the lamellae of ice were protruded, thus giving rise to the so-
called " frost-plants."* He was also the first to affirm that the
sap comes out from the cell in the liquid form. He rightly stated
that in the case of hardy plants the separation of the cells by the
ice masses ordinarily causes no injury. The regularity of ar-
rangement of the masses for each species was found very marked
both by Prillieux and Kunisch, but this was to be expected since it
depended more or less on the tissue configuration.

In most very fleshy structures, as in potatoes, the ice masses
which are usually lenticular in form lie irregularly or perhaps
more or less parallel to the surface. In beets, however, according
to Miiller-ThurgaUjthe masses, although mostly tangential near the
surface, are in the interior either tangential, radial, or cross-wdse.
In Dahlia tubers only small lenticular masses were found in the in-
terior, while near the periphery very large ones were present.
In the intermediate portion of the tuber only radial masses were
found. Sometimes the ice masses in these tissues reach the length
of a centimeter, but are usually much smaller.

* See also MacDongal. Frost plants, a resume. Science, 22: 351-52.
1893.

32

THE PLANT WORLD.

In succulent stems and petioles the arrangement is usually such
that the masses in the cortex are tangential, as also in the outer
pith, while in the woody ring they are radial and mostly in the
pith-rays. The vascular bundles are in this way more or less
completely surrounded by ice.

In leaves, the writer's own observations show that the ice crys-
tals first line the spaces of the spongy-parenchyma, but later as
freezing continues they completely fill these spaces, or in some
cases of leaves rich in water, thev may fuse into a sheet of ice com-

A B

Fig. 5. A, section of bud of Lombardy poplar. Note layers of ice in
organs. B, section of bud of lilac, white layers composed of ice. Temp.
— 10° F.

pletely separating the upper layers of the leaf from the lower.
In bud-scales this latter condition normally occurs in cold weather
except in a few species where the scales contain little water. Fig.
5 shows the distribution of ice in buds of lilac and Lombardy
poplar. The light layers represent the ice. These photographs
were taken from free-hand sections with a photo-micrographic
apparatus set up out in the open at a temperature of — 10° F.
Under these strenuous conditions the negatives were not of the
best.

In twigs there is frequently an ice c>linder entirely around

ICE IN PLANT TISSUE. 33

the stem completely separating^ the outer layers from the parts
within. Small ice crystals usuallv occur within the dead pith
cells, within the vessels, and sometimes between the cells of the
pith-rays, as Miiller-Thuroau has shown, and as the writer has
often observed.

The structure of the lenticular ice masses in beets, potatoes,
etc.. when the tissue has been forced apart to accommodate them,
has been studied by Prillieux and later in more detail by jNIiiller-
Thurgau. A\'hen examined in cross-section under the microscope
they are seen to be composed of two layers of prismatic crystals
which in each la}'er are packed closely together side by side.
The prisms are more or less regularly hexagonal, and the majority
contain at their axis a chain of minute air bubbles as did those
in the free ice-incrustation already described. In case the ice
mass comes from near the center of the beet or potato the two
layers of which it is composed are of nearly equal thickness
(Fig. 4, A). If, on the other hand, it comes from near the peri-
phery, then the outer layer of crystals is always much thinner,
the separate crystals being therefore much shorter (Fig. 4, B).
This decrease in thickness of the outer layer continues in pro-
portion as one progresses from the center toward the periphery
until in subepidermal masses only the inner layer remains. The
transition is therefore gradual from the two-layered structure to
the superficial ice crust of Sachs composed of the single series of
palisade-like prisms. A similar transition occurs in going from
the interior toward the simple ice crusts lining the walls of the
large cavities within the tissues.

The cause of this variation in the two layers is probably not
due to their position in the organ, but to the amount and source
of the water at command. The ice crystals are added to in every
case at one end only. Consequently, if the tissues on both sides
of the ice mass are filled with available sap then the mass will
consist of two layers, and if this water is equally accessible on
both sides, that is, requiring the same force to disengage it from
the tissues in equal quantities, then the layers will be of equal
thickness. Water comes to these masses from quite a distance,
hence the character of the tissue round about must be considered.

34 THE PLANT WORLD.

The cells toward the periphery of the beet or potato gradually
become smaller and therefore less rich in water, which in turn
is more strongly held by imbibition. Therefore, in an ice clump
lying half way from the center to the outside, the water is more
available on the inner side, and still farther out the difference
is still more pronounced. Near the outside only a few cells inter-
vene between the ice mass and the surface of the organ, and these
are small, while on the inside all the Ikrge cells tiitough to the
opposite side are available. The presence of other ice masses
seems not to greatly disturb this relation, but simply to reduce
the size of the remaining ice masses in the vicinity. The above
conditions obtain typically only when the organ is frozen very
slowlv. Rapid freezing tends to produce amorphous masses of
smaller size, and then occasionally within the cell. Sometimes
a few spaces are found entirely filled with ice which shows no
crystalline structure even though the cooling was gradual. Prob-
ably in these cases the spaces were filled with water before
freezing began.

For observing the ice masses in frozen tissue the writer has
found the following a very good method if one does not mind
the cold. Place a table, microscope, razor, slides, cover glasses
and a small vial of cedar oil out of doors when the temperature
is low (15° F. or lower). Make free-hand sections of the frozen
tissue and mount in the oil. When observed through the luicro-
scope the location of the ice masses and their structure can be
seen very easily. Then, if the slide is carried rapidly to another
microscope in a warm room the thawing and sponging out of the
tissue may be observed as the water is drawn back into the cells,
if the tissue is a " hardy " one. The water is not drawn back into
the cells to any extent in delicate tissues which are killed by the
freezing. The writer used this method one winter in the study
of the ice relations within the buds and twigs of about thirty
species of woody plants with good results. The large ice masses
in succulent tissues may be seen with the naked eye. If frozen
beets or potatoes are cut in two the lenticular ice masses may be
picked out with a needle.

The water of which the ice crystals are composed is almost

ICE IN PLANT TISSUE. 35

pure. If several of these masses of ice from a frozen beet are
placed in a watch glass and allowed to melt and evaporate no
residue will remain, at least very little ; they are almost pure ice.
This accords well with the generally established observations in
physics that when a solution freezes the water separates from
the solute to form almost pure water crystals. It is not always
entirely pure, in many cases some molecules of foreign substance
being seemingly caught in the ice. The results of experiments
by Aliiller-Thurgau showed only very slight, almost undetectible,
residue after evaporation of 21.08 grams of ice from the ice
clumps in the inside of a large beet. Ice formed on the surface
of a piece of beet did not seem so pure, and this was to be ex-
pected, because, unlike the former case, the water was not filtered
through protoplasm and cell wall, but might contain fragments of
either of these structures from the cut outer cells in contact with
the ice.

Sachs found that the ice crust of prismatic crystals formed
on the cut surfaces of beets, etc., when protected from evapora-
tion, was not pure ice but contained an acid in sufficient quantity
to strongly redden blue litmus paper on which it was allowed to
melt.

In the case of solutions and water-soaked materials of other
kinds the separation of the water from the solid substance has
been studied in detail by Molisch. The substances studied by
him were as follows : ( i ) Colloidal substances — gelatine, starch
paste, gum tragacanth, gum arable, egg albumen, Gleocapsa gela-
tine ; (2) emulsions — milk of Ficits clastica, aqueous carmine
solution, indigo solution, caoutchouc emulsion; (3) dye stuffs —
solutions of anthocyanin, red-beet sap, nigrosine, methyl blue; (4)
salt solutions — potassium nitrate, magnesium sulfate, potassium
monophosphate, cobalt chlorid. From all of these nearly pure
water separated to form the ice crystals distributed through the
substance.

Except in woody structures the cells of frozen tissues are
always in a more or less collapsed condition. Since the water is
abstracted from the cell when ice formation occurs, collapse must
necessarily follow, especially in soft-walled tissue.

36 THE PLANT WORLD.

Frozen tissue when sectioned shows between the ice masses
dense areas composed of the collapsed cell-walls packed closely
together. Frozen buds and bark of hardy trees show this con-
dition markedl}' and appear entirely disorganized, but on thawing
the cells again expand and become normal. So is it also with
evergreen leaves. This extreme shrivelled, shrunken or collapsed
appearance of the cells is one of the most marked charactristics
of frozen tissue.

In solutions, especially of substances having considerable
" affinity " for water, the force with which the water and solute
are held together is often considerable. This is shown by the
slowness with which certain solutions of colloidal substances, if
exposed to evaporation, dry out after they reach a certain concen-
tration. The more concentrated the solution becomes the greater
is the force with which the remaining molecules of water are
held. Considerable water is held in the protoplasm and cell
walls by a still stronger force, that of imbibition ( molecular capil-
larity). Here again the retaining force increases as the water
is withdrawn. In freezing these forces must be overcome by
the ice-forming forces before ice will be produced. The force
of crystallization, although strong at the start, increases in pro-
portion to the fall in temperature after the crystal begins.
Consequently ( i ) the largest quantity of ice will be formed near
the freezing point since then the freezing force is relatively
strone: ; but soon sufficient water is removed from the tissue so
that the two sets of forces come into equilibrium, after which
more ice is formed only as the temperature falls. (2) The
amount of ice formed per degree, as the temperature falls, con-
sequentlv becomes less and less. In succulent tissue most of
the water is frozen out at temperatures but slightly below the
freezing point, while in drier tissues, with most of the water in
the protoplasm and walls, a smaller percentage separates out at
these higher temperatures. An apple which Miiller-Thurgau in-
vestigated contained at — 4.5° C. 53 per cent, of ice by weight,
which was equal to 63.8 per cent, of the water content. At
- — 15.2° C. onh' 79.2 per cent, of the water had frozen. There still
remained a considerable quantity to freeze at still lower tem-
peratures.

ICE IN PLANT TISSUE. IJ

Muller-Tluirgau could detect this increase in ice content by
simply sectioning^ various tissues under diiTerent temperatures.
The writer found it very apparent in the case of winter buds.
Sections taken at — 20° F. showed very little ice. It was found
necessary to work at a temi)erature of 0° F. in order to find the
ice content well developed. At this temperature, in the buds of
about nineteen out of twenty-seven species of trees and shrubs
the ice could be plainly seen and in the majority it was very con-
si^icuous. The remaining eight were sectioned again at — 15°
F. and all but two showed ice, but in small scattered crystals.
The buds of these eight species, butternut, l)eech, witch-hazel,
hickory, ash, oak, hazel and chestnut all contained little cell-sap
and small cells with rather thick walls.

It has been found by Miiller-Thurgau, Molisch and others cited
earlier in this paper that in no case can the death of anv plant
be traced directly to absolute cold alone at temperatures below
the freezing point. At present there seems little if any evidence
that death is due to shock, over-stimulation, or any other action
of cold which might produce the so-called " cold rigor," although
there are several cases yet unexplained by the drying theorv.*
It may well be that in these and other cases additional secondary
changes are produced. An unconvincing attempt has recently been
made to show that in no case is death due to the amount of ice for-
mation and drying out.f If death were due to shock we should
have to assume a special sensitive point at a temperature a few
degrees below freezing, which is unlikelv, especially since the
frequent death at this temperature can be more easily explained
in another way. Most plants are killed by the first ice formation
within the tissue. If they survive this, a considerably lower tem-
perature is reciuired to kill them, or they may be capable of en-
durinof anv deirree of cold. It has been demonstrated bv means
of orchids, the sap of which turns blue when the cell is killed,
and Ageratu]n,% which gives oiT a peculiar odor under similar
circumstances, that, in the case of delicate tissues at least, death

* See Pfeffer and Ewart. Ph\-siology of Plants, p. 244.
t Mez, C. Neue Untersuchungen uher das Erfrieren eisbestandiger
Pflanzen. Flora, 94 : 89. 1905.

§ See Molisch.

38 THE PLANT WORLD.

occurs when the ice-formation has progressed to a certain extent,
and bears no relation whatever to the thawing out as was once
supposed. Death seems due to the actual withdrawal of water
to form ice, not to the cold. The ice formation dries out the
cells and the plant suffers therefore from drought conditions.
Every cell has its critical point, the withdrawal of water beyond
which will cause the death of the cell, whether by ordinary evapo-
ration or by other means. It may be supposed that the delicate
structure of the protoplasm necessary to constitute living matter
can no longer sustain itself when too many molecules of water
are removed from its support. In the great majority of plants
this point lies so high in the water content that it is passed very
soon after the inception of ice-formation, hence the death of so
many plants at this period. Others may be able to exist with
so little water that a very low temperature is necessary before a
sufficient quantity is abstracted to cause death. From some
plants enough water cannot be extracted by cold to kill them.
This explanation seems the most plausible one so far advanced to
account for death by freezing.

In conclusion, the principal points of the paper may be sum-
marized as follows :

The older idea that the ice forms within the cell, and thus causes
death by rupturing the wall, has been shown to be erroneous.

Except in a few cases, ice forms invariably in the intercellular
spaces, unless the cooling is more rapid than usually occurs in
nature.

The ice-masses produced in the spaces are often large lenticular
structures. These are composed of ice prisms side by side in two
layers. Superficial ice crusts, and those produced on damp soil,
are similar to those in the tissue, but composed of only one layer
of crystals. These crystals grow only by additions at the end
in contact with the tissue.

The water of which the crystals is composed is almost pure.

The cells of frozen tissue, except when strong and woody, are
always in a more or less collapsed condition.

Much more ice is separated from the tissues to form ice at
temperatures just below where freezing begins than at lower tem-

THE GEORGIA BARK OR QUININE TREE. 39

peratures. As the temperature falls the quantity separated per
degree becomes constantly less and less.

In rather dry tissues, as some winter buds for instance, a tem-
perature as low as 0° F. or even — 10° F. may be required before
ice crystals can be readily seen in the tissue.

As far as the protoplasm is concerned, this is a drying process,
and it seems very likely that death from freezing is usually, if
not always, due to the drying out of the protoplasm beyond its
critical water content.

THE GEORGIA BARK OR QUININE TREE (PINCKNEYA

PUBENS).

By Elfleda B. Taylor.

That a plant of such unusual beauty and reputed usefulness in
the past as the subject of this sketch should remain in obscurity
is difficult to understand. In life, it is true, the meritorious do
not always meet with just reward, and old things, however long
and faithful their service, are put aside for new ways and inven-
tions. Year after year, in the depths of the wild woods, the
Piiickiicya, or Georgia bark, as it is commonly called, spread its
rose-crowned branches — unsought and comparatively unknown,
while the fame of its neighbor on every hand, though of less im-
portance, is spread far and wide. I have learned from good
authority that this tree played no small part in the weal and woe
of mankind during the Civil War. It was known as the quinine
tree, or Georgia bark, and was held in no little reverence by the
inhabitants of certain malarial districts where doctors were inac-
cessible and quinine could not be had. A drink was made from
the bark and administered as a substitute for tea. This is an
obvious example of the belief prevalent and still adhered to
among the negroes that — "' bark for tea slips from the tree." In
the efifort to uproot a small plant, apparently but slightly an-
chored in the sand, so readily does it slip, the bark is left in
hand, while the plant remains stationary, denuded root and
branch.

40 THE PLANT WORLD.

The beauty of the plant seems to have been overlooked in view
of its utility during- those strenuous times, or by some chance
it would have come into notice and now be valued for ornamental
purposes, especially since peace and i)lenty abound and the pro-
gressive florist is ever on the alert for rare and etTective novel-
ties. An exquisite study in pink is the Piiickneya !

That the name suggests the color which so conspicuouslv pre-
vades the plant, is merely a coincidence. It was named in honor
of a renowned statesman. General Charles Pinckney, of South Car-
olina. It belongs to the Rubiaceae or madder family, a family
known for its attractiveness as well as for its economic value.
Only those familiar with the family characteristics would rec-
ognize it as close of kin tc) Mifclidla rcf^ciis, the dear little " tur-
key " or " partridge "" berry, trailing at its feet, or to Hoiistonias,
the charming bluets or " blue eyes." which greet us so appeal-
ingly from the ruts of the wheels. Another of the same family
as the Piiickiicya is Ccplmlaiiflnis occidcnfalis, frequentlv found
growing with it and blooming at the same time. Unlike our sub-
ject it is well known, and the medicinal qualities of the " button
bush "" are accepted as " globe flower syrup," " honey ball mix-
ture," etc.

The Piiickneya is a tree or large shrub of quick, luxuriant
growth. The leaves are opposite, large, oval or oblong and
entire, hoary and pubescent, with linear deciduous stipules.
They are often flaked with dots of pink, and the midrib is some-
times of the brightest hue ; if torn, the scar turns red before
turning brown — it would seem but natural did the wound bleed,
so suggestive of the color is the plant throughout. It is inter-
esting to note the arrangement of the roseate leaves.

Four of the five sepals of the terminal and largest flower of
the cluster are converted into floral leaves, two large ones and
two smaller. Only one lobe of the caly.x on others of the cluster
are thus transformed into bright leaves of varying size, the rest
of the calyx being early deciduous (Fig. 6).

The flower of the Piitckiicya repays close study, revealing won-
derful points of beauty, especially as viewed under the glass.
The corolla is tubular, with five linear revolute lobes, slightly

THE GEORGIA BARK OR QUIXINE TREE.

41

imbricated in the bud. The five stamens are exserted with Ions:
heavy anthers and obtuse stigma. Accurately speaking, there
are but four petals, for one is broader than the others with the
lines of indentation, but it rarely splits. They are a soft creamy
tone in color, thickly dotted with ]Mnk and are one and a half inches
long, recurving strongly, as paper can be curled by means of a
sharp surface — an unfurled flower would measure an inch across
the top instead of a half inch. They are covered throughout

Fig. 6. Flower of Piiiclciicya piibcns.

with a soft hairiness which holds the dew and gives the appear-
ance of being encrusted with rubies and diamonds. The hairv
surface is no doubt a protection against insects, as would be
inferred by the tentative steps of a bee as he lights thereon bv
accident from some nearby flower. The depth of the corolla sug-
gests, too, the necessity of a long bill for its fertilization or the
securing of the honey stored so deep. The seed pods are in clus-

42 THE PLANT WORLD.

ters of (lark globose papery shells, dotted on the surface with
white ; they are two-celled with numerous seeds arranged in two
rows. They add an artistic etifect, remaining on the tree from
one season to the next and contrasting as they do with the pink.
Those who have never seen this beautiful tree and to whom a
technical description, however simple, conveys but little, may have
a better idea of its unique qualities by recalling the Poinsettia
or "Christmas plant" (Euphorbia pidclicrrima), so popular in
city greenhouses for the holiday trade, the beauty of which lies
in the gorgeous crimson bracts surrounding the flowers. Imagine
each branch surmounted by a superb cluster of pink floral leaves
instead of red, ranging through every shade of the La France
rose with the same silvery lining and tints of lilac. Only in the
bright floral leaves, however, and in the comparative insignifi-
cance of the flower does the comparison hold good.

In low pine barrens bordering streams the roots of Pinckncya
spread in search of moisture, sending up numerous shoots from
dense clumps no taller than Cyrilla raccuiiHora (leather wood)
which, about the first of June, is a study in white. Together they
mingle, a wealth of radiant white and pink, interspersed with the
downy balls of Cephalantlius (button ball), whose hanging heads,
heavy with their own sweetness, constantly sway, disturbed as
they are by the bees. The air is intoxicating with the fragrance
of Cvrilla. Swarms of busy bees are seemingly distracted with
the wealth and work before them, sifting the white petals like
snow on everything near, and like snowflakes they cling to the
broad luxuriant foliage of the Pinckncya, which, unlike the
smooth coriacious surface of " leatherwood," is pubescent in tex-
ture. Near by, Storax pnlvcrnloita is hanging thick with droop-
ing green balls instead of white bells. Magnolia glauca, the
" silvery-leaf-bay," has almost finished its season of blow. Under
foot are the first pure white Sabbafias and the dwarf Rhcxia of
feathery foliage, ranging through many shades of rose and lilac
to white, with a lower carpeting of the dainty Eryngium studded
with blue enameled balls. It is with such surroundings that
we find great colonies of Pinckncya, producing an eft'ect — a pic-
ture — but rarelv seen in nature. Verv lovelv it is, but to be seen

FLORAL NOTES OF FOREIGN LANDS. 43

at its best it must be sougbt in the low river liummock, its
favorite habitat, where it reaches the proportion of a tall slender
tree with trunk emersed half the year. If seen from a car win-
dow when slowly passing over a high trestle, a not unusual point
of view, and we look down on the rose-crowned wilderness, sway-
ing with the breeze just after a refreshing shower, when the sil-
very underside of the foliage is displayed, and the raindrops
catch the glint of the sunshine — a spectacle, never to be for-
gotten, greets the eye. The setting of this tree is but one of
innumerable examples where the landscape gardener has an infal-
lible guide in nature.

FLORAL NOTES OF FOREIGN LANDS.
Bv Feltx J. Koch.

At Ogulin. in Croatia, one finds at their Ijest the " old-fashioned
gardens," with the tall pink phlox, the petunia, dahlia and sun-
flower, as well as mignonette and coriopsis in long beds. Sum-
mer-houses are set out in these gardens and gay-colored glass
balls, such as we hang on our Christmas trees, are hung on the
ends of short poles and scattered among the plants.

Somobo. in the grape country, is famous for its oleanders, while
in the old ruined castles of the vicinity sweet clover, mullein,
sweet-fern and wild carrot, as well as the wild-rose, thrive lux-
uriantly. To these, in the Sissek region, the road-side adds
the butter-cup and whole fields of yellow lenum. as well as a
pretty purple flower unknown to us, while in the parks the zinnias
raise their many-colored heads.

To the south, in Bosnia, notably at Banjaluka. blossom jas-
mines that recall the vales of the Arabian Nights' legends. At
the railway station at Novi. in this province, zinnias and white
roses and castor-beans combine to produce a most pleasing efifect.
In the fields abound the sun-fern and the yellow daisy, as well as
a small purple thistle and the wild carrot. In the coal mines of
Banjaluka there are magnificent white fungi, hanging as downy
white pendants from the roofs of the galleries, while below them
thrive queer mushroom-shaped species.

44 THE PLAXT WORLD.

In this section of Europe the althea and the jasmine and
oleander compete with the osage as hedo;es to the gardens, even
the Trappist monks g-racing their estates with althea hedges.

In the canons of I'osnia, toward Rjeka. the wild parsnip and
the elder, together with a queer red seed-bearing herb, are almost
the sole flora, though inside the old fort at this place the meadow
land is filled with flowers, blue and yellow aufl white and purple.
In the gardens, among the vegetables, phlox and sweet william
thrive, and among the forests ferns are p-lentiful. Every home
has a little veranda outside its window, and there the Jew-ger-
anium and other ])lants grow, so that, on entering a peasant home
in this place, the housekeeper may present the guest with a little
bouquet of this and the ordinary red geranium, together with a
very sweet-smelling native herb.

At Sarajevo, the capital of I^osnia, the Turkish seminaries have
the oleander thriving in their courts, although during Rhamasan
the Moslem may smell neither these nor any other flowers. On
the Austrian Juiii)eror's birthday each soldier wears in his cap
a little sprig of oak leaves.

In the Elerzegovina, on the trail to Alostar, one sees the chicory
and the wild carrot still, but here, as in P"rance. the poppies thrive
in the millet fields, and at Hadjiei there are sun-flowers in the
gardens. Here, too, theie grows the sun-fern, tall almost as in
New Zealand, and actually so high that the browsing cattle in the
fields are hidden beneath its fronds.

The giving of a little floral gift is (|uite the vogue in liosnia.
On the Ihma the old hermit gives the occasional visitor a white,
velvety herl), really used for heart troubles, Init presented b\- him
because of its beauty. At Ilidje the porters of the hotels present
favored Iad\- guests with bouquets. So it goes all over the coun-
try. There, again, artistic and practical are combined, for at
Mostar the city sand filters are placed in a park that banana palms
and kohlia, the coxcomb and other ])lants ma\' thrive over the
covered reservoirs, and at Ilidje the national fish hatchery likewise
is in a park with the dahlia and the sun-flower and the morning
glory grouped picturesquely together.

In northernmost Turkex', be}-ond (lorazda, the fields run riot

THE WILD FLOWER PRESERVATIOX SOCIETY. 45

with the yellow mullein, the wild rhubarl), wild heliotrope and
mint and fern, together with wild roses and clematis and elder
in shadier spots. Xear Plevlje the magnificent forests present
endless varieties of fern, and there is a curious blue-flower with
a stalk much like that of our Solomon's seal. The tall yellow
dandelion, together with little low daisies, fringe the borders of
the forest, while moss covers the parterre l)etween.

About Fort Jabuka. where the wild rose and the white clematis
do not overhang the train, the wild yellow-pany and the hare-bell
rise from the wayside, and the thin-stocked mullein grows aloof.
The thistle and the cowslip, the mint and the yellow elyssum,
together with a great yellow chamomile, the marguerite, the wild
althea and the moth-mullein, and a verv tinv white morning glory,
greet one on every walk. The tansy and the hare-bell and the
passion flower, too, grow wild and in profusion in this land.

{To be concluded.)

THE WILD FLOWER PRESER\'ATIOX SOCIETY

OF AMERICA.

Xotiee to Members.

The deferred annual meeting of the Board of ^Managers was
held at the Xew York Botanical Garden, February 23, 1906, there
being present in person or by proxy Messrs. Underwood, Lloyd,'
JMorris, Crawford, \\'aters and Pollard, the latter occupying the
chair in the absence of the President. The need of reorganiza-
tion along more active lines was pointed out, and the draft of a
new constitution, submitted by Mr. Pollard, was read, discussed,
and unanimously adopted. Under the terms of this instrument
the election of officers for the remainder of the year was then held,
and resulted as follows :

President, Professor Charles E. Bessey ; Secretary-Treasurer,
Charles Louis Pollard ; Menibers-at-large of the Board: Terms
expire ipo6. Professor L. M. Underwood, Dr. Carlton C. Curtiss,
Mr. E. L. Morris. Terms expire 190J, Dr. F. H. Knowlton,
Professor Francis E. Llovd, Professor W. A. Kellerman. Terms

46 THE PLANT WORLD.

expire igo8, Professor Wm. R. Dudley, Professor S. ]\r. Tracy,
Dr. C. F. Alillspaugh. The Board then appointed the following
executive committee: Messrs. Pollard (chairman), Curtiss,
Johnson. Morris and Mrs. Britton.

The report of the outgoing treasurer. Dr. Waters, was read and
accepted, and will he printed, together with the Constitution and
a statement of our plans for the coming year, in a circular to be
sent shortly to all members.

Charles Louis Pollard,

Secrctarx-Trcasurcr.

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS.

Edited by Dr. C. Stuart Gager.

Meeting of Biology Teachers of New York City. — At a
meeting of the department of biology of the High School
Teachers' Association, held on February 3, 1906, the topic dis-
cussed was " Is it desirable to give more time to the economic
and practical aspects of first year biology, and somewhat less time
to the purely scientific study of structure and function?"

Mr. Walter H. Eddy treated the topic from the standpoint of
botany. He spoke of the necessity of serving more directly the
needs of city pupils to whom most of the objects presented for
laboratory work or those on exhibition in museums and aquaria
are " specimens " only — not in any way connected with the pupil's
life. He emphasized the necessity of doing away with the pop-
ular misconceptions as to the uselessness of the science and the
strangeness of the objects studied. The only ground of appeal
to such pupils and their parents would be the economic side
of the subject. Mr. Eddy presented outlines showing how eco-
nomic interpretations were applied in the High School of Com-
merce ; he emphasized particularly the practical work done on
bacteria, the study of agricultural processes in connection with
germination, the observations on marketable roots and stems ;
and, finally, showed how the recitations on these topics were con-
ducted.

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS. 47

Mr. Edward C. Hood spoke from the standpoint of zodlogy.
After a discussion of the aims of the course in biology, Mr.
Hood called attention to the fact that a number of the forms re-
quired in the present syllabus had a purely scientific value as
indicating evolutional relationships. As such relationships can-
not be appreciated by first-year students, such types could with
benefit be omitted and things of more practical value substituted.
Mr. Hood suggested the substitution of coral for hydra, the omis-
sion of study on the earthworm and the more detailed study of
such topics as the " economic importance of birds," " lobster fish-
eries " and the like.

Mr. George W. Hunter, Jr., presented the physiological aspect
of the subject. He showed that human physiology, as given to
high school pupils, offered unlimited opportunity for the em-
phasis of the practical side of biology. He believed that most of
the morphological side could be omitted in the study of human
physiology when the frog is used as a comparative type. He
summarized four reasons for adopting a more practical method of
teaching first-year biology :

1. Its usefulness to the child in family life.

2. The ultimate trend for the benefit of the race.

3. Its pedagogical superiority.

4. The necessity for satisfying the Xew Yorker's demand for
the practical.

E. M. KUPFER,

Secretary pro tcm.

The Context of the High School Course in Botan^'. —
The discussion at the recent meeting of the Xew York City Asso-
ciation of Uiologv Teachers as to whether /t\s\s- structural and phys-
iological botany, and more economic botany should be taught in
the city high schools, raises again the quesfion as to the proper
function of public high schools, and especially of the position
which the science of botany should have in their courses of study.

Should the public high school be an educational institution, or
largely a training school ? And how is the status of botany af-
fected in either event ?

48 THE PLANT WORLD.

A report card recently sent to the father of a pupil in one of
the New York City hi^h schools was returned to the teacher with
this comment on the hack : " I fail to see how the circulation of
the blood in the tail of the tadpole has anythino^ to do with the
formation of character."

^^'hich is the greater need in a "practical" age and a "prac-
tical '■ communit\- ; to teach that only that is practical which
brings quick and large financial returns, or to dispel in the rising
greneration such ignorance and narrowness of view as is illus-
trated in the instance above cited?

It is argued that the pupils are not interested in botany. ^lany,
if not most pupils, are not interested in algebra. Shall we,
therefore, teach less quadratic ec[uations, and more mechanical
draughting ?

We do not mean that high schools should teach nothing useful.
There is no objection to teaching in the high school the economic
uses of plants, if the pupil is already grounded in the principles
of botan>-. Something of this nature ma}' very properly be
included in an elementary course, but not if fundamental prin-
ciples and scientific habits of thought and work must be sacrificed.

The value of the service which the high school can render to
the State must be measured by the increased number of citizens
who can api^reciate the value of a liberal education for its own
sake, and who can see how even the study of the circulation of
the blood in the tail of a tadpole, or of photosynthesis and cross-
pollination can make for character and good citizenship.

Botany can never hope to reach and maintain the position
which language and mathematics now enjoy in the scheme of
education if it is willing to acknowledge that its chief value lies
in a certain amount of information it can confer about the
economic uses of plants, and that as an educational discipline it
has too few claims to entitle it to a position in the course of study.

C. S. G.

We have received ( February 7 ) from a botanist in Lakehurst.
N. J., a fresh specimen of pyxie { Fyxidaiifliera harhulata) in
flower. The tinv white blossom of this " flowering moss," as it is
also called, is scheduled to arrive in April.

Volume 9 Number 3

The Plant World

SI iflaffa^inr of popular -Botanp
MARCH, 1906

TWO MILES UP AND DOWN IN AN ARIZONA DESERT.

By W'u. a. Cannon,

Desert Botanical Laboratory. Tucson. Arizona.

A trip across the Territor}- of Arizona from the south to the
north, or from the west to the east, or an ascent of any of the
numerous hi^h mountains, reveals several sreat floral belts, or
aggregations of plants, which go to make up the extremely inter-
esting vegetation of this portion of the arid southwest. These
belts, for the purposes of this paper, may be roughly classed into
(i) the desert belt, having the grease-wood or creosote bush
{CoviUca tn'dciifata) , Frauscria dnuiosa. the mesquite (Prosopis
vclutina) . and numerous other forms as re])resentative of the
vegetal covering; (2) the desert belt, at an altitude somewhat
higher than the last, with various yuccas, agaves and the bear
grass or sotol (Dasylirioii) ; (3) the higher land or mountain
zone with juniper and dififerent oaks; (4) the mountain zone with
various pines and cedars, maples, and the beech and quaking
aspen; and (5) the highest mountain zone which represents the
alpine formations.

This vast range of plant life, continental in its scope, is made
possible by the varied topography of the country, which is the
last chapter of an interesting geological history. The northern
and the eastern portions of the Territor}- are plateaux and moun-
tains, with altitudes varying from 5,000 to over 12,000 feet above
the sea. The southwestern part ranges in altitude from a little
above sea level to about 2,500 feet except where isolated mountain
ranges carry the elevation 7,000 or 8,000 feet higher.

49

50 THE PLANT WORLD.

Geological record shows the higher portions to be verv old ;
they constitute an integral part of the Cordilleran uplift, but
the lower portions of the Territory are more recent and to about
the 3,000 foot level were washed by the waves of Tertiary seas.*
It is not surprising, therefore, that, with so extensive a varia-
tion in altitude, with a portion of its territorv constituting a
part of a great plant highway, and with a situation so far south,
31.3° to 2)7° ' the plant covering of Arizona should be so diverse
in character, as, without doubt, it also is in origin.

Plant Zones in the San Franciscan Region.

Perhaps in no region does the succession of plant zones occur
in so short a distance as in the northern portion of Arizona.
From the summit of the San Francisco mountains, an altitude
of 12,600 feet, to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, which at
Bright Angel creek is about 2,400 feet above the sea, the distance
in a straight line is probably not more than forty miles. This
great difference in altitude is accompanied by an equally great
variation in temperature. Merriamf assumes the mean tempera-
ture during the period of reproduction at the altitudes of the
various plant zones in this region to be as follows :

Arctic-alpine zone, 11,500 to 13,000 ft 39-2° F.

Subalpine or timber line zone, about 10,500 to 11,500 ft... 44.6°
Hudsonian or spruce zone, about 9,000 to 10,500 ft. ..... . .50°

Canadian or fir zone, 8,000 to 9,000 ft 554°

Neutral or pine zone (transition ?), about 7,000 to 8,000 ft. 60.8°

Pinon or ceder zone, about 6,000 to 7,000 ft 60.2°

Desert zone, about 4,000 to 6,000 ft 71.6°

Thus, in so short a distance as forty miles as the crow flies, a
vertical one of nearly two miles is crossed during which climatic
changes and plant zones are encountered which correspond to
the temperatures and the plant zones of all of North America
outside of the tropics and the extreme north.

* Privately communicated to tbe writer by Professor W. P. Blake, Uni-
versity of Arizona.

t Results of a Biological Survey of tbc San Francisco Mountain Region
and the Desert of the Little Colorado, Arizona. U. S. Dept. of Agric,
Div. of Ornithology and Mammalogy, North American Fauna, No. 3.
page 32.

TWO MILES UP AND DOWN IN AN ARIZONA DESERT.

51

In the summer of 1904 the writer had the pleasure of travehng
with Professor F. E. Lloyd, editor of the Plant World, from
the southern to the northern portion of Arizona, of ascending the
San Francisco Mountain, of visiting the Grand Canyon of the
Colorado, and of camping opposite Bright Angel creek b}' the
muddy waters of the Colorado. x\lthough only a general recon-

FiG. 7. Gravell}- deserf in Arizona. The low shrubby plant in the fore-
ground is Franscria dimiosa. Giant cactus Cereus gigaiitciis, in the back-
ground.

naissance of the territory traversed was made, so much of interest
and so much that was suggestive was seen that the writer wishes
to recommend the San Francisco Mountain and the Grand Canyon
region to some botanist as a suitable and profitable locality in
which to pass a delightful vacation. And with this end in view
I wish to state briefl}- how the canyon and the mountains were
visited by us in 1904 in the hope that others may repeat the jour-
ney and share the pleasure of our experiences.

52 the plant world.

The San Francisco AIountain.

Before going to the canyon we visited the San Francisco Moun-
tain. Flagstaff was our base of supphes. In Flagstaff every-
thing that is needful for the mountain trip, from bacon to burros,
can be purchased, and. if desired, the trip can be made from this
town, but for various reasons we started our burros from Bel-
mont — a way-station nine miles west of " Flag."

\'iewed from Belmont, the highest summit of the San Fran-
ciscos lies about fifteen miles to the north and about 7.000 feet
above, and the way to it is straight and a plain one, since there
is no interposing range.

We left Belmont one Wednesday afternoon late in Julv and
directed the course of our three burros straight for San Francisco
Peak. At first the way lay through a forest of fine pines ( Piniis
pondcrosa ) and we did not emerge from the pine forest, in fact,
until we reached the very base of the mountain and began the
ascent. Wednesday night was passed in an abandoned barn,
which served better than a tent to keep oft' the rain, and early the
next day we were en route again. By noon we had reached the
large meadow which lies so conspicuously on the lower southwest
corner of the mountain and which was seen from Belmont. This
meadow was skirted by Douglas spruces and aspens. W'q con-
tinued the ascent and were driven to make camp the latter part
of the day at about 9,000 feet among firs because of the approach
of rains. The rains continued more or less intermittentl}" until
Sunday morning, when, lured by promise of a fair day, we
shouldered our riick-sacks and started for the summit. We
climbed upward through the forest of spruce and pine (Picca
eiigehnaiuii and Piiiiis aristata), the trees of which continually
became smaller, until at last we emerged above the timber line
and went up on the peculiar debris characteristic of the old vol-
cano. At length the edge of the crater was reached and we
stood on a narrow crest with the inside of the crater a few hun-
dred feet below and to the north, and the plateau through which
we had come to the south stretching as far as we could see. The
general shape of the mountain was then easily made out. As is

TWO .MILES UP AND DOWN IX AX ARIZOXA DESERT. 53

well known. San Francisco ^^lonntain is an extinct volcano, the
northern side of which has disappeared. We were on the sonth-
ern side, on the rim. and could see the arms of the crest extendins:
to the rii^ht and to the left ; the latter appeared to be higher and
so we walked along the crest in this direction, northwest. At
length a large cairn was reached and the crest ended abruptly at
the highest point, about 12,600 feet above the sea. After the
upper zone (the arctic-alpine) was reached we found small plants
hidden between boulders ; these numbered, among others, some
saxifrage and arenaria, etc., characteristic of the cold and exposed
situation. After lingering on the summit a few minutes we left
at one o'clock, and returning directly to cam]). i)acked our burros
and made our way back to Belmont, arriving there about half-past
six the same evening.

This itinerary is given to show that the trip from Belmont or
from Flagstaff, both of which are on the Santa Fe Railroad, is
in no sense a difficult one, and provided it is made before the
siunmer rains, it may be very pleasant as well as very profitable.

Graxd Canyox of the Colorado.

From Belmont we went by train to Williams where we caught
a train for Grand Canyon, a three hours' trip from this station.

The journe}- from Williams to the Grand Canyon was rather
monotonous. The railroad runs through a more or less level
open country among groves of pihon and juniper. From the
train we could get good views of the San Francisco ^fountain
which was in sight during much of the entire rvui.

The can\"on was reached about sunset and our first view of the
misrht\- chasm, "six feet across"* (about 12 miles at Grand
Canyon), with its sunken world of plateaux, mountains and dis-
tant river which looks from the "rim" as it did in 1540. when
the first Europeans saw it, was one never to be forgotten.

On account of the altitude the night at the " rim " was cool
and our woolen blankets were none too warm, but when we made
up our bundles for the descent we took but a single one each
and, as a matter of fact, found that no blanket at all was needed

* The Journey of Coronado, George Parker Winship. New York, 1904.

54 THE PLANT WORLD.

in the bottom of the canyon. The trip to the river was made on
foot and in a leisurely manner. We left the rim earlv in the
morning, taking the well kept Bright Angel trail to the half-way
house, 3,000 feet below, and there we joined the party of Mr.
Godfrey Sykes of Flagstaff, and finished the descent on a rougher
and more precipitous trail which lies somewhat north of the one
commonly used by tourists. We reached the river's edge by six
o'clock and quenched our lively thirst with the brick-red water.

After passing the following day and the succeeding night by
the Colorado, during which time a crossing was eft'ected, we
made the ascent to the rim in a manner quite as leisurely if not
as comfortably as when we went down.

It has already been noted that many desert shrubs which
might be expected to grow in the lower part of the Grand Canyon
are absent there,* but despite this fact there are many very inter-
esting forms. Along the lower portions of the canyon, by the
Colorado River, are plants which are doubtless attracted to the
place because of the abundance of water. Notable among these
is a species of Baccharis. On the '' first bench," which is a
broad dipping plateau approximately half way between the rim
and the bottom of the canyon, there are large plantations of a
rosaceous shrub (Coleogyiie raiiwsissima), a species of Ephedra
and several species of cacti. Such are typical desert plants, and
they occur in dry situations. Along the streams on this bench
may be found quite different forms, among which are cat claw
(Acacia greggii) , cottonwood (Popiihis nioiiilifcra) and species
of willow. On the dry slopes above the first bench may be found
species of yucca and sotol (Dasylirioii). From the first bench,
or somewhat above, one meets the trees characteristic of much
higher altitudes, as well as those characteristic of the plateau
and of the canyon. These include the Douglas spruce (Psen-
dotsuga douglasii), found on San Francisco Mountain between
8,000 and 9,000 feet, the cedar and piiion (Jiuiipcnis and Piiiiis
edulis) of the plateau, and the fir {Abies concolor).

This remarkable range in the flora at the Grand Canyon is

* Desert Botanical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution, F. V. Coville
and D. T. MacDougal, Washington, 1903, p. 2^.

TWO MILES UP AND DOWN IN AN ARIZONA DESERT. 55

made possible by the great variation in climax conditions. The
differences in temperature between the altitude of the Colorado
River and the rim has already been noted above, and it may be
possible that there is also a difference in the actual precipitation
as well. AMiether the last is true or not, the variation in tem-
perature would bring an unequal total evaporation which is of
great importance in determining the desertic character of any
place.

Our stay of only three days was far too short to make possible
more than the most superficial study of the plants and of their
environment. However, it was very apparent that in the canyon
there is a rare opportunity, and one which appears to have re-
ceived scant attention, for a close study of the relation of plants
to their environment. Xot only does the question of altitude
enter, but the effects of exposure, and the substrata of different
structure and of varied origin come into great prominence.
These various factors are not necessarily confused, but stand out
in ckar relief and may be definitely measured and possibly their
influence as clearly defined. It is to be hoped that some inter-
ested botanist will spend his simimer vacation, and longer, in
the region of the Grand Canyon and especially in the canyon
itself, for as [Nlerriam has well said, "the Grand Canyon of the
Colorado is a world in itself, and a great fund of knowledge is
in store for the philosophic biologist whose privilege it is to study
exhaustively the problems there presented."

The semiarid region of the Southwest contains a great number
of historic and prehistoric ruins of cliff dwellings, towers, com-
munal houses, shrines, and burial mounds, examples of which are
found in the Flagstaff district of the San Francisco Mountains.
The question of the preservation of this vast treasury of infor-
mation relative to our prehistoric tribes has come to be a matter
of much concern to the American people, and has received special
attention from the Secretary of the Interior. Parts of this region
are sufficiently rich in prehistoric interest and scenic beauty to
warrant their organization into national parks.

56 THE PLANT WORLD.

THE ARTIFICIAL IXDUCTIOX OF LEAF FORMA-
TION IX THE OCOTILLO*

By Francis E. Lloyd,

The post-pluvial appearance of foliage within a very short time
upon desert plants which remain through periods of drought in
a leafless condition is a phenomenon which has very often been
remarked. The behavior in this regard is most striking in deserts,
where there is prolonged lack of rain. Although in some regions
the rain penetrates into the grouiid ver}- rapidly, nevertheless it
has seemed im|)robable to many, no doubt, that the absorption

Fig. 8. Fouquicria splriidciis. showing a branch which had been irri-
gated during four days.

of this water from the soil alone gives the necessary stimulus to

leaf formation. Led by this idea, attempts have been made to

find in man\- of the superficial structures of plants the means for

the absorption of water, or water vapor, and it may very well be

that experimental research will in the future throw light upon the

* This work was done at the Desert Botanical Laboratory, Tucson,
Arizona, under a grant from the Carnegie Institution, of Washington,
during the summer of 1905. Reprinted from TDirrya. Vol. 5. No. 10.
Oct., 1905.

INDUCTION OF LEAF FORMATION IN OCOl'lLLO.

57

extent of adaptation, as evidenced by anatomical structures, to
which plants have attained in this matter. It was during a con-
versation upon such points with Dr. W. A. Cannon at the Desert
Botanical Laboratory that the suggestion was made by him that it
would be instructive to see if any light could be obtained upon
the influence of meteoric water upon the development of leaves
in Foiiqiiicria splcjulciis, the ocotillo of the southwest. I accord-
ingly planned three experiments which were carried out upon a
perfectly leafless plant, all alike in prinicple, but differing in de-
tails. In one case, the only one I shall describe, a reservoir, con-
sisting of a gallon bottle, was attached to the neighboring limbs
of a " palo verde," and a siphon arranged to lead water to a string
of cheese-cloth, which in turn led the water to a bandage of the
same cloth tied about a stem of the ocotillo three feet from the
ground. The fierce winds several times played havoc with my
arrangements, but finally I managed to adjust the apparatus to
the swinging of the stems by allowing slack in the cheese-
cloth string. The siphon ended in a capillary tube, so that the
flow of water was small, and while it ran down the ocotillo stem
at times, it did not reach the ground in anv case. The reservoir

Fig. 9. fouqitlLria splciuh'iis — the same as in I'lg. 8, three days after a rain.

5^ THE PLANT WORLD.

was replenished daily, but the flow of water was discontinuous.
The result was, of course, a closer simulation of the actual occur-
rences at the time of the rainy season.

The first run of water was applied on the morning" of the first
of July, and this was repeated each day. The stem was thus
kept more or less wet for half the time. On the evening; of the
fourth, the leaves along 12-15 inches of the stem below the Ijan-
dage showed marked development, being i centimeter long ; and
by the sixth of July, at three P. M., their length was 1.5 centi-
meters. ( )n July 9. the largest leaves were 2 centimeters long,
and the branch in question, together with its neighbors were
photographed (Fig. 8). In looking at this picture one nuist
realize that all the stems shown were at first equally leafless. It
will be instructive to compare the above facts with those observed
after rain.

On July II, at 5 P. M., we had the first shower of the rainy
season, the amount of precipitation being one and one-tenth inches
within two hours, drenching, of course, all the vegetation. On
the following day (the twelfth) at four P. M., it was quite evident
to the eye that the buds had made a start. By July 13, the slender
conical buds along the whole extent of the stems were 7 to 8 milli-
meters long. On July 14 at five A.M., the rosettes of leaves were
well formed; the length of the largest leaves was 1.5 centimeters,
their size being, however, quite uniform. On July 15, the photo-
graph forming figure 9 was taken. It will be noted that the leaves
on the irrigated stem were at that time much larger than the
freshly formed leaves, that is, those produced after the rain, and
as a result of the stimulus thereby given.

It will be noted that the development after the rain was more
rapid than after irrigation, notwithstanding that the water was
applied artificially from time to time during the period of growth
under observation, while the wetting by rain occurred but once.
The fact, however, must not be lost sight of, that following the
rain there is a marked rise in the relative humidity, though I re-
gret that I did not take observations on this point at the position
of the plant. Then, too, the ground got a good soaking, and it
is remarkable how rapidly the soil becomes moist for a consider-

FLORAL NOTES OF FOREIGN LANDS. 59

able depth. Undoubtedly this fact was contributory to the rapid
growth of the post-pluvial foliage. In the experiment detailed
above, the total growth in a few daws was due wholly to the water
available on the surface of the stem, and the inference is not
strained. I believe, if we conclude that, normally, the first stimulus
to growth in the leaves is due to the water taken up, probably, at
or near the buds. In view of the very thick coating of waxy bark
it seems unlikely that the water would find entrance elsewhere,
though we may be wrong in this, since there are rifts through
which conceivabl}' the water might enter.

It may also be noted that the buds of the ocotillo are minute,
sometimes indeed scarcely visible, and covered by, at most, a few
light-brown, thin. chalTy scales. The repeated loss of leaves at
the same place results in a rough area surrounding the base of the
bud at which water may, we may well believe, be taken up.
There is otherwise no evidence of the presence of any special
adaptive structures to this end, and their absence in a very marked
desert type of plant is not to be overlooked. That the absorption
of water l)y the stem is of no very great importance, if anv, in the
economy of the ocotillo, may perhaps well be maintained : while
on the other hand we might argue that in regions where the rain
is very scarce the very rapid jM-oduction of foliage would be of so
great importance that even the little water absorbed would be
equally so. At any rate, the question here barely touched upon
is one of a host of similar ones which need elucidation by con-
stant study under just such special conditions as are to be found
in the desert.

FLORAL XOTES OF FOREIGX LANDS.

By Fei.ix J. Koch.

{Coiicliisioii.)

At Belgrade, the capital of Servia, the laurel leaf is employed
extensively for decorative effect.

Along the streets of Belgrade on festive occasions, such as at a
coronation, little red. white and blue poles are erected at set in-
tervals, and these are then joined by garlands of oak-leaves woven
bv the soldiers.

6o THE PLANT WORLD.

Most of the homes of this city have potted plants thriving on
the sills between the two sets of windows which the bitter cold of
this region necessitates. Here the " Jew geranium " is popular.

At a wedding in Servia, in the ride from home to church, it is
the third carriage of the cortege which carries the floral offerings.
In honor of certain religious feasts, or sacraments, a tiny garland
of dried tansv. enclosing a small oniou, is set over the house-doors.
At balls, such as that of the coronation of King Peter, many of
the ladies of the nobility wear a slight floral arrangement in the
hair. Flowers grace the buft'et, too, being interspersed among
the platters.

In the suburbs of Belgrade the sun-flower is in frequent use for
decorative effect.

At Terpscidor, the royal chateau contains a small collection of
wax flowers set in queer slanted cases.

Outside the walls of the cemetery are tables where flowers
are sold, while on the graves wreaths of artificial flowers almost
cover the mounds, each wreath enclosing paper or cloth bouquets
inside a center glass casing.

On stated occasions, in the great Greek Cathedral at Bucharest,
capital of Roumania, the worshippers bow and kneel, and, on ris-
ing, are presented with a bouquet by the ])riest, much as bits of
palm are presented on Palm Sunday in our own Catholic churches.
One of the noted churches of this capital stands in a park of
flower-beds, made up of coxcombs, petunia, begonia, pinks, cannas
and kohlias. Before the oldest church in the city a gravel path
extends, and in this the portulaca runs riot, together with the
nasturtium vines.

The handsomer residences of Bucarest, one and all face their
gardens, rather than the street, and there asters are abundant.

At the annual agricultural fair here are shown artificial flowers ;
and, enclosed within, samples of the timber, and the leaf and
blossom of the " lumber-giving " trees.

Floral patterns appear in much of the women's work, and there
are poppies sewn upon blue silk, and scarfs or roses (each flower
of a bit of red silk sewn in petal-like form upon the background),
that speak well for the work of the women of this region.

FLORAL NOTES OF FOREIGN LANDS. 6 1

Poor as are the villagers of the Giurgevo region of Roumania,
in every home, upon a shelf, there will be a cup with flowers, while
in the yards, as with Mrs. Wiggs, of cabbage patch fame, an old
wash-tub will serve to contain a geranium stock, or a young
oleander shrub, and gourd-vines serve to cover its sides.

Among the underground hovels of the gypsies, in Roumania. on
departure, the visitor is presented with a dahlia and a sweet-
smelling herb. Chicory and muilein, as well as dandelion, flourish
along the roadsides, and the sun-flowers are set to adorn the
burying grounds.

Along the railway between this ])()int and Tirnovo. the grass is
set in diamond patterns, in the cuts along the track, that it may
present a pleasing appearance while growing, and so that the
several diamonds may join.

Dandeline and mustard, chicory and the elder constitute the
principal flora of the fields.

In the picturesque iron balconies to the homes at Tirnova,
oleanders are planted, while on the broad flat roofs there are
regular gardens. On the doorstep, too, the jew geranium is set
to blossom. School children here bring the teacher bouquets, as
they do in our own country.

Rose leaves and the locust petals are cooked in sugar, and
served as a confection to offer the visitor.

The pillars of the old churches are frequently hung with floral
wreaths which are never taken away, but allowed to dry.

In the windows of many of the homes the fuchsia blossoms
the year around.

On the battlefields at Plevna. Bulgaria, flourish thistles and
mullein and dandelion, a queer white flower slightlv resembling
the elyssum. the chicory, the wild rose and the fluffy wild clematis,
and there is only the golden-rod absent to make the October
meadows resemble our own.

At funerals, mourners awaiting the cortege at the door to
the church, one and all carrv flowers, and later, still bearing:
these, they follow the body to burial. On the left breast, and
across the body alone are flowers placed on the dead, a mourner
puttering constantly at their arrangement during service, but

62 THE PLANT WORLD.

elsewhere they are absent. Old floral wreaths are allowed to
accumulate in the balcony of the church.

PARAFFINED WIRE POTS FOR SOIL CULTURES.

By Burton Edward Livingston.

Everyone who has ever attempted to grow seedlings or cut-
tings in small pots of the ordinary form has observed the fact that
the first roots developed under these conditions penetrate rapidly
through the soil to the wall or bottom of the pot and then develop
against its inner surface, often forming a dense weft of branches
in this region before any considerable branch growth has oc-
curred within the soil mass itself. It is rarely possible in these
pots to obtain such a uniform distribution of the root system as
is produced b}- the same plants in the open soil, where, under
normal conditions of moisture, the root branches radiate uni-
formly, and by binding the soil grains together, produce the
familiar ball of earth which clings so tenaciously to small plants
lifted from the open ground.

This peculiar l:ehavior of the roots of potted plants is probably
due to the unusual condition existing where soil and pot come in
contact. There is often an appreciable opening between the pot
and its contents through which air changes can take place much
more rapidly than through the pore-spaces of the soil itself, and
it is certain that in such pots there is always a better opportunity
for gas diffusion along this surface of contact than elsewhere in
the pot. Besides this, the porosity of clay pots allows diffusion
of gases directly through the walls and may also exert an in-
fluence on the growth of the plants through evaporation on the
external surface and the accompanying movement of water from
Avithin outward. Whether the outward growth of the first roots
is a phenomenon of aerotropism or not, it seems quite probable
that the greatly accelerated growth and production of branches in
the vicinity of the walls is largely due to the better aeration in
that region.

PARAFFINED WIRE POTS FOR SOIL CULTURES. 63

In attempting' to use potted plants for studies of the relation
of soils to plant growth, whether the physical properties of the soil
or the chemical nature of the soil solution is under consideration,
this peculiar and undoubtedly abnormal growth of the roots has
always constituted a serious difficulty, for it is obviously unsafe
to assume that the behavior of such potted plants is the same as
would be exhibited had they been grown in the open. Indeed
it has been found in the laboratories of the Bureau of Soils of
the U. S. Department of Agriculture, at Washington, that if two
soil samples, one of an agriculturall}- poor soil and the other of a
good one, are placed in 3 or 4 inch pots and wheat is grown there-

FiG. 10.

in, the plants in the two pots fail to show the relative productive-
ness of the soils and are apt to be quite similar in the two cultures.
This is probably on account of the abnormal distributi(in of roots
described above. Roots of plants grown in common pots are not
entirely controlled by the soil conditions but are in an environment
quite foreign to soil in the open ; many of these organs have one
side closely applied to the wall of the pot, which is very dififerent
from the soil, and a large portion of them are living, if not prac-
tically in moist air instead of soil, at least in soil to wdiich an
abnormally great access of air is allowed. Thus the growth of
plants in these conditions should not be expected to exhibit anv
marked relation to the nature of the soil which fills the pot.

A new form of pot which completely avoids the difficulties men-

64 THE PLANT WORLD.

tioned above and which lias other distinct advantages over the
ordinarv clav pot for certain forms of experiment, has recently
been devised by the Bureau of Soils of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture and bids fair to become widely used for determining
by the culture method the manurial and other requirements of
soils. This pot should prove of great value to anyone wishing to
perform physiological experiments on the effect of soil conditions
upon the growth of potted plants, for classroom or other purposes,
and for this reason the present paper has been prepared.

The pot under discussion consists essentially of an artificial
hard-pan of the soil to be studied, in which the cement which holds
the grains together is ordinary hard paraffin. It is prepared as
follows : A pot or basket (Fig lo, a) three inches in diameter and
three inches high, made from galvanized iron wire netting of one-
eighth inch mesh, is inverted and repeatedly dipped to a depth of
about one inch in melted paraffin, until a firm paraffin ring or zone
is formed around the top margin (Fig. lo, b). The soil to be
used is then placed in the pot, having been first thoroughly mixed
and made up to the desired moisture content, and is pressed firmly
against the bottom and sides (Fig. lo, c). The pot is filled to
within about one-half inch of the top. The soil which has been
pressed through the walls and bottom is then brushed oflf and the
pot seized by the paraffined zone at the top and plunged in hot
melted paraffin, being held there until the paraffin has had time to
penetrate about one-eighth inch into the interstices of the soil.
The length of time needed for this operation varies, of course,
with the nature of the soil, a sandy soil requiring a shorter ex-
posure to the hot paraffin than a clay soil, since the interstices are
larger in the former. It is then removed and allowed to cool,
after which it is again dipped momentarily, this time in cooler
paraffin (Fig. lo, d). The purpose of the second dipping is to
form a firm layer of paraffin over the external surface of the walls
and bottom, to facilitate handling and lessen the danger of lireak-
ing the hard-pan formed by the previous treatment. When cool
the pot presents a uniform, smooth surface which covers the wire
netting on the outside, and it can be handled in the same manner

PARAFFINED WIRE POTS FOR SOIL CULTURES.

65

as are clay pots (^f the ordinary form. Seeds are then planted in
the soil and treated in the usual way (Fig. 10, c).

It will be observed that the surface of the wire is completely
covered with paraffine so that danger of contamination of the soil
from the metal of the wire is entirely eliminated. It will also be
observed that the surface of contact between the internal soil and
the walls of the pot — which really are formed of the same soil
cemented into a solid mass b}- paraffin, the wire netting serving
now onlv as a support to the otherwise fragile walls — is much less
definite than in ordinary pots : for the soil mass continues into the

T7

IG. II.

walls themselves, the only difference between walls and contents
Iving in the fact that the spaces which are tilled with air in the
latter are filled with solid paraffin in the former. It is this fact
upon which the peculiar value of this pot depends, for it avoids
the objectionable region of better aeration which occurs in the
vicinitv of the walls of other pots. It also avoids the continuous
evaporation from the external surface and its possible disturbing
effects.

Where it is desirable to have aeration at the bottom of the pot
one or more openings may be made in the wire netting before the
soil is placed in position and the paraffin hard-pan and external
paraffin layer which afterwards close the openings can be cut away
with a knife or other instrument. Wheat seedlings will grow
well for six weeks or longer without this aeration. P^or determin-

66 THE PLANT WORLD.

ing, by weighing", the amount of transpiration from plants in these
pots it is only necessary to seal the upper surface with a piece of
paraffined paper cemented by means of paraffin to the pot walls
having this fit closely against the stems of the plants. In the case
of loamy or clayey soils if water is to be added to the soil from
time to time to keep its moisture content uniform, it is well to
cover the soil surface with a thin layer of clean sand, which pre-
vents puddling and facilitates the equal distribution of the water
added.

Seedlings grown in these paraffined wire pots exhibit a perfectly
normal distribution of roots throughout the soil mass. The par-
affin is harmless and exerts no injurious influence upon the plants.
Fig. 1 1 shows the soil masses of two cultures of six wheat plants
each, a having been grown in a pot of the paraffined form, and b
in a glass beaker of the same size. The points brought out in the
discussion are very evident, the soil mass from the paraffin pot
showing practically no roots on its surface, while that from the
beaker has its lower surface nearly covered. The first soil mass
was found to be completely filled with well-branched roots, the
second contained very few except near its lower surface. With
plants having small roots it is very rarely that these organs pene-
trate the wall of the paraffined pot. Plants with larger roots
often penetrate, however, and thus such plants are not well
adapted to this method. Wheat and the smaller grasses serve
admirably, while Indian corn often forces its roots through the
bottom of the pot.

The culture method above described appears to offer the best
means yet devised for determining or demonstrating the influence
of soil conditions upon the growth of seedlings. It* may be used
for studying the effect of different moisture contents of the soil,
for determining the relative productiveness of different soil
samples, for studying the effects produced by the presence of
various substances in the soil, and for many other lines of experi-
mentation.

THE COCO DE MER. 6/

A RARE PALM, THE COCO DE MKR^

In the palm house of the conservatories of the New York
Botanical Garden there has recently been placed a palm bearing
unusually handsome, fan-shaped leaves. At the base of the plant
can be seen what looks to be part of two cocoanuts grown
together. It is the huge seed from which was raised, in the
propagating houses of the Garden, this specimen of the Coco de
Mer, or double cocoanut (Lodoicca maldivica) .

The home of this rare palm is in the Indian Ocean, several
hundred miles east of Zanzibar, and about 4° south of the equator,
on a group of islands known as the Seychelles. Here, in 1743,
this palm was discovered by the French who then occupied the
islands. The fruits had been known for many years before, for
they had often been found floating in the sea around the neigh-
boring Maldive islands, whence they had been carried by the
ocean currents. But the tree itself had been a mystery, and there
were many tales afloat regarding it. The Malay and Chinese
sailors insisted that it grew on a tree deep down in the water off
the coast of Sumatra, but that the tree instantly disappeared
when they dived down to see it. The negro priests declared that
it grew near the island of Java, its branches protruding above
the water, in which a monstrous bird had its home, and from
which it made nightly visits to the land, killing tigers, elephants
and other large animals. It was further asserted that ships were
attracted by the waves which surrounded the tree, and that sailors
fell an easy prey to this ravenous bird.

The fruits were coveted by the princes of Hindoostan as an
antidote against possible poisoning, and they paid large prices
for these mysterious safeguards to their lives. The king of the
Maldives turned this superstition to his own advantage, keeping
the fruits as his private property and disposing of them at high
prices. But upon the discovery of the tree which bore the fruits
there was no longer anything mysterious about them, and their
value quickly diminished.

* These facts have been taken from an article, " The Coco de Mer, or
Double Cocoanut," by Mr. George V. Nash, in tlie Journal of the Nczv
York Botanical Garden, January, 1906.

6S

THE PLANT WORLD.

The native of the Seychelles put this palm to many economic
uses. The heart of the crown of leaves is eaten as a vegetable ;

Fig. 12. Lodoicca iiiahiiz'ica (Gmcl.) Pers., the coco dr incr or double

cocoanut.

the leaves are used in house-building, both for thatching and for
making walls and partitions ; they also furnish material for hats ;

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS. 69

the down of the young leaves is used in fiUing mattresses and
pillows ; and the nuts are fashioned into various vitensils.

In the Ravine of the Coco de Mer. on one of the islands of the
Sevchelles. the trunks of these beautiful palms rise to a height
of ninety or a hundred feet, and bear aloft a handsome crown
of leaves often twenty feet long and ten or twelve feet wide.

U. M. B.

OF IXTEREST TO TEACHERS.

Edited by Dr. C. Stuart Gager.

Forestry in the Public Schools. In the September (1905)
number of Forestry aiul Irri:j;atioii A. Xeilson gives some sugges-
tions on how to interest children in the practical side of forest
growth. He advocates that each country school have a small
nursery, of about one quarter acre or even less, to be planted with
trees and taken care of b\- the pupils. From two to four hours
a week are suggested as being sufficient for the forestry work,
whicli should include the setting out of seedlings, about six
inches high, the planting of tree seeds and the care of the nur-
sery. I'upils should collect the seeds and seedlings from the
woods. Correlated with this field work there should be " little
lectures on tree matters "' given to the children in the woods.

''A large number of trees can be grown on a nursery of one

fourth of an acre, and giving three years as the age of removal

from the nursery, the plantings should be more than a third of

Editor's Note. — The study of trees is surely becoming more and more
a factor in modern botany teaching. The Department of Agriculture is
leaving no stone unturned to interest the public in the physiographic and
economic importance of trees in general, and the above abstract would
seem to be an indication that this work is bearing fruit. Nearly every
locality, also, contains trees of individual interest, which are quite un-
known to people of other localities, and we are glad to have been able to
publish articles such as that on the Hop-Hornbeam, by Miss Mary S.
Van Hook, in the January issue of the Plant World; and Miss Taylor's
account of the Georgia Bark or Quinine Tree, in the February issue. We
are indebted to Mr. George V. Nash for the facts contained in the account
•of a tree of the tropics, the Coco de ^Nler, a specimen of which is to be
seen at the New York Botanical Garden. Next month, Mr. J. C. Blumer
will tell of an interesting tree of the southwest, the .\lligator Juniper.
We shall be glad to receive other descriptions of trees in different parts
of the world.

70 THE PLANT WORT-D.

the nursery area each year. \Mien the trees, at the end of three
years, must be taken up. they can be given to the parents of the
children or can be sold. If sold the money would go to the
school to establish a library or for other useful purposes."

It is also suggested that a long time on one dav given to the
vvork would be better than a short period on several different
days.

Relation of Amides to Plant Growth. — According to Na-
ture Jules Lefevre gave an account before the Paris Academy of
Sciences on November 20, 1905, of experiments showing that
when green plants are grown in a soil containing amides, their
growth is accompanied by a rapid increase in dry weight, although

they are deprived of carbon-dioxide.

C. S. G.

REVIEWS.

The Book of the Rothauisted Experiments. By A. D. Hall.

Pp. xl -f- 294. London : John Murray. 1905.

The manor of Rothamsted is situated in the parish of Harp-
enden, Herts. England. In 1837 John Bennet Lowes, lord of the
manor, began experiments in pots with agricultural plants and
various manures. In 1843 Dr. J. H. Gilbert became associated
with hini in this work. The duration and extent of their labors
is indicated by the following inscription on a granite monument
erected in 1893 in front of the Rothamsted laboratory: " To com-
memorate the completion of fifty years of continuous experiments
(the first of their kind) in agriculture, conducted at Rothamsted
by Sir John Bennet Lowes and Joseph Henry Gilbert, A. D.
MDCCCXCIII."

As the inscription states, such experiments on such a scale in
scientific agriculture had never before been conducted. It was
Sir John Lowes who introduced the manufacture of artificial
manures, and this alone ranks him as one of the greatest bene-
factors of agriculture.

The present volume gives a summary in seventeen chapters of
part of the experiments carried out during the fifty years colab-
oration of Mr. Lowes and Dr. Gilbert. The book is of more than

REVIEWS. 71

historic interest to the worker in pure science and of practical
vakie to the agriculturist. C. S. G.

The Heather in Lore, Lyric and Lay, by Alexander Wal-
lace,* is a small volume full of human interest, if somewhat less
devoted to the scientific aspect of the plant. We little realize
until we give special attention to such matters how much a pretty
little plant as the heather may be interwoven with the life of the
people of the countries where it grows. Those who are inclined
to the study of the human aspect of botany will find this book
well worth reading. It has numerous illustrations, one in colors.

The JJlld Floi^'ers of California. Their X antes, Haunts and
Habits, f by AIary Elizabeth Parsons, illustrated by Margaret
Warriner Buck. A popular treatise, dealing with the commoner
plants. These are classified according to the color of the flower.
Each plant is described under its common, followed by its tech-
nical name. The text consists of semi-technical descriptions and
general notes. The full-page illustrations are in black and white.

Philadelphia has from the time of Bartram been an important
center of botanical study, and there are many students of its local
flora. These will be glad to have for their use the " Hand-book
of the Flora of Philadelphia and A'icinity.".| with keys for the
identification of species, compiled by Ida A. Keller and Steward-
son Brown. The " local flora " of this type is becoming more
and more favored, and will do much toward stimulating an intel-
ligent study of plants — even more in the long run, we dare say,
than ■■ nature " volumes with an apparently more obvious applica-
bility to popular needs.

Agriculture Tliron^h the Laboratory and School Gardens. A

Manual and Text-book of Elementary x\griculture for Schools.

By C. R. Jackson and Mrs. L. S. Daugherty. New York:

Orange, Judd Co. 1905.

The above seems to be a good, practical book for normal or
high school classes. The teacher of botany will not find it a sub-

* New York, A. T. de la Mare Printing and Publishing Company. Ltd.

1903.

t Payot, Uphane and Co., San Francisco, 1904.

i Philadelphia Botanical Club, Philadelphia, 1905. 360 pp.

■J 2 THE PLANT WORLD.

stitiite for the usual text-book, as there it inchides very httle
ou the inner structure of plants and plant types. ( )smosis is
insufficiently treated (p. 60). sexual and asexual reproduction are
not clearly distinguished (p. 271) and a scientist would state dif-
ferently the beginning sentence on variation ( p. 245 ) .

The paper and print are good, the illustrations clear and the
references and tables helpful. Soils, insects and other related
subjects are clearly and fully treated. The city boy would be
profited by such a course, but the book seems a direct answer to
the needs of our rural schools. T- B.

NEWS ITEMS. 73

NEWS ITE^IS.

The Dioscurides Codex. — The Library of the Xew York
Botanical Garden has recently accjuired the two volumes of " The
Dioscurides Codex Aniciae Julianae picturis illustratus, nunc
A'indobonensis Med. g^r. I Photot\pice editus." The original
manuscri])t. now in the Imperial Library at \'ienna. was photo-
graphed and the present edition is a phototypic reproduction of
the photographs.

This work dates from the year 512 A. D., and is the basis of
most of the earl\- herbals. The work is important, not only from
the standpoint of botany, but also in the history of the science,
for the illustrations are from original specimens of the fifth cen-
tury. The work was written for the Princess Anicia Ji^diana,
of B}zantium, whose portrait appears in the book.

The two folio volumes are bound in heavy oak, and the plates
are said to reproduce the originals with great faithfulness. In
addition to the illustrations of plants, there are miniatures of
groups of physicians and botanists, and of artists protlucing pic-
tures of plants.

Two copies of a reproduction were made previous to the pres-
ent, one of which was used by Linnaeus, and is now in the Library
of the Linnaean Society of London. The other copy, now at
Oxford, was used by Sibthorpe in preparing his " Flora Graeca."

At the twelfth annual meeting of the Botanical Society of
America, held at Xew Orleans in affiliation with the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, January 1-4, 1906,
the following pa])ers were presented :

J. C. Arthur: "Cultures of Uredineae in 1905." ,

G. F. Atkinson : "' The Development of ItliyfhaUits iiiipiidicits (L.) Fries,
from France."

F. E. Lloyd : " Some Physiological Aspects of Stomata."
B. E. Livingston : " Relatixe Transpiration."

G. H. Shull : "Comparative Variation and Correlation in Three JNIutants
and their Parent."

G. H. Shull: "Some Latent Characters of the White Bean."

D. T. ]\IacDouga! : "Origin and Heredity of Bud Sports." "The Indue-

74 THE PLANT WORLD.

tion of Mutation Ijy Artificial Stimulation." " New Mutants of the Even-
ing Primrose."

W. A. Cannon : " Topography of the Chlorophyll-apparatus of Some
Desert Plants."

D. S. Johnson : " A New Type of Embryo-sac in Pcpcromia."

E. C. Jeffrey and Arthur Hollick : " Affinities of the Cretaceous Plant
Remains referred to the Genera Dammara and Brachyphyllnvi.

B. J. Howard: "The Tannin Cells of Persimmon." (By invitation.)
V. M. Spalding: "Some Problems in Desert Botany." (By invitation.)

The Production of Oil of Wintergreen. — While oil of
wintergreeii was formerly made b}' distilling an etherial oil found
in the leaves of the wintergreen (Gaiiltheria prociimbeiis, Linn.),
the cost of gathering this plant became prohibitive. Now " oil
of wintergreen " is made by distilling the etherial oil found in the
bark of the sweet birch (Betula leiita, Linn.). " The wholesale
chemists refine it and sell it as ' essential oil of wintergreen." This
is the natural oil. 'Artificial oil ' is made by a purely synthetic
process in the laboratories. Chemically it is exactly the same,
and being produced at less expense sells at a much lower price.
— Forestry and Irrigation.

Volume 9 Number 4

The Plant World

91 ;fHa5a^inc of popular ^otanp
APRIL, 1906

THE BLOOMING OF AN UNUSUAL ORCHID.

By R. G. Leavitt. Ph.D.,
The Ames Bofaiiica! Laboratory. Xorth Easfon. Mass.

There has recentl\- bloomed in the greenhouse at North Easton
an orchid with a remarkable flower. The plant belongs to the
South American genus Masdci'alUa. a group of small orchids, of
which there are numerous species. The flowers are curious and
often oddly beautiful. The species illustrated in our drawing —
MasdevaUia iiniscosa. the " mossy " or " mosslike " MasdevaUia —
is found in Ecuador and Colombia, growing most frequently on
trunks and thick branches of trees in damp mountain forests (alti-
tude 6,ooo to 8,ooo ft. ), though sometimes on volcanic rocks and
walls of lava in the open sunshine. Frequent rains and heavy
nocturnal dews ofifer to its spongy roots copious drafts of water,
which are absorbed and stored in its thickened leaves. The golden
flowers are lifted singly on pale-green hairy stalks above the
tufted foliage. The floral structure may be easily understood
from the accompanying drawings. The three outer floral leaves,
recurved and produced into long tails, are united below into a
shallow, somewhat triangular, chalice. From the center of the
flower, but deflected toward one side of the cup, arises the col-
umn, — the distinctive character of an orchidaceous flower, — an
organ fashioned from the fusion of the stamens with the tips of
the carpels. The anther lies upon the end of the column, with its
waxy pollen in two compact masses. The receptive spot, or
stigma, is on the under side of the column, not far back of the

75

76 THE PLANT WORLD.

anther. The two matched petals, long, narrow and curved, stand
beside the column, their extremities projecting- and forming an
arch, in such a way as to leave a three-sided opening between
petals and anther ; while the third petal stands away from the
column, the narrow stalk adherent to the calyx, the roughly trian-
gular blade free and pendant from a point within the margin.
The unmatched petal, the lip or labellum, of orchid flowers, is
usually larger and more highly modified in form and brilliant in
hue than the petals, and is usually so placed as to serve as a land-
ing stage for visiting insects, often with bosses and ridges for
secure footing, often also with some sac or spur at the base for
nectar. The lip of Masdcvallia inuscosa adds still another dis-
tinction ; for besides being expanded and hollowed and bearing
cushions of deep maroon hairs, its blade is irritable and full of
lively motion.

When a flower first opens, the tails of the sepals curve back
and the labellum is seen with its bearded tip folded just beneath
the arch of the petals. Presently, however, the blade descends,
turning by a flexible neck, or hinge, until it stands in the position
represented in the right-hand flower of our plate. If the surface
is now very gently touched, almost instantly the lip springs up,
rising slowly for a moment and then shutting with a sna]). The
blade fits the walls of the calyx and the curve of the petals so
that a space is enclosed, open nowhere except at one point, where
the arched petals extend beyond the column. The highest flower
(Fig. 13) shows this aperture as a dark spot. In newly opened
flowers in warm moist air the whole operation may take as little
as two seconds. After a few minutes — usually fifteen to twenty —
the lip again falls, but very gradually, and immediately is ready
for a repetition of the performance. A flower on our greenhouse
plant responded many times a day without loss of sensibility ; in
fact after repeated stimulation the lip opened out somewhat sooner
than before.

The whole surface of the labellum is not sensitive. Touches
anywhere except upon a median ridge, or cushion {cv. b^ig. 14,
A), produce no efl^ect. But the lightest brushing of this crest
with a hair suffices to set off the mechanism of movement. Hence

THE BLOOMING OF AN UNUSUAL ORCHID.

77

Fig. 13. MasdcvaUia muscosa.

78 THE PLANT WORLD.

if an insect lays foot upon the crest, he is quickly raised and
almost at once thrown forward into the calvx-cnp. W^ith the
labellum shut he finds himself in a shallow box with translucent
golden walls, veined with red. When he regains his feet and
turns about he sees light through a small opening. Climbing up,
he squeezes out past the end of the column (at c, Fig. 14). Here
he brushes against the sticky knobs of the pollen-masses, and takes
one or both of them away with him. If he visits a second flower
and is entrapped he may leave the pollen of the first flower upon
the adhesive stigmatic surface of the second, past which surface
he must crawl when again escaping. The case is in eft'ect very
like that of our moccasin flower, or lady's slipper.

The motility of this labellum reminds one also of the similar
powers of barberry stamens, which spring together so suddenly
upon having their filaments touched.

It is interesting to find that other stimuli besides contact are
capable of springing the lip. I found that moving the lip back-
ward and forward upon the hinge, without touching the sensitive
ridge, produces the efifect. When the plant was carried out of doors
into a temperature of 46° F. the lip immediately closed. When
drops of water fell on the lip it closed, probably from sudden
change of temperature. A red-hot needle w^as held near the
cushion with the same result. Discharge of electric sparks oper-
ated in the same way, but it is not certain — though probable
enough — that the effect was a purely electrical one. About an
hour after night-fall the lip folded up of its own accord ; before
light next morning ( 5 : 30 a. m., December 23) it was open again.
This action is periodic and diurnal. Darkening the plant in the
daytime had no effect.

A side sectional view shows that the movement results from the
flexure of the neck (Fig. 14, /; ). In fact, as there are no tendons
and no transmission of power, the motors must be located here.
But the stimulus is received by the crest, which is at a little dis-
tance from the hinge. Wlien the surface cells of the crest are
pressed by an insect's foot, changes, the nature of which is un-
known, take place in their contents, which cause changes in under-
lying cells, and these affect in turn the next cells, an impulse thus

THE BLOOMING OF AN UNUSUAL ORCHID.

79

travelling from cell to cell until the motor tissues of the hinge are
reached.

There is no development at the hinge of a distinct cushion or
pulvinus such as we find at the base of the leaf in the Sensitive
Plant, for the lip is of a very light body and easily moved about.
The mechanism of the hinge depends for its operation on the smell-
ing powers of its thin-walled tissues and their capacity for sudden
release of watery contents with consequent contraction of the
elastic membranes. To make the mechanism clear we may fix
our attention upon a single cell (Fig. 14, B). Suppose the cell

A

--CW

Fig. 14. Masdcvallia niuscosa: A. Side sectional veiw of lip and col-
umn in open and closed positions, a, anther; s, stigma; c, column; h,
hinge ; cr. crest of lip : p, petal ; c, point of insects' exit. — After Oliver.

B. Diagrammatic section of cell in the motor region, pr. protoplasmic
layer ; cs. cell sap ; cxi', cell wall.

lying near the upper surface of the hinge to be flaccid, like the
other cells in the same vicinity. The lip is now in its raised posi-
tion, the hino;e bent. The selected cell is not filled with water to
its full capacitv. Its walls are under little or no tension. When
the time comes for the lip to be moved downward, the cell begins
to absorb water. This happens when the cell begins to produce
in the protoplasm soluble substances diffusing into the cell-sap,
which are unable to escape through the finer-textured protoplasmic
laver next the wall. These confined solubles exert an expansive
force such as gases exert in a balloon. Consequently the whole

8o THE PLANT WORLD.

cell is expanded — the walls being somewhat elastically extensi-
ble — and water, supplied to the general tissue-mass by the veins
of the lip, enters. The entrance of water is the result of the
expansive tendency, not its cause. As this cell swells, others do
so too. The whole upper region of the hinge therefore expands
and the hinge gradually straightens, lowering the lip. When the
cell and its mates have reached the full measure of this expansi-
bihty and become fully turgid the hinge is at its straightest and
the lip is in position for the reception of visitors. Now a fly puts
foot on the irritable cushion. The irritation travels with great
rapidity to the neck cells. Coming to our selected cell the efifect
is to release the cell sap, so that some of it flows out into the inter-
cellular spaces or into the ducts of the veins. It seems that release
must be effected through a sudden change in the confining layer
of protoplasm. We may imagine this to relax so that the invisible
meshes of its finer structure increase in size and allow the mole-
cules of the solubles — hitherto causing distention of the walls — to
pass through with ease. Solubles and water — the sap — pass out
together, and the cell contracts by its own elasticity. Other cells
act simultaneously, and the tissue on this surface of the hinge
shrinks, while that on the opposite side remains turgid. The
hinge bends and the lip is raised. The great irritability of the
cells, including those of the crest and the hinge, is seen when we
recall the different kinds of stimuli which aft'ect them : touch,
heat, cold, mechanical motion of the parts, and diurnal change of
illumination. When the lip is down, the protoplasm of the irri-
table parts seems to be in a state of very delicate equilibrium,
which may be upset !:>}" trifling changes in the physical conditions.*

* For Fig. 13, which so well represents the plant, I am indebted to the
delineator, Mrs. Oakes Ames.

OUR MOCCASIN FLOWERS AT HOAlli. 8 1

OUR MOCCASIN FLOWERS AND OTHER ORCHIDS

AT HOME.

By Grace Greylock Niles.

The rarest of all rare blossoms are the Orchids — a family con-
sisting of flowers with strange fantastic forms, and secret and inac-
cessible homes. A'ery few species choose dry rocky soil, although
these delicate plants readily adapt themselves to their environments
throughout a broad and variable continental range.

In May and June a brief glance through the bogs of Berkshire
and Bennington and northward will reveal some of the most luxu-
riant groups of our moccasin-tlowers and other orchids to be
found in the world. Along the slopes of the Hoosac Highlands
are several slowly drained swamps where many moccasin-flowers
and tall spikes of habenaria flourish. In the Swamp of Oracles,
northward in Bennington County, grows the greatest profusion
of orchids which the writer has observed in this region, there
being represented five species of the moccasin-flowers of genus
Cypripcdiuin, — an unusual report so far southward in New
England.

The orchid family in these states consists of fifteen genera and
no less than sixty species. The Cypripcdinnis, commoidy known
as lady's slipper, moccasin-flowers and whip-poor-will shoes, are
among the most showy of the orchids. There are only thirteen
native Cxpripcdiums on the continent, and the finding of five of
this number in one small swamp area in the Hoosac Valley region
emphasizes the adaptation of the soil to the growth of Orchidaceae.

Our moccasin-flowers, as the name implies, are shoe-shaped,
or pouch-like ; the grace of the whole plant and the dainty poise
of the undulating sepals and petals, give a certain charm to these
alert blossoms, nodding in the dense glooms of the boglands, or
bordering the rocky edges of the marsh, amid rich piles of decay-
ing logs and brush, where the whip-poor-will rears her young
and feeds upon the insects attracted to these orchids. It is not
at all strange that they have been deemed the foot-gear of these
melancholy birds who haunt the deepest shades of the woodlands.

82 THE PLANT WORLD.

Beneath the primeval pines bordering the swamp, the ram's-
head moccasin-flowers {Cypripedinni arietinum) bloom from the
middle until about the twenty-fifth of May. These purple flowers
are the smallest of the eastern species of Cypripedinni and, being
pouch-shaped, in certain positions suggest a ram's head. The
apex of the labellum serves as the nose, and the twisting side
sepals and petals correspond to the horns of the ram.

The pink moccasin-flower {Cypripcdium acaiilc) follows at the
same date along the damp rocky hillsides near the whip-poor-
will's nest. This is the best known of our Cypripcdiinns, and is
conspicuous for its two basal leaves — it being the only two-leaved
moccasin-flower found in eastern North America. It creeps over
the mountain plains where the huckleberry loves to grow and
adapts itself, also, to the water-soaked hummocks of the swamp
lands.

Closely following are its sisters — the two yellow moccasin-
flowers — Cypripedinni hirsiifum and Cypripedinni parvidornin,
which bloom so closely associated as to intergrade and confuse
their individuality The homes of these two species are in higher
woodlands or in the secret solitudes of the swamp and, despite
their being such showy and glaring flowers, they are seldom dis-
covered except by the most alert observer.

Frequently the small moccasin-flower hides among dense colo-
nies of fern and brake giving forth the most exquisite perfume
of anv of our New England flowers. It is the onlv trulv fragrant
Cypripcdium in eastern America, the others having a heavy oil}"
pungent odor. The large yellow species often follows the pink
moccasin-flowers suiumitward and delights to bloom along rocky
ridges beneath the shades of birch, chestnut and beech ; yet the
more common haunt is in the heart of the conifer boglands on the
higher hummocks of moss, surrounded with cowslips, spring-
beauties, violets and ferns.

About this date, if we closely examine the marshlands, we will
observe the dewy-tipped spikes of the showy moccasin-flower
{Cypripcdium rcginac) pushing above the rich leaf-mould or
sphagnum. This Cypripcdium is a full month behind the others,
l)looming about June 20, and is one of the most regal species of

OUR MOCCASIN FLOWERS AT HOME.

83

which the world can boast. Queen indeed of the Indian moccasin-
flowers, it flaunts its alert white petals and dainty wine-tipped
slippers in the most choice glooms, at the feet of the tamarack
and spruce, or sheltered among tall ferns, brakes and Indian-poke.
The plicate leaves of the Cy[^rilyediiinis resemble the foliage of

Fig. 15. The Small Purple-fringed Orchis (Habciiaria psycodcs)
Closely allied to Habciiaria grandiflora of New England, and to the Eng-
lish Long Purples (Orchis iiiorio) of ancient literature. They are men-
tioned by Shakespeare in Hamlet.

" There with fantastic garlands she did come
Of croii.'-flo-a'ers. nettles, daisies, and long piirf'les."

'■ Hamlet," Act U-\, Sc. 7.

84 THE PLANT WORLD.

Indian-poke or hellebore and they were early confused with this
plant bv the ancients and designated, " false hellebore with a round
flower" (Hcllcborijic Calccolus).

Later this group of shoe-shaped flowers was known to Rembert
Dodoens — a physician to the German Emperor in 1550 or later,
who dedicated these flowers to Marianus — " our lady the Virgin
Marv," and they were commonly known as " our lady's slippers "
(Cakeohis Mariainis). The generic name, Calccolus, signifies
" round like a little shoe." Our lady's slipper is the old European
name for these flowers, while moccasin-flower is purely American,
originating from Mazvcahsun or Mokkosin-HoT^'crs. the Algonquin
Indians having observed the same resemblance to the shoe shape
as did the Europeans.

In 1 740-1 753 the great Linnaeus revised this genus and dedi-
cated it to Venus, " Our Lady the Divine Mother of the Romans,"
whose ancient name was Cypris, and thus wc obtain Cypripedium
— Venus' slippers or our lady's slippers, as form.erly.

One of the early orchids of the bare and leafless woodlands
is the showy orchis (OrcJiis spccfabilis), dwelling along the rocky
borders of streams, about May 15. until June 20. It is closely
related to the early spring orchis of England which Darwin loved
so much to study.

Soon, now, follow a host of Habcnarias. each in its turn making
the glooms or meadowland gay with strange spikes of green,
white, yellow and purple-fringed and winged flowers. Space does
not permit me adequately to describe them all ; a few of the most
beautiful types of the group will be enumerated.

The found-leaved orchis (Habcnaria Hookcriana) is among the
first to bloom, coming just as the pink moccasin-flowers and the
showy orchis have faded, and choosing much the same haunts,
save that they stand out as sentinels along the higher ridges.
These plants produce round cool-looking leaves, lying flat or
nearly so upon the ground, between which rises a spike of green-
ish-yellow flowers, ornamented with fantastic spurs, capes and
hoods all twisted and tied to the scape. They very much resemble
winged insects, and were likened to a strap by the ancients, the
flowers being placed in a " Certaine order like to a kind of Hat-

OUR MOCCASIN FLOWERS AT HOME. 85

band, or the rolling of a gable rope." The Habcnarias are for
this reason known as the rein orchises. Several tall green spikes
of this group now appear along the brooksides in the swamplands.

About the open places bordering springs we discover the tall
white northern orchis (Habcnaria dilatata), rarely appreciated
save by the flies and moths which are attracted by its rich per-
fume. A little later in meadows, gracing lakeside solitudes and
sluggish streams bloom the gorgeous purple-fringed orchises ( Ha-
benaria psycodcs) and (Habcnaria grajidiflora). One may live a
lifetime in the hills and never behold these beautiful fringed blos-
soms of the meadows. They are similar to the long purples and
dead men's fingers v/hich grow along the damp borders of the
corn-fields in England (Fig. 15).

Various species of the orchid family dwell in the open meadows,
such as Arcfhiisa, the beautiful nymph of the fountain; and thou-
sands of Pcgoiiia and Liiiiodoniiii dance and wave among the
sedges. Approaching the laiid niargins the tamaracks grow
larger, and on the higher mounds of moss beneath the pines,
innumerable plants of the pink moccasin-flowers flourish, inter-
laced with the evergreen vines of the wolf's claw (Lycopod'ni)n) .
Stray plants of Loesel's twayblade {Lcptorchis LocscUi), the tall
white northern orchis, and the small bog-orchis here live in peace
and unity.

Closing in about the land margin are the larger tamaracks,
pines and spruces, which press upon the shrubs of the interior ;
beneath these the pitcher plant and the showy queen of the mocca-
sin-flowers are still thriving. Beyond this zone, hemlocks, maples,
birch, elm and chestnut are encroaching on the conifers ; while
far beyond all, over the hills encircling this grave of an ancient
lake, the cultivated corn-fields and pasturage of the herds are
crowding upon the whole area and in time will fill the unfathom-
able pool in the heart of the hills. In the slowly drained swamp.
Arethusa is not to be found, nor is sphagnum so frequent, but
many species of fern and shrubs dwell here peculiar to this area.

The last orchids of the autumn are the fragrant ladies' tresses,
which come with the blue-fringed gentians and stars-of-Pamassus,
making the marshland of September a gorgeous wave of nodding
colors.

86 THE PLANT WORLD.

TWO JUNIPERS OF THE SOUTHWEST.
By J. C. Blumer.

The following notes are from the Cameron Creek basin, lying on
the southern slope of the Pinos Altos Mountains of New Mexico.
This region lies only forty miles north of the Gadsden Purchase
and seventy-five miles from the Mexican boundary. The sun-
bathed peaks of the Mexican plateau are daily seen to rise like
hazy pyramids out of the' desert of Egypt. The tract, last summer
added to the Gila River Forest Reserve, is tributary to the U. S.
military hospital at Fort Bayard, and has an altitude of 6,000 to
7,500 feet. Here the writer spent the latter half of 1905, in the
interest of the U. S. Forest Service.

This far southwestern world offers many interesting things to
the student of plants. Among these are two junipers, which con-
stitute a large part of the typically evergreen woods, very open
and orchard-like. The other species comprise four oaks, two
pines, mountain mahogany and garrya. a relative of the dogwood.
Several other woody species are limited mainly to water-courses.

The one-seed juniper {Junipcnis monos[^cnna) is a tree not
often above apple tree size, though it sometimes reaches a diam-
eter of thirty inches and a height of not over twenty-five feet. The
whitish bark, becoming one inch thick, peels off in long shreds.
The berries of the pistillate tree, ripening early in autumn, are
dark blue, sweet and juicy, of oval shape and about half the size
of the berry of Jiniipcnis scoptilonnn. They contain a single,
bony, ovate-conical seed about the size of a grape seed. The crop
this season was so scarce that not over five bearing trees were
found. Birds are probably the chief agents of distribution.
While gathering the seed, certain sparrow-like members of the
feathered tribe once or twice hovered within arm's length of the
picker, in an effort to save their proper share. Its densely clus-
tered leaves of rusty green closely protect the very short branchlets
from the thirsty semi-desert air. Usually half the grotescjue form
of the older trees has been stripped by time and environment of
both leaves and bark. But it clings to life with great tenacity.
It is the patriarch of the foothills.

TWO JUNIPERS OF THE SOUTHWEST.

87

Not SO its associate, the alligator juniper, known to botanists as
Junipenis pachyphloea (see Fig. 16). Though often attaining
twice the usual diameter of the one-seed juniper, or over four

Fig. 16. Alligator Juniper {Juniperus pachyphloea Torn).

88 THE PLANT WORLD.

feet, a height of about thirty feet and greater age, it presents a
full, thickly clad and often beautifully rounded crown, but only
at the lower altitudes.

As one approaches the mountains from the plains 6,000 feet
below, he finds the first tree, cropping up here and there, to be
the one-seed juniper. This increases in size, but gradually loses
its hold as the dominant species and at about 6,500 feet it dis-
appears. The alligator juniper first appears approximately at the
line of best development of the one-seed, and becomes dominant
where the latter ceases. On the succeeding steep slopes it is inter-
rupted by horizontal belts of shrubby blue oak. only to re-appear
as occasional lesser belts to the top of the higher slopes at 7,500
feet, and as extensive orchards on the malpais* mesas. It occu-
pies a large part of these tablelands at 7,000 feet, to the exclusion
of every other noticeable plant except grama and agave. Here,
however, our desert alligator becomes as picturesquely deformed
as its brother species below. Many trees show less than half their
girth covered with new wood bark. This gives rise to great
eccentricity of both trunk and limb.

It will perhaps interest physiologists that on such limbs the
growth is always made on the lower side. The writer measured
one that was five inches in horizontal diameter at the crotch, grad-
ually widening to eight inches downward, with a vertical diameter
of twenty-eight inches. The pith of the limb was probably not
over two inches from the crotch.

The dead parts, barring fires, persist for many years owing to
the absence of the fungi of decay. The living tree undoubtedly
exists to a great age as well. The age of both species is difficult
to ascertain. This is due to the formation of two annual rings
per year — thus more properly called " semi-annual rings " —
Ijrought on by two distinct growing seasons. The winter rain and
snow give rise to the first growth early in spring, which is checked
by the drouth of May and June. The rains of July and August,
^diminishing toward October, stimulate the cambium into renewed

* " Alalpais " is of Spanish derivation meaning " bad lands," and is ap-
plied to country covered with basaltic boulders, in these parts a very exten-
sive formation. Humboldt, 100 years ago, spelled it "malpays."

TWO JUNIPERS OF THE SOUTHWEST. 89

activity, which is again quieted by the advent of winter. This
process is not always regular, and determination of age is com-
plicated by the formation of sometimes but one, sometimes three
or possibly even more, annual rings per year. The age of a young
grow^th of both species, coming up on a cut-over area, and five to
twelve feet high, was thus found to be approximately twenty
years. During the season of 1905, followdng heavy snows and
rains, a remarkably fine growth was made. The mean of a con-
siderable number of measurements was not far from fourteen
inches. A certain stump of alligator juniper upon a ridge, thirty
inches in diameter, was found to have been about five hundred and
forty years in the making. Another of the same species and size,
that had grown on bottom-land, was approximately three hundred
and seventy-five years old. A conservative estimate of the age
of trees double this diameter — stumps of many such are found,
but are very hard to count — would be seven hundred to eight
hundred years. It is not at all improbable that the tree shown in
the picture is one thousand years old. In temperate regions at
least, the alligator juniper should perhaps be given second place
to the famous California sequoia. The writer should be glad to
hear of any evidence to the contrary. It means that these trees
struck root in the middle ages, that they reared their fragrant
crow^ns to the ozone of the Cordilleran breeze before civilized man
dreamed of America.

The junipers are dioecious, /. c. staminate and pistillate flowers
are on separate trees. An occasional staminate tree was found
that bore a berry or two, thus proving that the tree is sometimes
monoecious. Its berries are small cones covered with juicy pulp.
It is thus a conifer. On the berries of the alligator juniper are
seen protuberances like those on a large green caterpillar. They
appear to be the covered tips of the cone-scales. The berries of
the juniper take tw^o years to mature.

The globular berries of the alligator juniper run very large,
viz., from the size of an ordinary pea to five-eighths of an inch
in diameter. One tree was seen that bore fruit as much as three-
fourths of an inch in diameter. It contained no good seeds, how-
ever, and was clearly abnormal. The fibrous flesh is dry and

go THE PLANT WORLD.

insipidly sweet, seemingly without resin, and very unlike the pun-
gent sweetness of the one-seeded species. It is eaten by bears and
other mammals, as well as by birds. The berries contain from
one to four bony, angular seeds, usually two or three, of the same
size as those of its one-seeded relative. Fifty berries that were
examined gave a symmetrical curve, i. c:

3 berries contained no seeds.
12 " " I seed apiece.

20 " " 2 seeds "

12 " " 3 seeds "

3 " "4 seeds "

Unlike its congener, it bore an abundant crop of seeds this sea-
son. . Several bushels would often hang upon a single tree. This
light blue mass, distributed about the periphery of the crown, gives
a strikingly unique as well as handsome effect. This is heightened
by myriads of tiny white specks upon the foliage, peculiar to the
older trees of this species. These are bits of hardened resin
exuded by the single resin duct on the back of each leaf.

The season of ripening seems to be variable. A certain localitv
was observed, where the berries turned reddish and fell as early
as September. Some fell later, but the majority seemed to cling
firmly as late as the middle of December.

The bark resembles an alligator skin, and at once distinguishes
it from all other junipers. One seeing it for the first time would
not question its identity. This cross-wise checking of the bark
is characteristic even at tender seedling age. Branches less than
one inch thick usually slough off their cuticles in the form of
scales, revealing a skin that is perfectly smooth and of a yew-like
red. Where both species make young growth together this serves
as a secondary distinguishing mark. The primary one naturally
will be color, which is quite remarkably constant within the species.
The one-seeded species is a pretty olive green, while the alligator's
namesake is an exceedingly handsome bright blue. The two
growing side by side give a color variation not excelled by any
other conifers, the Colorado blue spruce included. With age, the
blue spruce often acquires much dark green, approaching the con-
stantly green one-seed. In December, the staminate trees of both

THE PERILS OF ORCHID HUNTING. 9I

species become sprinkled with yellow, due to numberless male
flowers, producing pollen despite the snow and frost.

The wood of both kinds is yellowish in color, light in weight,
non-resinous, and highly esteemed for fuel and posts.

The tree shown in the picture is a landmark for many miles
around, because of its beauty and extraordinary size. It is a little
over five feet in diameter and between sixty and seventy feet in
height. The ground on which it stands recently fell into the hands
of a mining company. A ranchman and ex-cowboy living near,
rode by the tree one day. The manager for the company had
some men on the spot, preparing to cut it down.

" What are you doin' ?" said the ex-cowboy.

" Why, I'm going to cut this tree down : it's no use here ; it's in
the way," replied the manager.

"No, you don't; not while I'm a-crawlin'," broke in the ex-
cowboy, his hand instinctively going to his belt. " This tree stood
a guide-post to the ranchman and the cowboy of this country
before you and your mining company ever thot o' bein' born. And
it'll keep on a standin', too !"

With this he rode to town, and the manager prudently desisted.
The ex-cowboy spread the manager's intention. For days there-
after talk of six-shooters was rife amongst the neighbors. The
manager abandoned his plan, and the noble tree lives on for the
guidance and delight of cowboy children yet unborn.

THE PERILS OF ORCHID HUNTING.

The strange perils and risks that attend the collecting of wild
orchids have been graphically described by Mr. William Fitz-
gerald in the Sunday magazine of the New York Tribune of Feb-
ruary 25. The writer tells how, in some of the wildest and most
remote regions of the world, in Mexico, Venezuela, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Brazil, Burma, in the interior of Assam and
the Himalayas generally, in Borneo, New Guinea, and on the
west coast of Africa, a certain orchid dealer in London maintains
a staff of collectors who often risk their lives in the hunt for these
gorgeous epiphytes of the tropical forest.

92 THE PLANT WORLD.

The orcliid hunter starts out from a certain base of supplies. A
man about to collect on the lower Himalayas, for instance, will
purchase his outfit and hire his servants in Calcutta. When the
jungle is reached he puts up a hut, building- a broad veranda about
it where he can lay out and dry his orchids. Many of these col-
lectors have met with tragic deaths from fever, drowning, falls,
the hostility of savages, or the attacks of wild beasts.

Some years ago a collector voyaging up the malarial Fly River
in British New Guinea came upon a sacred cemetery where great
masses of a rare crimson orchid known as the elephant moth
dendrobe were growing in and out among the dead bones of the
cannibal Papuans. The flowers of this orchid shade from rich crim-
son to almost pure white, and resemble gigantic moths fluttering
on slender stems. The natives of the place, displeased at this dis-
turbance of the remains of their ancestors, menaced the orchid
hunters with their poisoned spears, but presents of brass wire
and calico soon won them over, and they finally assisted the col-
lector in gathering the new orchid, insisting, however, that he send
with the plants a quaint little idol as a propitiation to the disturbed
spirits of the departed. The idol was afterwards sold with the
plants at a London auction. One specimen of this lot which at-
tracted particular interest grew out of the eye-socket of a human
skull and was purchased, together with its gruesome holder, for
six hundred dollars.

Fabulous indeed are the sums paid for rare orchids, but so great
is the uncertainty that they are generally sold at auction. A plant
of Laclia aiwcl^s was observed by the London dealer to have a
ring-mark on its pseudobulb higher up than is usual. The dealer
bought it for twelve dollars, and five years later sold the same
plant for one thousand dollars. In a consignment of Cxpripcdium
insigiic was once found one orchid plant with a bright yellow
flower stalk instead of the normal brown stalk. The plant was
put to one side, and when it flowered the blossom was a beautiful
gold. The owner cut the plant in two and sold each half at public
auction for five hundred and twenty-five dollars. One of the pur-
chasers divided his also, selling two pieces at five hundred dollars
each, and the third piece the original owner bought back for

THE PERILS OF ORCHID HUNTING. 93

thirteen hundred dollars for the purpose of hybridizing. A plant
of MasdevaUia Tovarcnsis was cut up in the same wa}- and its
fragments sold for large sums, until a consignment of forty thou-
sand plants from Caracas reduced the price to a mere song.

Mr. Fitz-gerald tells an interesting story of the orchid Cypri-
pedium Spiccriaiunu. An English lady, a Mrs. Spicer, sold to an
orchid dealer for three hundred and fifty dollars a strange orchid
that had appeared in her greenhouse. The dealer divided his
specimen and sold the pieces at fabulous prices. Then the London
dealer set about to discover the whereabouts of this priceless plant.
He knew that it had arrived in a mass of Cypripcdium insigne,
therefore it must be a native of the Himalayas. Mrs. Spicer's
son was a tea planter on the confines of Bhutan, and it was he who
had found the orchid. The London dealer sent his man to get
from the tea planter all he could about the locality in which the
orchid had been discovered, and then to set out after it. The
orchid hunter " swam and waded through giant rivers, often
waist deep in miasmatic mud, or plowed his way through the
incredibly dense tropical vegetation, and finally came upon a glade
encircled by rocks steep as a wall, and here at last, with a cry
of delight, he reached out his bamboo rake and dragged down
masses of the gorgeous orchid he had sought so long and so
heroically."

The element of gambling begins as soon as the orchid hunter
finds his plants. He nn;st bring them to his hut, dry them for
four weeks, and then, when they are entirely free from moisture,
fasten them to tough twigs and pack them in wooden cases with
a liberal allowance of air. They are then transported by coolie,
llama, raft or elephant, over land and across the ocean. If they
are exposed to sunlight, or are placed too near the boilers on
board steamer, they may all be ruined. " Ten thousand plants,"
writes Mr. Fitz-gerald, " may be collected on some remote Andean
peak or Papuan jungle with infinite care, and consigned to Europe,
the freight alone amounting to thousands of dollars, yet on arrival
there may not be a single orchid left alive."

M. AT. B.

94 THE PLANT WORLD.

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS.

Edited by Dr. C. Stl'art Gager.

" Collapse of Enolution." — The above caption is the title of
an address, dehvered under the auspices of the American Bible
League, in Boston, in December, 1904, by Professor L. T. Town-
send, Emeritus Professor in Boston University.

Professor Townsend quotes from an unnamed Cornell professor
the statement that attacks upon the fact of evolution " are made
only by persons who are not familiar with either the evolution
hypothesis or the facts of natural history," and, " are made for the
purpose of bolstering up dogmas and beliefs." The address under
discussion is one of the strongest evidences of the truth of these
quotations that has appeared in recent years.

An idea of the author's comprehension of what evolution is,
and especially of his acquaintance with standard literature of
biology may be inferred by his statements that the terms germ-
plasm and protoplasm (sic) have not for five or ten years "been
employed seriously by any reputable writer on these subjects "
(p. 12) ; that evolutionists should be able to show a chain with no
missing links (p. 15) ; that species should generally improve and
primitive forms die out (pp. 16, 17, 19) ; that evolution means
that one species transforms "into another" (pp. 21. 29); that
evolution demands the existence of " millions of intermediate
forms" (p. 23); that DeVries "appears to have developed a
mutable species of primrose," but that, on the contrary, nothing
has been accomplished outside of " an oscillation around a primi-
tive center " (p. 28) ; that De Vries is a believer in special crea-
tion (p. 52) ; that, " There is no evidence whatever of a tendency
in nature towards the transmutation of species " (p. 28) ; that, if
evolution were true, " classification would be out of the question,"
but " the scientist is not embarrassed by any such perplexing con-
ditions " as a difficulty in classification (p. 29) ; and, finally, that
the theory of evolution " is discredited and abandoned by the best
scholarship of the world." The same writer is the author of a
volume entitled, " Evolution or Creation."

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS.

95

More lamentable than the misconception of facts is the great
lack of appreciation on the part of the lecturer of the spirit and
point of view of every sincere investigator in science. This is
shown, for example, where the author speaks of Huxlev's " dis-
comfiture " because the real nature of bathybius was discovered ;
of his " reluctantly " and " mournfully " giving up the bioplast
theory, and of Ritter's studies in deep sea fauna being " trouble-
some " to the evolutionist (p. 17).

We have given so much space to this address in the hope that
the Teachers' notes are read by teachers, and especially bv
young teachers, who have been prevented by professional duties,
or otherwise, from keeping abreast of recent or current literature,
and who might be led into the erroneous notion that scientists
are beginning to or alread\' have abandoned the theory of evolu-
tion. The suggestion is that the teacher should not waste too
much time in reading elementary text-books, nor " popular " books
and magazine articles on scientific subjects, but onlv standard
writings. Above all should the young teacher or botanist avoid
too much reading of purely theoretical and abstract discussions of
such questions until he is thoroughly grounded in the facts, the
only true basis of any theory.

Regeneration in Roots. — The following notes are taken from
a review of Nemec's Studien uber die Regeneration, in Xaturc,
for December. 1906.

" It is well known that if the tip be removed from a growing
root a new apex is commonly dilTerentiated, growth in length
commencing once more when the new tip has been completely
formed. The objects of Dr. Xemec's investigation have been to
endeavor to throw some light on the nature of the process of
regeneration itself, the causes that initiate and determine its occur-
rence, and the meaning of the physiological events that are as-
sociated with it. The methods adopted were extremely simple.
The tips of growing roots, chiefly of seedlings, were injured in
various ways by making incisions into the region about the apex,
and the leactions that ensued were carefully followed and com-
pared.

96 THE PLANT ' WORLD.

" It was found, in confirmation and extension of the less com-
plete observations of Prantl and Simon, that the roots of ferns
never truly regenerate themselves as do those of flowerino- plants.
Possibly the diiTerence is to be attributed to the more definite con-
centration of formative protoplasm in the apical cell of the former
as contrasted with its "reater extension as layers in the roots of
the latter. At any rate, no regeneration occurs in the roots of
ferns, although some attempts at healing the actual wound may
be made.

" The case is diiTerent with the roots of phanerogams, although
in them, also, the conditions of regeneration are more limited
than might have been anticipated. In the first place, no union
of the halves of longitudinally cut roots took place ; the damaged
apex was either replaced b}- a new one on either side of the slit or
else the regeneration was confined to one half.

" Lateral incisions are inefifective to bring about the difl:'erent-
iation of a new apex unless the slit has severed at least half the
circumference of the pericycle. If this be done, regeneration
takes place with the concomitant appearance of statolith starch in
the new organ. All the experiments made on the roots go to
emphasize the great importance of the pericycle in connection with
regenerative processes, although it is not from this layer itself that
the new layer is differentiated, but from the indifferent plerome
cells within it. The damage done to the pericycle appears to act
as an interruption of the coordinative relations between the vari-
ous parts of the embryonic region as a whole. When this co-
ordination is interrupted the capacity resident in the embryonic
protoplasm of giving rise to entire organs, asserts itself, and the
new formation thus appears."

Labelling Paraffin Blocks.^ — The following may be nothing
new, nevertheless it is an excellent way to keep a record of the
material embedded in paraffin blocks. On a small paper slip
write the name and character of preparation, whether stained or
injected, and lay this in the surface of the still liquid paraffin with
its embedded material and let it solidify with the block. Or melt
the slip on with a hot wire after the block has been cooled. In

CURRENT BOTANICAL LITERATURE. 97

this way there are no troublesome wrappers and the label cannot
get off. — Fred L. Holtz in School Scjencc and Mathematics,
February, 1906.

NOTES OX CURRENT BOTANICAL LITERATURE.

TJic Garden Mas^aciiie for ]\Iarch contains an interesting ac-
count of the finding, in the mountains of Tibet, of the long-lost
lady's slipper, Cxpripcdiinn Fairicanum. " Orchid lovers have
been watching for years for the rediscovery of this plant, the
actual source of which was unknown. They wanted it, not merely
because it had been utterly lost to cultivation, but because it was
the parent of many of the most beautiful hybrids we have. . , .
Cypripcdiuni Fairicannni transmits its high coloring and its
peculiar droop of the petals to all its hybrids. The flower of
Fairie's orchid, which is borne on a stalk about six inches long,
has a remarkably attractive combination of bright colors. The
upper standard is white, yellowish green at the base, and is veined
with rich purple. The same colors appear in the petals, and the
slipper or pouch is reddish green, veined with purple."

Now, when the grape fruit season is at its height, the follow-
ing notes from an article by Sir Daniel Morris on " Grape Fruit
and Shaddocks '" in the JJ\'st Indian Bulletin, vol. \T, no. 3, 1905,
mav be of interest. " During my recent visit to New York I was
much interested to notice the considerable demand that existed
there' for grape fruit from the West Indies. . . . The fruit I saw
in New York consisted of various sorts and qualities, and there
is little doubt that much confusion exists as to what is really grape
fruit as distinct from the allied citrus fruits passing under such
names as Pumelo (Pomelo), Shaddock, Forbidden Fruit, etc.
The name Forbidden Fruit (from a fancied connection with the
Garden of Eden) is tolerably old in the West Indies. The fruit
commonly called grape fruit in New York is really the Forbidden
Fruit. The true grape fruit (so-called because it grows in clus-
ters like a bunch of grapes) is pear-shaped, and when obtainable
at its best, is preferable to the Forbidden Fruit. The fruit shipped

98 THE PLANT WORLD.

from the Bahamas as grape fruit is usually round, with a polished
yellow skin of a silky texture and very heavy. This is probahly
one of the best of its class and quite equal to the pear-shaped
variety. Xext comes some excellent fruit from Jamaica, no doubt
that already referred to under the name of Forbidden Fruit."

Germination of Orchid Seeds. — When the seeds of orchids
are sown, especially those of the Caftlcyia or the Loclia. it is
found that the germination, which is quite irregular, is accom-
panied with the presence at the extremity of the plantule of a clus-
ter of filaments due to an endophyte fungus. Recent experiments
of the French scientist, M. Noel Bernard, have shown that the
presence of this fungus is indispensable to the germination of the
orchid seed. If the seeds are asepticized, they will not germinate;
but if they are put in a pure culture of the fungus, the mycelial
filaments of the latter penetrate the embryo ; then the germination
commences, and is pursued regularly. This observation shows a
distinct case of normal parasitism, in which an organism cannot
be developed without the penetration of a parasite. — Scientific
A nicy icon.

At a recent meeting of the Torrey Botanical Club Mr. George
V. Nash told some interesting facts on the botanical features of
orchids. There seems to be a general misconception among many
as to just what an orchid is. The uniting in one organ, called
the column, of the stamens and pistils serves to distinguish this
family. Most orchids have thickened stems. In some the stem
is very short and much enlarged. Such stems are known as
pscudohulhs. Oncidiiiin and Odontoglossiiin are examples of this
sort. In others the entire stem is thickened, as in Catflcya and
Dcndrohiuui. Some orchids have a lateral, others a terminal,
form of inflorescence, the former arising from the base of the
pseudobulb, the latter from its apex. The majority of the orchids,
represented by the genera Epidoidron, Oncidiuni, Odonioglossum,
MasdevaUia, and others, have a limited manner of growth ; genera
such as J^anilla and Angraccnni have an unlimited growth, in
which the axis ascends continuously.

The orchid family embraces some 6,000 or 7,000 species, mostly

CURRENT BOTANICAL LITERATURE.

99

distributed in tropical regions. In the United States there are
about 150 species, representing 44 genera. Nearly all tropical
orchids are epiphytic, while in temperate regions they are terres-
trial, the soil around iheir roots protecting them from the extreme
cold of winter. As a rule terrestrial orchids have thin leaves,
for their water supply is not so limited as is the case with epi-
phytic orchids.

NEWS ITEMS.

]\Irs. A. A. Anderson has given $100,000 to Barnard College,
Columbia University, toward the establishment of a course in
science leading to the degree of bachelor of science.

The published accounts indicate that the meeting of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science in South Africa last
summer was a very successful and enjoyable one. Of our own
botanists only one, Professor D. H. Campbell, of Stanford Uni-
versity, was present.

Of the special features of botanical interest was an exhibit of
living South Africa plants, consisting particularly of '' desert
forms from the Karrvo and a characteristic collection of heather
and other flowers from the southwest district of Cape Colony."
The interest of the exhibit was extended by a number of photo-
graphs, made by Dr. Alarlott, illustrating the ecology of Cape
Colony. From verbal accounts we judge that the value of this
exhibit was very great to the foreigners, especially to American
visitors who had acquaintance with the appearance of our North
American desert flowers.

The two elements which, naturally, give a characteristic appear-
ance to the desert vegetation of South Africa are the fleshy
euphorbias and the aloes, paralleling the cacti and agaves of
North America. These, together with the forms of erosion
found in certain areas, produce a general similarity to certain
parts of our western country which is most striking.

One of the plants of Africa which every botanist knows some-
thing about is the remarkable IVehwifschia. We note with
pleasure that Professor Pearson, of the Botanical Department of

lOO NEWS ITEMS.

the South African College, has begun to carry out researches on
this unique form. His results, thus far, include the development
and germination of the spines. It appears that the state of the
country, Damara land, prevented a full collection of material at
the time of Professor Pearson's visit. We expect that further
opportunity for collection and study will be afforded.

To read the account of many other matters of especial interest
to the botanist in the Xc'K' Phyfohgist,'^- from which these notes
are gleaned, makes one humanly envious of the attending visitors.
It must certainly have been a rare treat of permanent value.

The following plants are in bloom (April 12) at Lakehurst. in
the pine barrens of Xew Jersey : Pyxie, or " flowering moss,"
Py.viihvtthcra harbulata; leather-leaf. Cassandra calyculata; whit-
low-grass. Dvaha vcnia: arbutus, Epigaea re pens: ground ivy,
Nepeta gleehoiiia: violet, Viola palniata, var. cucnUata; red or
swamp maple, Aecr nibnnii ; wood-rush, Liiciila caiiipesfris;
smooth alder. A! mis serrulala: dandelion, TaraLvaciiiii ofiiciiiale;
sand-m_\rtle, LeiopJiylhuii buxifoUum (in bud) ; sweet fern,
Myrica asplenifolia (in l)ud).

ERRATA.

The age of the writer of the competitive essay " The Devil's
Tongue " which appeared in the January issue, should have read
15 years, not 13.

* November, 1905.

Volume 9 Number 5

The Plant World

91 f^a%npmt of popular ^otanp
MAY, 1906

SOME MONSTROSITIES IN TRILLIUM.^=

By F. ;M. Andrews,

Assistant Professor of Botany. Indiana State Unii'crsity,
Blooniington. Indiana.

The genus Trillimii occasionally shows interesting" variations
not only in the form, but also in the number of foliar and floral
parts. These changes are especially conspicuous in some speci-
mens of Trillium found near Bloomington. Of these, some varia-
tions worthy of note have been observed. Two plants were found
growing' within a meter of one another, one of these being Trilliiiiii
sessile and the other Trilliuui rcciiri'iifuiii. In both of these speci-
mens no trace of the usual stamens or pistil was present, all the
floral organs being completely transformed into floral leaves which
in Trillinui rcciirz'afuiii were considerably larger (with the excep-
tion of the central ones ) than the same parts in normal flowers
growing near them. In Trilliimi rccurvatum the number of these
leaves in the flowers without reproductive organs was twenty-
three, and in Trilliiiui sessile fourteen. Fig. 17, A, shows such
a flower with twenty floral leaves. No gradation from petals to
stamens was observed in these specimens, as is sometimes seen in
some water lilies. The number of sepals, floral leaves, venation
and other features were normal in all of the plants named above.

A third interesting variation was a specimen of the species
Trillium sessile (Fig. 17, B) in which the various parts were

* See also Variations in Trillium by Lester B. Gary, Plant World, vol. 8,
no. 10, Oct. 190S, p. 257.

lOI

102 THE PLANT WORLD.

present, but varied in number. To enumerate, there were four
floral leaves somewhat smaller than in normal specimens, three
small sepals, four large partly greenish petals, six small stamens
and four styles. This change in the size and especially in the
number of very close successive whorls of the foliar and floral
leaves was also observed in several other species of the genus
TriUium. The plant in this instance was considerably smaller
than the normal specimens.

Some other specimens of TrUUuui sessile and T. recurvatniii
showed two sepals and petals partly, or entirely grown together.
Here the sepal half was the usual green and the other half, or petal
part, was partly white.

TriUium erect imi also deviated somewhat from the usual appear-
ance by showing a multiplication in the number of parts in one
whorl, and a reduction in the usual number of parts in others.
For example, one specimen (Fig. 17, C), had the usual floral
leaves, the three sepals, but five petals, four stamens and two
styles. In all other respects this plant was normal. Some flowers
of this species have shown a tendency to unite two or more of the
parts.

Some slight deviations in Trill in 111 iiiz'ale have been observed in
the way of a union of the floral parts.

It would be an interesting point to determine whether or not
the plant arising from a rhizome showing such changes as here
mentioned would appear afterward, or if other and greater varia-
tions would occur. Accordingly, experiments of this nature are
in progress to ascertain this fact.

A DECEMBER RAMBLE IN TUSCALOOSA COUNTY,

ALABAMA.

By Roland AI. Harper,
Geological Survey of Alabama.

Tuscaloosa, the seat of justice of the county of the same name in
Alabama, is situated about fifty miles northwest of the center of
the state, at the point where the Warrior (also known as Black

SOME MONSTROSITIES IN TRILLIUM.

103

Fig. 17. Variations in Trillium. A. T. recurvatum ; B. T. sessile; C,

T. cvcctum.

I04 THE PLANT WORLD.

Warrior or Tuscaloosa) River crosses the fall-line or inland
boundary of the coastal plain. Going- up the river (northeast-
ward ) from Tuscaloosa one soon enters the terrane of the Coal
Measures (upper Carboniferous strata) at the southwestern ex-
tremity of the Alleghanian region, where high sandstone cliffs
and deep ravines are characteristic features of the landscape, as
in many other parts of the country where the same formations
occur. In the other direction from Tuscaloosa the coastal plain,
a region of very dift'erent aspect, stretches away to the shores of
the Gulf of Mexico. Although by no means a homogeneous or
monotonous region, the coastal plain is pretty sharply dift'eren-
tiated from other parts of eastern Xorth America by the absence
of high elevations and the scarcity of steep slopes and rock out-
crops ; its Cretaceous and Tertiary strata are almost everywhere
concealed under a blanket of sand and loam of Quaternary or late
Tertiary age ; and its flora differs constantly and unmistakably
( but bv no means totallv ) from that of the other regions farther
inland.

, So much for the surroundings of Tuscaloosa. My first oppor-
tunity to botanize in this part of the state came on December 5,
1905, on which date I went about eight miles up the eastern bank
of the Warrior River into the coal region and back by the same
route. There was a heavy frost in the morning, some of which
remained on the ground all day in shaded places, so flowers were
hardly to be expected ; but there were enough unfamiliar or unex-
pected trees, shrubs, and evergreen herbs along the route to make
the trip interesting.

Although some outcrops of Carboniferous rocks appear within
the limits of Tuscaloosa, the first real cliffs encountered in going
up the river are about five miles above the city, near the mouth
of North River, a tributary of the Warrior which enters f ro ii
the west side. At about this point I noticed on the cliffs across
the river many specimens of what appeared to be Finns Jlr-
j^iiiiaiia, a species which had never been reported to occur so far
south, or at so low an altitude in the southern states (about two
hundred feet). A few minutes later my identification was con-
firmed by finding specimens on the same side where I was, and

DECEMBER RAMBLE IN TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, ALABAMA. IO5

farther up the river this species became more abundant, until at
the point where I turned back there was probably more of it in
sight than of any other tree.

At the mouth of the first creek I came to, I stopped to examine
the flora of the cliiTs more minutely, and found there among other
things the lip-fern, Chcilaiitlics lojiosa. in abundance: the ferns
JVoodsia obtitsa and Asplcjiiiiiii Trichoiiuvics ; stone crop, Scdiim
tcrjiatuiii, and 6'. Xc-z-ii; early saxifrage, Sa.rifra^^a Jlrgiiiiciisis ;
Hydrangea qiiercifoUa ; a species of syringa, Pliiladclpliiis ;
Xci-iusia Alabamciisis; golden-rod, Solidago aiiiplc.vicaulis. and
Aster Caiiipfosonis. The Xez'iitsia was discovered somewhere
near this spot about fifty years ago by Drs. Xevius and Wyman,*
and was known nowhere else until Mr. T. G. Harbison found it
a few years ago on Sand ]\[ountain in the northern part of the
state. t A few specimens of an elm loaded with fruit near the
base of the same clifl:'s could be no other than Ulniiis serofina,
described by Professor Sargent in 18^9 and known only from a
verv few stations in the southern Alleghanies.

At the same place was seen a single specimen of Pnimis Caro-
liiiiaiia. an evergreen tree which is commonly cultivated for orna-
ment in many of the older cities of the South, but is so rare in the
wild statei that one can hardly be certain that the specimens seen
in the woods have not sprung from seeds brought by birds from
cultivated specimens. Its geographical distribution is conse-
quently very imperfectly understood, but it seems to be normally
confined to the coastal plain, like many other southern evergreens.

A little farther up the river the fern Dryopferis luargiiialis was
abundant on the clifl:'s, and with it many specimens of Jlola Cana-
densis, which was previously known in Alabama only from Jack-
son County, where Mr. Harbison found it in I90i.§ Most of
these violets, strange to say, were in full bloom, though at this
time the leaves were covered with frost after midday. This par-
ticular spot happened to be on a railroad right-of-way, from

* See Plant World. Sept., 1900.

t Biltmore Bot. Stud, i: 155. igo_'.

$ See Mohr, Contr. U. S. Xat. Herb. 5: 553. 1901.

§ Fillmore Eot. St--d. i: 157. ico?.

I06 THE PLANT WORLD.

which the few small trees and bushes seemed to have been cleared
within a few months previously, but whether or not this had any-
thing to do with the appearance of flowers at this unusual season
I am unable to say.

( )n the dead stems of a species of T'ivbcsiiia (probably V. occi-
dciifah's) near this place were some magnificent " frost-flowers,"
with ribbons of ice fully six inches long and wide (and this about
I p. M.). The freezing had evidently commenced in or near the
cambium layer, and the ice had pushed the bark completely off
for a distance of several inches in each case, usually in one piece.*

On the same cliffs, which by this time were seventy-five to one
hundred feet high in some places, I found for the first time the
cowslip Dodccathcoii Mcadia, which was not reported from this
part of the state by Dr. Mohr, though Dr. E. A. Smith tells me
that he collected it in this county some vears a^o. Biimelia
lycioidcs, a small tree which usually grows on limestone, accom-
panied it.

Just before turning back I made the most interesting find of the
day. one of the Spurge family, namely, Crofon Alabaiiicnsis.
This Euphorbiaceous shrub was discovered in an adjoining
county (Bibb) by Dr. Smith in 1874, and for nearly thirty-two
years was known only from that county, where it is said to grow
on shaded limestone rocks, and to be confined to a few scjuare
miles. f iVt the new station its habitat is on steep sandstone cliffs,
well exposed to the afternoon sun. Unlike all its North Amer-
ican congeners. Croton .-Uabaiiioisis is an evergreen shrub, and I
was able to recognize it at once from having seen specimens grow-
ing in Dr. Smith's yard. I did not have time to ascertain how far
up the river it extends, but hope to do so at some future time.

On the return trip I noticed another interesting plant, which I
had overlooked on the way up. namely, Ma'^iiolia iiiacrophylla.
As its name implies, its leaves are very long, sometimes attaining
a length of over two feet, and when lying on the ground with

* For an interesting summary of this subject see ]\IacDougal in Science
22: 351-352, Dec. 29, 1893.

tSee ^lohr, Card. & For. 2: 592. /. 130. 1889; Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb.
6: 93. 94- 591- 1901; Ferguson, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 12: 38. 1901.

PASSAGE OF WATER FROM PLANT CELL. lO/

their pale lower surfaces uppermost, they attract attention to the
tree which would otherwise be easily overlooked in winter, as it
is rather small and not at all abundant.*

Tuscaloosa is probably at present the most convenient point in
the eastern United States at which to study the boundary between
the Palaeozoic region and the coastal plain, for nearly everywhere
east of here the coastal plain is bordered by ancient crystalline
rocks (as at all the well-known fall-line cities from Columbus,
Ga., to Washington, D. C, and even Xew York), and west of
Alabama there happen to be very few important towns along the
fall-line. Here the relations between geology and flora are very
striking. ]\Iost of the species above mentioned, as well as several
others seen on the same day but not mentioned, are not known to
occur in the coastal plain at all, though at this point, if not else-
where, they approach within a very few miles of it. The reasons
for this are mostly too complex to be discussed here, but are all
originally dependent on geological history. While climatic fac-
tors may and do bring about profound differences in the floras of
dift'erent parts of the earth, such factors are rarely responsible for
abrupt changes in vegetation such as we see here.

THE PASSAGE OF WATER FRO^I THE PLANT CELL

DURIXG FREEZING.

By K. M. Wiegand,
Cornell University.

In a previous number of this journal f the writer has attempted
to outline the occurrence and structure of ice masses within plant
tissue. The present paper deals with the question of how the
water gets from the cell cavity into the intercellular spaces during
the process of ice formation, there to be converted into ice. In
regard to this point two general theories have been held, which

* A little later in traveling over the state I was able to recognize this tree
from moving trains at many points where if the leaves had all been lying
face up I would not have noticed it at all.

t Vol. 9, no. 2, Feb., 1906, p. 25.

]^S THE PLANT WORLD.

mav be termed for convenience the " expulsion " theory and the
" attraction " theory.

The first of these seems to have been the more popular in the
past and has been upheld by a number of plant physiologists. In
this case it is assumed that, in order to freeze in the spaces, the
water must be in those spaces before freezing begins ; in other
words, that the cell actively gives up water at low temperatures,
probably as a protection against ice-fcrmation within the cell.
Kerner* states the theory thus : " In order that the water shall
get from the interior of the cell into the adjoining intercellular
spaces a pressing and squeezing is necessary, and the pressure can
only proceed from the living protoplasm in the cell-chambers ; con-
sequently the process of freezing can be most correctlv repre-
sented in this way, viz., that the protoplasm becomes stimulated
and roused by the lowering of the temperature to transport a por-
tion of the water from the interior to the exterior of the cell by
means of contraction and pressure. What happens then is accord-
ingly not unlike the excretion of watery sap into the intercellular
spaces in the stimulated pulvini on the leaf-stalk of Mimosa ; but
the advantage obtained by the excretion of water in the two cases
is very dififerent. In the cooled leaves the benefit, of course, is to
be sought for in the fact that the living portion of the cells is
protected from destruction as long as possible by the production of
ice crystals in the intercellular spaces. If the water were forth-
with frozen inside the cells between the groups of molecules of the
living cell body and its wall by a few degrees of cold, fundamental
displacements and disorganizations of the groups of molecules
would be unavoidable. On the other hand, the ice crvstals on the
exterior of the cells do not produce such destruction."

Whether cells do or do not extrude water is of course no longer
a question. It seems fairly well established that such is the case
in Mimosa and the sensitive staminal filaments of the C\"nare:e
(Pfefifer), and to the loss of turgidity thus caused, is probably
due the movement of the various organs. Water seems to be
extruded in nectaries, but there osmosis often seems to plav the

* Kerner and Oliver, The Natural History of Plsnts, i: 541.

PASSAGE OF WATER FROM PLANT CELL. I O9

most important part. It has for a long time been suggested that
the cells of root tissue possibly act as pumps, forcing water into
the vessels, and thus causing root pressure, but whether such
expulsion of water in the roots actually occurs has as yet never
been satisfactorily demonstrated. Droplets appear on the surface
of some mycelial threads when kept in a damp atmosphere, also ^
on many plant hairs and on the rhizomes of Alarchantia under
similar conditions. To this list might be added a number of
other cases (see Pfeffer's Pflanzen Physiologic).

Evidence is also gradually accumulating which tends to show
that some plants do excrete water at a temperature just above
0° C. We have the casual notice of Molisch that in some stamen
hairs of Tradcscaiitia subjected to a temperature of — 5° to

— 9° C. for six hours the plasma membrane separated from the
wall, but no freezing took place until a temperature of about

— 15° C. was reached. If subjected to a temperature of — 15°
to — 20° C. the separation from the wall occurred immediately.
In Tradcscaiitia Jlri^iiiica, according to Ki^ihne,'^ the changes
before freezing are more marked but take place only when the
fall in temperature is abrupt and severe. The separations do not
always occur, especially when the cooling is slow, and seem rather
to be accidental contractions due to the cold stimulus, than general
phenomena.

Greeleyf has shown that the reduction of temperature to near
zero decrees C. for a few hours will cause the animal Stciitor to
contract and become cyst-like, probably with the expulsion of
water. Threads of Spirogyra became much plasmolized under
similar treatment, and Livingston^ has shown that when mounted
in oil this plasmolysis is accompanied by an extrusion of droplets
of water into the oil. The effect upon both organisms is the same
as though they had been placed in a strong osmotic solution.

* Kiihne, W. Untersuchungen iiber das Protoplasma. Leipzig, 1864.

t Greeley, A. W. On the Analogy between the Effects of Loss of Water
;ind the Lowering of Temperature. Amer. Journ. Physiol. 6: 1 12-128.
1901.

t Livingston, B. E. The Role of Diffusion and Osmotic Pressure in
Plants. Chicago, 1903 (p. 75).

IIO THE PLANT WORLD.

Such exudations as above described may be accomplished either
by the actual contraction of the protoplasm (cold rigor), or more
likelv bv a sudden change in permeability of the membrane to the
solute, either over its whole surface or at special points, or per-
haps both of these conditions may occur together.

Although from the foregoing it appears that, in special cases
at least, water may be excreted by the protoplasm, and that such
excretion mav, in certain plants at least, be induced by the appar-
ently stimulating action of temperatures near the freezing point,
still there are some important objections to assuming this to be
the way in which all water gets out of the cell to be frozen.

In the first place, the fact that a few cases are known where
this particular temperature stimulates the protoplasm in this par-
ticular way does not warrant us in assuming that all cells are stim-
ulated in a similar way at the same temperature. Such a universal
phenomenon does not seem probable.

The first ice-formation in plant tissue does not take place at
o° C, nor even at the freezing point of the tissue, but at a tem-
perature several degrees lower, known as the over-cooling point
of the tissue. This point is usually lower in proportion to the
inaccessibility of the water. Therefore if the water is already
present in the intercellular spaces before freezing begins, the over-
cooling point will naturally be much raised or will entirely dis-
appear under such conditions. It seems necessary to assume then
that the critical stimulating temperature corresponds with the
overcooling point of the tissue, and it may even be assumed that
the overcooling point is determined by this critical temperature.
Since the overcooling point is nearly at the same temperature in
the majority of plants, the range of the critical temperature would
be still further limited, and therefore the theory becomes still
less probable, especially since all these phenomena may appar-
ently be explained in a much simpler manner.

A third objection lies in the fact that similar ice crusts and
ice masses form in connection with dead material of various sorts
where there can be no question of the activity of the protoplasm
in excreting water.

PASSAGE OF WATER FROM PLANT CELL. I I I

We may now turn to the other theory, here designated for con-
venience the " attraction " theory.

In ordinary plant tissue containing intercellular spaces the fol-
lowing conditions are present. In the interior of the cell first
we find a cell sap of varying concentration, the quantity of which
is conditioned principally by the size of the cell. Outside of this
is the protoplasmic layer containing a considerable quantity of
water, usually from 60 to 90 per cent. This is in direct contact
with the cell wall, which in turn contains from 30 to 60 per cent,
of water. Bordering on the wall is the free atmosphere of the
intercellular space.

The water contained in the wall and in the protoplasm is water
of imbibition, in the limited sense of the word. The term " cap-
illary water " is usually applied to water of imbibition in spaces
large enough to be readily detected, and in which most of the
molecules of the liquid are out of range of the molecular forces of
the substance with which the liquid is in contact. These extreme
conditions are connected by insensible gradations dependent upon
the size of the minute chambers in which the water is contained.
The forces acting to inject the liquid into the substance are pri-
marily the same in either case, namely, the great attraction of the
molecules of the one for those of the other.

The fact that a substance swells implies that the molecules of
the liquid have a greater attraction for those of the substance than
the latter have for each other, at least than they have for each
other in some directions. The result is that the particles of
liquid prv and wedge themselves between those of the substance,
forcing the latter apart. The particles later to enter, however,
cannot come as near the substance as did the first ones, and hence
their action is less intense. Perhaps the physicist more accurately
describes this wedging power of the liquid when he says that it
depends upon the concavity of the meniscus at the end of the
minute water columns entering the substance. The smaller the
capillarv canals the more concave is the meniscus, and hence the
greater will be the penetrating force. Therefore, as the substance
becomes more saturated the force rapidly decreases. A substance
that cannot swell is simply one in which the molecules have a

I I 2 THE PLANT WORLD.

greater attraction for each other than tliey have for water. In a
substance that swehs only to a hmited extent it seems necessary to
postulate a difference of attractive force among the molecules in
different directions ; for otherwise liquid would continue to be
injected, though with gradually decreasing force, until the whole
substance went into a condition resembling solution. We may
sav, therefore, that water will continue to be absorbed by such a
substance until the attractive forces of the molecules in the
substance in direction of their strongest action equilibrate with the
constantly diminishing force of penetration of the liquid. It must
of course be assumed that the attractive forces among the mole-
cules of the substance in their strongest direction are stronger than
those of the fluid for the same molecules.

From this it follows that the first particles of the fluid pene-
trate and are held with greatest force. Since the molecular forces
in all substances act only through an exceedingly short distance,
and the meniscus of the capillary in-flowing streamlets becomes
rapidly less concave as the streamlets grow larger, the force of
imbibition decreases very rapidly. As quoted by Pfeft'er, Reinke
found in a frond of Laminaria that while it required but sixteen
atmospheres pressure to squeeze out water when the content was
63 per cent., it required two hundred atmospheres to cause the
same result when the content was reduced to 48 per cent. This
point becomes of very great importance in the theory of freezing,
as we shall see later. The force of imbition for the first molecules
absorbed is often enormously great. Rodewald found that this
for starch was equal to about 2,523 atmospheres. Hales found
that swelling peas could lift a weight of 83.5 K. or about 185
pounds. An experiment instituted by Sachs showed the great
strength of this force in an impressive manner. He found that
if asphalt lack was spread upon a very dry bladder-membrane or
bibulous paper, and then well dried, it would adhere to these
substances with enormous force. An attempt to separate the two
usually resulted in tearing oft" thin layers of the membrane or
paper. If, however, the paper was brought in contact with water,
so that imbibition commenced, the lack would soon be separated

PASSAGE OF WATER FROM PLANT CELL. I I 3

in great flakes. The molecules of water force their way between
the lack and the paper and literally pry the two apart.

Water imbibed from solutions usuall}' leaves the solute behind
and penetrates the substance in an almost pure state. The water
contained in the cell wall especially is probably nearly pure. The
purity is somewhat proportional to the force required to penetrate
the substance.

Xot only will an imbibing' substance, if homogeneous or nearly
so throughout, contain water in the interstices between the par-
ticles of which it is composed, but also the same forces acting will
cause molecules of water to become attached to the surface par-
ticles as well, thus fc^rming a layer of water over the whole surface
of the substance. The above experiment with lack and paper con-
stitutes a very pretty demonstration of the presence of such a laver,
as does also the fact that the surface of an imbibing body reacts
toward oils and resins in the same way as does the surface of free
water. Oils and resins will not adhere to the surface of a soaked
body of this sort. Such a layer of water then covers the surface
of both cell wall and protoplasm, but that upon the outer surface
of the protoplasm and the one on the inner face of the cell wall,
when these two structures are in contact, necessarily fuse into one.
Since the molecular force in a given substance is constant, it fol-
lows that the thickness of the water film will depend upon the
quantity of water at command. In general, the more water pres-
ent the thicker will be the layer and the less firmh- will it be held
by the substance, since some of the particles are necessarilv at a
distance from those of the substance attracting them.

The plant cell then is essentially a system composed of the fol-
lowing parts : A film of nearly pure water of varying thickness
bordering on the intercellular space ; a cell wall filled with water
of imbibition, which is continuous with the water of imbibition in
the protoplasm ; and a cell sap which is continuous with the water
in the protoplasm. Normally the whole system forms a complex
in a state of equilibrium.* If water is taken from one member of
the series a readjustment will follow throughout the whole.

* See also Miiller-Thurgau. Ueber das Gefrieren und Erfrieren der
Pflanzen. Landw. Jahrb. 9: 1880, see page 144 and 145.

114

THE PLANT WORLD.

When a substance passes from the hquid to the soHcl state
through change in temperature or pressure, in many cases it does
so by the formation of crystals. The size of the crystals depends
mainly upon the accessibility of the liquid and the rate of fall in
temperature, or rise in pressure, being smaller when this is rapid
and when the fluid is more inaccessible, and vice versa.

Fig. i8. Diagram illustrating the water-system concerned in the form-
ation of ice crystals in intercellular spaces, a. Intercellular space ; b,
prismatic ice crystal ; c, superficial water film ; d, cell wall ; e, protoplasm ;
f, vacuole containing cell sap.

The formation of a crystal is accompanied by the exhibition of
considerable force on the part of the molecules on entering into it.
To prevent more molecules of the liquid from being applied and
added to the crystal an enormous force is often required. This
is nowhere better shown than in the expansive force of newly
forming ice which can even rend rocks asunder, break iron bands,
etc., when properly applied. This, however, is molecular force
pure and simple, and can act oidy at an infinitesimal distance from
the forming crystal. Material can be drawn to a forming crystal

PASSAGE OF WATER FROM PLANT CELL. I 1 5

only very indirectly. The molecular force drawing the fluid
particles to the crystal becomes more intense in proportion as the
temperature falls or pressure increases. It follows also that any
force acting in opposition to this molecular force will tend to
retard the crystallization. Such a force acts when a liquid is a
solvent in a solution, or is water of imbibition in a swollen sub-
stance. In either case the molecules of the solute or substance,
as the case may be, in one sense exhibit an attraction for those
of the liquid, tending to prevent the latter from passing to the
crystal. Consequently, crystallization will take place with more
ease in pure liquids free from solute or from imbibition. This
really means that crystallization will take place at a higher tem-
perature and lower pressure in pure liquids.

We are now in position to determine what will occur when the
temperature falls below the zero point centigrade in succulent
plants provided with intercellular spaces as are all leaves, stems,
tubers, roots, etc. Of the system outlined in a previous paragraph,
w^ater film, cell wall, protoplasm and cell sap, the water is held
most firmly by the cell wall, less so by the more porous protoplasm,
still less so by the cell sap of varying concentration, and least
firmly by the surface film of nearly pure water on the outside
of the wall and lining the intercellular space. In this layer, as
it exists normally adjacent to the free space, only the inner mole-
cules are held firmly by the wall particles. The outer ones are
held less and less firmly until the outermost are barely able to
maintain their position.

Therefore as the temperature gradually falls crystals will begin
to form in this surface film rather than in any other part of the
■cell. This explains the occurrence of ice only in the intercellular
spaces.

The passage of water from the cell to these crystals may be
conceived of as taking place in either of two ways :

(a) The formation of the crystal takes water from the surface
film with considerable force, thus leaving the surface of the wall
Avithout its quota of water of imbibition, and that force will then
rapidly increase at that point. Following ordinary physical laws

I l6 THE PLANT WORLD.

the water will move through the cell wall until this increase in
imbibition force is equalized. For this purpose water will be
taken from the inner wall layers, thus increasing their power of
imbibition. They in turn will be supplied by water from the pro-
toplasm, and this in turn by the cell sap. In other words, a read-
justment of equilibrium will occur throughout the whole svstem.
As crystallization progresses, more and more water will be ab-
stracted from this system until finally the force of imbibition
becomes sufiiciently strong to equilibrate the molecular force of
crystallization, at which time the growth of the crystal necessarily
ceases. Not all the water passes from the cell on freezing, but
only a part of it. depending upon this equilibration of forces. No
further freezing will now occur unless the temperature again falls,
thus causing an increase in strength of the force of crystallization.
More water will then pass to the crystal until equilibrium is again
established.

Naturally the greatest quantity of water which will move
through the wall to equalize the disturbance in the system will
come from the regions where the force of imbibition is least,
namely, from the cell sap. Consequently, in freezing, the sap is
the first to lose water, then the protoplasm, and finally the cell
wall. The quantity of water lost is greatest from the cell sap and
least from the cell wall. The quantity of water in the protoplasm
will not decrease until the force of imbibition in the cell sap
reaches in intensity that acting upon the molecules of water held
weakest in the protoplasm. ^A. like relation will exist between the
protoplasm and the cell wall. Even after water has begun to be
extracted from all these layers the larger quantity will for some
time continue to be extracted from the sap and protoplasm. The
greater quantity of the water to form the ice crystals in plants
therefore comes from the cell sap and the next largest quantity
from the protoplasm.

(b) It may be assumed that the crystal actually draws water
toward itself. This it might do in this way. The water through-
out, not only the cell, but the whole adjacent tissue may be con-
ceived to be a connected whole possessing an adhesion and rigidity

PASSAGE OF WATER FROM PLANT CELL. I I /

of molecular structure under certain conditions, as is now often
assumed in the water-adhesion theory of the ascent of sap. Xow,
if a molecule is taken from this body of water at the crystal surface
we may conceive that the whole structure will be pulled along one
molecule nearer the crystal, and so on. This is similar to ])ulling
on the end of a string, thereby moving all the molecules of the
string along a similar distance. The greatest objection to this
idea that the crystal pulls the water out lies in the doubt as to
whether water of imbibition possesses a rigidity similar to that
of a column of great diameter.

Either of these views will explain the formation of ice-masses
where the water passes to the crystals from a distance much
greater than the diameter of the cell, as it does sometimes for a
distance of many cells. There may be either a general equaliza-
tion of imbibition or a pulling on the various strings of water as
above indicated.

Either view will also explain the formation of ice-crusts and
ice-masses in connection with dead tissue, for the conditions iiT
dead material as regards surface film and water of imbibition are
essentially the same as in living tissue.

In the case of living cells, to the force of imbibition in the
sap and protoplasm must also be added the osmotic force of the
cell. The ice crystal in abstracting water from these two struc-
tures must overcome both sets of forces. Since, however, as com-
pared with the force of imbibition in moderately dry substances,
the osmotic pressure is never very great, this last factor is of
importance only at the very inception of freezing. In tender
tissue killed bv freezing it would disappear very soon.

Normal tissue usually contains a large quantity of water and
the series of structures concerned in freezing are nearly saturated
with water of imbibition. Hence when freezing first begins very
little force is required to abstract the water, but as the process
goes on the imbibition-force regularly but rapidly increases until
it becomes very great, as we have already seen. \\^ith the force
of crystallization the increase is not regular. Before freezing
begins the force is absent. With the first crvstal-formation it

Il8 THE PLANT WORLD.

rises abruptly and becomes very strong ; and with the decrease in
temperature thereafter it continues to rise gradually but very
much less rapidly than at first. The result is that when tissue
freezes a very large quantity of water is abstracted at the start
to form the first particles of ice, but with each degree of fall in
temperature thereafter only a very small quantity is lost by the
cell. This quantity becomes less and less with each degree, since
the imbibition force increases at a more rapid rate than the force
of crystallization."^

In conclusion, then, it may be said that the water comes out of
the cell during freezing either through the equalizing action of
the force of imbibition following the abstraction of water by the
crystal from the surface film lining the intercellular space, or
through the pulling action of the ice crystal at the end of minute
but possibly rigid columns of water which extend into the cell.
Until the rigidity of this capillary water is demonstrated the
former method is the more probable. The extrusion of water by
the protoplasm of certain plants at low temperatures can be con-
sidered only as an accidental, not a necessary, phenomenon as far
as the freezing process is concerned.

Botanical Symposium. — The third annual meeting of the
Botanical Symposium will be held from July 2d to 9th, 1906, at
Mountain Lodge, Little Moose Lake, Old Forge, N. Y. Through
the courtesy of the members of the Adirondack League Club the
privilege of occupying the club house for one week is extended
to the members of the Conference. Tickets should be bought
to Fulton Chain Station on the Adirondack Division of the N. Y.
C. & H. R. R. Single fare from Xew York City $6.46. Board
$2.50 to $3.00 a day. Stages will meet the party at Fulton Chain
Station. Those expecting to attend are requested to notify Mr.
Joseph Crawford, Secretary, 2824 Frankford Avenue, Philadel-
phia, Pa.

* Cf. Sachs' " Lelirhuch," and Muller-'rinirgau's work for accounts of
the physics of freezing, in the main sinnlar to the one here given.

SOCIETY FOR PROTECTION OF NATIVE PLANTS. II9

MEETING OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION

OF NATIVE PLANTS.

At the fifth annual meeting of the Society for the Protection of
Native Plants, held in Boston on March 24th, an interesting
address was made by Professor IMerritt L. Fernald. of the Gray
Herbarium, Cambridge, who acted as chairman of the meeting in
the absence of the president, Professor Robert T. Jackson.

Certain important facts were presented regarding the flora of
this country ; first, the rapid changes from causes which we can
not influence, such as the inevitable destruction of native plants
resulting from the building of towns and highways, and the culti-
vation of large tracts of farm lands. Where, from any cause,
woodland disappears, the delicate wild flowers, which flourish
only in their native soil of leaf-mould, are also sure to disappear.
As soon as we dry out the humus, whether by burning, cutting
out, or building, these somewhat fastidious plants have to go, with
no hope of return. Plants which like open spaces are more apt
to be coarse and showy, unlike the woodland flowers. Many of
these, like the golden-rod and asters, are native and spread rap-
idly into cleared spots, but in the neighborhood of large towns
even these coarse and vigorous natives find themselves crowded
by the coarser and more vigorous roadside plants of Europe.
Such plants come from Europe with the populations which have
emigrated, the seeds being brought in clothing, blankets, etc. ;
and having had generations of breeding under hard conditions,
they find nothing to hinder their growth. Over six hundred
of them, familiarly known as weeds, are now among our wild
plants, and at no very distant time they will cover the con-
tinent. Already, over large tracts of our prairie region, the
native flora is vanishing, or has actually vanished, and the wild
flowers are of the weed-like type. To check the coming in of this
coarse, vagrant type we should encourage the setting apart, for
the public, of spots of woodland, where natural conditions can be
maintained.

I 20 THE PLANT WORLD.

Create a sentiment against spreading rubbish and ashes through
the woods and in ravines, which kills all delicate growths and as
surely invites the coarse. Reach, if possible, the influential people
in suburban places, that their aid may be secured against this evil.

The corresponding secretary of the Society in her annual report
told of the work that is being done b\- the hundred or more persons
acting as secretaries in difi^erent localities. Extracts from their
letters were read, which gave interesting experiences and offered
most helpful suggestions. If all of our 1,400 members would
constitute themselves such secretaries and make a point of keeping
on hand and distributing leaflets, the influence of the Societv
would without doubt be largely increased and many persons
brought into touch with it who otherwise might never have the
chance of helping in this cause.

One leaflet, Xo. 11, a reprint of an article in The Plant
World, entitled "A Treasure-Spot of Wild-flowers,"""^ was issued
last year. During the spring and summer leaflets and posters
were sent to hundreds of schools, camps, boarding-houses and
summer resorts, and in the autumn letters were sent to clergymen,
shopkeepers and persons likely to give large entertainments, re-
garding the use of laurel and other evergreen for decoration.
Our literature was also sent to Milage Improvement Societies and
to Women's Clubs in Massachusetts. Publishers have kindly
sent out many hundreds of slii)s in their nature books ; and posters
have been put up in railroad stations and other public places.

A poster printed on cotton for use in arbutus localities is now
ready and new leaflets will soon be issued. All literature of the
Society will be sent free of charge by applying to Miss Maria E.
Carter, Boston Society of Natural History, Boston, Mass.

Membershi]) in the Society is free. Sustaining members are
those who contribute one dollar annually, or a larger sum at any
one time. It is desired to increase the membership list ; and per-
sons interested are asked to send new names to the corresponding
secretary.

The following officers were reelected for the year 1906: Hon-
orary president, Mrs. Asa Gray: iiresident, Robert T. Jackson,

* Vol. 8, no. 3, March, 1905, p. 76.

SUMMER COURSES IN BOTANY. 121

Cambridge; vice-presidents, Benjamin L. Robinson, Cambridge;
George L. Goodale, Cambridge ; Merritt H. Fernald, Cambridge ;
George H. Martin. State Board of Education, Boston ; Treasurer,
Miss Amy Folsom, 88 ^larlborough Street, Boston ; Secretary,
Miss M. E. Carter, Boston Society of Natural History, Boston ;
corresponding secretary. Miss Margaret E. Allen, 12 Marlborough
Street, Boston. Margaret E. x\llen,

Corresponding Secretary.

SUAEMER COURSES IX BOTANY.

For the benefit of those of our readers who are contemplating
summer study, we give a list of the summer courses in botany of
which announcements have been received.

Woods Hole, ]\L\ss. AFvrine Biological Laboratory. June

I TO October i.

Staff : Dr. Bradley Moore Davis,* assistant professor of botany,
University of Chicago ; Dr. George T. Moore, Washington, D.
C. ; James J. Wolfe, adjunct professor of biology. Trinity College,
Durham, N. C. ; Lillian J. MacRae, collector in botany.

Courses; Iiiz'esfigafion: A. Under supervision — Morpliologw
Plant Physiograpliy. B. Without supervision — information by
writing to Dr. George T. Moore, Cosmos Club, Washington, D.
C. Botanical instrnction : July 5 to August 16. Thallophytes,
Drs. Moore and Wolf; Plant Life-hisfories. Dr. Moore and
assistant.

Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. Biological Lap.oratory

OF the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.

July 2 to August 18.

Staff: Dr. D. S. Johnson, Johns Hopkins University; Dr. E. N.
Transeau, Alma College; Harlan H. York, A.^L, Columbia
University.

* Absent in 1906.

122 THE PLANT WORLD.

Courses: Cryptogauiic Botany, Dr. Johnson and 'Sir. York;
Ecology, Dr. Transeau ; Adz'anced U\?rk in Cryl^fogainic Botany
or Ecology, by arrangement ; Inz'csfigation.

For further information address Professor Frankhn W. Hooper,
502 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, or Professor Charles B. Davenport,
Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, X. Y.

Minnesota Seaside Station. Port Renfrew, British
Columbia. July 8 to August 18.

Staff: Professors MacMillan, Tilden. Butters and Rosendahl.

Courses: General Algology; for teachers. Algology; for ad-
vanced students. Morphology and Ecology of Kelps. Nature
Study, Taxonomy of the Conlferae. Taxonomy of the Angio-
spermae.

For further information address Professor Conway Mac^lillan,
Universitv of Minnesota, Alinneapolis, Alinn.

Cornell University, Fihaca, N. Y. July 5 to August 15.

Staff: Assistant Professor W. W. Rowlee, Dr. E. J. Durand,
Dr. K. M. Wiegand.

Courses: Elementary Plaiit Physiology and Morphology, Dr.
Durand ; Special Morphology of the Higher Plants, x\ssistant Pro-
fessor Rowlee; Organography and Identification of the Higher
Plants, Dr. Wiegand ; Taxonomy and Embryology of the Bryo-
phytes and Perns, Dr. Durand ; Trees and Shrubs, Biological and
Taxonomic Study of Trees, Assistant Professor Rowlee. Ecology
of Plants, Dr. Wiegand.

Harvard University, Cambridge, ]\Iass. July 5 to August 15.

Staff: Dr. Robert Greenleaf Leavitt, Dr. Minton Asbury
Chrysler, John Galentine Hall, A.^I.

Courses : Introductory Course: Structure, Physiology and Ecol-
ogy of Flozceriiig Plants, Dr. Leavitt and Mr. Hall ; Morphology,
Histology and Ecology of Elowering Phuits, Dr. Chrysler.

For further information address Dr. M. A. Chrysler, 61 Oxford
Street, Cambridge, Mass.

of interest to teachers. 1 23

New York University. University Heights, New York City.

July 2 to August 10.

Staff: Dr. C. Stuart Gager, New York Botanical Garden.

Courses: Introductory Botany, Dr. Gager. Rcscarcli Course.
Research work under the direction of the scientific staff of the
New York Botanical Garden.

OF LXTEREST TO TEACHERS.
Edited by Dr. C. Stuart Gager.

Meeting of Biology Teachers of New York City. — At a
meeting of the New York Biology Teachers' Association, held
at the Board of Education, on April 27th. four of the principals
in the high schools of Greater New York, upon invitation, pre-
sented their views on " \"alue and Scope of First-year Biology."

Dr. Felter, of the Girls' High School, Brooklyn, was the first
speaker. He expressed the opinion that biology is a successful
first-}ear subject. In the first place, the fact that 95 per cent, of
the girls like the subject seems a strong argument in its favor.
Then biological science trains the powers of observation and ex-
pression, and correlates these powers as manifested in laboratory
drawings and records : the faculties thus developed are an aid
to the pupil in other subjects. Dr. Felter declared it absurd to
expect thoroughness on the part of high school pupils : if thev
are trained to see more things, and more details in each thing ;
if relations can be seen and the power to classifv facts gained
through the study of biology, the subject more than justifies its
position in the course.

Dr. Wight, of the Wadleigh High School, the next speaker, crit-
icized the course in biology as not developing the same degree of
scholarship in the pupil as do the other subjects. The fault lies
in the content of the present course which is far too compre-
hensive and therefore superficial. He advocated the exclusion of
human physiology and the relegation of this subject to the depart-
ment of physical training. The course would be further im-

124 THE PLANT WORLD.

proved if one subject only — either botany or zoology — were
taught for the entire year. Dr. Wight advocated botany because
of its higher aesthetic value, and because a certain degree of cor-
relation with zoologv could be brought about in the lower ])lant
forms — (which could then be treated from the evolutional stand-
point) — and in the cases where there are interrelations between
plants and insects. The objection that plants are farther removed
from humanity than animals, and that the zoological side of the
subject is thus almost wholly neglected, would be counterbalanced
by the advantage of a fuller knowledge of the local flora, and
the sounder scholarship which would thus be induced.

Dr. Gunnison, of the Erasmus Hall High School, who followed
Dr. Wight, declared that biology has not the same determining
efifect upon the life of the pupil that the other suljjects have.
There is alwavs a certain proportion of students who like one or
more of the other subjects well enough to desire to continue them
further in the high school course. This is not the case with biol-
ogy, as few students profess interest in this science. Dr. Gun-
nison suggested that the trouble might lie in the fact that the
city is the wrong place in which to teach biology. All the charm
which comes from seeking out and finding the desired object is
necessarily lost in the city course ; thus the vital force is missed,
and the subject is not a success.

Dr. Denbigh, of the Morris High School, was the last speaker.
He expressed the opinion that it would be well-nigh impossible
to make the first-year biology course too simple. This course is
successful when it secures three objects — the power of scientific
thinking, as wide a knowledge as possible of the animal and vege-
table kingdoms, and the development of a permanent interest
which will increase the pupil's power of enjoyment in his sur-
roundings. From this point of view, the insistence upon details
of structure and elaborate drawings is pernicious ; precise scholar-
ship should not be exacted or expected. Dr. Denbigh emphasized
the fact that field work can be most valuable in arousing interest ;
and the importance of learning biology is exactly proportional to
the difficulty of reaching the plant or animal. This subject pro-
vides a training which the student lacks and therefore needs ; and

A CORRECTION. I 2 5

conseqiientlv there is no more valuable cultural study than first-

vear biology. It fulfills Huxley's requirement of knowledge —

that of making a man live more happily and usefully.

In summing up the results of the discussion. Dr. Peabody,

chairman of the meeting, called attention to the fact that nobody

had opposed the subject as such ; and that the lines in which liiol-

ogy seems in need of improvement are in the simplification of the

subject matter, in the emphasizing of the development of power

rather than of expression of fact, and in the presentation of the

threads of unity in the biological field.

E. M. K.

A CORRECTIOX.

In the article by Dr. Leavitt on the sensitive lip of Masdcz'allia
niiiscosa in the April issue of the Plant World, through a typo-
graphical error, the word " smelling"" appears (page 79) instead
of " swelling."" In calling attention to this mistake the author
writes: " I have no desire to impute to this orchid pow'ers more
remarkable than that which it really possesses. The sudden
closing of the flower is in no sense to be regarded as a sneeze."'

t/)

o

o

-1

C^

Volume 9 Number 6

The Plant World

JUNE, 1906

THE DISIXTEGRATIXG INFLUENCES OF TROPICAL

PLANTS.

By Mel. T. Cook, Ph.D..
Agricultural Station. Santiago dc las J'cgas, Cuba.

The literature upon the methods of plant distribution and the
influences of plants upon their surrounding-s is voluminous, and
yet much more might well be written on this very interesting
and important subject. Wherever the conditions will permit,
plants are continually migrating" into new territory, and thev are
also continually making' their old homes unfit for themselves but
suitable for other species. In this work, in connection with
frost, and water, and animals, thev become one of the greatest
leveling forces of nature. They stop the flow and change the
courses of rivers : they fill the lakes, converting them into marshes
and then into dry land ; they incroach upon the ocean coast line
and gradually push it out farther and farther ; they help to level
the hills and to tear down the mountains. Neither are the\-
respecters of the works of man, for the}" attack and destrov his
greatest and noblest structures. His largest castles, temples, and
monuments become vine clad, old, ancient, and then historical
men"iories, in rapid succession.

In no part of the western hemisphere is this better illustrated
than in the old Spanish fortifications in and around Havana.
Here, far south of the frost line, plants become the n"iost im-
portant factor in this slow but sure work of destruction ; and,
unconfused with other disintegrating" factors, their work is all

129

130 THE TLANT WOKLU.

the more conspicuous. The most important and best known o'
these fortifications are Morro Castle anrl Cabanas. Built as a
defence against the " flesh and the devil," Morro only has expe-
rienced one siege, and yet both are being rapidly disintegrated
through the agencies of nature. Morro is much the older, hav-
ing been completed in 1597, while Cabanas was begun in 1763
and completed in 1774. And yet Cabanas looks as old or older
than Morro. For generations these immense piles of masonry
have stood as military scarecrows to all the rest of the civilized
world, only to be destroyed by the slow but ever working forces
of nature.

Crossing the harbor from Havana, the visitor lands at the foot
of a covered road which leads up to the south entrance of
Cabanas and into " Los Fosos de los Laureles " (the laurel ditch)
with its thick walls of masonry forty feet in height. \\'ithin this
moat are a number of very large laurel trees (Ficiis iiitida) and
at various places through this and other moats are numerous
plants of many species. Of the trees, the most common are the
Delonix rcgia (royal poincianas), Ficiis iiitida (laurel) and occa-
sionally some others. Among the smaller plants the following
species are very abundant: Riciiuis sp., Solauuiii vcrbasifoUnm
and other solanaceous plants, Ipoiiia:a doiiiciii^iiiciisis. Hauielia
patens, Moiiiordica charantia, Cordia sp., Tribiihis cistoides,
Iresinc paiiiciilata. Bidriis hicaiifha, J'aclwlla fanicslaiia, Stachy-
tarpheta jainaicciisis. Tunicra uluufolia, Porfiilaca sp., Stcno-
lohinni staiis and a number of Compositge and Gramine?e.

Many of the above mentioned plants grow in holes and crev-
ices of the walls, but by far the most conspicuous of these wall
plants is Rhytidophy/hiin crcmilatuni (see Fig. 19) which grows
everywhere over the surface of the walls. The plant belongs to
the family Gesneracese, and the genus is restricted to the Greater
Antilles. This species, though comparatively rare, grows upon
the rocks along the coast. The wonder is how this vigorous
plant can secure a foothold and nourishment in these walls, and
yet it seems to take advantage of every opening, however small,
and grows in luxuriant abundance. Its work as a disintegrating
factor is undoubtedly very important.

DISINTEGRATING INFLUENCES OF TROPICAL PLANTS. I3I

Several grasses, two or three species of small ferns, and many
other plants are to be seen helping in this work of destruction,
and here and there a small tree may be observed widening the
small crevice which gives it a foothold. The leveling influence
of the vegetation upon these fortifications is very evident to the
most casual observer. Here, practically unaided by any other
influence than the vandalism of the tourist, the tropical vegeta-
tion is slowly but surely obliterating the pride of Spain's militarv
rule in the western hemisphere, that last outpost against modern
progress, the key to the west.

Phenological Records for 1905. — During the past year phe-
nological records were kept showing the dates of certain stages
in the development of vegetation in New York State. The for-
est trees showed first leaves about oVIay 3d to 5th, and the woods
were generally green by May 14th. The leaves began coloring
September i6th, and began falling from October 4th to 21st,
according to the kind of tree. The woods were generally bare
by Xovember 5th. Of the five principal fruit trees in the State,
viz., apple, peach, pear, plum, and cherry, the apple showed first
leaves earliest, ]\Iay 3d, and the plum latest, May 6th. The peach
bloomed earliest, first bloom showing ]\Iay 5th and being in full
bloom by May loth ; then followed the. plum, the cherry, the
pear, and last the apple, which bloomed May i6th to 23d. The
period of harvest for the cherry was June 29th to July i6th ; for
the peach, July 26th to October 5th ; for the plum, September 3d
to 20th ; for the pear, September 4th to October 5th, and for the
apple, September 15th to October 25th. — Climate and Crops:
A'czv York Section. Jan.. IQ06.

ox THE ^lOUNTAIN TOP.
Bv Geo. E. Osterhout.

Almost every one enjoys mountain elimbing' and standing on
a mountain top, if only for the satisfaction of putting it under
one's feet. It is an undertaking accomplished and an aspiration
satisfied. I have always enjoyed reaching the summits of our
Rocky Mountains, even if these were not the summits of the
highest peaks. The debris l}"ing at the foot of the chasms and
the partly thawed lakes look as if some of the old world were
yet in the making. The boundless range of vision, and the being
amid the alpine summits is a rare experience.

I wish to write here of two little trips — a day each — when on
horse-back and alone I rode from Moraine Park to the top of
the range to collect botanical specimens. The first trip was on
a dav in July and the second on a day in August of another year.
The high mountains, like the plains, have a succession of flower-
ing plants, though the season is short, and I made the change of
time to get a greater variety of specimens. Leaving the valley
I rode leisurelv u]) an old trail made years ago by miners pros-
pecting for gold on the north fork of the Grand river, and
ascended a hill-side to the crest of a ridge. Far below, the
waters of the Thompson river coming from the canyon above,
wound their \va\- through the valley and meadows and glinted
and sparkled in the sunlight ; and across the valley and beyond
the hills to the southward rose the grand ])roportions of Long's
Peak. Before me was a vallev into which the trail descended

ox THE MOUNTAIN TOP. I 33

and then continued up it to the timber-hne. Throug-h this valley
ran a little rivulet, fed b}' the melting snow-banks on the moun-
tain above. Once the valley and hill-sides had been clothed with
spruce and pine, but thirty or more years ago they had been fire-
swept, and for the most part were now barren and desolate, and
the rocks and soil reflected the heat of the summer sun. A few
quaking" aspens were growing in clumps : a few will(^ws flourished
along the little rivulet, and a number of small flowering plants —
among them Pciitstcnioii i:;laucus stciioscpalits, one of the niost
beautiful of our pentstemons. found here a favorable habitat. A
short distance below where the trail enters the valley ends, and
a precipitous mountain side slopes to the park. A glacier once
came down the Thompson canyon, leaving a lateral moraine
along the mountain side, and this moraine, crossing the brink of
the valley, had dammed the little rivulet and made a swampy
place which now is mostly covered by willows and several old
spruce trees. Just above timber-line the trail turns aside to a
spring of the purest cold water. Have not we noticed that all
roads and trails have a side-path to the springs?

" Sometimes there comes a taste surpassing sweet
Of common things — the very breath I take ;
A draught from some cool spring amid the brake."

A steep ascent along the zigzag trail brings one out onto the
summit of the range, which here is cjuite broad and compara-
tively level. It is made of broken rock which has gathered soil
and been beautified by nature with such plants as the soil and
climate permit to grow. Grasses and sedges form most of the
covering, but among them grow many of the higher flowering
plants of an alpine sort: the gentian, Goifiami frii^^ida: the
primrose, Priiinila air^iistifolla : Sicz'crsia tiirbiiiafa : Phlox ccrs-
pitosa : SHeiic acaulis; painted-cup, Castillcja occidciifalis : Tctra-
iiciirls acaulis. Rydbergia grandiHom, Polygonum bistoridcs,
Paronicliia pulvinata. Here for the first time I collected Cam-
panula unitlora, a little plant which extends from the Colorado
Rocky Alountains to the arctic regions. On the July day when
I was here a snow bank lay on the level mountain top, and about
the snow and growing up through its edges were the large golden

134 'J'HE PLANT WORLD.

vellow blossoms of the buttercup, Ranunculus adoncus. The
snow which Hes on the mountain tops until summer becomes
coarsely granular and hard, and it seems strange that this par-
ticularly tender and fragile buttercup should push its way
throus'h the hard icv snow. I have always found it blossoming
close to retreating snow, and have noticed that some other plants
blossom under like conditions. The dogs-tooth violet is ordi-
narily an early spring flower, but I have seen it in full blossom
beside a retreatuig snow bank on the high mountains in the mid-
dle of August. No matter what the time of year, it is spring only
when the snow melts, and early spring beside a retreating snow
bank.

While busily engaged in getting some of the Ramincuhis I was
attracted by a slight noise, and looking round saw within a few
feet of me a mother Ptarmigan which had hidden at my ap-
proach ; and looking more carefully I saw several chicks which
could not have been many hours out of the shell. Both the
mother and chicks were so like the color of the rocks and soil
that it was difificult to see them. I put my hat over and then
held in my hand several of the little brown bodies, which were
feathered to the toes.

In the middle foreground as I came out on the mountain top
is a ledge of rock standing ten to fifteen feet above its surround-
ings, and on the western edge another ledge. Soil has accumu-
lated in the crevices and on the less precipitous places, and it was
about these ledges that I found the most interesting collecting,
particularly on the eastern side which is sheltered from the cold
west winds. Growing in the crevices was the alum-root,
HcucJicra bractcosa. which is almost always found in the crev-
ices of ledges; Orco.vis luunilis. a very small umbellifera which
blossoms in July and reaches the fruiting stage about the middle
of August; cinque-foil, Potcufil/a iiiz'ca; mountain sorrel, O.vyria
digyna; Macroncnia {^ygtjucuni : and Saxifraga ccnnia.

About the bases of the ledges, sheltered by large boulders
which probably hold the moisture, were several larger plants,
such as Scnccio Frcinoitti. first collected by Lieut. Fremont and
described bv Torrey and Gray in their Flora of North America ;

ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP. I 35

columbine, Aqnilegia cccnilca, a beautiful and showy plant which
begins to blossom along the foot-hills in May and reaches the
alpine districts in August; Hcuchcra parvifoUa. another plant
which grows from the foot-hills to alpine heights ; Mcrtcnsia
Parryi, a species recently described by Dr. Rydberg, and Ribcs
parviflora. Growing on the western ledge was the somewhat
rare cinque-foil, Potciitilla ituiHora. It had been growing here
some time, for the decumbent stems were quite long and their
bases covered with dead leaves. It trails close to the rocks, and
the flowers are large for the size of the plant. Sheltered by
boulders under which one must look to find it was the colum-
bine. Aqiiilcgia saximoniajia. and a little farther down among
boulders was Angelica Grayi — a plant which for some time was
called ArchangcUca Ginclliii. then described by Drs. Coulter and
Rose with some assurance as Scliniuii Grayi, and again by them
transferred to Angelica, where it now stands. Growing in the
more open were such plants as the thistle, Carduus scopnlonim;
Polcnioninui confertum mclitiDU, the large flowers varying from
deep to light blue ; the dwarf alpine form of the whitlow-grass,
Draha strcptocarpa; the alpine form of Clia)n<riicrioii aiigusti-
foliiim. and Solidago dccnmhcns. Here too was Achillea mille-
foliuDi, the common yarrow, which grows from the sea level to
the alpine districts.

These high mountains have a fauna as well as a flora. I
noticed some alpine butterflies flitting about ; there were a few
birds of the sparrow family ; the little chief hare, of which a
glimpse could scarcely be seen, makes its home in the rocks ; the
groimd hog lives in the ledges and there is a little burrowing
animal — a mole I suppose — of which I caught a glimpse ; often
too a hawk may be seen soaring above the peaks.

From the mountain on which I was the view extends on
either hand to still higher mountains, on whose sides and sum-
mits lay banks of snow. To the north-eastward the slope was
into Fall river, and south-westward into the Thompson canvon.
For several hundred feet this precipitous side was strewn with
boulders, rough and sharp because unsmoothed by the action of
glacier or running water; then to the bottom of the canyon and

136 THE PLANT WORLD.

Up the opposite side to timber line was the dark green of spruce
and pine. Across the canyon rose a massive mountain, on
whose sides were larg'e banks of snow from which ran streams
to the river below. I could trace the creeks and see falls of
considerable height, but no sound came across the canyon. Who
was it said something- about frozen music ?

As the sun declined toward the west, reluctantly I turned my
horse's head down the mountain side, taking my botanical speci-
mens, and the memories of a day on the mountain top — a day
to be remembered.

" On alpine heights o'er many a fragrant heath,
The loveliest breezes breathe ;
So free and pure the air.
His Ijreath seems floating there."

THE CHINESE SUMACH, OR TREE OF HEAVEN,
AILANTHUS GLANDULOSA.

Bv Howard H. .M. Bowm.\n.

Although quite common in the vacant lots and outskirts of
manv of the cities of eastern United States, this tree has not
of late received the attention it once did and which it still
deserves, for it has quite a few points of comeliness if not of
beautv. Formerly it was extensively planted as a shade tree and
the two gigantic trees standing at the entrance to many old c(itm-
try homes testify to its vanished popularity.

It is now escaped from cultivation and has spread rapidly by
the suckers from its thick subterranean branches and by the seeds
which are borne prolifically. Some old, well-grown trees have
something of that pleasing contour seen in certain large. Hat-
topped trees of southern Italy and many troi)ical countries, giving
the landscape a very picturesque appearance. Hut really ]irettier
than the mature trees are the young saplings, with their slender
stems and spreading crowns of pinnately compound leaves, fully
a yard in length. A clump of these growing aiuong some native
trees gives an ordinary grove that luxuriant tropical appearance,

THE CHINESE SUMACH. I 37

obtained by no uthcr tree or shrub of our temperate climate. Its
favorite habitat seems to be fence corners or small groves, in com-
pany with the locust and the hackberry tree (Cclfis occidciitalis) ,
which bears the " sugar-berry." so eagerly eaten bv the children
of localities in which it grows plentifully. But the Ail an tints
grows almost anywhere, its seedlings coming up along the dustv
roadside as well as in the soil with potted plants. If a tree be
cut down the suckers appear over an area twenty feet in diameter.

Allan fliiis ^i:;laihliilosa takes its generic naiue from the Alalacca
word ailaiifo, or tree of heaven ; the specific name, i;;lainiiilosa,
referring to the glands of the bark, which if injured exudes a very
sticky, resinous gum.

The tree is a native of China and the oriental countries and
attains a height of from forty to ninety feet, bearing long petioled,
compound leaves, from one to three feet long, with about thirteen
odd pinnate, opposite leaflets ovate-lanceolate in shape and some-
what glabrous. The flowers, which are borne in terminal pani-
cles, are polygamous, small and star-shaped, greenish white in
color. The sterile ones have five short sepals, five petals and ten
stamens. In June, when these trees bloom, the staminate flowers
have an odor which to some people is agreeable, and to others
very unpleasant. This lasts but a short time, however, and in
other respects Ailanthiis s^laiuiiilosa is a verv desirable shade
tree.

The pistillate trees produce beautiful panicles of one-seeded,
twisted samaras or keys, light green in color, or sometimes softlv
tinged with pinkish red. The broad tops of the trees, bearing
many large clusters of these light green, winged fruits, showing
brightly against the dark green of the surrounding foliage, make
a very pretty sight in mid-summer. These samaras are strung on
threads by the children of eastern Pennsylvania, making unique
wreaths, necklaces, or other juvenile adornments. The smooth
trunks and branches of the older trees are of a soft grav or whitish
shade, resembling the trunks of the beech.

The tree belongs to the family Simarubaceae, and is the onlv
representative of its genus in this country, but there are two more
species in its native home, China. The tree grows rapidly and

138 THE ILANT WORLD.

produces a hard wood, but so far as the writer knows it has no
economic value as hmiber. Its bark is used in pharmacy. The
properties of the bark are due to an oleoresin and a volatile oil,
" a nauseant and drastic purgative, constituting an excellent
anthelmintic against tape-worm."* In a certain park of an
eastern citv a few young Ailanthus trees among a clump of other
shrubberv produced an effect that was indeed charming and at a
little distance greatly resembled, if not rivalled, the palm in grace-
fulness.

The leaf-buds of this tree do not begin to unfold until the
leaves of native trees are well advanced, a trait common in plants
introduced from a climate slightly warmer than ours, caused
doubtless by the longer period of cool weather in spring which
prevents the leaves from pushing off the bud-scales.

It is a worthy addition to a collection of trees and should be
planted in localities in which it is not represented or which it has
not as yet invaded.

Closed gentian is a favorite with people who are especially
interested in our native plants. It is not as attractive as fringed
gentian, but is more interesting, inasmuch as its balloon-like buds
never open, but have the appearance of opening to-morrow.
Poets and some botanists relegate it to the woodlands, but it is
in truth more frequently found in exposed places, low, damp
meadows, ravines, and even on hillsides, but if in the woods never
where the sun's rays cannot penetrate.

The best specimens are usually found growing in a damp clay
soil, thus proving that its natural haunts are wet places. How-
ever, it also proves its extreme hardiness by developing in well-
drained porous soil. Disregarding this natural adaptability to
most any situation, the plant inconsistently refuses to develop in
our gardens, for more than a season or two. Many experiments
have been made to get this native perennial to develop here and
there, but it will only consent to grow in places of its own choos-
ing. — Eben H. Norris in Floral Life.

* Gould, Diet, of Med., Biol., and Allied Sciences.

IMPARIPINNATE LEAVES IN CASSIA. 1 39

APPARENTLY IMPARIPINNATE LEAVES IN CASSIA.

By J. Arthur Harris,
Missouri Botanical Garden.

As Penzig has pointed out in the general introductory remarks
to the Leguminos?e in his Pflanzen-Teratologie, the compound
leaf of this family is subject to many anomalies. Trifoliate
leaves are characteristic of whole groups, while in others only
those pinnately divided are to be observed. It is interesting to
find that transitions between these types sometimes occur by the
division of some of the leaflets and the elongation of the rhachis.
If the terminal leaflet of an imparipinnate leaf be the one divided,
an apparently paripinnate leaf may result. Such have been fre-
quently observed for Amorpha, Robiuia (locust), Caragana,
Sophora and Glcdiischia (honey-locust). The lateral leaflets are
also often divided, as in Robinia, Astragalus, Coroiiilla, Glcdit-
scli'ia and others. Transitions between pinnate and bipinnate
leaves are occasionally observed. Simple leaves are sometimes
seen in species normally with compound leaves. Rarely the ter-
minal tendril of such forms as Lathyrus and Pisiiiii is found
transformed into a typical leaflet or into an ascidium. The
development of tendrils in the place of lateral leaflets is also ob-
served in Vicia and Lathyrus. Foliar and even stipular ascidia
are observed. '

During the summer of 1904 I observed on plants of Cassia
Sophcra, cultivated at the Missouri Botanical Garden, a few per-
fectly formed imparipinnate leaves. As is well known, the leaf
of Cassia is regularly paripinnate. The rhachis, however, pro-
jects slightly beyond the insertion of the last pair of leaflets in
a small subulate or filiform process which might appear to the
observer to be homologous with a terminal leaflet.

The first supposition in regard to these terminal leaflets was
naturally that they represent cases of the development of a typi-
cal leaflet in the place of the terminal scale. In common morpho-
logical parlance such leaves as these might be spoken of as ata-
vistic, the terminal leaflet being considered a reversion tq an

I 40 THE PLANT WORLD.

ancestral impari])innatc leaf which i)rece(1ed the present paripin-
nate type. It must not l)e forgotten, however, that we do not
know the orio-in of the cassia leaf and that we are reasoning on
purely comparative data when we postulate that it was derived
from a typical imparipinnate leaf of the type which we now see
in so many o^enera of this family.

Furthermore, the examination of a large series of specimens
showed that the origin of the extra leaflet from the terminal
process of the rhachis is open to question. Several leaves were
found in which the ultimate segment of the rhachis was much
reduced in length so that the two terminal pairs of leaflets were
inserted together as illustrated in figure 20B. while in one example
one of the leaflets of the ultimate pair was considerably smaller
than the other. The terminal process of the rhachis is rather
small in C. Saplicra and some related species, but it could be
made out easily at the end near the dorsal surface in the leaves
with two terminal pairs of leaflets approximated, and it could
usuall}' be detected in those in which there was apparently a
terminal leaflet. These facts indicate that the apparentl}' ter-
minal leaf does not originate by the development of a terminal
primordium. but that it is simply one of the ultimate pair, only
one member of which develops, possibly owing to the fact that
two pairs occasionally originate together at the end of the rhachis
instead of being separated by considerable distance.

In the summer of 1905 many plants of cassia belonging to the
C. occidciitalis and C. Saplicra tyi)e were grown, and the same
peculiarities were noticed in occasional leaves.

Early in October I had about ten plants of these cassias cut
and the leaves sorted and counted. The plants had grown
among many other forms as a border against the outer walls of
the greenhouses. They had in many cases been overtopped by
Iheir higher companions so that the leaves had fallen from the
ishaded, lower portions of the stems which were (|uite woody in
several of the specimens. Many of the leaves still on the plants
had lost some of their leaflets. All of these imperfect leaves
were discarded and the remainder. 2,740 in number, counted.
Of these, 2,669 ^vere of the normal i)aripinnate type, while 80

IMPARIPINNATE LEAVES IN CASSIA.

141

had either three terminal leaflets or two pairs very close together.
Fiftv-two were assigned to the form with three terminal leaflets
and twenty-eight to that with four. Almost all of these leaves
were tvpical representatives of these forms as we have described
them. Among those with two approximated terminal pairs one
was found in which the two pairs were slightly separated, an-
other in which the terminal of the two pairs was of leaves only
about half as large as the others, and in a third case one of the
two terminal leaflets was only about half so long or wide as the
other ; but except for these slight deviations all had the four
terminal leaflets closely approximated and of about the same size.

Fig. 20. Cassia. A. terminal leaflets in a normal paripinnate leaf; B.
anomalous type with four approximated terminal leaflets; C, three terminal
leaflets in an apparently imparipinnately compound leaf; D, transitional
form in which one of the two terminal leaflets is considerably reduced in
size.

Among: those with three leaflets the terminal one was in a few
cases much smaller than the others, but generally it was of about
the same size. The terminal scale was not alwa_\s to be seen but
could usually be made out. ( )ccasionally there appeared a scar
or scale indicating the existence of a priiuordium for another
leaf. The origin of the terminal leaflet could in most cases be
detenuined only froiu the evidence offered by the identity of
form and insertion of the petioles in those with three and four
terminal leaflets, and the presence of the terminal scale. In no
case was satisfactory evidence obtained for the derivation of the
terminal leaflet from the end of the rhachis.

142 THE PLANT WORLD.

A point worthy of attention is the relative frequency of the
two classes. Of the eighty aberrant leaves examined in 1905,
fifty-two had three terminal leaflets, while only twentv-eight had
four. It would seem at first that if the form with four ter-
minal leaflets — two pairs of leaflets closely approximated at the
tip — be the intermediate stage between the normal and the im-
paripinnate type, it should also be intermediate in frequency, but
this is clearly not the case. It seems not improbable that pri-
mordia for both leaflets are formed, but space and nutrition are
sufficient for the full development of but one, and the other
early disappears.

AIDING CITIES AND TOWNS TO NAME THEIR

TREES.

The Fore.st Service Will Identify Trees in Streets

AND Parks.

The increased interest in forests and forest trees which is a
sign of the times has. among other things, led many city and town
officials to seek to make known the names of trees growing in
streets and parks. Not only are such trees in very many cases
now without marks of identification, l)ut in not a few cases they
have been labeled with incorrect names. The Forest Service has
devised plans by which its cooperation may be secured in cor-
rectly identifying the public trees of any community which may
care to call upon it.

It is remarkable how little uniformity there is in the use of tree
names. Even scientific names, which are. of course, always more
exact than the common names, are in many cases unsettled, but
common names are often used almost at random. In difi'erent
parts of the country the same species may be popularly known
under very different names, and, on the other hand, the same
name is often used in difi'erent localities for altogether different
trees.

In the effort to assist toward uniformity of usage in scientific
names of forest trees, and also to lessen the chaos in the use of

AIDING CITIES AND TOWNS TO NAME TREES. 1 43

common names, the Forest Service has already pubUshed " A
Check List of the Forest Trees of the United States." This
serves as a guide when once a tree has been identified by the
botanist. But the first requisite is that the identification should be
correct. It is here that difficulty is often met with ; and the For-
est Service now offers its technical knowledge to city authorities.

There are two ways in which assistance may be given. Where
the work is on a large scale, a representative of the Service will
visit the town or city and identify the tree by examination on the
spot. In most cases, however, identification by correspondence
will prove entirely adequate. This will require merely that speci-
mens of the trees be sent to the Forest Service, together with a
rough sample plat showing their location, the plat and specimen
being numbered to correspond.

For such indentification a full set of specimens, illustrating ma-
ture foliage, and, if possible, specimens of the flowers and of the
fruit (as the botanist call the seeds) should be sent. Fruit speci-
mens are very essential, but flowers may be omitted if they can
not be readily secured. Two or three specimens of branches in
leaf, ten to twelve inches long, taken from dififerent parts of the
crown, so as to exhibit all of the leaf forms common to the species,
will answer for the foliage. One or two specimens of the foliage,
flowers, and fruit may be placed between sheets of ordinary news-
paper or blotting paper about twelve by sixteen inches in size.
Thirty to fiftv specimens and sheets may thus be piled one on top
of another, and the whole bundle placed between two stiff pieces
of mill board, pasteboard, or thin picture backing, a little larger
than the sheets of paper carrying the specimens. The package
must then be well tied and wrapped, when it may be sent by mail
if under four pounds in weight. If, before sending, the specimens
are changed to dry sheets of paper once in twenty-four hours,
keeping them constantly under a weight of from forty to fifty
pounds, thev can be thoroughly dried within two or three weeks,
when thev will not be so heavy and will still be in excellent condi-
tion for identification.

144 THE PLANT WORLD.

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS.

Edited by Dr. C. Stuart G.\ger.

The St.\tus of Biological Science in the Secondary

Schools of Prl^ssia.

Apropos of the cliscus^sion by three of the hig-h school ])riiici-
pals of Greater New York, on the vahie and scope of high school
biology, printed in the last issue of the Plant World, is the
following extract from an account by Professor J. \\' . A. Young,
in Science, of May i8. of the feeling on the same subject among
educators in the secondary schools* of Prussia.

For over a decade a vigorous agitation has been taking place
relative to the teaching of the natural sciences. At the annual
session of the Association of (icrman Natural Scientists and
Phvsicians held in Hamburg in 1901, a joint meeting of the
sections for botany, zoology, mineralogy and geology, and anat-
omy and physiology, unanimously adopted a set of nine proposi-
tions relative to instruction in biology. The first five of these
propositions, which soon became generall}- known as the " Ham-
burg Theses," read as follows:

1. Biology is an experimental science which indeed goes as far
as well-grounded knowledge of nature will at the time allow, but
no further. {Die Biologic ist eine PLrfahriDigswissenscJiaft die
^.i^'cir his ziir jez^'eiligeii Grenze des sicliereji A\ifiirerkemieiis gelit,
aher dieselbe iiiclit iiberschreifet.) For metaphysical speculations,
biology as such has no responsibility, and the school no use.

2. Foniially, instruction in the natural sciences is the necessary
complement of the abstract subjects. In particular, biology
teaches the art, elsewhere so neglected, of observation of con-
crete objects subject to continual change in consequence of the
processes of life, and, like physics and chemistr\-, proceeds in-
ductively from observation of properties and processes, to the
logical formation of concepts.

* In Germany called " higher schools." Pupils are admitted at the age
of nine, the course of instruction covers nine years, and tlie normal age of
gra(hiation is nineteen or twenty.

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS. I45

3. As to content, instruction in natural history has the duty of
acquainting the growing youth with the most essential forms of
the organic world, to discuss the manifold phenomena of life,
to present the relations of organisms to inorganic nature, to each
other and to man, and to give a survey of the most important
periods of the earth's history. Upon the basis of the biologic
knowledge acquired, the structure of the human body and the
functions of its organs, together with the chief points of general
hygiene, deserve special attention.

4. Etlucallw biologic instruction awakens respect for the struc-
tures of the organic world, an appreciation of the beauty and
completeness of nature as a whole, and thus becomes a source
of the purest enjoyment, untouched by any of the practical inter-
ests of life. At the same time, he who busies himself with the
vital phenomena of nature is led to feel the incompleteness of
human knowled2:e, and to recoonize his own limitations.

5. Such knowledge of the organic world must be regarded as
necessary part of the general culture which the times demand ;
it is not only useful to the future natural scientist or physician
as preparation for his professional study, but is equally important
for those graduates of the secondary schools whose future occu-
pation does not directly recpire study of nature.

The remaining four theses relate more specifically to German
conditions, pointing out that under the present curricula biologic
study is excluded from the later years of the course, in which
years alone the pupil is sutificiently mature to understand what
is taught of the processes of life and the influence of environ-
ment ; demanding that biologic instruction should be given, say
two hours weekh-, throughout the nine vears of the school
course ; and making some specific proposals whereby it is thought
this can be accomplished.

A committee was formed to circulate the theses and the sup-
port of about eight hundred scientists was secured. At the ses-
sion of the association in Cassel in KJ03 this committee made a
report and proposed that the Hamburg Theses be adopted by
the general session of the association.

146 THE PLANT WORLD.

In consequence of the resolution then adopted, the general
session of the association at Breslau in 1904, took up the topic,
'* Report and Debate on the Instruction in Mathematics and the
Natural Sciences in the Higher Schools." All the questions in-
volved were referred to a commission.

Two of the governing principles which it set up are the fol-
lowing :

I. The commission wishes that instruction in the higher schools
be neither one-sidedly linguistico-historical, nor one-sidedly
mathematico-scientific.

II. The commission recognizes mathematics and the natural
sciences as of equal culture value with the languages and ad-
heres to the principle of specific general culture in the higher
schools.

The reports on the natural sciences call for more time in these
subjects even in the classical schools, at least while, as at present,
these schools far outnumber the others, and consequently their
graduates in all influential walks of life furnish the great major-
ity of those taking the lead. The commission calls for three
hours weekly throughout five years in physics, two hours weekly
for four years in chemistry and two hours weekly for nine years

in the biologic sciences (and geologv).

C. S. G.

REVIEWS.

A'Otes oil the Life History of British Flozvering Plants* by
Lord Avebury (Sir John Lubbock) is a compendious treatise
bringing together a large number of observations and results of
study by the author who has long been known as a student of
the natural history of plants by his previously published works,
such as Flowers, Fruits and Leaves, Buds and Stipules, etc. The
field of such studies is one which, while it calls for much critical
attitude, is yet one which might very well be cultivated by many
persons who desire to investigate problems of plant life, but who
are not situated so that they may use a laboratory. Well as the
flora of Great Britain is known. Lord Avebury's book shows us

* 450 pp., 8vo. London : Macmillan and Co. 1905. $5.00.

REVIEWS. 1 47

how wide and extensive the lacunae in our knowlede^e of this flora
are. This is the more true of the extensive and various vegetation
of our own country, and we recommend to the more seriously
inclined — those who desire to know plants in a somewhat critical
way — the perusal and use of these notes as a means of orientation
and as suggestive of much valuable work.

The only general criticism which we may make of Lord Ave-
bury's work is that we see a strong tendency to see in a result of
a phenomenon the cause of it. This is, of course, the danger of
the teleological interpretative method. For example, the author
speaks of the spines on the leaves of the holly as a protection
against the browsing of cattle, and remarks that " it is interesting
that the upper ones which are out of reach tend to lose their
spines " and quotes from Southey a stanza which embodies the
post hoc view completely.

Ele))icittary Botany, including a manual of the common genera
of Nebraska plants, is a little book of 199 pages designed by the
author especially for the use of those who do not have the oppor-
tunity for studying botany in the school as well as for those who
have. The subject matter is arranged by months, and is put into
simple non-technical form. It consists of directions for the ob-
servation of the more obvious features of plants throughout the
whole kingdom, as does also the manual accompanying. It may
be had of the University Publishing Company, Lincoln, Neb.

A series of articles, by Bradley Moore Davis, on " Studies on
the Plant Cell " which have appeared from time to time in The
Ainerican Xatiiralist, have been issued by their author collectively
in book form, and are offered by him for sale. The presentation
of the subject is scholarly and fairly detailed, and the book will
prove very useful to teachers and students, and especially so on
the college and university reference shelf. Copies may be had
from the author. University of Chicago, Chicago, 111.

Whidozv Gardening in the School-room, by H. B. Dorner* is a
small but very good treatise on a subject worthy of and demanding

* Published by Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind.

148 THE PLANT WORLD.

not a little study. Everyone who has tried knows verv well what
meagre success often follows the majority of efiforts of the win-
dow gardener, and in view of the success of the average woman
of the country who bestows tin-cans and tender care on her jjlants,
the more scientific are not seldom victims of chagrin. This
pamphlet will help such to whom we would commend also the
article by Professor Balfour on " Physioloi:;ical Droir^Jit in Rela-
tion to Gardening," in the Januar}-, 1905, number of the Plant
World.

Hints a)ht Helps for Voinii^ Ganhvicrs/'' by H. D. Hemenway,
is an attractive pamphlet designed " not only for youthful garden-
ers, but also for those young in experience," h\ one whose expe-
rience as the Director of the School of Horticulture of Hartford,
well equips him for the task. How to plan the garden, soil tillage,
how to test seeds, to plant, to dig and set trees, to make and care
for a hotbed, strawberry and asparagtis culture and window gar-
dening are the topics treated of in the course of the w(^rk. A
table of vegetables, showing dates of planting, data of the methods
of ctilture, and other pertinent matters, including " what its culti-
vation teaches," is a useful feature, particularly valuable to those
doing school garden work.

The Journal of the Horticultural Society of Xew York is a new
quarterly periodical published for the benefit of the members of
that society. The first number appeared in April of this vear.

Ecological treatment of considerable proportions of Northern
Michigan has been carried out and a report of 133 pages has been
prepared under the direction of Chas. C. Adams. This full paper
is published as a report from the University Musetmi and con-
stitutes a part of the report of the Geological Survey of the state
for 1905. The study includes a survey of the fauna as well as
the flora, and gives the reader a very comprehensive account of
the natural history of the area taken under consideration.

* Published by the author, Hartford, Couu. 59 pp., 8vo. Illustrated.
35 cents, $20.00 per hundred.

NEWS ITEMS. 149

NEWS ITEMS.

On the twent}-third of ]\Iay the Torrey Botanical Chib held a
special meeting in celebration of the tenth anniversary of the
commencement of work in the development of the New York
Botanical Garden. The meeting was held in the musenm build-
ing of the Garden, and the program consisted of an illustrated
lecture by the President of the Club, Dr. Henry H. Rusby, on
" The History of Botan}- in New York City." Dr. Rusby traced
the development of botanical activity in the city of New York
from the time of Dr. Torrey, and previously, to the present. The
account of various earlier attempts to establish a botanical garden
in the city was especially interesting, as was also the tracing of
the growth of the Torrey Club, and the bearing of the Club's work
on the establishment of the Department of Botany in Columbia
University and the organization of the Botanical Garden.

At the close of the lecture there was,an informal reception in
the library, followed by an inspection of the laboratories and the
museum exhibits.

Bills have recentl}- been signed by Governor Higgins which
will save two scenic treasures to the people of New York State —
Hook Mountain on the Hudson River, and Watkins Glen, at the
head of Seneca Lake.

Hook [Mountain rises 730 feet, on the west bank of the Hudson,
about two miles north of Nyack. It was being rapidly blasted
away, and had it been destroyed, one of the most beautiful points
on the river would have been marred. Now that the future of
this site and of Ralisades Park are assured, it is expected that this
part of the Hudson will be very popular for summer outings.

\\'atkins Glen, with its cascades, waterfalls, and deep pools, is
one of a great number of picturesque gorges in south central New
York, in what is known as the Finger Lake valley region. It is
the result, physiographers now believe, of ice erosion. In an
article on Watkins Glen in the Popular Science Monthly for May,
Professor Tarr says of it, " From the standpoint of either the
geographer, the geologist or the lover of scenery, a visit to any

I 50 THE PLANT WORLD.

one of these gj'leiis is well worth one's while ; l^ut no single one is
so easily accessible, nor presents snch a variety of phenomena, as
Watkins Glen. Nearer centers of population it would be far
more famous than now, and would be visited by scores of thou-
sands. Waterfalls and gorges in Europe which cannot be com-
pared in beauty or interest with a score of glens in the Finger
Lake region are far better known to the travelling American than
Watkins Glen. It seems well, therefore, that it should be taken
by the state, made better known, and opened freely to the public."
The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society has
been instrumental in obtaining both the Glen and Hook AhDuntain
for the State.

The Editor has received from several quarters expressions of
appreciation of the biographical sketch of Wilhelm Hofmeister
by Professor K. Goebel, published in this magazine in December
last. One of these, from Professor Eugene A. Smith, of the
Geological Survey of Alabama, is of interest because of the per-
sonal touch, and we venture to reproduce Professor Smith's note
in part.

" I was a student in Hofmeister's laboratory for two years,
1867-8, with Dr. Miiller, Dr. Pfitzer. and Dr. Askenasy. among
others, and am glad to have this reminder of those days. The
small carte-de-visite photo which I got at that time is the same,
almost, if not quite, as that of Professor Goebel's paper.

" I recall with great pleasure the many hours spent in his labo-
ratory, and the microscopic work which we did there. I can still
split a thin section by holding it between thumb and forefinger,
and using a sharp razor, and made many such for Hofmeister.
My slides, mounted in glycerine in shellac cells, have mostly gone
to ruin, from cracking of the varnish and escape of the glycerine.
I had manv hundreds of them."

John Torrey, 1796-1873.

Volume 9 Number 7

The Plant World

JULY, 1906

AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE DEVELOPMENT
OF BOTANY IN NEW YORK CITY.-

By Henry H. Rusby, M.D.

Dcaii of the XlZ\.' York College of Plianiiaey.

I. Early Efforts.

Were we to commence with the very earHest botanical history
of onr city, we should be carried back to a time when, as an
important seaport in a new world, it was made the temporary
headquarters of visiting botanists, who accumulated here their
collections, maintaining some of them in a living condition, until
the arrival of a convenient opportunity for dispatching them to
the mother countries. Such occurrences as these exerted little
influence in the permanent development of a botanical center.
Developmental work of the kind that concerns us was active, pre-
vious to the close of the eighteenth century, at some points farther
south, especially at Philadelphia, and in New England, but not
at New York.

The first important event here was the work of Doctor, after-
ward Governor, Cadwallader Colden and his daughter Jane, who,
near the middle of the eighteenth century, conducted their studies
with the aid of a small botanical garden at their home near New-
burgh. Perhaps the most important part of this work consisted

* Portion of an address delivered before the Torrey Botanical Club at
a special mee-ting held on May 2t„ 1906, in commemoration of the tenth
anni\-ersary of the commencement of work in the de\'elopment of the New
York Botanical Garden. Printed in full in Torreya, Vol. 6, Nos. 6-7, June
and July, 1906.

154 THE PLANT WORLD.

of the correspondence carried on with native and foreign bota-
nists regarding their local flora, and the transmission of speci-
mens. Miss Colden first made known our pretty little Copfis, or
gold-thread.

A nnich more important event was the arrival here, in 1785,
of the elder Michaux, who established a celebrated botanical
garden at New Durham, X. J., the site of which is now occupied
by the Hoboken cemetery. A brief account of this garden may
be found in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 11: 88,
1884. In that year I saw growing there a barberry bush which
apparently represented the last trace of Michaux's plantings, ex-
cept that the European medicinal shrub Khamiiiis Frangula,
which he appears to have introduced, has established itself in the
adjacent lowlands, and at some neighboring points. Michaux's
garden was established especially for the temporary cultivation
of plants designed to be sent to France, or to yield seeds designed
for such shipment. Nevertheless, so zealous an investigator as
Michaux could not fail to utilize this agency for purposes of
study, and his great work. Flora Boreal I- Americana, published in
1803, and other works on North American botany, were thus
materially enriched. Michaux's work in this country was con-
tinued by his son, one of whose important publications was a
Histoire des arbes forestiers de rAineriqiie Sef'teiitrioiu'ile. after-
wards translated into English as The Xorth Aincrieaii Syl'i'a,
and this also profited largely by the observations made by the
father wdiile maintaining his garden.

During the time when the Michauxs were so active here, Mr.
Samuel L. Mitchill was assiduously collecting plants in the vicin-
ity of his home at Plandome, Long Island, a catalogue of which
was published in 1807. His work is of s])ecial interest to us,
since he was the first professor of botany in Columbia College.

The flora of ^lanhattan Island was at this time being very
actively studied by ]\Iajor John Le Conte, who in 181 1 published
an important catalogue relating thereto.

It is a well recognized historical fact that up to this time, and
indeed for a long period following, botanical work proper in this
country consisted chiefly in the collecting and naming of plants,
and the describing of new species.

DEVELOPMENT OF BOTANY IN NEW YORK CITY.

OD

Writing of the period about 1814, made memorable l^y the pub-
lication of Pursh's Flora Aiucricac Scpfciitrioiialis and Bigelow's
Florida Bosfoniciisis. Darlington says " Botanical works now be-
gan to multiply in the United States — and the students of ' the
amiable science ' found helps in their delightful pursuit, which
rendered it vastly more easy and satisfactory than it had been to
their predecessors."

DAVID HOSACK AND THE ELGIN BOTANICAL GARDEN.

The next botanical undertaking in this city was of the greatest
importance in connection with our study, and calls for our par-
ticular attention. The successor of Dr. Alitchill as professor of
botanv and materia medica in Columbia Colle2:e was Dr. David

Fig. 21. The Elgin Botanical Garden, including what is now 46th and
50th Streets, and Fifth and Madison Avenues. (Courtesy of the New
York Botanical Garden.)

Hosack, a man of equal breadth and of great strength and energy.
His interest in botany was chiefly medical. Alost of the amateur
botanists of that day were practicing physicians, and many, if not
most of the professionals had received a medical education and
training, so that Dr. Hosack's attitude toward the science was
not at the time peculiar. This fact reminds us that outside of

156 THE PLANT WORLD.

the investigation of general and local floras, in their relations to
geographical and taxonomic botany, interest then centered chiefly
in the medicinal properties and nses of plants. The chemistry
of plants was then practically nnknown, whereas it is now the
basis of medical botany. Since chemistry constitntes at the same
time the visible basis of physiology, and physiology brings ns as
close as it is possible for ns to get to the life of the plant, it
follows that medical botany, while not entitled to the objective
position that it held in the days of Hosack, is concerned with the
same phenomena which engage the attention of the very highest
workers in botanical science at the present day.

Even in the state of ignorance which then existed, it was
clear to snch keen reasoners as Hosack that the reaching of
sonnd botanical conclusions requires that the living plant be kept
under observation, and he became possessed of the strongest de-
termination to establish a botanical garden adequate to the needs
of local botanists and teachers of botany. After long efl:'orts to
secure sufficient cooperation, he at length decided to enter inde-
pendently upon the enterprise, and in 1801 he purchased twenty
acres of land at Elgin, now bounded by 46th and 50th Streets, and
Fifth and Madison Avenues (or probably of somewhat greater
extent), and established the famous Elgin Botanical Garden,
better known perhaps as the Hosack Botanical Garden. Besides
his hardy plants, many were grown in a large conservatory. The
site of this garden was described in 181 1 as "about three and
one-half miles from this city, on the middle road between Bloom-
ingdale and Kingsbridge."

Hosack announced as its primary object the collection aud cul-
tivation of the native plants of this country, especially such as
possessed medicinal value or were otherwise useful. He grate-
fully acknowledges assistance received in starting his garden from
Professor ]\Iitchill, his predecessor, from the Hon. Robert R.
Livingston and from John Stevens, Escp, of Hoboken. He soon
learned that the successful conduct of a botanical garden is a
work of enormous labor and serious responsibility, and that one
man, otherwise engaged, cannot accomplish it. With the garden
already in actual successful operation, it was not so difficult to

DEVELOPMENT OF BOTANY IN NEW YORK CITY. I57

enlist state interest, and the legislature was induced to purchase
it in 1810, and to provide the necessary funds by means of a
lottery. Hosack subsequently enjoyed the classical distinction
of all successful promoters of great enterprises, in being assailed
by the high-class scum of citizenship. By subsecjuent legislative
action the property was turned over to Columbia College, and its
use diverted from that of a botanical garden to that of highly
profitable rentals.

JOHN TORREY AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES.

We cannot understand the botany of Hosack's time without a
brief glance at some of his contemporaries and immediate suc-
cessors, especially those who exerted local influence. The list
includes the names of some of the most honored of American
botanists. Foremost of them all was John Torrey. Following
Dr. Hosack. he was the third of the five men who, up to the
present, have occupied the chair of botany in Columbia College.
His characteristics may be expressed in the terms strong personal
character, broad scholarship and great intellectual abilit}'. Al-
though best known to us as a botanist, vet thirtv vears of his
life were those of a great teacher and worker in chemistry at the
U. S. Alilitary Academy at West Point, in the College of Physi-
sians and Surgeons of this city, in Princeton College, and as U.
S. Assayer in the Xew York Office. Had the necessary facilities
then existed in this country, it seems likely that this man, com-
bining such a great knowledge of botany and chemistry, might
here have developed important researches in the chemistrv of
plants. As a matter of fact, his knowledge of botany was acc[uired
chiefly as a recreation in the hours of leisure afforded by his
other professional work. Yet Cnderwood truly writes, " When
the annals of American botany are finally written, no name will
have a more conspicuous position than that of John Torrey."

Almost before reaching manhood Torrey was one of the found-
ers of the Xew York Lyceum of X^atural History, and was the
leader in publishing, through it, a catalogue of plants growing
within thirty miles of the city. Five years later he published the
first part of his Flora of the Xorthcni and Middle Sections of the

158 THE PLANT WORLD.

United States, and later his Compendium on the same subject,
important forerunners, in more than one way. of Gray's Manual.
These accomplishments proved him the great master that he was,
and soon his hands were crowded with important work, especially
connected with the active explorations of our western territory
then in progress. In this work he was a close associate of Asa
Gray, and probably their most important work was the first parts
of their Flora of Xorth America, published from 1838 to 1843.

Except for the published works of Torrey, most of those of
this early period which here concern us were of a somewhat gen-
eral nature, but naturally including our local interests. Of these
may be mentioned the following: In 1813, Aluhlenberg's Cata-
logue of Xorth American Plants, and in 1817 his work on Xorth
American grasses and sedges; in 1818, Xuttall's most scholarly
work on the genera of North American plants; in 1820. Gray's
Genera: in 1822. Schweinitz's Monograph of the Genus J'iola;
in 1833, Beck's Bofa)iy of the Xortheni ajid Middle States; in
1834, Schweinitz's work on North American Fungi, antl in the
same year, Gray's MonograpJi of the Xorth American Species of
Rhynehospora. In the meantime, very im]iortant works of a
similar character were being produced in the South, and to a lesser
extent, in the West.

In 1803 there appeared about the first work designed especially
for }oung students, an elementary work on botany by Barton.
Writing of 1824, Darlington says: "About this time some of the
schools in the Northern States began to make a profession of
teaching botany, and a demand for suitable books for this pur-
pose arose. Accordingly, a number, such as the}' were, soon
appeared. Among the most successful was a Manual, compiled
by Professor Amos Eaton, of Troy, New York." This sort of
botanical teaching entered upon its most active stage with the
appearance of Gray's Elements of Botany, in 1836, a work that
is still being sold upon an extensive scale, and this, in }our
speaker's opinion, very greatly to the advantage of l)t)tany, in
spite of the many books of different character, the use of which
we so greatly enjoy. The publication, for the use of students, of
text-books on structural botany, and later on morphology, in con-

DEVELOPMENT OF BOTANY IN NEW YORK CITY. 159

nection with manuals on local floras, became very popular, and
of incalculable value in interesting people in the study of plants.

GROWTH OF THE BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE.

We must now pass from this general consideration of local
botanical devetopment to the middle of the last century, and fol-
low some special influences proceeding from the growth of the
botanical department of Columbia College. During the period
when Dr. Torrey was at its head, that department was very ac-
tively engaged in educational work, though this was of a pecu-
liarly restricted sort, characteristic of the times. About the time
of his death in 1873. his herbarium and librarv, which he had
previously maintained in his home, came into the possession of
Columbia, together with the herbaria of Crooke, Chapman and
Aleissner. To these, collections from various parts of the world,
and especially from those parts of the United States then being
explored, were rapidly added, and a very large and important
herbarium soon grew up ; but no professor of botany was ap-
pointed to succeed Dr. Torrey, and the herbarium was neglected
by the curator in charge. A very large part of it was not clas-
sified, nor even named, and lay in the form of a small mountain
of dusty bundles which were not, and could not be consulted.
Botanical instruction was most meager, and was merely a part
of the general course in biology. There was not, in fact, a de-
partment of botany, the subject being treated as a subordinate of
geology, under Professor John S. Newberry. From 1875 to
1879, Dr. Britton was a student at the School of Mines, and was
strongly attracted, by natural taste and ability, toward the botan-
ical side of his work. When upon his graduation he was ap-
pointed assistant to Dr. Newberry, he appreciated clearly the
great value for a botanical department, of the materials in the
possession of the College, and he began a careful and systematic
examination of them.

A special stimulas to Dr. Britton at this time was his inter-
est in his first great botanical undertaking, the preparation of
an elaborate catalogue of the plants of New Jersey, this also,
being performed subordinately to a department of geology. In

l60 THE PLANT WORLD.

this niulertakino-, an intimate association with the members of
our Chib and an active participation in its work were prime
essentials to success, an ilhistration of the wa}- in which existing
forces worked together in carrying forward our natural botan-
ical development. Another potent influence of a similar nature
should be here recorded. At this time considerable botanical
material from distant parts of this country, and from other
hitherto unexplored regions, was coming to this city for original
stud}-, and this made it imperative that Columbia's botanical
house should be set in order in the interest of comparative
work. With the knowledge and encouragement of Dr. New-
berry, but with comparatively little on the part of others con-
cerned in the management of the college. Dr. Britton carried on
this work in the interim of his official duties, until at length a
great working herbarium existed where before there was chaos.
At the same time the botanical instruction was being extended
and, of greater importance, was being modernized, ^^'hen the
Doctor was at length prepared to make the situation known to
Columbia, it was not to submit plans for the organization of a
botanical department, but to present to it one already made, and
requiring only to be officially recognized and formally named.
New York was now guaranteed as one of the first botanical cen-
ters of the countr\-, and later of the world, with Dr. Britton as
Columbia's fourth professor in botany.

Thus we see that at every important stage in its development,
the botanical department of Columbia has owed its prosperity,
not to the institution as such, but to some earnest worker, ready
to ma'ke the sacrifice of love. Hosack individually made the
botanical garden that afterwards enriched the institution ; Torrey
accumulated the herbarium that became the corner-stone of the
later structure ; Britton silently — one may almost say surrepti-
tiousl\- — l)rought about changes which have finally placed it in
the vanguard of the world's botanical forces.

The intercourse and ])ersonal and professional associations
dependent upon the increasing number of persons in and about
New York who became interested in botanical work in Torrey's
time led most naturall}' and inevitably to a botanical society, at
first incidental and unorganized, later a formal organization.

DEVELOPMENT OF BOTANY IN NEW YORK CITY. l6l

ORGANIZATION OF THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB.

The formal organization of the Torrey Botanical Club was
undertaken in 1867, and its incorporation occurred four vears
later, under the name Xew York Botanical Club, chang-ed the fol-
lowing year to that which it now bears. W^ithin three years after
its establishment the Club began issuing a monthly publication.
the Bill! ct ill, since uninterruptedly maintained. Its prefatory note
declared its primary object to be " to form a medium of commu-
nication for all those interested in the Flora of this vicinity, and
thus to bring together and fan into a flame the sparks of botan-
ical enthusiasm, at present too must isolated. . . . ^^^e have
chiefly in view the development of a greater botanical interest
in our neighborhood, and found our hopes of success as much
upon learners as upon the learned."

In the further unfolding of its objects, the Bulletin uncon-
sciously states the object of the Club's organization: "An atten-
tive study of plants in their native haunts is essential to the
advance of the science, and in this respect the local observer has
an advantage over the explorer of extensive regions, or the pos-
sessor of a general herbarium. He can note the plant from its
cradle to its grave ; can watch its struggles for existence, its
habits, its migrations, its variations ; can study its atmospheric
and entomological economics ; can speculate on its relations to
the past, or experiment on its utility to man." Ecology is thus
clearly seen to be the object of study, notwithstanding that the
name of it was not generally discovered by our botanical frater-
nit}- until about 1890, nor the active and merciless chase of the
poor thing by American botanists well under way until about
five years later.

From this time up to the establishment of the Xew York
Botanical Garden the history of our Club is practically that of
botany in this city, for very little was done that was not directly
or indirectl}' connected with us or, one might say, actually cen-
tered about us. This fact is of the utmost importance in our
study, since upon it depends the essential character of most of
what has since occurred.

(To be concluded.)

l62 THE PLANT WORLD.

THE PASSING OF THE PRAIRIE FLORA.*

By Walter Albion Squires,
Koaskia. Idaho.

Native plants are doubtless disappearing more rapidly in our
prairie states than in any other section of the country. Aloun-
tains. swamps, forests and sphagnum bogs are often the last
strongholds of the wild flowers. Here they linger long, little
patches of the wilderness beauty untarnished by the hand of man.
But for our prairie wild flowers there are few such places of
refuge. Driven by the plow from the sod of their native mead-
ows, and from hillside and hollow by grazing herds, they linger
for a time in fence corners and by the dusty roadside, struggling
for their lost footholds, choked and dwarfed beneath the domi-
nant hordes of introduced weeds.

A few of our native plants, such as the milkweeds and the
compass plant, tend to become weeds and invade the cultivated
fields, but all of our rarer and more beautiful species are C|uietlv
withdrawing from their native habitat. The sensitive rose, the
fringed rein-orchis and the lady's tresses are to be found only
where the native sod has been undisturbed. The little white and
purple wind-flowers, first of the prairie blossoms to greet the
spring, have gladdened the heart of many a settler's child. They
were once so abundant in northern Kansas that whole hillsides
were colored with them, but I have seen scarcely a dozen blos-
soms in the last ten }ears.

Along the brooks and on moist shaded hillsides the starry
campion, yellow lady's slipper, wild HI}- and adiantum fern may
still be found but when such places are turned into pasture lands
they almost invariabl}' disappear within a few years.

We cannot decry the enterprise which has in the last half cen-
tury transformed the ])rairies from a grassy wilderness to a land
where the hum of industry never ceases, a land that has become
the granary of the world, a broad and bounteous land of a million
happy homes. Hut is it necessary that these beautiful products

* Awarded the second prize of $io. in the competition of 1905, Stokes
fund of the New York Botanical Garden.

PASSING OF THE PRAIRIE FLORA. 1 63

of the prairie througii which our childish eyes first caught
ghmpses into the infinite depths of nature, and which some of us
liave never ceased to love — a universe of unfathomed meaning
whose boundarv is God — is it necessary that they all be swept
-away before the advance of industrial progress ? There are those
who are ever ready to cry down all such matters as weak senti-
mentality. Their ideas of the rseful seem incapable of grasp-
ing other than financial standards. And }et the fact remains
that the highest utilitv resides in that which is able to enrich, not
the pocket-book, but the life of man himself, that which lifts him
into broader, truer, nobler living, to greater capacity to think, to
feel, and to love. Is it not worth while then to preserve the
beautiful things of nature, small and trifling though they may
appear, if through the appreciation of them the American char-
acter may be drawn away from a too absorbing pursuit of wealth
into fuller and more abundant living?

How may our prairie wild flowers be preserved ? Every great
movement is ps}chological in its origin. If we can only arouse
in the popular mind an appreciation of the wild flowers and a
desire to know them more intimately, I have not a doubt but that
the method of preservation \y\\\ be found without much difficulty.
The very fact that they are passing awa}- — if it becomes known —
will do much to awaken a sense of their value. It is the same
principle to which the director of the Xew York Zoological Park
referred when in speaking of the awakening popular interest in
animal life he said : "As the world's great wild beasts are driven
further and further into the dark fields from which there is no
return, civilized man desires more and more to see them, to touch
them, and to know them ere they go." Many of our prairie towns
are just awakening to a sense of the desirability of parks and
other means of beautifying their streets and surroundings. In-
stead of using introduced plants almost exclusively, as at pres-
ent, these might be planted with native flowers and shrubs, many
of which would be hardier and more decorative than the intro-
duced species. As the people became more interested in the
wild flowers they would be more often seen in the private flower
garden, for they are not so hard to cultivate as is usually sup-

164 ItlE PLANT WORLD.

posed. A ministt-r in Topeka, Kansas, has several hnndred spe-
cies of Kansas wild flowers, all growing and thriving within the
limits of an ordinary city lot.

Finallv, we may fall back with almost absolute assurance of
success, if we but do our part, upon that institution which more
than any other controls our nation's destiu}- — the public school.
Children do not need to be taught to love flowers. Why not
make a part of every school yard throughout our beautiful prairie
regions a wild flower garden ? By so doing we will not only be
preserving the beautiful in nature, we will be storing little minds
with beautiful impressions. Long years afterward when the
skies grow dark over the sea of life, these recollections of a happy
childhood will return, bright " angels of the memory "" to guard
and guide aright.

Singed Cacti as Forage. — During the periods of prolonged
drouth, to which the southwestern United States is liable, range
cattle frecjuently browse upon various species of cacti common
to the region. At the Arizona Experiment Station, Mr. J. J.
Thornber has carried on experiments regarding the utility of this
class of forage plants, particularly after the spines have been re-
moved by burning by means of a prickly-pear burner — that is, a
gasoline torch similar in principle to that which plumbers use.
The spines of about 300 plants of the species of cacti commonly
found in the neighborhood of the station, including prickly pears,
chollas, etc., were singed, the spines being burned off at intervals
for about ten days. The first fifty plants that were singed were
literally devoured by the stock, the prickly pears being eaten nearl}-
to the level of the ground, while only the trunks and woody
branches of the chollas remained. As the work was continued
from day to day, it was evident that the stock (although under
usual circumstances they will eat more or less of the cactus with
the spines) were feeding entirely upon the singed plants, and
that thev readily distinguished them from the unsinged ones. This
singeing and close browsing of the cactaceous plants, if continued,
would surely result in their final destruction, which would add
more distress to what already exists, so that in general not more
than one-half of the plant should be singed, leaving the remaining
half to restore the growth singed and utilized by cattle.

K

Fig. 22. Home of the Palo Verde, Laboratory Hill, Tucson, Arizona.
(Courtesy of the Popular Science Monthl}'.)

PALO VERDE

THE EVERGREEN TREE OF THE
DESERT.

Bv Professor Francis E. Llovd.

To the artist and botanist alike the play of colors in the desert
is most fascinating, and not a small part in the change of colora-
tion from month to month is taken by the flowers, which develop
in great numbers and with remarkable rapidity after the sea-
sonal rains, which occur in early spring and in the late summer.
The fact that there are two rainy seasons in onr southwestern
deserts results in what we may very well describe as two springs,^
instead of spring and autumn. It is noteworthy, however, that
the plants which develop into flower and fruitage after the sum-
mer rains are not in general the same as those which develop
during the spring.

It is my purpose in this article to speak particularly of a plant
which, during the latter part of April and early May, supplies
the dominant note of coloration in such regions as the desert
about Tucson, Arizona. I refer to the palo verde. of which there
are three species, known as Parkinsoiila niicrophylla, P. acidcata

1 66

THE PLANT WORLD.

and p. Torrcyana. According to Sudworth's check list of forest
trees of the United States,* the name Ccrcidiuiii Torrcyaiuim
(Wats.) Sarg-ent, is given to the last mentioned species, but for
reasons of which I shall speak later it would hardly seem justi-
fiable to separate generically P. Torrcyana from the other two
species.

Fig. 22,. Parkinsoida luicrophylla in Blossom.

I shall describe first the small leaved palo verde ( Parkiiiscviia
micro phxlla) (Fig. 23), which is found growing upon the rocky
foothills of southern Arizona, California and Sonora, Mexico.
This plant is as distinctly characteristic of this habitat as are the
■Giant cactus or Suguaro, the Ocotillo ( Foiujincna splciulcns)
and a considerable number of other i)lants, which in this con-
nection need not be mentioned. It is a small, somewhat irregular
tree, ten or twelve feet high, with more or less twisted and con-
torted liml)s clothed with a green bark, this featiu-e being common

* Bulletin No. 17, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Division of Forestry, i8;)8.

PALO \'ERDE.

167

to all the species, and by which the name " palo verde " is verv
properly suggested, the name being Spanish for " green tree."
The tree usually grows quite plentifully upon the stony hillsides,
and in some places, at the time when other vegetation is less con-
spicuous than usual, has the aspect of a small apple tree, the
whole formation looking rather orchard-like. During the early

Fig. 24. Parkiiisonia Torrcyaiia, Sierrita Aiountains, Arizona. (After a
photograph by Prof. V. 'SI. Spalding.)

spring the smaller branches, which are lithe tapering twags, are
clothed with bipinnate leaves of a rather curious character. The
single leaf has a very short rachis. so small indeed as to escape
observation at first. From this spring two slender pinnae an
inch or so long, which bear six or eight minute orbicular pin-
nules, scarcely an eighth of an inch in diameter. So small are
the leaves that when they fall, as they do during the latter part
of April, very little difference is to be noted in the general aspect
of the tree, although of coiu^se this will depend upon the density
of the folia""e. which \'aries with diff'erent indii^-iduals. The

1 68 THE PLANT WORLD.

leaves, as is true of the Legnmiiiosae in general, are capable of
"■ sleep " movenients. the leaflets of the third order folding to-
gether upwardl}' upon the approach of night. When the leaves
wither and fall away the pinna as a whole separates from the
main, though very small, rachis, the pinnules sometimes remain-
ing attached but usually falling away separately. The tapering
twigs are. when young, slightly pubescent and as they mature
their ends develop into thorns. On account of the tapering form
of the numerous twigs, and their whip-like flexibility, the tree
has an exceedingly graceful form. Its delicate evergreen hue
always gives its habitat a note of color, even during the driest
seasons of the year when most, if not all. of the remaining vege-
tation has become more or less neutral in tint.

The flowers, which are borne in great numbers, are almost radi-
ally symmetrical, the only evidence that the flower is of the type of
the Leguminosae being seen in the vexillum or upper petal, which
is of a somewhat different form from the rest, being supplied with
a longer claw, and white in color, while the rest are light, lemon
yellow. The presence of the white petal is sufficient to modify
the total color of the flower masses into a rather pale, greenish
yellow, distinguishing it at once by this feature alone from the
other species. The dorsiventrality of the flower is also marked
by the unequal stamens and by their position, and also by the
form of the pod, which of course is cjuite true to the family type.
As soon as the insect life in the desert is set in motion by the
rising sun the flowers are visited by myriads of insects of all
kinds, so that as one stands near a tree their buzzing is very
loud. The fruit, which develops rapidly during the early sum-
mer, consists of a papery pod bearing from one seed to a half
dozen, each one of which is separated from its neighbor by a
marked constriction of the pod, which at its outer end is con-
tinued into a slightly curved, rather long beak. The whole of the
pod when ripe splits into two layers, the inner of which consists
of a narrow strap of tissue which extends throughout the whole
length of the pod, and is no wider at any point than is the con-
striction \vhich occurs between the seed chambers. The outer
layer, on the other hand, is the part which gives the form to the

PALO VERDE. 1 69

pod, and it will be seen therefore that during the ripening the
inner laver or endocarp takes no part in the secondary enlarge-
ment of the pod, which accompanies the enlargement of the seeds.
This feature distinguishes this species and P. aciilcata from P.
Torrcyana. in which latter the whole pod develops without con-
stricting between the seeds, and has a form very like that of an
ordinary pea pod.

P. Torrcyana ( Fig. 24), known also as the green-barked acacia,
is a larger tree than P. micro pJiylla. with, however, the same gen-
eral habit of growth, save that the branches are somewhat less
twisted and the terminal twigs longer. This tree grows in
" washes,"" and apparently needs more water than its neighbor.

Fig. 2^. Twig of Palo Verde. (Courtesy of the Popular Science Monthly.)

It flowers very abundantly, the tree becoming a mass of brilliant
yellow when in full bloom. The twigs are usually armed with
short thorns, which are very short, leafless branches. The leaflets
of this species are considerably larger, and the prominent petal,
which in P. microphyl/a is white, is here yellow dotted with
red. though slightly difl'erent in form from the rest of the
petals. The pod of P. Torrcyana, superficially regarded, diiTers
materiall}' from that of the other species, inasmuch, as above
pointed out, there is no constriction between the seeds, or at anv
rate, very little, and this not constant. The ovary wall is papery,
however, and while similar in general appearance to that of the
common pea pod, difi'ers from it in the splitting of the outer and
inner layers of the wall. In the region of the seed, where the

lyO THE PLANT WORLD.

pod has undergone a little further growth accompanying the
growth of the seed, the inner layer, or endocarp, is found to have
been arrested in its development, and so is not as wide as the ecto-
carp, and in this the plant is like the other species, differing from
them onlv in degree. The non-adherence of the la\"ers of tissue
of the ovary wall results in a lack of tension which is to be found
in many other species and which is related to the expulsion of the
seeds, the setting free of which in these plants is accomplished by
the mere splitting of the pod without any marked twisting of the
fruit wall.

The third species, P. aculcata is a still larger tree, con-
fined to a somewhat narrower zone from Yuma, through
northern Mexico to Texas. The nearest station to Tucson where
it has been found by me is on the western slopes of the Babo-
quivari and Coyote ^Mountains, about seventy-five miles away
to the southwest, although it may of course occur nearer. It is,
like P. Torreyaiia. confined to the washes, which are the river
beds, dry for the greater part of the year. When in flower it
has nuich the appearance, too, of P. Torreyaiia, the flowers being
wholly yellow with red markings on the upper petal, which turns
brown with age. The pod is very similar in structure to that of
P. iiilcrophyUa. The most striking feature of P. aciilcafa is the
leaf which conforms to the type described above for P. iiiicro-
f'hylla, but has two pairs of very nnich elongated pinnae, along
the marsfins of which are inserted a few small, oblong leaflets, so
small that they are scarcely noticeable at a short distance. The
rachis becomes a sharp thorn, and on the rapidly growing shoots
the stipules are also in the form of spines. The pinnae are green
and strap-shaped and sometimes reach the length of one and a
half feet and being persistent they give by their pendulous habit
a graceful, willow-like form to the tree.

Another matter that is especially worthy of note in this connec-
tion is the fact that ])lants of this genus are among the few Legu-
minosae the seeds of which are provided at maturity with an
endosperm, and are therefore described in most systematic works
as albuminous. This endosperm is reduced, in the ripened seed,
to two horny, translucent layers lying parallel to the cotyledons,

PALO VERUE. I 7 r

joined together by a small piece which forms a collar about the
caulicle.

From the physiological point of view the green branches of
plants in which the leaves are very much reduced, or absent, are
so much leaf surface, just as in the cactus, which is entirely
devoid of functional leaves, the green tissue supplies their want.
Therefore we ma}- regard the green bark of the palo verde as so
much leaf surface. A transverse section cut through one of
these twigs shows a highly organized system of green cells,
having an arrangement quite similar to that found in the leaves
of man}- plants exposed to strong sunlight, as they are in the
desert. The stomata are similar in type to those of many cacti,
being immersed below the surface, each at the bottom of a pit.
Although the twigs are slender and easily bent and so give readily
to the wind, they are nevertheless very strong and tough, almost
like strands of leather. This is accounted for by the presence
of so-called bast, which in this plant is peculiar in that it traverses
the pith longitudinally. This, however, is supplemented by sim-
ilar strands found in the rind.

All three species are well worthy of cultivation, although T
believe that the long-leaved species is the only one which has
thus far been introduced into cultivation and is known throughout
most of the warm regions of the earth.

The Classificatiox of Cactaceae. — The grouping of the
species of cactuses into genera has been one of the most difficult
problems of systematic botany, because this classification has
necessarily been based largely on the plant body alone, inasmuch
as the flowers and fruits of many of the species have either been
unknown to botanists or imperfectly understood. It has been
known that certain features of structure of the plant body are
associated with characters of the flowers and fruits, and that if
these were known in all the species, a truly scientific grouping
could be established. As everyone who has grown cactuses
knows, many plants will remain alive in collections for years
without making an}- considerable growth and without flowering ;

172 THE PLANT WORLD.

herliarium species, prepared either from plants in their native
haunts or from those in collections, are in man}' instances unsat-
isfactory for study, because they can, at the best, be but frag-
mentary. Herbarium specimens supplemented by flowers and
fruit preserved in formalin, b}- pho'tographs of the flowering" plant
and b\' colored drawings of the flowers, are satisfactory taken in
connection with the living plant, and if such series of material of
each species can be brought together, it will ultimately lead to a
far better understanding of this very interesting family.

The preparation of manuscripts for the " North American
Flora,"" now in course of publication by the Xew York Botanical
Garden, through the aid of. the David Lydig Fund, bequeathed
by Judge Charles P. Daly, has made it very desirable that a more
accurate knowledge of the cactuses of North America should be
obtained within the next few }"ears, and the bringing together of
the material along the lines outlined has been undertaken in coop-
eration with Dr. J. N. Rose, of the U. S. National Museum.
Greenhouses at Washington and at New York have been set aside
for the housing of the plants, and exploration of the cactus-}ield-
ing regions of North America, including the West Indies and the
continent south to the Isthmus of Panama, is going forward and
will be continued as rapidly as means for it become available. —
Professor N. L. I'ritton, in the Journal of the Horticultural So-
ciety, N. Y., A]3ril, 1906.

REVIEWS.

The Principles of Heredity. By G. ARCHiP.ALn Reid. Second
edition. 8vo. Pp. xiii + 37CJ. London: ChajMiian & Hall, Ld.
The second edition of this work difl:'ers from the first chiefly
in the addition of two appendices. Appendix 1! deals with
" Mendel's Laws and the Mutation Theory of Evolution." The
first thing to arrest the attention of the botanist is the statement
in the third sentence of this appendix tliat, " The flower of this
plant (the pea, Pisuiii) is not a(la])ted to receive the visits of
insects . . ." And this not onh- in tlie face of the evidence

REVIEWS. 173

afiforded by the flower itself, but also in the light of the literature
on the subjecct, c. g.. Ogle, Farrer, ^Nliiller and Darwin.

The sentence, " We may dismiss at once, as obviously in con-
flict with notorious and indisputable facts, the hypothesis that
mutations are stable, and therefore are the materials of evolution,
because their transmission is ^^lendelian " (p. 363). is not entirely
clear, but there is. no doubt of the author's meaning in the follow-
ing paragraph.

" The mutation theory of evolution is quite impossible. If,
instead of groping in the comparative obscurit\- which surrounds
wild nature . . . men had turned their attention to the clear,
voluminous, decisive evidence, much of it statistical, afiforded by
their own species, it would never have been propounded."

It is doubtless quite true that, if no one had ever studied varia-
tion in a mutating species, mutation, and its bearing on evolution,
would never have been discovered.

Liclicnology for Bci:;iniicrs. By Frederick Lekoy Sargent.
Pamphlet, illustrated. Pp. 20. The Harvard Cooperative So-
ciety, Cambridge, Mass. Fifty cents.

This helpful little pamphlet is a reprint from the Bryoloi^ist,
A^ol. 8, 1905. The first fifteen pages tell the beginner the nature
of the lichen, when, how, and where to collect, and how to pre-
serve and study the specimens, and prepare them for the her-
barium. A schedule for analysis is given, and also a brief bib-
liography. The last five pages are occupied with an artificial key
to species. This booklet brings the elements of lichenology within
easv reach of the beginning student.

C. S. G.

Xczc Creations in Plant Life. By W. L. Harwood. i2mo. Pp.
xiv -\- 368, 49 full-page plates. $1.75 net. The ]\Iacmillan
Company.

The public has awaited with interest the appearance of this
long-heralded book, the first supposedly authentic account of the
lifework of Luther Burbank. That it has proven a distinct dis-
appointment seems to be due primarily to Mr. Burbank's unfor-

174

THE PLANT WORLD.

tunate ch(jice of a biographer, although it is of course true that
no hearsay account can be as trustworthy as an authoritative state-
ment of personal experience. Inasmuch as the publishers them-
selves announce that the author of this l^ook " has secured his
material at first hand, and it has all been approved by Air.
Burbank," it can scarcely be considered unfair if the latter is
held to a certain extent responsible for its deficiencies and inac-
curacies.

Mr. Harwood's literary style is that of the average writer on
" popular "' science for the magazines and newspapers, with some-
thing more than a seasoning of yellow journalism. He uses a
profusion of trite and florid metaphors in the description of the
most commonplace natural phenomena ; shows a sublime disre-
gard of the proper meaning, usage, and even spelling of well
known biological terms ; indulges in fulsome and tedious pane-
gyrics upon Mr. Burbank's personality, his achievements, and his
infallibility in matters horticultural ; and directs shafts of criti-
cism against men of science who are inclined to ask for the why
and wherefore and to demand proofs of categorical statements.

As the book deals wholly with ]\Ir. Burbank's work, the reviews
of which it has been the subject have naturally centered upon the
nature and extent of his achievements, and have thus inevitably
taken on more or less of a personal cast. We are glad to observe
that there is for the most part hearty agreement as to the value
of his achievements in improving horticultural standards and in
producing some new varieties of undoubted merit. The fact that
he has sought neither pecuniary profit nor personal aggrandize-
ment from his discoveries is also greatly to his credit, and shows
him to be in the truest sense a laborer for the welfare of humanity.
But in justice to the workers who have preceded and are contem-
poraneous with Air. Burbank, we should not permit ourselves to
overestimate these services or to be influenced in our judgments
by the fulsome adulation of such writers as Mr. Harwood.
Blinded by the glamour of Air. Burbank's truly remarkable
achievements, the public is apt to overlook the labors of such men
as Vilmorin, Crozy, Eckford, Bailey, Webber, and a host of
others whose results are equally important and far-reaching and,
in some instances, indeed, more so.

REX'IEWS. . 175

With respect to some of the chapters in his hook, we are forced
to the conchision that ^Ir. Harwood is indulging in pure romance,
to call it bv the most favorable term, and it is unfortunate that a
reputable publishing house should have allowed its imprint to be
placed upon a book which disseminates so much misinformation
as we find there. It is, moreover, damaging to ^Ir. Burbank's
reputation that he does not promptly disavow it. The harm
which is done to the cause of science by irresponsible newspaper
writers is immense ; for the public has neither the time nor incli-
nation to seek the proper authority, and knowing how many
remarkable discoveries have actually been made in recent years
it accepts these yarns, not for their face value, but as so much
scientific truth. As the statements are repeated by one person
to another they descend still further into the realms of fiction, so
that we can scarcely be surprised at the amount of existing mis-
information on recent scientific achievements.

Mr. Harwood's reference to the annual grant of $10,000 given
to ]\Ir. Burbank by the Carnegie Institution naturally leads to a
discussion of Mr. Burbank's methods of work, which are, of course,
extolled in glowing terms by his biographer. The grant was
given with the specific purpose, not of enabling Burbank to secure
new results, but to discover and place on record, if possible, how
these results might be attained. In the light of the Mendelian
investigations and of de \ ries' extensive experiments with mu-
tating plants it was thought that Burbank's exceptional facilities
for work would yield results of immense importance. It is there-
fore a distinct disappointment to learn from this book that he
keeps no exact records of what he performs, but that in his h}-brid-
izing experiments he neglects the first and paramount essential
for success, — the taking of precautions to insure genuine cross
fertilization and to avojd contamination from foreign sources.
The pollen of the same species is almost invariably prepotent over
that of another species, no matter how closely related. Yet ac-
cording to his biographer, Burbank takes no pains to insure the
purity of a cross. " Mr. Burbank . . . says that it is wholly
unnecessary in ordinary plant-breeding to attempt to cover the
flower with a screen of tissue paper or gauze." He adds, with

176 , THE PLANT WORLD.

unconscious ironv. " If the pollinating' has been thorough, nature
mav safely be left to do the rest." It is hardly necessary to point
out that a flower treated in this way may be visited by insects
bringing pollen from many different sources, and that the pa-
rentage of the resulting seedlings must remain absolutely in doubt.
It is quite true that if these seedlings show the characters for
which Mr. Burbank is working, the results are satisfactory from
his standpoint ; but what of their scientific value ? What new
fact have they added to our knowledge of plant breeding? How
can the experiment be repeated? The fact that a new fruit has
been produced is of general interest : it might never be improved
or perpetuated if science did not discover hozc and z^'hy it origi-
nated. The public is inclined to sneer at this profound basis of
scientific reasoning ; it is interested only in the outcome, and ^Ir.
Harwood, with others of his ilk, caters to popular acclaim. The
present generation is interested in the bizarre, the strenuous, in
every phase of life ; it has little use for conservatism or sober
second thought in politics, finance or science. Consequently,
when ]\Ir. Harwood airily discusses both Mendel's law and de
Vries' theory as having been thoroughly disproved by Burbank,
he may experience the temporary satisfaction of aft'ording the
public something to talk about, but he will not enhance Burbank's
position among plant breeders, and he demonstrates, on the other
hand, his inability to preserve the proper balance between scien-
tific speculation and scientific truth.

C. L. P.

In the June number of this magazine, through an oversight of
the reviewer, the author of the Elementary Botany, published
by the University Publishing Companw Lincoln, Xeb., was not
mentioned, for which we owe him an apology. The author is
Professor Charles E. Bessey, of the University of Nebraska.

Volume 9 Number 8

The Plant World

AUGUST, 1906

THE GYN^COCENTRIC THEORY AND THE SEXES IN

PLANTS.

Bv Professor Bruce Fink,
lozva College.

Almost as soon as issued from the press in 1903, a copy of
Lester F. Ward's " Pure Sociology " fell into the hands of the
writer and was eagerly read. Among many things of special
interest, the gyniccocentric theory attracted his attention as be-
ing a departure from generally accepted views regarding the
development and the social relations of the sexes. It was the
intention at the time of reading to formulate a protest against
certain views expressed, but other things were absorbing atten-
tion, and the matter was dropped for the time. On seeing the
article by Mr. Ward in " The Independent " for March 8, 1906,
bearing on the same problem, and the replies two weeks later by
G. Stanley Hall, E. B. Wilson and Clark Wissler, the whole
matter was again brought to mind.

That the writer of " Pure Sociology " has made a strong argu-
ment for his gynaecocentric theory is apparent, and no one can
doubt, after reading his chapter, that the female sex has, per-
haps, played the more important role in the evolution of those
complicated sociological conditions found among civilized peo-
ples ; but in discussing his theory, beginning with protoplasm,
Mr. Ward has made some very obvious errors in the presentation
of biological principles, and has failed to elaborate certain facts
which, to the mind of a botanist, are well worth stating for the

l8o THE PLANT WORLD.

benefit of the student of sociology. From the genetic point of
view, sexes in plants bear some relation to the prehuman phase
of sociology, which in turn has led up to the human society of
to-day. So it is well worth our while to consider this matter
of the sexes from the botanical point of view.

Surely Mr. Ward is wrong in the presentation of his theory
when on page 313 of his " Pure Sociology," after citing the popu-
lar notion that an organism that brings forth young must be fe-
male, he writes : " Biologists have proceeded from this popular
standpoint, and regularly speak of ' mother cells ' and ' daughter
cells.' It therefore does no violence to language or to science to
say that life begins with the female organism and is carried a long
distance by means of females alone." The statement may do no
more violence to language than does the saying, '' the sun sets,"
but such use of language does great injustice to science and does
not justify the last sentence in Mr. Ward's paragraph, viz.,
" In a word, life begins as female." Nor can we subscribe to the
first statement on page 314, which runs thus: "The female sex,
which existed from the beginning, continues unchanged, but the
male sex, which did not exist at the beginning, makes its appear-
ance at a certain stage, and has a certain history and develop-
ment, but never became universal." Such a distortion of the facts
regarding the evolution of the sexes should not go unnoticed, and
Mr. Ward has been fairly well answered by Hall and Wilson in
their articles in " The Independent," March 22, 1906. But w^e are
constrained to wonder whether we might not, with Empedocles,
Spinoza and others, bridge over the chasm, if such exists, between
the organic and the inorganic worlds, and also carry the female
sex back into the inorganic world. And again we are not so
sure that, were we to follow the philosophers in ascribing a
psychic phase to inorganic life, it might not be more reasonable
to see, in afifinity and repulsion, the essence of two sexes even in
inorganic nature.

Regarding sexes in plants, as given in the " Pure Sociology,"
we find on page 314 the following: " The simplest type of sexu-
ality consists in the normal continuance of the original female
form with the addition of an insignificant and inconspicuous male

THE GYN^COCENTRIC THEORY. l8l

fertilizer, incapable of any other function." This statement,
and others immediately following, would lead one to infer that
Mr. Ward regards the sperm cell as the male organism ; but if
this be done, it must be regarded as an organism within an
organism, and if so regarded in lower organisms, must be like-
wise considered in higher organisms as well. But on reading
farther, one finds that the author intends to convey the idea that
the degenerate males of many articulates and other lower animals
are primitive, — a conclusion that will surely not be accepted by
zoologists. Viewed in this way, the theory fails also when ap-
plied to plants. Here, as in animals, sexuality originates in the
conjugation of morphologically like individuals as in Protococcus.
Following this we find the conjugation of motile isogametes of
like individuals as in Plcurococcits, some species of Ectocarpus
and many other algae. In other species of Ectocarpus, we find
a physiological differentiation of the two conjugating cells, one
becoming motionless before conjugation occurs, and being slightly
larger than the other conjugating cell in some of the species.
Here we have a differentiation of the sexual cells in bisexual
plants, and this differentiation of the sexual cells can be traced
through such forms as Dictyota and Fiiciis. With the advent
of sperms and eggs in plants came a gradual change from the
bisexual to the unisexual condition. Within certain genera of
algae, as (Edogo>iiuiii, we find both bisexual and unisexual spe-
cies, this condition indicating that the origin of the male is some-
thing very different from a budding oft" from the female. It is
true that we have in some species of CEdogoiiiniii certain dwarf
males, which become attached to the female, but these are prob-
ably to be regarded as degenerate organisms, and surely not as
primitive, or as indicating anything regarding the origin of sexes
in plants.

But it is in his discussion of sex among higher plants that Mr.
Ward misses the recent view entirely, and writes of male and
female flowers and even of whole sporophytes (roots, stems and
leaves) as bisexual, or male and female, not recognizing alter-
nation and the sporophytic generation { the plant as we ordi-
narily understand it ) , though he does among Thallophytes, Bryo-

1 82 THE PLANT WORLD.

phytes and Pteridoph}tes. But after admitting " the true sexual
stage" (gametophytic) in lower plants, and that this is followed
bv the spore-bearing or sporoph\tic stage, he concludes that
" this peculiarity has no bearing on the theory under discussion."
We must take issue with this view and insist that in the discussion
of sexuality among plants we should hold primarily to the game-
tophytic or sexual generation and not follow the obsolete and
erroneous view which holds that the sporophyte of higher plants
is a sexual structure as A\'ard does in his discussion of fertiliza-
tion ( ? ) by insects and in his discussions of staminate and pis-
tillate plants of Cannabis safiz'a (hemp), Ambrosia trifida (rag
weed) and Aiitciinaria plaiitagiitifolia (Indian tobacco). We do
not doubt that there is a physiologi-cal sense in which stamens and
pistils may be regarded as sexual structures, as W. F. Ganong
has done iSciciicc, April 24. 1903), nor do we doubt that the
pistil-bearing sporophytes are much stronger than the stamen-
bearing ones in many plants, but it is the distortion of the facts
of plant morphology and physiology that is objected to, admit-
ting that the real female sexual plant is parasitic on the pistil-
bearing sporophyte and that the real male sexual plant is like-
wise first integrated with the stamen-bearing sporophyte and
afterward a parasite on the stigma of the pistil-bearing sporo-
phyte.

Whether or not it is true of man, as Havelock Ellis says in his
" Man and Woman," that the female, being " the mother of the
new generation," is of more importance " from Nature's point of
view " than the male, this may be truly said of the plant world,
where cephalization has not wrought wonders and where repro-
duction and maintenance of the individual and the race seem to
be prime functions. Suppose we begin with Spirogyra, a genus
in which there is no well-marked differentiation of sexes and
where there is no alternation of generations, unless we include
in our idea of alternation rejuvenescence without segmentation.
In Spirogyra we find the conjugation of non-motile isogametes,
and the cell or filament from which the more active gamete passes
to the less active through the conjugating tube may be regarded
as male. Here we are near the basis of sexual differentiation in

THE GYN.ECOCENTRIC THEORY. 1 83

plants, and some observers claim to have found that the receptive
cells are of slightly larger size, or in other words, that the incipient
female is better developed than the male. Whether such differ-
ences in size of male and female plants have been observed in
higher unisexual, filamentous algae, where heterogamy prevails,
as in Qidogoiiiuiu, the writer is not prepared to state, but doubts
not that here the female plant is likewise the better developed.

Passing to the Bryophytes (mosses and hepatics), where there
is an undoubted alternation of generations, we find that the
adult sexual shoot in mosses is often unisexual ( though arising
from an embryonic form, the protonema, which often gives
shoots of both sexes), and it is a matter of observation in many
mosses that the female shoot is larger and stronger than the
male. Whether there are instances in which the male moss plant
is as well developed as the female, we must leave to the taxonomic
bryologist to decide, but the fact is well established that, when
the sexual leafy plants are unisexual, the female is commonly
stronger than the male. In the lower members of the Bryoph}tes,
the hepatics, the unisexual condition is not so frequently found
as in mosses, but in Marchaiitia po/yinorpha and some species of
Riccia and Prcissia which have unisexual gametophytes, the bet-
ter developed female gametophyte obtains as in the mosses. Of
course the better development of the female plant in such in-
stances is related to higher nutrition required for egg-production,
and to the supporting of the sporophyte, either entirely or in part,
while the male plant escapes this work of support, which is in a
sense a caring for offspring.

In the Pteridophytes unisexual gametophytes are more com-
mon than among the Bryophytes, and wherever the sexes are dis-
tinct, the female is better developed than the male, whether
among the homosporous members or among the heterosporous.
In our common ferns, the homosporous leptosporangiates, the
sex may be governed to some extent in the laboratory, as the
writer has done in Asplcniitiu, by sowing some spores on clay
and others from the same plant on black soil ; those on the clay
gave rise to small males and those on the black soil to similar
males ( where crowded ) and, where not so much crowded, to

184 THE PLANT WORLD.

plants many times larger, which produced female sexual organs.
In those species of the common ferns in which the sexual plants
are unisexual, the facts are in accord with Air. Ward's gynaeco-
centric theory. With the advent of heterospory, the sexual plants
have become uniformly unisexual, and much reduced, never be-
coming free from the spores, males developing from microspores
and females from macrospores. But here again the females, on
which the sporophytes are more or less dependent in their early
development, are much less reduced than the males, and therefore
the stronger plants. This condition is illustrated in the following
well-known genera: Isoctcs, MarsUia, AzoUa, Salvinia and
SelagiucUa.

Finally, in the Spermaphytes, our common flowering plants, we
have great reduction of the sexual generation. Nevertheless, the
sexual plants exist in these highest members of the plant world,
and the sexes are here uniformly distinct. In the Gymnosperms
(conifers for the most part), where the reduction of the male
and female gametophytes has not gone so far as in the Angio-
sperms (herbs and trees and shrubs other than conifers), the
female gametophyte is plainly better developed than the male.
In Angiosperms there may be some dispute as to what consti-
tutes the female gametophyte, and a new structure, the endo-
sperm (which is perhaps a second sporophyte), comes in to aid in
the nourishment of the young offspring (sporophyte) of the fe-
male gametoph}te. Here not only the male gametophyte, but the
female as well, is reduced to little more than reproductive cell or
cells, and, consequently, in these highest plants, we may not speak
quite so confidently of the superiority of the female over the male
gametophyte. And it is just here that Mr. Ward and some other
writers bring in the sporophyte, or asexual generation, and regard
part or all of it as a sexual structure. We admit readily enough
that, in dioecious species, the pistil-bearing sporophyte is often
better developed than the stamen-bearing one, and this for the
same reason that the female sexual plant is better developed than
the male among lower plants, viz., for the nourishment of the
sporophyte (here the intraseminal, embryonic sporophyte), which
is, for a time, at least largely dependent upon sporophytic (non-

THE GYN/ECOCENTRIC THEORY. I 85

sexual) tissues for food. So it comes about that, in plants, the
care for offspring is, finally, largely transferred from the female
gametophyte to the dioecious or to the monoecious asexual (sporo-
phytic) plant. And with this transfer of labor, the difference in
degree of development in the two sexes in our highest plants
seems to be disappearing. Thus, with the progress of plant evo-
lution, sexes have been first differentiated ; then the female sex
has become better developed ; and finally the tendency among
highest plants is toward equality of the sexes, as Mr. Ward thinks
is also the case in higher animals. But in plants equality is ap-
proached through reduction, the female remaining plainly the
dominant sex, at least until the sexes are reduced, as in Angio-
sperms, to little more than reproductive cells.

There are many interesting facts which cannot be considered in
the present brief survey, but it is hoped that enough has been
stated to illustrate the relation of the sexes in plants and to show
that, in the main, the facts are still in favor of Mr. Ward's gyn^e-
corentric theory.

A renewed eft'ort is to be made this year for the creation of a
great national park in the southern Appalachian Mountains
extending through the western portions of Virginia, North Caro-
lina, Georgia, and parts of the mountainous districts of Kentucky,
Tennessee and Alabama. Coupled with this proposition will be
another for the creation of a very much smaller national forest
reservation in the White Mountain region of New Hampshire,
the destruction of which is eminent unless some action is taken
by the national government. Floral Life, August, 1906.

1 86 THE PLANT WORLD.

AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE DEVELOPMENT
OF BOTANY IN NEW YORK CITY.*

By Henry H. Rusby, :M.D.
Dean of the New York College of Pharmacy.

II. The New York Botanical Garden.

So eager was the desire of the early members of the Torrey
Botanical Club to observe how plants lived, that many of those
able to own gardens ignored vegetables and flowers, and main-
tained little botanical gardens at their homes. As succeeding
decades of extending settlement destroyed the localities which
had been so greatly prized, the demand for a botanical garden
arose independentl}- in the mind of every botanist, professional
and amateur. So early as 1874 the club appointed a committee
to act with the New York F^harmaceutical Association in re-
questing the city to establish such a garden in Central Park.

As the educational side of our work grew in importance, and
especially in breadth, and as the student body doubled and re-
doubled, the cry for the garden grew equally loud from that di-
rection, and continued until at length it was satisfied. The great
value to Harvard and its work of the well-managed plot that it
utilized in this way was appreciated and often discussed at the
little meetings which gathered around the old pot stove in Pro-
fessor Newberry's room during his presidency of the Club.

Under the influence of Columbia's progress, as already de-
scribed, it appreciated this want as much, probably, as any other of
our botanical elements. Its peculiar relation to the former Elgin
Garden was recalled in the public press. A contributor to the
New York Herald, of November 26 and 22, 1888, made an ear-
nest appeal for the recognition by the city of this great want.
Dr. Arthur Hollick, to whose faithful and self-sacrificing work

* Portion of an address delivered before the Torrey Botanical Clnb at
a special meeting held on May 2^, 1906, in commemoration of the tenth anni-
versary of the commencement of work in the development of the New
York Botanical Garden. Concluded from the July number.

Fig. 26. Palm House of the New York Botanical Garden. (Courtesy of

the Garden.) See page 186.

DEVELOPMENT OF BOTANY IN NEW YORK CITY.

87

as secretary, our club largely owed its strength for a prolonged
period, directed our attention to these articles and proposed that
he write an official letter to the Herald endorsing them. Such a
letter was authorized, and it appeared on December 2 following.
A committee was appointed consisting of Dr. Hollick, Air. E. E.
Sterns, and Professor Newberry, to deliberate and report to the
club whether it were advisable for us to take anv action for

ffl tSS^.

Fig. zy. Ph\'siological Laboratory, New York Botanical Garden.

(Courtesy of the Garden.)

the furtherance of this movement. The possibility of the realiza-
tion of our long-cherished hopes now began to take possession of
our minds, yet without any very strong hope being entertained.
The club had no political influence and little acquaintance with
those financial interests the aid of which was rightly deemed to
be essential to success. As it resulted, however, some of these
men were led to interest theinselves in the proposition, largely

1 88 THE PLANT WORLD.

through the influence of Judges Addison Brown and Charles P.
Daly, and of Mr. Charles F. Cox and Mr. William E. Dodge.
For a long time the idea was regarded with favor in influential
circles, but without any definite steps being taken to execute it.
Finally, it was remembered that all history teaches that when you
have w-earied of discussing a project, and are at length really
resolved to carry it out. you must call in the assistance of the
women. So a committee of ladies was appointed and held a
memorable meeting at the residence of Mrs. Charles P. Daly,
which some of the men, your favored speaker among them, were
graciously permitted to attend. This influence, while but one of
many, each of which was necessary to success, seemed to give
the final impetus needed. Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt assumed the
financial and executive management of the enterprise, and the
stage of organization was reached.

C)ne element in the success of the garden that has alread}^ shown
itself to possess a value beyond price, and which is certain to do
so with increasing clearness in the future, is the protective influ-
ence of its charter. Born of the learning, long and wide experi-
ence and ripe judgment of Judges Brown and Daly, and occupy-
ing their attention for considerably more than a year before they
were willing to regard it as satisfactory, it seems to provide for
every important contingency that it was possible to foresee, and it
promises a safety, permanence and stability that are too often
wanting in similar organizations. To enter upon a discussion
of the personal credit due in the membership, the boards of man-
agers and of scientific directors, and in the garden staff, would
be an agreeable pleasure, but I must confine myself to the very
earnestly made remark that the great success of the garden has
been due to the love of the institution and its work which has
animated all concerned in it. It is this which has lent faithfulness,
earnestness and energy and has incited to many acts of great sac-
rifice. If it could ever be said of any similar institution, we are
able to say of this that it is a monument of loving service.

I dare not enter upon a detailed history of the garden's devel-
opment, and it has been so often and so recently recorded that I
do not deem it necessary. An excellent account of its organiza-

P^ DKNELOPAIENT OF BOTANY IN NEW YORK CITY. I 89

lion and of Columbia's relation to it by Professor Underwood, can
be found in the Columbia Quarterly 4 (1903) : 278. Our charter
was secured in 1891 and was amended in 1894. It was agreed
upon that 250 acres of park lands should be set apart for
our use and $500,000 appropriated for the museum building and
conservatories, as soon as an endowment fund of $250,000 was
obtained. This fund was completed in 1895. Columbia making
the first subscription of $25,000. With the election of Dr. X. L.
Britton as director-in-chief, and his selection of a working staff,
the preparations were completed and work begun in 1896, the
event which we are to-day celebrating. This was the year in
which was published the first part of Britton and Brown's '* Il-
lustrated Flora." Ground was broken for the museum building in
December, 1897, and for the conservatories in 1898. The mu-
seum was opened in 1899. In 1898 the bulk of the herbarium of
Columbia College, numbering nearly half a million specimens,
and of its botanical library, including more than 5,000 bound vol-
umes, were turned over to the garden, in trust ^nd for its use,
under certain stipulated conditions. Since then the herbarium
has been more than doubled, and the library has been enlarged to
18,000 volumes. A vast amount of grading has been done, many
miles of walks and roadways built, bridges erected, and a great
increase in all the collections has been made. Besides the Bulle-
tin and the Journal, regularly published, the garden has entered
upon work of a much more ambitious character. Utilizing thet
David Lydig fund bequeathed by Mrs. Daly, it has begun the-
publication of an elaborate Flora of Xortli America, the first.
parts of which have already been published. Provision has beeuz
made also for the publication of colored plates of American
plants.

Among the very important undertakings maintained have been
extensive explorations not only in the United States proper, but
in such distant regions as the West Indies and the Philippines.
A tropical station is maintained in Jamaica for the convenience
of visiting botanists. -At the garden a scholarship fund is main-
tained by which it is rendered possible for investigators desiring
to pursue studies here to be supported for a limited period.

190 THE PLANT WORLD.

Only those who have demonstrated their abihty to pursue original
investigations are admitted, and these are expected to engage
while here in work of that character. ]»kIore than half a hundred
such pieces of original investigation have been conducted here in
a single year.

Our Botanical Garden suffers greatly from the want of a
larger endowment fund. Its charter provides for the construc-
tion and maintenance of its frame work, but back of this lies
the necessit}' for supporting its higher life, and for this support
we must naturally look to its endowment. The two should keep
close pace. The crown of the greater tree demands a greater
root system for its support. Our plant has increased wonder-
fully in ten years, both in size and in the intensity of its activity,
while the endowment has remained stationary. Its increase to
the sum of $1,000,000 has been undertaken, and the amount is
none too large and can come none too quickly.

One of the special needs of the Garden, or rather of this part of
the country through its garden, is a department of forestry.
From an economic point of view, this is by far the most im-
portant department of botany at the present time. Our need of
increased forest resources is already alarming to every serious
political economist. When an attempt is made to provide them,
we find that we do not know how ; that every tree must be known
separately, and that until this is done practical operations must
fail ; and that the acquisition of this necessary knowledge is as
slow as the growth of the trees themselves. It is urgently neces-
sary that such centers of investigation should be established in
numbers. Scarcely anywhere is there an institution that com-
bines so man}' advantages for a successful organization of this
kind as here.

Editor'.s Note. — It will be of interest here to speak of the
relation of the New York Botanical Garden to public education.
Public museums are generally regarded as part of the educational
forces of a citv, and teachers of natural science frequently avail
themselves of the opportunities oft'ered by visiting the collections
with their classes. It is not uncommon to have a special exhibit

DEVELOPMENT OF BOTANY IN NEW YORK CITY. 1 9 I

for children. Courses of spring and fall lectures on botanical
subjects for adults, open to the public without charge, have been
a feature of the work of the New York Botanical Garden from
the beginning.

In the spring of 1905 a new feature in the educational work
was inaugurated by the organization of a course of lectures on
nature study subjects to the public school pupils of the fourth and
fifth grades. The experiment proved so successful that the ar-
rangement was continued during the fall months and again this
spring.

Twice each week, on Tuesday and Fridays, lectures were given
by various members of the garden staff to audiences numbering
from five hundred to over eight hundred pupils from the fourth
and fifth grades.

The grades were taken separately, and the pupils were accom-
panied by their teachers. The lectures were amply illustrated by
lantern views, and at the close the pupils were divided into groups
of convenient size and taken by competent demonstrators to the
collections, both indoors and out on the plantations, where the
subject of the lecture was more full}- illustrated.

By this means the pupils of a crowded metropolis are not only
brought face to face with the facts of nature, but are given a
breadth of view quite beyond the possibilities of the class room
alone to confer.

The following were the subjects of the lectiuxs this spring:
Before Grade 5B — I., Woody plants and plants without wood;
Protection of trees in cities. II., Industries depending on for-
ests; Plant products. III.. Classification of plants. Before Grade
4 B — I., Cultivation of plants. II., Seedless plants.

There has been in bloom at the Xew York Botanical Garden
a remarkable plant known as Queen A^ictoria's Agave, the stem
of which is out of all proportion to the body of the plant. The
latter is fifteen inches high. Above this, the stem extends for
ten feet, making a total of eleven feet three inches, the upper
four feet and a half of which was covered with flowers.

192 THE PLANT WORLD.

TROPICAL EPIPHYTES.

By Mel T. Cook, Ph.D.,

Agricultural Sfatiuu, Santiago dc las Vegas. Cuba.

The forests have always been, and probably always will be,
especially fascinating to mankind. In our earliest childhood
their mysterious depths have concealed the goblins and the
fairies, and the love for the first wild flowers of spring have led
us on and on until mystery after mystery was explored, but the
fascination not lessened.

The early settlers of America clung tenaciously to the forests.
Where the soil would produce trees it would produce the desired
crops, and so the forests were sacrificed and the prairies left un-
touched for many years until chance demonstrated their im-
portance. Now we lament the wanton destruction of the forests
carried on by our forefathers in their fierce struggle with nature.
Now we are beginning to appreciate their importance, not only
for their commercial value but also for their general influences
upon the surrounding country, and for their great beauty. The
forests give special character to the country. The pine for-
ests of the north and south, the redwood forests of the Pacific
coast, the oak, maple, beech and hickory of the central states,
and the live oak forests of the gulf and Pacific states each
give specific characters to their respective localities. Who
has not admired the little spring beauties, dutchman's breeches,
and other delicate plants that are sheltered in the northern for-
ests, the trailing arbutus of the New England states, the pro-
fusion of liliaceous plants of the Pacific coast or the moss of the
southern states?

And if we leave the bounds of our own country and go into
the tropics, there we find new and peculiar forests- each sheltering
its own host of smaller plants of various kinds. There we find
the massive trees covered with numerous epiphytes, chained
together in an almost impenetrable jungle by vines struggling
upward to the light.

In Cuba, the oldest and the newest of the new world, we meet

TROPICAL EPIPHYTES.

193

with these very interesting forests. A careful study of them
has never been made, and they will present problems to the
scientists for many generations to come. To the casual ob-
server, the most striking features of these forests are the epi-
phytes which festoon the trees everywhere. The predominating
plants among these epiphytes belong to the families Bomeliaceae

Fig. 28. '■ Wild Pines " and other Epiphytes.

and Orchidaceae. To the family Bromeliaceae belong the so-
called Florida moss, Tillaiidsia usncoides, and also that luscious
fruit of the tropics, the pineapple. Many of these tropical epi-
phytes resemble miniature pineapple plants perched upon th€
branches of the trees. The Orchidacese is one of the most inter-
esting families of plants, since it includes some of the most inter-

194 '^HE PLANT WORLD.

esting and beautiful of our flowering plants. It is not restricted
to the tropics, but reaches its greatest perfection there. Bletia
ncrccitiida is said to have been sent from the West Indies to Eng-
land as early as 1731 and since then, from time to time, various
species of orchids have been sent by officers and missionaries to
northern countries where they have been grown in glass houses.
Their value as ornamental plants was early recognized and men
were tempted by the high prices to take great risks of health and
life in exploration in search of them. One of the most interesting
lines of study has been the special devices of these plants for in-
sect pollination. Aside from their ornamental value the only one
of commercial importance is the J\inil/a plaiii folia or the vanilla
plant of Mexico which is now cultivated more or less in tropical
America.

MICROSCOPIC AQUATIC PLANTS AND THEIR
PLACE IN NATURE.*

Every piece of water, besides containing large plants and ani-
mals which are readily visible to the naked eye. harbours a more
or less considerable number of minute forms, which pervade all
the lavers of the water in varving amount, and collectivelv con-
stitute the plankton or pelagic life. The most important difl:'er-
ence between the plankton and the remaining flora and fauna of
our waters lies in the fact that all the organisms which compose
it are free-floating during the greater part of their life. Prac-
tically all the pelagic plants belong to the group of the algae,
and their minute size, of course, suits them well to a floating
existence. A certain number of them are motile (c. g., Volvox,
Goniimi, Paiidorina, etc.), and these are able actively to main-
tain themselves in their position in the water ; but the large ma-
jority are non-motile, and all these forms are slightly heavier
than water, and consecjuently tend to sink ; they develop diverse
mechanisms, by means of which their power of flotation is in-
creased. The most important of these are : assumption of a flat
plate-like shape (Pediastniiii, Mcrismopedia, many desmids) ;
development of numerous delicate processes from the body of the

* Abstract of a lecture on " The Microscopic Plants of our Water," deliv-
ered before the London Institution on February ist In- Dr. F. E. Fritsch.

TROPICAL EPIPHYTES. I 95

plant (StcphaiiodiscKs, RichicricUa) \ arrangement of the indi-
viduals of a colony in a more or less stellate manner {AstcrioiicUa,
some TahcUarias) ; assumption of a delicate acicular shape
(Syncdra) ; formation of fat in the cell (many Diatoms and Cya-
nophyceae). and so on.

In spite of these adaptations, however, most of the non-motile
organisms of the plankton sink to the bottom of the containing
vessel in the space of a few minutes after they have been col-
lected. How is it that this does not happen in nature? It has
been suggested that the continuous currents in the water, due to
the wind and other causes, help to buoy up the organisms of the
plankton ; but it is of course also possible that in collecting such
delicate forms they are damaged in some way or other so as to
deprive them of that power of floating which makes them so well
suited to their natural habitat. An interesting point connected
with the development of the diverse floating mechanisms is that in
some plants they have been found to be far more strongly devel-
oped in the summer than in the winter forms ; this is, imdoubtedly,
in some way connected with a lower specific gravity of the water
in summer, although the exact relation is not yet quite evident.

If the plankton of any piece of water is examined from week
to week or month to month, we find not only astonishing varia-
tions in the quantity of organisms present, but also very marked
dift"erences in the specific constitution of the pelagic life. The
quantity of the plankton is generally very much less in the winter
than in the summer months, and the organisms composing it are
quite different in the two seasons. Thus in the Thames there
are four well marked annual phases, each characterized by its
own peculiar plankton. This periodicity exhibited by the pelagic
life stands in close relation to the external seasonal changes ;
some of the forms prefer cold, others warm water, and conse-
quently they flourish in those seasons which are most to their
liking. Some plants are particularly sensitive and consequently
only put in appearance for a very short space of time each year.
During their period of absence from the plankton these organ-
isms persist as resting spores in the mud at the bottom of the
piece of water ; when favorable conditions return the spores ger-

196 THE PLANT WORLD.

minate. giving' rise to a new generation of pelagic organisms,
which by their prohfic division are able in a few days to domi-
nate completely a piece of water.

The pelagic plants form the food of the animal plankton ;
these, again, are devoured by their larger brethren, which are the
main source of nutrition for the smaller fishes. The larger fish
are mostly carnivorous, feeding on smaller individuals of their
kind. The organic matter of the pelagic plants thus gradually
travels from one organism to another until it comes to form part
of the body of the large aquatic animals ; it passes through a
series of incarnations before being returned to the water in the
form of excrement or products of decay of dead animal and vege-
table bodies. This organic matter is built up by the pelagic
plants from simple inorganic salts and from carbon dioxide dis-
solved in the water, and these latter substances are thus changed
into a form which makes them available to ac^uatic fauna. All
the organisms of the latter, as, indeed, all the animals of the
world, are ultimately herbivorous. Without some kind of plant
growth a piece of water must remain a lifeless, dead mass, unpop-
ulated, and a thing apart from the living world around it. The
presence of vegetation immediately transforms it into a throbbing
imiverse, full of energetic life, exhibiting complex interrelation-
ships, and connects it with the remaining parts of our universe.
The most important element of the vegetation from this point of
view, however, is the phyto-plankton. and a piece of water with
plenty of pelagic plants is sure to form a good breeding place
for fish and other aquatic animals. — Nofurc, London, March 22,
1906.

THE JARDIX DES PLANTES BEFORE AND DURING
THE REVOLUTION.*

In the Edinburgh Rcviciv for April, 1906, an anonymous writer

has given us a charming glimpse into the Jardin des Plantes of

two centuries ago.

" A long garden, lying low and flat for the most part, planted with
inconsiderable trees, it rises imperceptibly from the left bank of the Seine
to the further eastern slope of the JNIontagne Ste. Genevieve; crowned

* From the Edinburgh Rcz'icu'. ■

THE JARDIX DES TLANTES. 1 97

there by a twy-peaked monticule (not unlike the Dane — John at Canter-
bury), planted with a labyrinth of cedars and evergreen trees, some of them
old and fine. Everyone knows the Jardin des Plantes and has felt its
superannuated charm, composed of mouldy retirement and popular de-
light. That part of it which butts on the Latin Quarter, with its cedared
mount and bronze temple, and a certain homely grace in its eighteenth-
century buildings (of which not "a few remain), is pleasant with its plots
of wild flowers and clumps of peonies among the grass. From this end,
right in front of the handsome modern buildings which house the natural
history collections, an avenue of lime-trees sweeps across the flat to the
river, dividing on either hand the world of beasts and the world of plants."

The Jardin des Plantes was founded by Richelieu. It was then
a garden for the study of medicinal herbs — for botany was then
regarded merely as a branch of medicine — under the direction of
the king's physician, Guy de la Brosse. He was succeeded by a
line of court doctors with no peculiar turn for science, and the
garden " dwindled to a desert of dust and disorder." The genera-
tion of Louis XIV paid scant attention to the herb garden. They
sought Nature rather in the relation between star and star, fol-
lowing the lead of Descartes and Rottsseau in France and- Hobbes
in England.

" With Newton they dropped from the cosmic rush of Hobbes and
Descartes to the grass of that orchard where Sir Isaac's apple fell ; they
rose, with something of a shake, and began to look about them. These
humble forms of Nature, after all, are interesting and even pretty ! And
the second quarter of the eighteenth century in France inaugurated a race
of botanists and students of natural history, who one day turned their
attention to the long-neglected Jardin des Plantes, began to dream of the
chemistry of vegetable life and to turn their attention to the organic
structure of a substance which hitherto they had chiefly cultivated as
herbs to dry in bunches, or grains to bray in a mortar.

"It was in 1732; Dr. Chicoisneau, the king's phj-sician, had just died,
leaving behind him a wilderness, a little east of Paris. The Academic des
Sciences rose to the occasion, and. pointing out the scandalous state of
things, suggested that the post be taken from the hands of the doctors
and confided to a man of science. The chemist, Dufay, an academician
and a student of Newton, was chosen as director. A man of forty years
of age, he was full of plans and projects when, suddenly stricken by a
fatal illness, on his deathbed he designated as his successor Buffon."

From 1739 until his death in 1788, Georges Leclerc de Buffon
reigned supreme as " Intendant dit Jardin et du Cabinet du Roi."
During those fifty years the garden remained, as it had been, a

198 THE PLANT WORLD.

garden of plants. When Bufifon entered upon his duties there,
he found only an old sixteenth centur}- country-house with two
wings ; a few greenhouses and sheds ; the grounds of no great
extent, and hedged in and limited by a monastery. The Roval
Cabinet of Natural History consisted of two rooms, one for the
herbarium and one for the storage of medicinal plants. Buffon
at once suppressed the private apartments of the court physician,
who had a sort of countr}'-house in the garden, and afterward
he evicted himself as well. He arranged in order the collections
of natural objects, which }ear by year increased in interest,
rarit}' and beauty ; he entered into communication with naturalists
and travelers all over the earth, and created an order of corre-
spondents of the garden. There were thus introduced into the
garden the first hydrangea from China : the dahlia, the sweet-
acorned oak, the first plane-trees in France, and a quantity of
shrubs and flowers.

Later, the greenhouses were remodeled, and the garden was
expanded through Bufifon's negotiations with the Abbot of the
neighboring monastery. And all the time that Bufl:on was at-
tending to every detail of administration in the garden he was
writing his great work, the " Histoire Xaturelle."

Bufifon's successor at the Garden of Plants was the Marquis
de la Billarderie, a courtier who took an interest in nature and
science — after the fasion of the age. The new intendant ap-
parently regarded his post as a sinecure, resided at the Tuileries,
and scarcely occupied himself with the administration of the
garden, which was left in the care of Andre Thouin, the head
gardener, while the scientific management of the cabinets and
lectures was in the hands of Doctor Daubenton, who had been
the friend and co-worker of Bufi'on. While the Marquis de la
Billarderie was doing nothing, the doctor was laying plans for the
reorganization of the garden and cabinets as a museum of
natural history, and Andre Thouin was laying out the grounds in
beautiful mazes and gardens, making of the place the popular
resort it has ever since continued to be. " On the fine summer
nights of 1790 the Parisians used to stream across the bridge,
quitting Paris on the brink of revolution for this green paradise."

THE JARDIN DES PLANTES. 1 99

Meanwhile the Marquis, being an incapable administrator, was
getting deeper and deeper into debt. By way of economy he
suggested that the chair of mineralogy, occupied by Faujas de St.
Fond, might be suppressed ; the Chevalier de Lamarck also, he
thought, " peut-etre utile, mais pas absolument necessaire." The
garden was proud of Faujas, the great geologist, and of La-
marck, " who had enriched the cabinet, though he was poor, by
gifts of specimens, engravings, rare plants, seeds, and minerals
from Holland and Germany." The officials of the garden rose in
revolt and recommended to the king that the useless and expensive
intendant be the one dispensed with. In the summer of 1791
the Marquis sent in his resignation.

The next incumbent of this office was Beniardin de St. Pierre,
who proved to be a diligent, economical and exact administrator.
It was he who suggested a menagerie for the Jardin des Plantes,
and he thus became the founder of the French Zoological Gar-
dens. About this time the garden officials were elaborating a
scheme for the conversion of the royal garden and cabinets into
a natural history museum, and in 1793 the scheme was adopted,
a plan in which the post of intendant found no place, and Ber-
nardin de St. Pierre was retired on a small indemnity.

The new system provided for twelve professors, directed by a
principal annually reelected ; all the lectures free and open to the
public. The chair of mineralogy was occupied by Daubenton;
botany, A. de Jussieu ; horticulture, Thouin ; natural history,
Geoffroy St. Hailaire; geology, Faujas de St. Fond. Chairs were
also established in anatomy, comparative physiology and zoology.
The chair of botany being occupied, a chair of insect zoology
was created for Lamarck, who was also commissioned to found a
library of natural history.

" Meanwhile the museum inaugurated a new career of laborious and
fruitful activity. But the people of Paris continued (and continue still)
to call it the Jardin des Plantes, and to love it chiefly for the beasts and
birds which Bernardin added to its charms, and for the Swiss valley, which
Andre Thouin laid out ou the land acquired by Bufifon with so much
difficulty."

M. M. B.

200 THE ILANT WOP.LD.

NOTES ON CURRENT BOTANICAL LITERATURE.

Shisfeo Yamanouchi contributes to the Botanical Gazette for
June a paper on " The Life History of Polysiphonia VioJacca,"
in which he shows that there is an alteration of generation in
this seaweed.

Howard Frederick Weiss, in the same magazine, gives the
results of a detailed study of the bark of sassafras.

In .-Ipplcfon's Magazine for August, Frank French has a popu-
lar article of botanical interest entitled " Plant Kinships." The
author writes of the relationship between the skunk cabbage and
the jack-in-the-pulpit of the bogs and woods, and the AntJiuriuni
and calla lily of the florist's window. He describes the tropical
pitcher plant Xepcntlies, of the same family as the American
pitcher plant Sarrace)iia purpurea: and compares the gorgeous
Mediiiilla magnifica of the Philippines with its diminutive relative,
deer-grass, Rhe.via z'irgiiiica.

In the August Garden Magazine W'ilhelm Miller has written on
" The Cultivation of Hardy Orchids." He says: " No one really
knows how to grow hardy orchids. There are sixty species in the
northeastern United States and not one of them will ever become
a common garden plant. Most of them are too small, and all re-
cjuire special conditions. Hundreds of people can make them live
for a year or two. A few people have colonies of a dozen plants
that have flowered regularly for five or six years. No one seems
to have naturalized them on a large scale. Unless we can supply
those special conditions it is worse than folly to transplant orchids
from the woods. It is vandalism." Among the nine best hardy
orchids are mentioned the showy lady's slipper, Cypripediiim
spectabile; large lady's slipper, C. puhescens; rattlesnake plantain,
Goodyera puhescens; and the small lady's slipper, C. parvifolium.

Volume 9 Number g

The Plant World

a iflaffa^inc of popular -^Sotanp
SEPTMBER, 1906

THE HOPE BOTANICAL GARDENS.

By Forrest Shreve, PhD.
The Jl'ninan's College of Baltimore.

No counti'}' twenty times its size can boast as many botanical
gardens as does the island of Jamaica. Of the six which are to
be found within its narrow borders, one — that at Bath — is now
neglected although not uninteresting, and two, — the Parade Gar-
den and the King's House grounds, — are primarily show gardens
and parks. The other three combine the uses of ornament, scien-
tific interest and practical helpfulness. Hope Gardens are situ-
ated near Kingston in the drv Liguanea Plain ; Castleton Gardens
are at a low elevation in the moist hills of the north side ; and the
Hill Garden at Cinchona is at a temperate altitude in the Blue
Mountains. The happy choice of these locations renders possible
the growing of plants from almost every region of the tropics or
warm temperate zones, and the visiting botanist is treated to the
sight of the palms and screw-pines of the East Indies, the eucalypti
and grevilleas of Australia, the water-lilies of the Amazon, the
rhododendrons of the Himalayas and the cacti of America.

As early as 1775 the Jamaican government began to lend aid
to a private garden at Gordontown, near Hope, and ever since
that date there has been a more or less intimate association of the
ideals of botanical science and agricultural practice in the devel-
opment of the public gardens of the island, which has been in no
small measure due to the fostering influence of the Royal Gar-

102

THE PLx\NT WORLD.

dens at Kew. Seven years after the government made its first
grant in aid of the garden of Mr. East at Gordontown, one of
Admiral Rodney's captains seized a French ship bonnd from
Mauritius to Haiti, both then colonies of France, on board which
were found a large number of living plants. These were brought
tc Kingston and turned over for the new garden, where they were
set out with the original tags, on which were not names but num-
bers. Among the lot were many trees of economic importance
which had never before been grown in Jamaica, notably the
mango, the jack-fruit and the cinnamon. " Tree No. ii " proved
to be a very delicious variety of mango which is known to this
day in Jamaica as the Number Eleven.

In 1863 the desire of Governor Sir John Peter Grant to see
what might be made out of the cultivation of Peruvian bark (the
cinchona or quinine tree of the Andes), at higher elevations in
the r)lue Mountains, led to the establishment of the Hill Gar-
dens, which for many years continued to be the headquarters of

Fig. 29. At the centre of the Garden. The spreading tree is the Royal

Poinciana.

THE HOPE BOTANICAL GARDENS.

203

the Department of Public Gardens and Plantations. East Indian
competition eventually made the growing of Peruvian bark un-
profitable, and shifting economic conditions rendered it more
important that the department give its attention to the develop-
ment of lowland growths. The old Hope sugar plantation had
been used by the depart-
ment since 1874 as a
nursery for sugar cane
and teak, and it was
selected as a site for tlie
development of a new^
garden which should be
at once the headcjuartcrs
of the department, a
park, a nursery and a
botanical garden. With
an annual rainfall of but
fifty-one inches, it is not
an easy matter to main-
tain a fine sod at Hope or
to raise moisture-loving
plants, and indeed the
freshness a n d beauty
w^hich the garden dis-
plays would be impos-
sible if it were not that
the water reservoirs for

the supplying of Kingston are hard by the garden and can be
liberally used.

Although the garden at Castleton is more tropical in aspect
than Hope, none of the island gardens are more beautiful. A
forty-minute trolley ride from Kingston brings us to the main
entrance of the Hope gardens, where we traverse a long avenue
of Cassia Siamca to reach the proper entrance to the grounds.
From this spot where the garden first bursts upon the eve it is
seen at its best, and there are few visitors who do not pause there
in surprise and admiration. Stretching away toward the centre

Fig. 30.

A Castilloa Rubber Tree in the
experimental grounds.

204

THE PLANT WORLD.

of the grounds is a broad expanse of well-kept sod traversed by
a driveway bordered with palms. The lawn is set about the edge
with beds of showv-flowered plants or masses of shrubbery and
annuals, displaying" a pleasing' variety of foliage. Above the
borders are seen the tops of the trees in the further parts of the
garden, strange in form or gay with bloom, and above them
in turn rise the grass-clad hills which quite encircle the gardens,
and over the further summits of which fleecy clouds are often
rolling down to vanish in the dry air of the plains. The passing
of the seasons works but little change in the appearance of the
gardens ; in winter the Poincettias are at the height of bloom ; a
little later the papilionaceous tree ErytJiriiia iinibrosa is a con-
spicuous object with its gigantic clusters of scarlet flowers, and
it is closely followed by its rival in showy beauty, the Royal Poin-
ciana or " Flamboyante " of Madagascar. Both the purple and
the brick-red varieties of the Bougainvillea are grown, and may
be counted on for a display of color throughout the greater part
of the vear. With them, as with the Poincettia, the flowers them-

FiG. 31. Residence nf the Director of Pulilic Gardens and Plantations.

THE HOPE BOTANICAL GARDENS.

205

Fig. ^2. Administration Building. The tree at the right is a Guango.

selves are small and inconspictious and the showiness is due to
colored leaves or bracts.

Let tis now make an orderly round of the grounds beginning"
with the collection of cacti, which is sure to catch the eye from
the main entrance. Here are gathered examples of the " dildoe "
{Opuiifia Szcarfcii) which is extremely common on the south
side of the island ; the spinv opiuitia (O. spiiiosissima) ; the climb-
ing cereus (C friaiii:;iilaiis) which is frequent as an epiphyte; and
other species of cereus, Alelocactus, Mamillaria, Agave, Euphor-
bia, Gasteria and other succulents. Near the cacti is a showy
and interesting plant, Xoraitfca Giiiaiiciisis, a native of Trinidad
and Demerara. With foliage somewhat like that of the man-
grove, this plant has long racemes of flowers which are them-
selves very inconspicuous but are subtended by long honey-sacs
of a bright orange-red hue, constituting in color and contents
very efficient organs of attraction for insects. Here are some
native trees of interest, — notably the lace-bark {Lagcfta linfcaria)
endemic to Jamaica, the inner bark of which is capable of being

206 THE PLANT WORLD.

shredded out into a l^eautiful and strong lace-like fabric, from
which many things are made to attract the tourists' shillings.
The guango tree (Pithccolobiiiiii Saniaii), which is common in
and about the gardens, is a splendid example of the spreading
flat-topped type of tree characteristic of dry savanna regions the
world over. Similar to it in appearance is the Albizzia, or
" woman's-tongue/' another mimosaceous tree the ripe pods of
which, filled with loose seeds, have suggested to the imaginative
black man his name for the tree. Here, too, are the " umbrella
tree" (Cccropia umhcUata), used in parts of Jamaica as a shade
tree for coflr'ee, and remarkable for its hollow stems, which in
some of its South American congeners have an opening in each
internode, inducing the cohabitation of ants ; the " sand-box tree "
(Hiira crepitans) , with a very spiny trunk; and the "anchovy-
pear" (Grias caiiUilora) , which is notable for its unbranched
trunk directly out of which grow flowers and fruit. Beautiful
indeed on a breezy day is the " star-apple" tree {ClvysophyUum
Cainito), for its leaves are dark green and glossy above, while
beneath they are silken and rusty brown. If you should behave
deceitfully to a native he will tell you : " Yo' two-face' like a star-
apple."

Passing toward the centre of the garden we find a collection of
trees which are mostly exotic, — a row of date-palms, a group of
olive trees, ravenalas, myroxylons, Castiariiia eqitisctifolia, and
a double row of Caesalpinca coriaria, the " divi-divi " or " mon-
key 's-ear-ring tree " of Africa. In the shaded walk between the
divi-divi trees is arranged the collection of orchids, which must
be one of the finest in America, as it has been built up by years
of exchange with all parts of the world, and embraces many rare
and magnificent species. Such is the interest which the public
takes in the orchids that a list of the species in bloom is published
every morning in the Kingston papers. Most interesting to the
morphologist are those forms in which the shoots have undergone
transformation into absorbing organs, losing their foliage leaves
and most of the chlorophyll, and developing a velamen, but none
the less continuing to bear the flowers.

The greater part of Hope Gardens is taken up with the experi-

THE HOPE BOTANICAL GARDENS. 20/

mental grounds and nurseries. Here may be seen plots of
guinea-grass (Paiiiciiiii iiiaxiiiniui ), the chief forage crop of
Jamaica; cassava (Maiilhof iifilissiina) , one of the most valuable
sources of starch: and the ippi-appa palm {Carhidovica gracilis),
from which hats similar to panamas are made. Some notion of
the diversity in tropical agriculture may be had from the large
variety of economic plants grown here, all of which are to a
greater or less extent planted in various parts of Jamaica, the
number including sugar-cane, cofifee, bananas, pimento (allspice),
oranges, limes, grape-fruits, shaddocks, tobacco, chocolate, vanilla,
kola, mangoes, pine-apples, sisal-hemp, rubber and ginger.

Lluch of the work of the Public Gardens consists in supplying
planters with young plants of cofifee, chocolate, nutmeg, etc., at a
price which is merely nominal, and since there are no nurseries in
the island, this is a very important service. The plants are rooted
in bamboo pots, which are made by cutting stems of Bainhnsa
Tulgaris of about three inches diameter into sections about seven
inches long, in such a manner that the partitions at the nodes of
the stem form the bottoms of the pots. In these cheap receptacles
the plants are readily handled and shipped.

In the centre of the garden stands the administration building,
in which is the ofifice of the Director and the library of the Depart-
ment. The library is quite complete in works on tropical agri-
culture and systematic botany ; is well filled with all the texts* and
general works in the various fields of botany ; and has a good
representation of the leading journals. On the lower floor is a
small museum and the herbarium of the department. The her-
barium cases are all made of dififerent native woods and are an
interesting exhibit in themselves. The sheets which they contain
bear a very complete collection of Jamaican flowering plants,
ferns, mosses and hepatics, including types or co-types of all the
more recently described species of higher plants native to the
island, together with a representation of the flora of the neigh-
boring islands.

208 THE PLANT WORLD.

OUTLINE STUDY OF SEEDS AND SEEDLINGS.

By Dr. C. Stuart Gager,

Nczv York Botanical Garden.

The following paragraphs were written for the use of the
grade teachers in a city where school gardens had been intro-
duced, and the work here outlined was correlated with the out-
of-door work in the garden. The studies are only a suggestion
as to the kind of work essential to secure the most desirable re-
sults from the work in the garden.

It is a great pity that so much school botany formerly consid-
ered the plant apart from the soil and air in which it grew. It
were as great a pity to cultivate plants in the school garden with-
out studying the elementary facts of physiology and ecology
which are necessary to their intelligent care.

To make a successful garden one must know that the plants
need to be a certain distance apart. But if the object of the
school garden work is something more than merely to train gar-
deners, if it is to have sufficient educational value to justify the
time it takes, then it becomes vitally important for the pupil to
know why the plants must be a certain distance apart — to under-
stand the fundamental needs and nature of the plant that make
necessary all that he does in his garden.

While nature study is not a science, and while a course in na-
ture study is non-scientific, it should never be unscientific in either
its content or its method. Especially should the pupil begin here
to acquire a scientific habit of thought and work. This aim is not
antagonistic to the acquisition of a love of and sympathy with
nature. Both objects should be attained if the subject is to jus-
tify its place in the course of study.

The surest foundation for the teacher, so far as plants are con-
cerned, lies in a clear understanding of the principles of botany.
The best preparation for teaching nature study is, not to have
" taken " nature study one's self, but to have had thorough intro-
ductory laboratory courses in botany and zoology.

OUTLINE STUDY OF SEEDS AND SEEDLINGS. 2O9

The outlines suggest a way to take up with grade pupils
the topics indicated. The questions may either be asked of the
class vocally, or each pupil may be supplied with a specimen
and a mimeographed copy of the cpestions. Or the questions
may be written on the blackboard. The main point is that
the pupil shall proceed as independently as possible in his ob-
serving and thinking. The " Notes," of course, are for the
teacher only.

About a week may profitably be spent on the structure of seeds.
At the beginning of the study, seeds of the bean, pea, corn, squash,
and castor-oil should be planted in boxes of soil after being
soaked in water over night.

About three days before needed, seeds of the same kinds should
be soaked over night and placed to germinate in moist sawdust,
sphagnum, or between blotters.

The Structure of the Bean Seed.

Outside Parts.

Material. — Three or four dry bean seeds for each pupil.

Obscrz'alion. — Observe and describe the shape of the seeds.
Are they all practically the same shape ? Mow many times as long
as broad ? How many times as broad as thick ? Make drawings
four times as large as the seed to show the shape as seen from (a)
the side, ( b ) the edge, (c) the end. Describe the color of the seed.
Do you find any diflr'erences in color? If so, describe them. Ob-
serve a seed that has been soaked over night. Does it differ in
any way from the dry seeds. If so, how? Do you find any
parts or marks (besides differences in color) on the surface? If
so, tell all you can about where they are, and their size and shapes.
Alake another drawing, enlarged four times, to show the parts
you have observed. Write a paragraph telling clearly and accu-
rately all you have learned about the structure of the bean seed.

Note. — This is not a memory exercise and the pupil should not
be given any technical names of the structures observed. The
aim is to teach the pupil to see the natural object as it is, and to
describe it as seen in as clear and accurate a manner as possible.
In the process the pupil acquires a knowledge of the seed struc-

2IO THE PLANT WORLD.

ture, but this is of secondary importance. Nothing should be
told b}' the teacher that can be found out by the child himself by
observing the specimen.

He should have observed the scar (hilum), or place where the
seed was fastened in the ]:)od ; the little hole, micropyle, at one
side of the scar, and on the opposite side a small knob (stro-
phiole), somewhat heart-shaped. (Oftentimes the ends of the
seeds are somewhat flattened, due to crowding in the pod.)

Little is gained by giving the scientific terms. Not because
they are hard (hilum is as easy as scar), but because they do not
add at all to the clearness of the child's idea. Young pupils are
apt to confuse ideas with their terms, and to think that they know
a thing when they know only its name. The knowledge of scien-
tific terms is an absolute hindrance to the child in an endeavor
to describe.

Inside Parts.

Material. — Provide for each pupil, one soaked seed with the
cotyledons carefully separated, the seed coat still adhering to
the halves, and the hypocot}l and plumule still intact. Cut the
skin so as not to injure any of the structures on the hilum edge.

Observation. — Observe the half of the seed to which the peg
is not attached. Is the bean covered with a skin or seed-coat?
Is this coat tough or very delicate? Is the coloring of the seed
on the coat or under it? Is the inner surface of this half flat or
cup-like? Is the surface of the other half the same? Can you
think of any reason why the cup shape is a better one for the
seed than a flat surface would be? Was this half attached to the
other in any way? If it was, describe where. On the other half,
do the knob, scar, and little hole belong to the seed-coat, or to
the parts under the seed-coat ? Is the peg straight or curved ?
What part of the seed-coat is over the tip of the peg? Is this*
the same in all bean seeds? What is on the opposite end of the
peg from the pointed end? Is it composed of parts? If so, how
many? What is their color? Are they in a straight line with
the peg, or do they make a curve with it? Is the peg attached
to this half of the bean? Can you see any signs of its having
been attached to the other half? Make drawings (X4) showing

OUTLINE STUDY OF SEEDS AND SEEDLINGS. 211

( I ) the halves of the seeds as they were placed at first, only
with the seed-coat removed; (2) only the peg with the leaves
attached. Write a paragraph describing all you have learned
concerning the inner parts of the bean seed.

A^ofc. — This exercise teaches the importance of little things and
the need of care and accuracy. The pupil should be made to feel
that the bean seed must not be handled carelessly or picked to
pieces merely because it is a common object. The children must
not be permitted to poke the specimen with pencils, knives or
pins.

Insist that the drawings be enlarged by the amounts indicated.
Allow no shading. Every line in the drawing must represent
some structure of the seed.

The pupil should have observed :

I. The relatively tough character of the seed-coat. 2. The
fact that all the external features belong to the seed-coat. 3.
The more or less conccvz'c inner surfaces of the two halves of the
seed, giving room for the peg and especially for the tender leaves
at its end. 4. The position of the tip of the peg ahi'ays directly
under the little opening or Iiole. 5. The peg curved and the
leaves at the end making a little arch with the peg. The attach-
ment of the peg to both halves of the seed. 6. The leaves, two
in number, and folded one within the other.

Each half of the bean seed being roughly cup-shaped is termed
a cotyledon (little cup). The leaves at the end of the peg form
the pluninle.

The Structure of the Pea Seed.

With this exercise the teacher will doubtless meet such ques-
tions as : " What ought I to find ? " " Ought there to be a little
knob on the pea seed?" etc. The treatment of such cjuestions
in observational work marks the difference between the wise and
the foolish teacher. In observation it is not a question of
" ought," but a question of fact. Not " ought " there to be a
little knob, but is there one.

This point is dwelt on because there is none more important in
observational science than this. From the standpoint of ednea-

212 THE PLANT WORLD.

fioii it means acquiring the habit of independent thought and
work, or else a bhnd, unintelhgent following of authority. From
the standpoint of science^ it means valuing facts as they are, above
preconceived notions of things as we imagine they are or ought
to be. From the standpoint of knozvledge, it means clear cut
ideas obtained at first hand, instead of vague indefinite notions
secured at second hand.

From this study of the outside of the pea seed, the pupil will
karn its globular shape, the absence of the little knob (strophiole),
and the possession, in common with the bean seed, of the scar and
little opening. Usually some indication of the peg shows through
the seed coat. If so, pupils should determine for themselves
whether the little hole is directly over the tip of the peg.

A study of the inside of the pea seed, made as directed above
for the bean seed, will show the tough seed-coat, the peg, fatter
than in the bean seed, not as long, and not curved so much.

The pupil will observe the much swollen plumule here, also,
not in a straight line with the peg, but making an arch with the
latter. Are the cotyledons cup-shaped?

Drawings (X4) should be made of one view of the outside,
showing the scar, little opening, and peg (if it shows through
the coat) ; of the inside, similar to the one made of the bean seed.

In what ways are the bean seed and the pea seed alike? In
what ways do they diflfer?

Write a paragraph telling all you have learned about the pea
seed, and another paragraph telling all the ways in which the two
seeds are alike and in what ways they are different.

The Castor-Oil Seed.

The knob at the end is similar to the little knob on the bean
seed. Here it is much larger and fleshier, and it is directly over
the little opening which may be seen extending down through it.
The scar is not prominent, but is close up under one side of the
knob.

Make drawings (X4), one showing the seed as seen from
the side, another to show the end view with the knob ( here called
the caruncle). Do not give the pupils the term.

OUTLINE STUDY OF SEEDS AND SEEDLINGS. 21 3

The study of the internal structure of the seed is very difficult
for young pupils. The teacher should have several well-soaked
seeds dissected to show the pupils, and plain drawings on the
board. Call attention to the hard brittle seed-coat.

Notice the short, straight peg. The fleshy halves of the seed
are not cotyledons, but food for the young plant. This may be
very carefully removed, showing the white, leaf-like, delicate
cotyledons. The plumule is too small to be easily seen.

Germination.

Material. — In boxes of convenient size, containing garden soil
or, preferably, clean sand, plant six or eight seeds of the common
white bean, the pea, corn, squash, having first soaked the seeds
for twenty-four hours. Plant about a week before the study of
how they break through the soil is taken up.

The successive steps in germination may best be followed by
allowing seeds to germinate behind glass. For this purpose, line
a Wellsbach chimney with a tube of blotting paper, setting the
end of the chimney in sand or soil in a flower pot or box, and
fill the chimney with moist saw-dust to keep the blotter close to
the glass. (If this device is not convenient, an ordinary tumbler
may be used. The shallowness of the tumbler, however, does not
permit of very extensive root development.)

Have the children place five or six seeds of each kind men-
tioned above in w-ater to soak over night. On the following day
the pupils will observe that all the seeds have swollen. Tins is
the first step in geniiiiiatioii and the point should be made at this
time.

Now place these seeds between the blotters and the glass so
that they may be seen, and placed so that the tip of the peg of
some of the seeds points vertically downward, of others upward,
and of still others horizontally. Be sure that the corn grain is
placed with the embryo side next the glass. Keep the seeds moist
but not immersed in water, and, if possible, put in a dark place to
develop. Lead the children to see that this would be best by
questioning them concerning the light conditions under which the
seed germinates naturally in soil.

2 14 THE PLANT WORLD.

Obserz-atioii. — What part of the seed first breaks through the
seed-coat? Is this the same for all the seeds? Is it better for
the root to grow first? Would it not be just as well if the stem
and leaves came out before the root grew ? Why ?

Do you see any special growth on the peg of the squash seed
that helps the young squash plant get out of the seed-coat?

Does more than one root come through at first? Is this the
same in all the seeds? In what direction does the first root (or
roots) grow? Does the root grow downward in the seeds where
the peg was placed horizontally or pointing vertically upwards?
Would it not be just as well if the roots grew vertically upwards
or sideways? Why?

Would the gardener's or farmer's work be any different if roots
did not always grow downward in germination? Explain how.

After a time does the root begin to branch? If so, in what
direction do these side roots grow? Would it not be better if
they grew directly downward just as the first root grows?
Why ?

Can you see any fine white hairs (root-hairs) growing on the
surface of the root? If so. do they cover all the root? Do they
grow up to the very tip? \\diat do you think they are for?

What part of the seed first appears above ground? Does this
part appear before or after the branch roots have begun to grow ?
Is this the same in all the plants?

Drawings and written descriptions as above.

Note. — In these exercises the pupil begins to study the plant
in action. It is doing something. The value, as in the study of
seeds, consists in practice in observation, expression, and inter-
pretation. That the first root grows vertically downward is a fact
worth knowing. It is of infinitely more value to have reasoned
out, even in the most elementary manner, the meaning and sig-
nificance of this. Here, also, is emphasized the fact that obser-
vation is something more than merely looking at an object.
It implies an active attitude on the part of the pupil in which
dcfiiiitc questions are put and their answers soiti^^ht in the objeets
studied.

Besides the educational discipline secured, the pupil will learn
the following facts :

OUTLINE STUDY OF SEEDS AND SEEDLINGS. 21 5

In the germination of a seed, the first part to begin growth is
the root. The squash plant is helped out of the seed-coat by
means of a little knob. One root only always appears first, and
no matter in what position the seed lies, the root wall take
a course vertically downward. After the appearance of the main
(or tap) root, the stem begins to grow. Branch roots do not
grow downward like the main root, but more nearly horizontal.
The root is covered in a definite region with numerous root hairs,
which never extend quite to the tip of the root.

By careful questioning on the part of the teacher, the pupil
should be taught that the greatest need of the plant is water, that
the most abundant supply is in the soil, and that the plant needs
to be held fast where it can get water. Therefore, the best good
of the plant makes it necessary for the root to grow downward,
first to hold the plant fast, second to absorb water for the plant.
If the root did not grow downward (curving when necessary)
no matter in what position the seed is placed, then gardeners
and farmers would have laboriously to plant every seed root
downward or else man}' would perish on germination.

By growing laterally, the branch (secondary) roots hold the
plant more firmly in the soil, and at the same time enable the plant
to secure water from a wider area.

The fine white root-hairs are parts of the root by which it
absorbs the water from the soil. If they grew at the very tip of
the root, they would be liable to injury, as the root pushed its
way through the soil during growth.

How THE Stem Lifts Itself into the Air.

Watch carefully for the first signs of the planted seeds break-
ing the surface of the soil. How does the bean seedling break
' the ground ? Does the tip of the stem appear first ? Do all the
different seeds planted break through the soil in the same way ?
Describe. Do all the seeds of the same kind break the ground in
the same manner?

Rule a horizontal line across a sheet of pad paper to represent
the surface of the soil, and at the left make a drawing to show
how the bean seedling breaks through the ground. Save the

2l6 THE PLANT WORLD.

space at the right for the successive stages of growth and begin
similar records for the pea, corn and squash.

Observe from day to day the different stages by which the stem
becomes erect in the air, and represent them, as observed, in a
row from left to right along the soil line as directed above. Rep-
resent five stages in each plant. Are the halves of the seed raised
into the air in any of the plants? Written description as above.

Note. — It is best not to try to explain zi'hy some plants break
through the soil in the form of an arch, while others do not, or
why some lift the halves of the seed, while others do not. It is
doubtful if the true significance of the fact is known, and a child
is too young to discuss theories.

The Parts of the Plant.

Material. — Young seedlings of the common white bean, 5-6
inches high. (Any other variety will do.) The plant will be
cleaner to handle if grown in moist sawdust instead of soil.
Carefully remove the plants and clean the roots in water. It will
be desirable also to have a plant or two grown in soil or sand for
the purpose of showing how closely the soil clings to the roots.

Obsen'atioii. — Can you easily distinguish the underground por-
tion, the root, from above-ground portion, the slwotf How can
you tell them apart? What part of the embryo has grown into
the shoot? Can you recognize the plumule in the seedling?
Have any of the parts changed color since leaving the seed-coat?
If so, what parts and how have they changed?

The Root. — Is there a main tap root? Is the root branched?
Which is longer, the root or the shoot? Which is the more
branched? Do you think this is an advantage to the plant?
How? What might be the result if the young shoot should
branch more than the root? Does the soil cling very closely to
the roots ? What advantages result to the plant from the branch-
ing of the root ?

Ttie Shoot. — Observe that the shoot is composed of the stem
and the leaves. Does the stem have branches? If so, describe.
Are the leaves opposite each other on the stem? If not, describe
how they occur. What do you find at the tip of the shoot? If

OUTLINE STUDY OF SEEDS AND SEEDLINGS. 2 1/

the cotyledons are raised above the soil, describe any changes you
can see in their appearance. Are they opposite each other? Is
the stem any bigger below the cotyledons than above them ? Are
there any leaves below the cotyledons? Do the cotyledons begin
to shrivel up? What do you think makes them do so?

The Leaves. — Observe the first leaves above the cotyledons. Is
there is a distinct leaf stalk and a broad, thin, flat blade F Do you
find any szvelling at any place on the leaf stalk? If so, where?
If possible examine plants that have grown in a window. Have
the leaves turned toward the light ? If so, where did the bending
take place ? The tip of the blade is the apex, the place where the
blade joins the leaf stalk is the base of the blade? Can you find
two little wing-like parts on the leaf stalk at the base of the blade ?
Are there any where the leaf joins the stem? Is there a joint
in the leaf stalk at this place ?

Does the stalk extend up through the blade toward the apex,
forming a midrib f Does the midrib branch into ■z'cinsf Can
you see an unbroken line of vein extending around the blade par-
allel to its edge? Of what advantage is this to the leaf? How
can you tell the upper from the under side of the blade? What
purposes do you think the veins serve? Are the two opposite
first leaves alike? Make labeled drawings.

The other leaves above the first pair are cuDipouud leaves.
How many blades has each? Each of these blades is a leaflet.
Has each leaflet a stalk? Is there a joint where each leaflet joins
the leaf stalk? Does each leaflet have a pair of little leaf-like
bodies near the base of its blade? Is there a pair also where the
stalk joins the stem? Is there a joint in the stalk at this place?
Are the stalks of the lower leaves longer or shorter than those of
the upper ones ? If the lower stalks were shorter could the lower
blades get the sunlight as well ? If the upper blades were not
divided into three leaflets, would they shade the lower leaves more
than now ? Alake labeled drawings and write descriptions.

The cotyledons have shrivelled because the food that made them
thick has gone to nourish and feed the growing seedling. The
first leaf of the bean is not a true simple leaf. It is what is known
as a uiiifoliate compound leaf, that is, a compound leaf with only

2l8 THE PLANT WORLD.

one leaflet. This is shown in part by the joint at the base of the
blade, and by the wing-like outgrowths (stiplcs). These out-
growths are seen at the base of the blade of each leaflet in the
other leaves. The similar outgrowths at the base of the stalk are
stipules. Elongation of the lower leaf stalks carries the blade out
from under the upper leaves so that it gets better sunlight than
it otherwise would. To observe this fact and reason out the
meaning is more important than to learn the name of the stalk
(petiole). The leaves above the first pair are trifoliate coiiipoiiiid
leaves. This branching of the blade permits more sunlight to
penetrate to the lower leaves. To recognize this fact is more im-
portant than to learn that the leaves are pinnately compound.

This work gives a basis for the study of any other plant in the
garden. It shows the kind of facts to look for and question about.
All other plants in the school garden will be seen to be modifica-
tions, more or less profound, of the bean type.

OUR IMPORTATION OF VEGETABLE FIBERS.

In 1905 the United States imported $48,000,000 worth of
vegetable fibers. Of this amount cotton makes up $9,000,000.
Of the 61,000,000 pounds imported 52,000,000 was consigned
from Egypt. The reason for this large import of cotton from
Egypt is its use in the making of the finer grades of cotton cloth.
The two fibers which excel cotton in the value of the imports are
manila and sisal grass. In 1905 the value of the former was
$12,000,000 and the latter $15,000,000. In 1905 the Philippine
Islands furnished 56,511 tons of the total 61,562 tons of the
manila imported and Mexico 97,698 tons of the total 100,301 of
sisal grass. The only other fiber imported in large c[uantities is
jute and jute butts, of which India consigned 93,843 of the total
98,215 tons imported in 1905. — Report of the U. S. Dept. of
Agriculture.

Fig. t,^. Haunt of the Filmy Fern. Jamaica, B. W. I.

THE FILMY FERXS (HYAIEXOPHYLLACE.F:),

By Winifred J. Robinson,
Vassar College.

The delicate maiden hair, the fragile woodsia, the slender
bladder-fern seem to ns as exquisite as possible in the way of
fern structure, but nothing in our northern latitude can compare
in delicacy with the filmy ferns which are represented by one
species in the southeastern part of the United States and by
numerous species in the tropics and sub-tropics.

In size they vary from Tricliouiancs piisilliim, which is less
than half an inch long and bears but one sorus, to Tricliouiancs
scandens, which is about eighteen inches long. They are only
one layer of cells in thickness, except at the veins, which gives
them their peculiar filmy character. Whether they have the light
green color of Hyuicnophyllnin asplcnoidcs, or the dark green of
Tricliouiancs rigidiiui, or the rusty bronze of Hyuienophylluin
lauosiiui, they form an exquisite drapery upon the trunks of trees
oi the banks of humus, where their short, wiry stems are buried.
There are a hundred upon the trees to one upon the ground, but
some of the more hardy may be found upon limestone rocks.

220

THE PLANT WORLD.

The life-history of the members of the fihny fern family resem-
bles that of the common brake iPtcridiiiiii) of our roadsides, but
varies in certain details. Along the margins of the fronds at the

ends of the veins are
the receptacles or sori,
within which the spores
are borne. These sori
are flattened in the
genus HyiuenophyUum
(fig. 34, A) and have
the form of a two-
valved capsule. In the
gfenus Triclwiiiancs the
sporangia are attached
to the protruding vein
and the sorus has a
vase-like form (fig. 34,
B ) . This elongation of
the veins beyond the
margin gives this genus
Triclwinaiics its name
(Greek, thrix, hair).

The spore-cases are encircled horizontally by a ring or annnhis

(fig. 35, a) of diick-walled cells, and burst vertically downward.

The spores are green, and are spherical or triangular in shape in

different species. They often

besfin to orerminate while thev

are still within the sporan-
gium, though the later de-

velopment is often extremely

slow. They do not produce a

heart-shaped prothallus like

that of the brake, but in the

genus Hyinciiophylliiiii, at

least, a slender, tapering

structure which bears the sexual organs at its base; the male,

or antheridia (fig. 36, a), and the female, or archcgonia {b).

Fig. 34. Filmy Ferns. A, Hymcnophylla
aspic noidcs: B, Trichoinaiics rigidum.

Fig. 35. Sporangia and Spores.

THE FILMY FERNS.

221

Fertilization takes place in the usual way : an antheroxoid escapes
from the enclosing" antheridium and swims to the neck of the
archegonium hy means of the small amount of water which is

always present in the soil where they grow.
It makes its way down th-e canal of the arche-
gonium (fig. 37, c) and unites with the egg-
cell at its base and from this union a young
fern plant arises. Occasionally in the genus
Trichoiiiaiics the sexual organs appear upon a
filamentous prothallus. instead of upon the
strap-shaped form.

Various forms of asexual reproduction oc-
cur. Figure 36, g, shows a cluster of brood-
bodies or gemm(e which have formed at the
apex of the prothallus. One of these bodies,
enlarged, would show the nuclei and chloro-
phyll granules within its cells.

About 160 species of the Hymenophyllacese
have been described. Thev are the aristo-

FiG. 36. Prothal-
lus. (a) antheridia.
{b) archegonia. {g)
gemmae.

Fig. 27- Archegonium. (c) canal;
egg-cell at its base.

crats of the fern world. Finable to accommodate themselves to
variations in heat and humidity, their favorite habitats are the
warm, moist forests of the tropics, but in these restricted localities
they produce forms of such rare beauty as to make any fern lover
feel that he has been well repaid for the pains of a pilgrimage to
their haunts.

22 2 THE PLANT WORLD.

REVIEWS,

The Physiology of Plants. A Treatise upon the Metabolism and
Sources of Energy in Plants. \^olume III. By Dr. W.
Pfeffer. Second fully revised edition. Translated by Al-
fred J. EwART. Large 8vo. Pp. 451, with many illustrations.
Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1906. 21 shillings.

Every student of botany knows so well the character and
usefulness of Pfeffer's magnum opus that criticism would be
quite beside the mark. The translation has been long expected,
and is at last welcomed. To the translator belongs no small
amount of praise and congratulation — praise for the excellence
of the labor, and congratulation on its completion. But for the
universal acknowledgment accorded the author and his work, so
brief a notice would ill fit the great value of the book.

Mosses zvith Hand-lens and Microscope. A non-technical
Handbook of the more common Mosses of the Northeastern
United States. By A. J. Grout. Part III. Quarto. Pp.
167-246. Richly illustrated. Published by the author, 360
Lenox Road, Brooklyn, New York. 1906. $1.25.

It will bear repeating that the author of Mosses with the
Hand-lens and Microscope deserves the thanks of students of
the mosses of this country for the work of which the third part
is now to hand. It contains, besides many other very clear and
useful illustrations, about twenty full page plates reproduced
from the Bryologia Europcea and Sullivant's I cones, thus, to
this useful extent bringing original literature to the use of the
person interested in these plants, but who is removed from the
privileges of the large library. Dr. Grout's treatment is gener-
ally stimulating, and the book will certainly further greatly the
wide study of the mosses. The earnest elementary student will
get from it a very great deal of the help that he needs. The
typography is excellent.

REVIEWS. 223

Species and J^arieties. Their Origin by Mutation. Being Lec-
tures Delivered at the University of California. By Hugo
deVries, Professor of Botany in the University of Amsterdam.
Edited by Daniel Trembly MacDougal, Director Department
of Botanical Research, Desert Botanical Laboratory, Carnegie
Institution of Washington. Second edition, corrected and
revised. Cloth, 8vo, pp. 18 + 847. With a Portrait of the
Author. Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Co. Price,
$3.00. 1906.

This most important work of Professor de\>ies in the English
presented a no inconsiderable task to the editor, to whom, next
to the illustrious author, are thanks due for bringing this work
to the Western continent. In the previous volume of this maga-
zine, Species and J'arieties, on its first appearance, scarcely a
year ago, received a lengthy review which served to indicate very
fully to our readers the scope and treatment. These remain
unchanged, but there are so very many corrections and emenda-
tions that the second edition will needs be in the hand of every
student of evolution in its contemporary form. The portrait,
which was taken by Dr. W. x-\. Cannon and the reviewer during
Professor deWies" visit at the Desert Botanical Laboratory, is,
we venture to say, a valuable addition from the human point of
view, and will be highly appreciated by the admirers of the
author. It is informal in its treatment, but the more shows the

man's kindlv soul in the spontaneitv of the expression.

L.

Hozu Ferns Grow. By Margaret Slosson. With forty-six
plates by the author. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1906.

As several good books on ferns have appeared within the last
few years, one naturally looks for something unusual in Miss
Slosson's book, Hoiv Ferns Grow. The author has treated her
subject entirely from the standpoint of the development of the
fern leaf, showing by detailed description and illustration the
successive aspects, in respect to form and venation, taken on by
the sporophyte from the youngest stage through to the mature
frond, including the modifications which a frond may assume on

2 24 THE PLANT WORLD.

becoming' fertile. Eighteen species of ferns of the northeastern
United States are discussed in as many chapters, with an intro-
ductory chapter on the development of the fern leaf. The treat-
ment of the subject is both original and scientific. The illustra-
tions are of the kind that " really illustrate," and are an attrac-
tive feature of the book. M. M. B.

Volume 9 Number lo

The Plant World

31 f^a%R}ix\t nf Popular ^otanp
OCTOBER, 1906

THE PAIRED SEEDS OF COCKLEBUR.

By Professor J. C. Arthur,
Purdue University.

The cocklebur (Xanfhiiim) is a common native weed through-
out the central and eastern United States, especially along sandy
river bottoms and in corn fields. The seeds are enclosed in a
hard, spiny covering, two in each bur. The spines undoubtedly
assist in the distribution of the seeds by clinging to the rough
coats of animals. Unlike many other seed pods, they do not open
to discharge the seeds, either at maturity or by subsequent
changes of moisture or temperature. Not only is the bur inde-
hiscent, but it does not readily disintegrate, and after a number
of years in the soil may appear little changed. From this hard,
unyielding bur the young plantlet frees itself at the time of
germination by first pushing out the radicle and then pulling out
the seed leaves, while the bur retains its usual appearance.

There is quite a common belief among farmers that one of the
seeds in a cocklebur germinates the first year after maturity, and
the other seed not until the year following, thus accounting for the
persistency of the weed in cultivated fields. The truth in this
theory was not tested, I believe, until a few years ago, when the
writer took up the matter and made some preliminary trials which
led to a study of the subject extending through seven years, and
which established the essential correctness of the farmers' opinion.

228 THE PLANT WORLD.

First there were planted 75 cocklebiirs in a garden bed in May,
and by the middle of June 64 seedling plants had made their
appearance, and in only one instance did two seedlings come from
the same bur. I was able to identify 14 of the burs which had
sent out one seedling each and upon opening them found that two
contained only the remains of decayed seeds, and the other twelve
had a good seed in each bur. Eleven of the husked seeds, one
having been destroyed in removing it, were placed in a germi-
nating pan in the laboratory, with the result that two of the
seeds grew in two days, one in three days, one in nine days, two
in twenty days, one in twenty-three days, one in forty-two days,
and one in fifty-six days, while the two remaining seeds kept
the plump fresh appearance for nearly three years, when by
accident the germinator was allowed to become dry and the seeds
weie killed. The other 61 burs of the experiment, which re-
mained in the garden bed over winter, produced 20 seedlings the
following spring, but whether from burs that had already grown
one seed, was not ascertained.

This preliminary trial gave considerable coloring to the farmers'
theory, which, however, was somewhat neutralized by the rather
prompt germination in the laboratory of eighty per cent, of the
seeds that failed to start in the ground. Nevertheless, the two
facts remained that out of 75 burs only one gave a pair of seed-
lings the first year, while twenty produced single seedlings the
second year.

In May of the second year of the study a quantity of burs were
placed in germinating pans and out of these 100 were selected
from which a seedling each had emerged. These burs that were
known to contain no more than one seed each were planted in a
garden bed. No further germinations were observed that sea-
son. The next year the bed was not very carefully watched, and
but five seedlings were noted ; the year following there were eigh-
teen seedlings observed. This experiment, although not very
complete, gave further credence to the farmers' theory, and even
improved upon it, as some seeds ma}' evidently remain in the ground
for more than two years in a growing condition.

THE PAIRED SEEDS OF COCKLEBUR, 229

Trials on a larger scale were made to ascertain the frequency
with which both seeds of a bur germinate at the same time. Of
137 burs placed in the germinating pans at one time, onh^ one
gave twin seedlings. Another year, 1787 burs produced 134
twin seedlings, the largest percentage obtained in any trial.

It is unnecessary to give in detail the numerous observations
which finally led to the confirmation of the popular belief. From
the data obtained it is possible even to extend the statement. In
round numbers, one may assume that out of every hundred ap-
parently good cockleburs, one-fourth will not grow, owing to
various causes, especially the depredation of insect larvse and
failure to properly mature. Of the remaining three- fourths, about
five burs will produce two seedlings each, and about seventy
one seedling each. In the year following about thirty seedlings
will appear, in the third year about five, and two or three in subse-

A B

Fig. 39. Cocklebur. A. Vertical section showing one seed a little higher
than the other. B. One side a little more convex than the other.

quent years. Thus it seems that the farmer is amply justified in
his dislike to these pestiferous weeds with their adaptation for
a prolonged occupancy of the soil.

Following upon the establishment of the fact that the two
seeds in a bur behave dififerently under like conditions for ger-
mination, came a still more difficult task — the discovery of the
reason for it. Although the two seeds appear to be exact counter-
parts of each other, some difiference must really exist either in
the seeds or in the protecting bur. A careful microscopic exami-
nation of the seeds brought out no dififerences. The comparative
weight of the twin seeds was then obtained. Thirty-five perfect
burs were opened and the seeds accurately weighed on an ana-

230 THE PLANT WORLD.

lytical balance. The thirty-five heavier seeds of each pair gave an
average weight of 65 milligrams, while the thirty-five lighter
seeds gave an average weight of 46 milligrams, a difference of
19 milligrams. This promising result appeared to be of no
significance, however, when the seeds were placed in the germi-
nating pan, for the two lots showed no difiference in rate of
germination.

As study of the paired seeds revealed no recognizable features
to account for the difiference of behavior, attention was turned to
the enclosing bur. It was thought that perhaps one side of the
bur was not pervious to water until partly decayed. To test
this, burs were placed in chemical solutions and colored liquids.
But on cutting them open, however short the immersion, both
cavities of the bur were found equally and abundantly afifected.
A little further examination showed that the opening in the apex
of each half of the bur, through which the style once protruded,
was still in the ripe fruit an opening large enough to admit a
needle, and that, furthermore, a considerable channel existed in
the base of each half, closed only with loose fibrous material.
This structure permits liquids to penetrate through both ends of
the bur without hindrance, and to pass into both seed cavities with
equal readiness.

At the beginning of the sixth year of the study an important
discovery was made. In dissecting the cockleburs it was necessary
to make longitudinal sections, and in this way attention was at-
tracted to a difiference in position of the two seeds ; one seed is
placed a little higher in the bur than the other, see fig. i. This
slight but significant difiference seems to have escaped the illus-
trators, for a considerable search through standard and miscellane-
ous botanical books has failed to bring to light any cuts showing
the seeds otherwise than exactly side by side. Further examination
made it possible to tell without dissection on which side of the
bur the higher or the lower seed lay. The unsymmetrical posi-
tion of the seeds causes a slight curvature of the bur, see fig. 2,
and the lower seed lies on the inner or less convex side, while the
higher seed lies on the more convex side. Here was the key to
the situation. It was now possible without injury to the burs to

THE PAIRED SEEDS OF COCKLEBUR. 23 I

detect and compare corresponding seeds in each, and further study
of the subject was taken up with renewed interest.

With this new information at hand a lot of cockleburs were
placed in wet sand to germinate. Out of 223 from which one
seedling appeared, it was the lower seed which grew, except in
fifteen burs. Upon cutting open the fifteen exceptions, eleven
were found to contain no viable lower seed, and should conse-
quently be excluded. This trial, therefore, gave ninety-eight per
cent, germination for the lower seed against two per cent, for the
upper. The result was in general confirmed by further observa-
tions of the same nature.

Comparison of the weights of the upper and lower seeds was
now undertaken ; when the lower seed exceeded fifty milligrams
the upper proved to be lighter, but when the lower seed fell below
fifty milligrams the upper was heavier. It is clear that when the
burs are well developed, the lower seed will be larger and stronger
than the other, and is the one that will grow quicker. This was
found to be true even when the seeds were removed from the bur
and placed in a germinating pan. A number of weighed seeds
were thus tested, and after three to four months twenty per cent.
of the lower and also heavier seeds remained in viable condition,
and over ninety-two per cent, of the upper and lighter seeds. A
number of trials of this sort were made with fairly uniform
results.

Comparing the various observations, both those where accurate
data were recorded and others less complete and exact, the general
statement appears to be warranted, that as a rule the lower seed
in a cocklebur is better developed, sensibly heavier, and will grow
sooner than the upper one. If burs are planted in the soil, the
lower seed usually grows the first year after maturity, and the
upper seed grows the second or some subsequent year. When
removed from the bur and placed under conditions for germina-
tion, both upper and lower seeds grow more readily than when in
the bur, but still dififer considerably, the lower growing sooner
than the upper.

This rule appears to hold good for all species of Xanthium.
The one most employed in the above experiments was X. Pcnnsyl-

232 THE PLANT WORLD.

vanicum, Wallr., but X. glabratuiii (DC.) Britton and X. spi-
nosiini L. were also used. In the last named species the burs
have very thick indurated walls and the curvature is not well
marked, making them less satisfactory for study. Outside the
genus Xanthiniii there are no seeds which behave in a similar
manner, so far as can be ascertained, and no fruits of like
structure.

A number of grasses have two seeds in a spikelet, the lower
seed usually being the larger and more vigorous. In the case of
oats careful tests show no difference in time of germination be-
tween the upper and lower seeds of a spikelet. But in the sand-
bur (Cenchrus trihuloides L.) the two seeds of the spikelet are
enclosed in a spiny covering which keeps them from readily
separating, and thus bear some superficial resemblance to the
cocklebur. In a trial in which sandburs were placed in a germi-
nating pan the upper seeds grew somewhat more slowly than
the lower ones, but in ten days practically all that were viable
had germinated, that is, 89 per cent, of the upper seeds grew
against 99 per cent, of the lower. These have been the most
favorable seeds for such a study, outside the genus Xanthium,
that have so far come under observation.

In this study of the behavior of the paired seeds of cocklebur
it has not been possible to show that any structural or mechanical
difference exists, either in the seeds themselves or in their cover-
ings, which would account for the fact that while the lower seed
in a bur germinates normally the upper only grows after resting
one year or more. To be sure, it has been shown that the lower
is usually slightly larger and more vigorous, but this in itself could
not be the primary cause of difference in behavior. But, how-
ever the phenomenon is brought about, it is clear that by this very
serviceable adaptation the cocklebur has solved the problem of
giving each plantlet the utmost freedom for development, and
incidentally has increased the chances for the perpetuity of the
species. So far as the two seeds in each bur are concerned, it is
an instance of distribution of the plants by time rather than by
space, a seemingly unique character for the genus Xanthium.

THE PROBABLE ORIGIN OF KEY-FRUITS. 233

THE PROBABLE ORIGIN OE KEY-FRUITS.

By H. Tullsen.

In late autumn and in winter, long; after the leaves have
fallen, we are apt to see still clinging to the trees some of the
foliaceous seed-vessels— called samaras, or key-fruits — of certain
maples and ash-trees. These trees are not closely allied, but the
external structure of the fruit, /. e., the wing, is much the same in
the one case as in the other, indicating that the function thereof is
identical in both. The wing is present for the purpose of serving
as a sail against which the wind shall act and blow the seed far
away to be planted in new soil. The fruit of the ash consists of
one samara, while that of the maple consists of two, and these are
ultimately separable.

There are about one hundred species of maples {Acer) and
forty species of ash {Fra.nnus). All have winged fruits. We
may be certain that this peculiar form of fruit was not developed
independently in each of these numerous species. In order so to
believe we should have to expect too much of chance. In the case
of the maples it was inherited from some ancient aceriform pro-
genitor, which, through natural selection, had taken to the pro-
duction of winged fruits; and an old-time fraxinoid tree, also
bearing this sort of fruit, was the ancestor of our present-day
ash-trees.

The direct action of the environment can have done nothing
towards the development of the foliaceous fruits of the trees under
consideration. It would be hard to conceive of any other factor
than natural selection as having wrought to produce them. Nat-
ural selection, we know, can operate only where there prevails a
fierce and keen struggle for existence. So, in some great struggle
of the past, we may conclude that the production of winged seed-
vessels, by insuring the wider territorial distribution of the trees
that bore them, saved the ancestors of the maples, and those of
the ash, from extinction.

234 THE PLANT WORLD.

That this is true, it may at first be somewhat difficult to appre-
hend. The ashes and maples, it may be said, grow peacefully, and
in their tranquil shade there is nothing that smacks of struggle.
And when contemplating one of our ash-trees, red maples, or
box-elders upon the fertile soil of one of our central states, along
the roadside or in the meadow, where any spot, almost, whereon
a seed might chance to fall, would furnish the proper conditions
for germination and growth, it is hard to believe that in the past
the ancestors of these trees were subjected to severe hardships,
owing to overcrowding upon small tracts, and through natural
selection, were driven to produce the winged fruits by means of
which the species might become broadly dispersed over wide
regions, and thus escape extinction. It may be held that even a
gentle breeze can waft an actually wingless fruit to a suitable
spot. But he who argues thus is thinking of present and local
conditions only.

Now let us look at one of these trees under another and a dififer-
ent environment. Upon the great Pine Ridge Indian reservation
in South Dakota, for example, are numerous streams and " draws "
or' coulees (which are nothing more or less than ravines or gullies
free of water except in time of flood and rain) which, as a rule,
are far below the general surface of the adjacent country, and
often miles from one another. Upon the flood-plains of such
streams, and in the " draws " grow ash-trees and box-elders in
company with trees of a few other species. Nowhere on the
high, dry hills do they or any other trees, except pines, grow,
although I have often found their wind-tossed samaras there ; and
if germination takes place, the seedlings are doomed to perish.
Along the draws and other water-courses all the various kinds of
trees that grow in such places are crowded together in dense and
tangled masses ; wherefore it is to the advantage of a given spe-
cies that its seeds shall be carried to a " draw " or creek-plain
where the chances of life are more favorable. Now let us suppose
the ancestor of our box-elder and maples, on the one hand, or that
of our ash-trees on the other, growing in an isolated " draw " amid
vast hills barren of deciduous trees and unfavorable to their
growth. Its fruits as yet are wingless, but often vary towards

THE PROBABLE ORIGIN OF KEY-FRUITS. 235

producing a minute winglike appendage on the end or margin, as
is in reality the case with the fruits of many plants. Violent
winds, such as sweep perennially over such regions, carry a few
of the nascent key-fruits out of the ravine where the parent-tree
grows, and perhaps, after being borne through the air for a con-
siderable distance, a few fall upon the fertile and unexhausted
soil of another draw, or flood-plain, which is as yet unpeopled by
trees. The unappendaged seed-vessels, unable to fly far with the
winds, perish in the tree-crowded coulee or upon the barren hills.
Plants that spring from the seeds of such fruits, by virtue of the
laws of inheritance, will themselves have a tendency to bear
fruits lacking the incipient wing, and growing as they do in im-
poverished soil, will stand but an unfavorable chance in life, as
will their descendants also. Likewise, the trees that spring from
the seeds of appendaged fruits by heredity will tend to produce
this kind of seed-vessels themselves. Thus year in, year out, the
selection and elimination goes on, and it can easily be understood
how, in time, first a samaroid and later a fully-winged fruit will
be evolved. Sometimes among hundreds of perfect ones we find
a maple key- fruit the wing of which is very short and rounded;
that is, has been arrested in its growth. Such partly-developed
samaras illustrate an early stage attained ages ago in the evolu-
tion of the typical specimens.

Without a wing of some sort, countless thousands of the
fruits would annually be stranded amid the unproductive hills,
and even as it is I have often found samaras of ash-trees and
box-elders inextricably entangled in dense mats of buffalo-grass.

To support the idea that the ancestral trees may have been
driven to develop this peculiar form of seed-vessel in order that
seeds might be carried from one productive spot, in an arid or
semi-arid country to another, I may adduce the fact that plants
indigenous to desert regions often have special means of insuring
the transportation of their seeds across the barren wastes, to moist
and fertile tracts. Says Lubbock, " The Anastatica hierochnntia,
or * Rose of Jericho,' a small annual with rounded pods, which
frecjuents sandy places in Egypt, Syria and Arabia, when dry curls
itself up into a ball or round cushion, and is thus driven about by

236 THE PLANT WORLD.

the wind until it finds a damp place, when it uncurls, the pods open
and sow the seeds." In this plant the contrivance through which
dispersal is effected differs from that of the maples, but the end
to be attained is identical in both.

Easy conditions of life cannot have impelled the ashes and
maples to develop key-fruits. Great difficulties have in the past
been encountered, and the trees that were enabled to establish
means of dissemination survived in the struggle for existence.
But the barriers to be passed over may not have been in all, or
even most, cases hills. Sir John Lubbock finds that the only trees
that bear winged fruits are forest-trees, which fact would seem
to indicate that such fruits in many instances have been evolved
in order to be carried over vast tracts of dense woodland. But
the theory here set forth remains unshaken, and is really thus sup-
ported, for the principle is the same, namely, that there were
areas so conditioned that germination and growth thereon was
impossible or unusual, and these unproductive tracts must be tra-
versed so that at length the seeds might find a resting-place in
propitious and fertile soil.

To sum up : It is certain that key-fruits were developed in a
country where they became of far greater service to the trees
which bore them than they appear to be to the ash-trees and
maples in many regions of our eastern United States and else-
where. But I do not wish to insist that the barriers to be sur-
mounted were necessarily hills. They may have been broad dry
plains, or forest-growths of other kinds of trees, or even bodies
of water — it all depends upon the nature of the region where the
changing form first grew.

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CHILDREN S GARDENS. 237

CHILDREN'S GARDENS AND THEIR VALUE TO
TEACHERS OF BOTANY AND NATURE STUDY.

By Henry Griscom Parsons,

Assistant Director of Children's School Farm, DeWitt

Clinton Park, Nczv York City.

The widespread interest that is being taken in children's school
gardens is, in a measure, dne to the fact that wherever the work
has been taken up, some side of it finds lively appreciation in the
mind of every beholder. It is eminently practical, because what
is learned is of immediate use in the child's daily life, at home and
in the school room. Teachers quickly see how the garden work
can be made to vitalize some of the at present " dry " subjects.
Properly administered, a school garden can be made a source of
inspiration to the whole curriculum, and the time is coming when
such gardens will be connected with our schools wherever possible.

In a subject like botany the lessons often become mere groups
of troublesome words, soon forgotten ; but for the child to learn
of the plants in his own little garden, plants whose very existence
he feels sure are largely due to his care and labor, is a progres-
sive pleasure. The child, having a garden of his own, is inspired
with a strong personal interest in the plants, which takes from
the teacher's shoulders a large share of the burden of instruction ;
but this interest of the pupil will be made as nothing unless the
teacher is endowed with that sympathetic wisdom which makes
him understand that the child wants to know about his own
plants. In any study, let the teacher create in the class a personal
interest in the work and then there will be no need of pushing
the pupils ; instead they will have to be restrained to enable the
teacher to keep up with them.

If the child prepares the soil, plants the seeds, cultivates, waters
and weeds, and for the time owns the plot of ground and all it
contains, no matter how small it is, this sense of ownership, com-
bined with the labor he has put upon it, creates the strongest kind

238 THE PLANT WORLD.

of personal interest. The child that has worked with his hands
in the earth making the seed bed, planting the seeds and covering
them with fine soil, removing stones and breaking lumps, press-
ing the surface here or loosening it there for different results, has
a real and definite knowledge which can never be effaced ; and
when the teacher of botany calls upon such a child to suggest
reasons why a fine seed bed is desirable for small seeds his answer
is made after calling upon his five senses and several centers of
information of his body. His feet remember the difference be-
tween the spaded and unspaded plot ; his hands remind him of
plots where one could run the fingers deep into soil like flour, and
of others where one's whole strength could make no impression
on the hard cracked surface. His eyes remind him of how differ-
ent were the final results in growth on these two kinds of soils.
And so, as the questions are asked by the teacher, the child
answers from a memory stored with experiences which are clear
cut, well defined, usable.

A plot of ground a foot square can be made to furnish material
for a dozen sciences, geography, composition, arithmetic ; almost
every subject can be taught with the garden as a text. The
earthworm in the ground ; the butterfly hovering over the plant ;
the caterpillar eating the leaves ; the aphis sucking the sap ; the
lady-bug eating the aphis ; the beans " backing up " from the
soil ; the onions coming up doubled as though they were to be
threaded through a darning needle ; the flies " going to roost " at
night ; the spiders catching the flies ; everything is of the utmost
interest to the small gardeners.

To the teacher of botany the pupil's garden plot will be of
very great help, and an introduction to a wider range of study is
easily arranged through the weeds that come in. In one garden
a specimen of each different weed found was relegated to the
weed plot, and soon there were several wild cousins of the tame
plants. Some of them were the following:

Tame. Wild.

Tomato Jimson weed

Portulacca Pusley

Buckwheat Smartweed

Radish Mustard

children's gardens. 239

The United States Government issues a bulletin on weeds used
in medicine, most of which are very common, and this knowledge
adds must interest in becoming acquainted with them. The
hardiness of weeds, their manner of bearing seeds, their pro-
lificacy, and means of distribution are all more interesting when
we come into the closer relationship which the garden work
gives. Even here we find that a weed or strange plant coming
up in the child's own plot will receive close attention and he will
want to know about it, when the same plant growing elsewhere
he does not care about. And it is this stimulated interest which
comes through the child's garden which makes the garden so
valuable to the teacher.

Another item of great importance to the teacher : the garden can
be made to save many weary trips afield in search of material for
the class-room. Many earnest teachers to-day rob themselves of
hard-earned hours of freedom while collecting material for botany
or nature-study lessons, and then, perhaps, give their classes
plants or insects to study which the pupils in their daily life will
seldom come in contact with. Would it not be wise, and would
not material be more accessible, if our common vegetables were
used more in the class-room, and would not the resulting knowl-
edge of more lasting benefit to the pupils ?

In the children's garden the whole life history of plants and
insects can be presented objectively, and this fixes the knowledge
as no other means can.

Mr. Howard H. M. Bowman, in the June number of the Plant
World, speaks of the specific name of the tree of heaven as re-
ferring to the glands of the bark, which, he says, exudes when
injured a very sticky, resinous gum. Professor William Trelease,
in answer to a question addressed to him from the editor, writes :

" I have not the original description of Ailaiithiis glandiilosa,
but extracts from it, published in Usteri's Annalen, immediately
after its appearance, show that the leaf glands are repeatedly re-
ferred to, sometimes by way of contrast with glandless things,
and I do not think there is any question as to what character the
specific name was intended to refer."

240 THE PLANT WORLD.

WILD FRUITS AND SHRUBS OF THE PRIEST RIVER

VALLEY.

By J. C. Blumer.

The extreme northwestern part of Idaho consists of a valley
some fifty miles in length and eighteen miles in width. In the
center lies Lake Kaniksu, or Priest Lake, extending across three
townships in its length, and across one at its greatest width. It
feeds and is fed by the Priest River, which drains the basin in its
southward course and empties into the Peud O'Reille. The
Cabinet Mountains, attaining a height of 8,000 feet in places and
forming the eastern boundary, extend from this river northward
to the Canadian boundary, where they unite with the Peud
O'Reille Hills, which form the western boundary and attain a
height of 5,000 feet. There are perhaps two townships of com-
paratively level country, consisting of white, yellow, and black
pine forest and swampy meadows, while the remainder of the basin
is filled with high slopes and spurs, where the western balsam,
red fir, and yellow pine flourish. The valley is well watered and
well forested, except about the lake, where the fire-fiend has wiped
out both the forest and the possibility of a young growth for many
decades to come.

This interesting region contains a number of wild fruits, some
of which are of horticultural as well as botanical interest. The
following notes were gathered while spending here the season of
1901 in the interests of the United States Forest Service.

The Oregon grape {Berberis re pens) is not a grape but a bar-
berry. It is a low bush 6-10 inches high, quite common on dry
ridges. The leaves are 1^/2-2 inches long, oval, thick and glab-
rous, with spiny margins. The blue, globular fruit, y^ inch in
diameter, is borne in small, grape-like clusters, and presents the
typical bloom of the grape. It is extremely acid, but it often
served to loosen the parched tongue and quicken the sluggish
limbs when climbing a long slope.

FRUITS AND SHRUBS OF PRIEST RIVER VALLEY. 24 1

The service-berry or Jtme-berry (Amclanchier alnifoiia^ occurs
somewhat commonly in some localities on open slopes. It is a
shrub 3-5 feet high, with small, alder-like leaves, as the name
implies. The calyx is persistent on the fruit, which is of the
same size as the Oregon grape, and borne in racemes. It is blue-
black in color and sweetish, sub-acid in taste. When hungry
on the way to camp, we often regaled ourselves with this excellent
fruit. It yields itself readily to cultivation and improvement.

The wild strawberry (Fragaria sp.*) is a smaller plant than
our F. Virginiana and F. lUinoensis of the east and middle west.
It grows nearly everywhere on open ground, to the top of the
highest hills. Its fruit is elliptical, ^—^2 inch in length, with
conical achenes or seeds, not borne in pits as our eastern wild
berry, but on the surface, as in Fragaria vcsca, the European
strawberry. It is both juicy and aromatic. Color and taste need
no description, for the strawberry is known and welcomed with
delight wherever found.

The thimble-berr}- or salmon-berry (Rubus nntkamis) fre-
quently forms a dense ground-cover of the slightly open forest of
semi-moist slopes and hills. It is 2-3 feet in height, with the leaf
of the raspberry, but six inches in diameter. Its flowers are the
size of our wild rose, and a dense thimble-berry patch in July
often presents a beautiful appearance. The flattened fruit is
about ^ inch across, and when ripe, it can easily be shaken from
the broad, flat receptacle. It is bright crimson, pleasant sub-acid,
but somewhat insipid.

The red raspberry (Rub lis strigasus) is not common. It likes
to spring up in burnt areas on hillsides, where it occasionally
forms dense patches that make excellent picking. It resembles
our cultivated raspberry very much, both in plant and fruit. To
eat out of hand it is equal to or superior to the best cultivated
raspberry of the middle west.

The black-cap raspberry is another fine fruit, but somewhat
rare. It is probably a western form of the variable Rubus occi-
dentaUs. It seems to find congenial foothold about the log cabins

* This is probably Sandberg's No. 508. collected here in 1892 (Cent. U.
S. Nat. Herb. III., 4). No specific name is given it in this reference.

242 THE PLANT WORLD.

and in the corners of the rail fences. Its long, purple, arched
canes are hung with an oblong berry of like color and good size,
tender texture, and delicious flavor, superior to our cultivated
varieties. Under selection and cultivation something fine might
be made out of several of these fruits.

The wild plum {Pniiiiis siibcordafa) is quite rare. The writer
only saw it six or seven times in a four months' sojourn in the
valley. It is a small, slender tree not over 6 or 7 feet in height,
with few spines and small oval fruit, otherwise resembling typical
Pniiius Americana.

The wild cherry {Pniiius donissa) occurs sparingly as a slender
shrub 2-12 feet high. Its fruit is not black and small as seen in
Nebraska, but ^ inch in diameter, bright red, sweet, astringent,
with a globular pit.

The hawthorn, probably allied to Cratccgus rivularis or Doitglasii,
is a small tree 8-12 feet high, with smooth white bark and ugly
sharp spines ^ of an inch in length. More than once they un-
ceremoniously detained us and subjected us to a painful pause.
The fruit is of the shape, and of slightly more than the size, of the
service-berry. As with the latter, the calyx is persistent on the
fruit. It is found sparingly on the borders of swamps.

The huckle-berry or blue-berry grows from six inches to four
feet in height, and botanists may make two or more species of this
delightful fruit for that locality. In the large form, perhaps Vac-
cinium uliginositm, the fruit occasionally reaches ^ inch in diam-
eter. It is globular in form, dark blue to jet black in color, and
dented on top when fully ripe. The opposite leaves are oval and
mostly acute, thin, smooth, whitish beneath, and serrulate or finely
toothed. In the small form, which is perhaps J^acciniitm myrtUlus
or ccespitosum, the berry is J4 "ich in diameter, dark red to black
with a bluish tinge. It frequents the drier and more open grassy
slopes, while the tall form occurs in dense and flourishing patches
upon what the forester calls fresh slopes. These are moist, shady,
usually north slopes with a heavy stand of forest. It was our
experience to find the best huckleberry patches associated with
the finest timber, indicating a deep, good soil and plenty of moist-
ure with good drainage. These patches constituted our El Dorado.

FRUITS AND SHRUBS OF PRIEST RIVER VALLEY. 243

Many were the sidelong looks and grasps as we passed through
them. After lunch was eaten, we would supplement it with several
times its bulk of this most luscious of wild fruits, nor would
supply give out, or desire grow less.

The bearberry {Arctostaphylos iii'a-ursi) , growing from 3
inches to one foot in height, is the most common shrub in the
valley. It often completely carpets the more open hills and slopes,
with a thick mat of its recumbent stems, rich, green leaflets, and
a profusion of its round, purplish-red berries. The leaves are ^
to one inch in length, oval, glabrous and fleshy, wath smooth
margin. They form the tobacco of the red man. He constructs
a small stone kiln, places over it a piece of matting made from
willow and alder sticks, woven together with osier or buckskin
after the fashion of a slat fence. Upon this he puts the gathered
leaves of the kinnikennik, by which cognomen the bearberry is
universally styled in that country. When dry to a certain degree,
he sacks it up, and smokes it. The flavor is very mild in com-
parison to our commercial weed, }'et the smoking members of our
party would often prolong their waning supply by drying and
mixing kinnikennik with their Bull Durham, Duke's Mixture, et
cetera. The fruit is ^-j/^ inch in diameter. The rind reminds
one of the crab-apple in taste. The flesh is mealy, acid-acrid, sour
to bitter, but not unpleasant. It contains from 4-6 seeds, of size
and shape of those of the rose. It has a persistent, 5-parted calyx
at the base.

Pachystima myrsinitcs is a very abundant and characteristic
shrub of the woods of medium density. Having no common
name of its own, it is probably included with the bearberry. It at-
tains a height of 6 inches to 2 feet. Its sessile, evergreen leaflets
greatly resemble those of the bearberry, except that they are
sharply toothed, serrate around the upper two-thirds.

The buffalo-berry (Lepargyrea canadensis) is a fine shrub of
about 3 feet height, one that would be an ornament to any lawn.
It is somewhat rare. Its foliage is not unlike that of some wil-
lows, and presents a silvery appearance. The fruit is from yi-}i
inch in diameter, of bright, crimson color, thin, shining skin and
juicv pulp. The first taste is pleasant acid, the after-taste bitter

244 THE PLANT WORLD.

acrid. The twigs bear peculiar, 3-5 fold buds closely clustered
below the leaves.

The wild rose presents two or more species. The first is simi-
lar to our eastern woodland rose (Rosa blanda) , both in leaf and
blossom. It is not common, and grows only in the more open
places, upon the moister soil. It commonly grows to a height of
2-3 feet. The writer found one specimen, however, in a copse on
the banks of the majestic Peud O'Reille River, that measured fully
8 feet in height. This may have been R. colifoniica or an allied
species.

The small form grows only in the shade of the forest, being
visited but now and then by a speck of sunshine. It grows from
6 inches to 3 feet high. Its blossoms are ^-i inch in diameter,
and its hips are correspondingly small and oval. It is very
probably R. gymnocarpa. Its leaves are small and, like those of
most forest plants, are very thin and delicate. One may observe
that the whole scanty flora of the dense forest shades extends its
foliage horizontally, in order to catch every precious bit of sun-
light. This is in marked contrast to the greater or less perpen-
dicularity of the prairie foliage, which thus avoids the burning
summer sun.

The meadow-sweet (Holodiscus discolor). This is the beau-
tiful shrub that lends to the many hilltops of the Priest River
Valley their exquisite, park-like attraction. The ponderous
crowns of the bull pine wave in the breeze above, on every hand
are copses of young red fir, of fresh and lively green, amongst
which the trail of the deer leads us over grass-covered plots set
here and there in nature's inimitable way with this handsome,
richly-scented shrub. It grows from 4-10 feet high. Its light-
green, triangular leaves are 3-lobed and toothed, and possess
prominent veins. The small, creamy-white, 5-petaled flowers
are borne in dense, compound panicles, or grape-like clusters.
The 3-5 sub-panicles extend at right angles to the main axis,
which attains a length of 5-10, or sometimes 12 inches. This
shrub, where hardy, is worthy of extensive planting on lawns and
parks.

FRUITS AND SHRUBS OF PRIEST RIVER VALLEY. 245

Its cousin (Spirara betuli folia, var. rosea) is a shrub locally
known as the hardback. It is somewhat smaller, growing from 2-8
feet high. Unlike its relative, it inhabits and dominates the
smaller swamps, and forms almost impenetrable thickets along
the borders of the larger ones. Consequently we never loved it
like its cousin, the fair maiden of the hills. Its pretty, rose-colored
blossoms are borne in a thyrse, or dense oblong cluster, about
half as large as the looser panicles of H. discolor. Occasionally
a thyrse presents a partly upright sub-cluster. The small leaves
are ovate-lanceolate to lance-shaped, with the upper half serrate.

The alder {Alniis incaiia var. viresccns) is found in considerable
numbers as a shrub and small tree to 20 feet high, following brooks
and edges of swamps. The leaves are 2 by 3 inches in size,
smooth, oval, doubly toothed and feather-veined, which is promi-
nent beneath. The catkins are ^-i inch in length and ^ inch
thick.

The only species of maple occurring in the basin is the Acer
glabruiu. It is a shrub and small, straggling tree occasionally
reaching the maximum height of the alder. Its diameter is never
more than 5 inches. Its leaves are either 3- or 5-lobed, circular
in outline, thin, and horizontally placed. The twigs and leaf-
stalks are of pink or reddish tinge. It inhabits somewhat sparingly
moist spots and " draws " on the higher slopes.

The elder {Samhucns racemosa) occurs sparingly in moist
spots at altitudes of 4-5,000 feet, in company with the maple. Its
compound leaves and bright compound cymes of scarlet fruit are
ornamental wherever seen.

The buckthorn {Rhammis Purshiana) is a shrub and small tree
to 15 feet in height, and somewhat scarce, occurring in low places.
Leaves 2 by 3 inches, oval, acuminate and serrate. The inedible,
black fruit is 3^ inch in diameter, and of unpleasant bitterness.

The snowberry is probably either Symphoricarpos racemosus or
6^. oreophilns. It is a small shrub to 2 feet tall, quite abundant
in a few places. The leaves are ^-i inch in length, thin, smooth,
oval, and borne on whitish stems. It bears white, watery, inedible
fruit of huckleberry size, placed in the axils.

246 THE PLANT WORLD.

Buckbrnsh is the largest constituent of the brush of the valley.
There are at least two species, of which Ceanothiis z'clutinus is the
most attractive. It possesses thick, oval to circular leaves. The
foliage is so refulgent that it gives at all times of day the appear-
ance of being covered with a heavy dew upon which the sun
shines. The fruit, borne in a corymb, resembles a buckwheat seed
in shape and size. It attains a height of 2-5 feet, and readily
takes possession of " burns," often to the exclusion of everv-
thing else.

Ceanothiis sanguineus differs from its relative in smaller foli-
age, that lacks altogether the remarkable reflective power of the
latter. It more often takes possession of the steeper burnt slopes.
It has a habit of reclining down hill, and its exceedinglv dense
growth forms a barrier, to surmount which tries the strength
and fortitude of the forester to the utmost. Is it a wonder that
the tender seedlings of a fire-killed forest perhaps never again
gain a foothold?

The nine-bark {Opulaster monogynus) is perhaps even more
prevalent than the foregoing, growing everywhere except in
swamps and the densest shade. But by reason of its smaller bulk
it is less obtrusive. Its leaves resemble those of the gooseberry.
Its inconspicuous flowers are borne in small flat clusters or
corymbs.

THE GERMINATION OF THE MORNING GLORY.

By Mary Ellen Tayler.

An article in the Botanical Gazette for August, 1905, by Pro-
fessor Beale, suggests certain germination experiments wdiich
were undertaken by the writer upon the seeds of our common
morning glory, Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth, in connection with
the study of the development and morphology of that species. In
tlie unripe seed the embryo is bright green, but as the seeds ripen
the embryo becomes yellowish or whitish. Characteristic leaf
structures, such as palisade parenchyma and stomata, are present
in the cotyledons before germination. Large spherical cavities

GERMINATIOX OF THE MORNING GLORY.

247

filled with latex are found in the parenchyma, as has been reported
for C OUT ok' id us major by Turnbull. Whether the chlorophyllous
cotyledons with their leaf-like structure and the storage of latex
are ready for germination without further maturation and a period
of rest is a question which can be answered only by experimen-
tation. To obtain some light upon the subject, seeds of the morn-
ing glory, varying in age and maturity, were planted in garden
soil and observations were recorded upon their germination. The
table below sums up these experiments.

Condition of the Seeds.

Number
Planted.

Number
Germinated.

Days in
Germination.

Per Cent.
Germinating.

Fresh and green

Cjreen, air dried until white

Mature, but no period of rest

Dry, after a period of rest

104

S«
90

60

25
100
100

41
16
76

17
16

97

25

26
22
IS

8
8
8
8

39
27

83
28

Immature (1903) rest of 8 mos.
Mature { I903) rest of 12 mos....
Mature (1893) rest of 10 years..

64

97

. 25

Further, plants grown in a green-house from immature green
seeds blossomed earlier, had shorter stems and produced fewer
seed-pods by about one-half than did those raised under the same
conditions from seeds having no chlorophyll in the embryo.
When the plants so grown from immature green seeds had ceased
to blossom, those raised from mature colorless seeds were thrifty
and still forming buds and maturing flowers and fruit. Both
kinds of seeds were planted at the same time.

From the facts demonstrated above, certain conclusions may
be drawn, (i) Giving a resting period to the fully ripe seed
shortens the time required for germination. (2) Drying green
seeds shortens their period of germination. (3) Dry, mature
seeds having no chlorophyll germinate more quickly than fresh
green seeds. (4) Fully matured and rested seeds germinate ir
eight days or less, whether the period of rest be eight months, a
year, or ten years. (5) Twenty-five per cent, of matured seeds
retained their vitality for ten years. (6) The highest per cent,
of germination occurs in seeds one year old. (7) Seeds ripen
earlier upon plants grown from unripe seeds, but the vegetative
parts are more scanty and the amount of fruit less than upon
plants grown from matured seeds.

248 THE PLANT WORLD.

REVIEW.

Entomology, unth special reference to its biological and economic

aspects. By Justus Watson Folsom, instructor in entomology
^at the University of Illinois. 8vo, pp. 7 -{-485. Five plates

(one colored and 300 figures). Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's

Son & Co., 1906. $3.00.

This is a book which does not belong to the how-to-know class,
but which, nevertheless, may be suspected to be of value to the
learner in entomology, and will lead him, if real knowledge is
sought, to more than the superficial view of insects, such as some
may have in spite of many years of diligent " pinning." The
treatment is biological, and as so much has been learned about
insects in the last few years which has not got into the books, the
author has had a rich harvest to draw upon. The reviewer is
not an entomologist, but is enough interested to feel that the book
has a real value for him and infers this to be true for many others,
at least as far as the large body of information is concerned. The
treatment of the speculative aspects of the science which, of
course, are those which it shares with the other, particularly nat-
ural, sciences, is hardly as lucid as it might be, and these may well
have been sacrificed to a fuller and more satisfying discussion of
other matters. It is to be feared that the usefulness of the
book, good as it is, has been curtailed by the desire for complete-
ness. The world from the entomological point of view is too big
a subject for one work. A large and presumably fairly, if not
entirely exhaustive, bibliography covers nearly sixty pages, and
this will be of permanent usefulness to the student. The taxonomy
of the subject is left to the other well-known works. Of the type
of Packard's " Insects," but brought down to the present, it will

serve in the place of this well-known work.

L.

Fig. 40. Grove of Crvhtonicria in the Botanical Garden at Tokyo. The
trees are handsome conifers resembHng our cedars and redwoods. From
a photograph by the author.

Volume 9 Number ii

The Plant World

a Jftap^inc pf popular ^otanp
NOVEMBER, 1906

THE TOKYO BOTANICAL GARDEN

By Professor Francis Ramaley,
University of Colorado.

In America, where botanical gardens are few, where one must
often travel a thousand miles or more to find one, we do not
appreciate how much they mean for the advancement of botanical
knowledge. Our universities might well copy from Europe the
plan of having such gardens, even if they can not be large. A
botanical garden not only serves as a place of instruction where
young men may study, but it may also become a place of historic
interest.

The botanical garden at Tokyo is one which every botanist
should be glad to visit. In it may be seen plants very different
from those cultivated in Europe and America — the native plants
of Japan and the far East, with, of course, a sprinkling of Euro-
pean and American species. Whoever sees the great Ginkgo*
tree, now historic through the work of Hirase, carries with him
a picture long to be remembered.

This large tree is about two hundred years old and is in its
prime. Ginkgo trees are much planted all through Japan, espe-
cially in large parks and in the vicinity of temples. The trees

* Material from this tree was used by Hirase in his researches on
fertilization in this species. Through his work the botanical world first
learned of motile spermatozoids in gymnosperms. Later Ikeno found
similar structures in Cycas, and, in our country, Webber's studies brougnt
the knowledge of fertilization in Zaiiiia.

252 THE PLANT WORLD.

grow to a great age and around some of them are clustered mem-
ories of episodes important in Japanese history. At the Temple
of Hachiman, in Kamakura, is a fine specimen with trunk eight
feet in diameter. Behind this in the year 12 18 it is said the as-
sassin of the Shogun Sanetomo lay in wait for his victim. In
fact the Ginkgo, or " icho " as the Japanese call it, takes the
place of oaks and elms in English and American history. The
foliage of the Ginkgo reminds the observer of the leaf segments
of the maiden-hair fern and Europeans sometimes call it " maiden-
hair tree." In autumn the leaves become a brilliant golden yellow
and add not a little to the beauty of many a Japanese scene.

A few years ago the present botanical garden belonged to one
of the Japanese aristocracy. With the downfall of the feudal
system in 1868 came the relinquishment to the state of many valu-
able private estates, and in this way botanical garden and institute
became possible. The present botanical garden with its well
equipped laboratories and many students is about twenty-five years
old. It is under the jurisdiction of the Imperial University.

The garden is located about a mile from the University campus
in the northern part of the city of Tokyo. Its position is officially
described in the University calendar as " Hakusan, Gotenmachi,
Koishikawa, Tokyo." In size the garden is not large, there being
about forty acres, but most of this area is in a high state of culti-
vation. There are about three thousand species of living plants.
In the main part of the garden the arrangement is by families,
according to the system of Engler and Prantl. Besides this part
there is a group of medicinal plants and also an ecological series
of plants which grow in shady situations. A green-house of
European construction is provided for the tropical species. Be-
side this a number of plant-houses and arbors in native style
ofifer opportunity for the display of the well-known Japanese
taste in floral arrangement.

Although the garden is attractive, it is by no means a mere
show-place. Students in botany, entomology and pharmacy are
required to spend certain hours in study there and those in some
lines gain a great amount of practical experience in this work.
The high degree of specialization in the courses of the university

THE TOKYO BOTANICAL GARDEN.

253

Fig. 41. The Botanical Institute Building, Tokyo Botanical Garden.

a photograph by the author.

From

requires that students give most of their time to the major subject
and those who specialize in botany come to look upon the botanical
garden as almost home to them.

The botanical garden, as an organization, is a part of the
" Botanical Institute of the College of Science." The director of
the garden is the head of the department of botany, Professor J.
Matsumura.* Students of botany go into the garden every time
they go to the laboratory, for the institute building is well within
the garden. Even the narrow specialist who spends his time look-
ing down a microscope tttbe must see something of the garden
and thus gain a larger view of botany in general.

If the reader should imagine that the laboratory building is
strictly modern with hardwood floors, steam heat, high ceilings
and fine equipment generally, he would be much mistaken. When
a Japanese from one of the smaller cities is asked to name the best
building in his town he says " the school building." So, I doubt
not, the average Japanese would think the botanical institute
btiilding a very fine one, but it does not compare favorably with
ordinary college and university buildings in America. It is
warmed by stoves — I had almost said heated, but that would be

* The writer is under great obligation to Professor Matsumura for in-
formation about the garden and for a number of the photographs repro-
duced as illustrations in this article.

2 54 THE PLANT WORLD.

untrue — and such furniture as is there is very cheap in its con-
struction.

But if the building and furniture are not of the best, there is
a good equipment in instruments and chemicals. The men of the
faculty and the advanced students are indefatigable workers and
offer an example of industry to the young men studying in the
department. True, the students need much encouragement be-
cause theirs is a hard path to travel. In America and Europe the
student finds it hard enough to become acquainted with a subject
so bound up in terminology and nomenclature, but it is much more
difficult for a native of Japan.

To the Japanese boy all difficulties are increased on account of
the foreign tongue and foreign alphabet employed by botanists.
Gray's " Lessons in Botany " is much used by beginners, although
the more modern works are now gaining recognition. Nearly
all the species mentioned in the text-books are unknown to the
Japanese student. Usually he has almost no knowledge of Latin
or Greek. So the technical terms, partly self-explained to the
classical student, must be learned separately. Instruction is given
through the medium of the Japanese language, yet the lecturers
make continual use of English words, especially in describing
physiological processes. While the student takes his notes in
Japanese he must very often put down a word or phrase in this
other language written with different characters and having a
totally foreign appearance.

Some very good morphological and physiological work has
been done in Tokyo, but it seems to be along taxonomic lines that
most energy is directed at present. An attempt is being made to
gain a good knowledge of the native plants of the empire, and
extensive herbarium collections have been made in recent years.
The marine algae have received most painstaking attention from
Mr. K. Yendo* and others. The seed plants have been studied
by Professor Matsumura and his associates. Although the Jap-
anese have not spent much time in hair-splitting discussions of

* The writer wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Mr. Yendo for
information on many points of interest concerning the botanical garden
and also many other things Japanese.

THE TOKYO BOTANICAL GARDEN. 255

nomenclature they have really done very close and careful work in
the description of species. Some of the publications of the
Botanical Institute are very handsomely printed and illustrated.

Japanese botanists have an interesting flora with which to
work. The very moist climate permits the northward extension
of many southern forms. To the botanist Japan is a land of con-
trasts. At one glance he may see bamboos and camphor trees
and fields of rice, all reminding him of the tropics, while with a
turn of the head he may have brought to his mind his American
or European home with the sight of barley and wheat fields or
groups of pines and maples. Japan has been well characterized
as a " kingdom of magnolias, camelias and aralias." These genera
and their allies are well represented in the botanical garden. One
of the most striking features noted by the present writer on the
occasion of his first winter-dav visit to the garden was a larg-e bed
of Fatsia japonica. one of the Araliaceae, in full leaf. At the
same time a few of the CauicJia flowers, a little more hardv than
the rest, were open to view. The Magnolia buds also, though it
was early January, had swelled enough to show their cream-
colored petals.

The people of Japan are fond of " gardens " and so the botanical
institute must needs have a Japanese garden for show purposes.
While the principal part of the botanical garden is given up to
beds of herbs and shrubs in European style — or rather lack of
style — there is this charming little plot of ground arranged with
the most exquisite native taste. Here are no geometric walks,
no ill arranged flower masses, no array of stifif sign-boards. In-
stead there are winding walks, stepping stones through glisten-
ing pools, rustic bridges, dwarfed trees of symmetrical form and
handsome dark-green shrubs trimmed in rounded masses.

A true Japanese garden is something to delight the eye in its
daintiness and good taste. The foreign botanist enjoys this ex-
hibition of horticultural art so unknown to him, and he admires
the skill of the gardener who makes his trees and shrubs grow
just as he wants them to grow. He admires, too, the curious and
unfamiliar trees and shrubs which are there. Flowers there are
none. To most people a garden without flowers suggests Hamlet

256

THE PLANT WORLD.

Fig. 42. Landscape garden in pure Japanese style. From a photograph
furnished by Professor J. Matsumura.

with Hamlet left out. Nevertheless there is no sense of incom-
pleteness in looking- at a Japanese garden. Sitch a garden is a
whole landscape in miniature, and it is intended by its arrangement
to give an idea of largeness which it does not possess.*

The particular garden which we are considering is not much
over two acres in extent. The ground is rolling, and there is a
deep basin with a small pond. In this " landscape garden " the
visitor sees nothing of the outside world, which is adroitly hidden
by the massing of trees and shrubs along the higher ground. It
is this landscape garden which makes the Tokyo botanical garden
different at all seasons from all other gardens in the world. Of
course the cherry blossoms and other special features arc more
conspicuous at certain seasons, but the landscape garden is beati-
tiful at all times.

While the Japanese delight in gardens without flowers, yet they
enjoy flowers too. Everyone knows about Japanese " cherry

* The writer wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Mr. Chamber-
lain's " Things Japanese " from which he has taken certain points used in
this paragraph.

THE TOKYO BOTANICAL GARDEN.

■S7

blossoms," but few people bave any idea of tbeir beauty or of tbe
number of trees planted in the cities of Japan. These blossoms
are pink and some are doubled to a great extent. ( )f course they
do not bear edible fruit.* In the botanical garden at Tokyo there
are great rows of these trees flanking the open spaces. During
blossom-time thousands of visitors come to the gardens who
would not think of coming at other times. Doubtless some may
see only the cherry blossoms, but some may become interested
in other things as well. In Japan, as in the western world,
science can be made popular by using appropriate means.

In such an account as this it would not do to omit mention of
the Cryptomeria grove in the garden. These trees are handsome
conifers resembling somewhat our cedars and growing very tall
and straight. Visitors to the sacred city of Nikko in northern
Japan are always impressed with the " cedars," but the trees in
Tokyo are quite as handsome although smaller. The writer
of this article holds no more pleasant memories than of strolls

-^Hiv

.■^^'■h

m

gH

Fig. 43. Cherry blossoms (Priimts ycdocnsis) in the Tokyo Botanical
Garden. From a photograph furnished by Professor J. Matsumura.

* Two or more species of Pruiuts are cultivated by the Japanese for
ornament.

258 THE PLANT WORLD.

through this little grove. Each day in the garden one can walk
beneath the Cryptomerias and find new pleasure and satisfaction.

On the whole the botanical garden at Tokyo is not a great
institution, but it is one of which any university might well be
proud. It answers the purposes of study very well. It is so ar-
ranged that the most satisfactory results are obtained with com-
paratively little money outlay. For native students of botany it
is of the greatest importance since it enables them to become
acquainted most readily with their own flora.

Every student of botany should be a traveler. Every traveler
who would appreciate the country which he sees should know
something about plants. The easiest way to gain an introduction
to Japanese botany is by study in the botanical garden at Tokyo.
American botanists especially should know something of the
" land of the rising sun " whose plant life can here be so easily
studied.

LICHENS: THEIR ECONOMIC ROLE.

By Professor Bruce Fink,
Miami University.

Far back in the very distant past some fungi took to a method
of life very different from that of the great majority of closely
related species. That peculiar digression was an intimate associ-
ation with certain algae, green or blue-green. The symbiotic
relationship entered into was doubtless at first accidental, but it
proved beneficial to fungus or alga or both, and has been perpetu-
ated. When the first such association of algae and fungi took
place will never be known, but some undoubted fossils of lichens
have been found as far back as Tertiary times, — perhaps 2,000,000
years ago. Since the time of first association of alga and fungus
in a symbiotic relationship, that relationship of the chlorophyllous
plants and fungi entering into the symbiotic partnership has be-
come more and more intimate as age after age has passed, until
now some investigators regard lichens as autonomies or morpho-

lichens: their economic role. 259

logical units rather than symbiotic colonies of algae and fungi
growing together.

But it were folly for us to enter at length into a controversy
that has filled volumes. Whether the lichen may be regarded as a
plant in any true sense or not, we may speak of the " lichen plant "
in order to avoid unnecessary circumlocution. Also, certain
mycologists consider witches' brooms, burls, swellings, due to
fungus infection, etc., as individuals, at least in a physiological
sense, and if this view is well founded, lichens have surely added
to definite function constancy of morphological characters and
may as reasonably be considered autonomies, both physiological
and morphological.

While we may not regard as settled the question of the nature
of lichens, there are many questions regarding the morphology
and physiology of these, at least so-called plants, that are of very
great interest to the biologist, and it is worth while to recall the
relation of lichens to other things in nature from the point of view
of utility or detrimental efl:ect. In giving this popular statement,
the present writer can do no more than bring together once more
some of the facts that have repeatedly appeared in print.

Lichens, like the higher chlorophyll-bearing plants, take large
amounts of COo from the air in the processes of nutrition ; they
build up lichenin, a carbon compound very similar to starch, and
return to the atmosphere as free oxygen the portion not needed
in the production of the lichenin. It is estimated that the higher
plants take half of their food thus from the air and the other half
from the earth through the roots. It was formerly supposed that
lichens took a very small proportion, if any, of their food from
the substrata ; but that view is certainly incorrect, at least regard-
ing many lichens. However, it is quite likely that most lichens
take a smaller proportion of their food from the substratum, and a
larger proportion from the air than do the higher chlorophyll-
bearing plants. The algal cells of the lichen-partnership do the
work of building up lichenin, while the fungal portion of the
lichen furnishes protection to these algae and also takes more or
less of crude or elaborated food materials from the substratum.
Thus the lichens, in the ordinary processes of nutrition, purify

26o THE PLANT WORLD.

the air by extracting COo, the oxygen of which will not answer
the purposes of respiration so long as it remains in composition
with the carbon, and give back to the air a portion of the oxygen
in the free condition. Therefore there is some ground for the
old notion that the air is especially pure where lichens are abun-
dant. Even travelers in wild regions have sought such places for
camps and resting places over night, and certain it is that the
lichens are very sensitive to conditions of the atmosphere. They
tend to disappear in places where man congregates in large num-
bers, and are becoming scarce near our cities and larger towns.
This is due partly to the disturbance of substrata, but it is also true
that the dust and impurities of the air about cities are in some
way unfavorable to the lichens. Doubtless the dust falls the pores
of the thallus and interferes with the passage of gases, while
some impurities interfere with nutrition. or breathing or both. It
is not the intention to give the impression that lichens are the
great conservators of atmospheric purity, but rather that they
contribute their share of work toward this end and that it would
be to our advantage if they could be induced to grow more
abundantly in and about cities.

It is also well known that certain crustose lichens are the first
plants to attack rocks, and that they aid greatly in the reduction
of rocks to soil. It would seem from superficial observation that
some lichens might begin to grow on perfectly firm rock, and,
gaining a foothold, reach their full size and produce fruit while the
rock is still in a firm and wholly undisintegrated condition. For
instance, on the very hard Sioux quartzite in northwestern Iowa
and in southwestern Minnesota, the writer has found lichens
growing on perfectly smooth surfaces supposed to have been pol-
ished by wind before, or shortly after, the close of glacial times.
Yet this rock shows to the eye or lens no evidence of disintegra-
tion and is, macroscopically, in exactly the same condition under
the lichens as elsewhere. But in spite of this, it is not generally
supposed that the rhizoids of the lichens ever penetrate perfectly
firm rock, but rather that the lichen gains a point of attachment,
perhaps in microscopic openings, and then begins to secrete an
acid which slowly disintegrates the rock, the rhizoids penetrating

lichens: their economic role. 261

deeper and deeper as the work of the acid makes a way for them.
In many other regions where the rocks have not yet been dis-
turbed may be found crustose hchens growing on rock that has
not yet fallen to fragments, though so rotten for several inches
below the surface that it can easily be ground to fine particles
under foot. Thus the work of rock disintegration is aided in its
early stages by the lichens and especially by the crustose forms.
Here again we do not intend to convey the impression that these
lichens are the only agents of rock decay, but merely that they are
the first visible organic agency and really play an important part
in the process. Atmospheric agencies as rain, winds, changes in
temperature, etc., are certainly not to be disregarded. As the dis-
integration goes on and the rock at the surface is gradually re-
duced to small fragments and soil, the lichens decay and add their
quota of humus. Then on this bit of prepared earth, in some
crevice or flat surface of rock, the foliose and fruticose lichens
and certain mosses begin to appear and carry on the work begun
by the crustose species. Then in turn, appear some ferns, herba-
ceous seed-plants and finally shrubs and trees, first in the crevices
and finally spreading until the whole surface is covered and the
lichens are largely replaced by larger vegetation. All this may
be most beautifully seen in many places in Minnesota, Wisconsin.
Michigan, New England and in other parts of America.

Let us consider the uses of lichens as food. It is doubtful
whether even the wild animals eat lichens to any considerable
extent so far south as the pineries of northern United States, for
the reason that there is too much of other available plant food.
But it would not be surprising if some careful observations in
winter would show that the moose, caribou and deer of these
regions eat the " reindeer moss," Cladonia rangifcriiia and other
large Cladonias to some extent ; for these plants are common and
luxuriant. But farther northward the reindeer moss and some
other lichens are surely important as food for both man and
lower animals. Cladonia rangiferina and two or three closely
related species really form the principal food of the Laplander's
reindeer and become there as important as some of the grasses of
our prairies. This happens for the reason that larger plants do

262 THE PLANT WORLD.

not drive out the lichens so effectually at the north, so that the
" reindeer moss " and some other lichens literally cover large
areas as do the grasses in other places. Some suggestion of this
wonderful lichen growth may be seen in northern Minnesota,
Michigan and Wisconsin, where patches of such lichens may be
found covering an acre or more of ground, and in more northern
regions, both in America and Europe, the reindeer and other wild
and domestic animals depend more or less upon these lichens for
their food supply.

Lecanora esc id cut a grows loosely attached to the rocks in high
places in northern Africa, is carried long distances by the wind,
and falling in areas where food is scarce, is eaten b}^ the inhabi-
tants, both man and lower animals. This species is supposed to
have been the manna of the children of Israel. Nor is this the
only lichen commonly eaten by man, for Cetraria islandica, a
plant found in northern United States, forms an important part
of the food of the people of Iceland, and is eaten also by their
domestic animals. This plant is especially rich in the peculiar
starch-like compound so commonly built up in lichen tissues. Also
some of our Gyrophoras and other common lichens as Rainalina
calicaris, Parmelia physodes, Pcltigcra canina, and Evernia prit-
nastri have been used for food by man. From some of these
and certain other lichens may be extracted a substance very like
gum-arabic. The nutritive qualities of the lichens is due mainly
to the lichenin or starch-like material already mentioned as being
built up in the processes of nutrition. But there is a bitter sub-
stance also found in lichen tissues, which often gives an unpleasant
taste and is irritating to the digestive tract. This may be removed
by thorough washing in water or some alkali, when the plants
may usually be eaten with impunity. Arctic explorers, northern
hunters and trappers, the inhabitants of such countries as Lap-
land, Labrador, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Fin-
land, as well as travelers in the deserts of Africa, are very glad
to have such food for themselves and their domestic animals.
When grains or potatoes are at hand, the lichens may be pow-
dered and mixed with these articles of food, and a very palatable
bread may thus be made ; or the bitter principle may be removed

lichens: their economic role. 263

and the lichen thaUi boiled and eaten in milk without mixture
with grains or potatoes.

Quite a number of lichens have been used for medical purposes,
but few of the supposed medicinal qualities have been able to
stand the test of modern medical examination. Thus the " dog-
lichen," our common Peltigera canina, was formerly supposed to
be a curative of hydrophobia, hence the specific name. Likewise
our Sticta puliiioiiaria was supposed to cure pulmonary diseases,
while the well-known Usnca harhata was supposed to promote
the growth of hair and to be a sort of cure-all. And as the name
canina came from the Latin for dog, so we have in Evcrnia viil-
pina a specific name derived from z'ltlpcs, the Latin for fox, though
the plant is said to have been used mixed with other substances
to poison wolves rather than foxes. Lindsay, in his " Popular
History of British Lichens," states that Cetraria islandica fur-
nished preparations which were to be found in the drug stores of
England at the date of publication of his volume, 1865, as cura-
tives for dyspepsia, and we still find Cetraria given as a remedy in
our latest dispensatories. It is the bitter principle of the lichens
that is supposed to give the medicinal value, and it has been used
in fevers as a tonic and as a purgative as well as in the other ways
mentioned above. Also alcohol has been frequently made from
lichenin by fermentation.

But turning from the use of lichens in medicine, it may be said
that their use as dyes is more worthy of our attention. Dyes of
various colors have been extracted from lichens and are still
being used in various ways. These colors are usually reds, pur-
ples, or blues, and they are used for coloring cloth, wood, paper,
etc. In Europe these dyes have been quite largely used in
coloring homespun cloth and }arn, our common ParuicUa sa.va-
fUis being commonly used and producing various colors accord-
ing to the method employed in making the dye. In Evcrnia vul-
pina the yellow coloring matter is ready-formed in the thallus,
and the same may be said of the beautiful yellows and oranges of
our Thcloschistcs and Placodiiinis. Brown colors are also ready-
formed in many lichen thalli, are easily extracted and have been
used for home consumption. But most of these are not to be had

264 THE PLANT WORLD.

in sufficient quantity to manufacture the dyes in large quantities
for the markets. However, RocccUa tinctoria. a Hchen found on
our Pacific coast and on various coasts of the old world, produces
a pigment which has been known, by one name and another, since
earliest historic times. Orseille is one of the names applied to this
dye, and litmus is another name for it. This is no doubt the
" blue and purple " of the Old Testament, and in more recent
times the same dye was extensively used in France for coloring
silk. At the present time paper is colored with a neutral solution
of the dye and used commonly in chemical laboratories as litmus
paper. This paper forms a delicate test for acids and alkalis, the
acids coloring it red and the alkalis restoring the blue color.
Litmus is also found in the market as a carmine powder and as an
indigo-blue. In obtaining these lichen dyes, the thallus is pul-
verized, and then some alkali is applied to extract the dye. Litmus
is made chiefly in Holland.

In closing, something should be said regarding the relation
of lichens to trees. In France and other countries of Europe,
foresters have supposed that lichens are injurious to the trees
and have to a limited extent practiced scraping the larger ones
from the bark, along with certain large fungi. However, it
will be seen readily enough that it would be difficult to accom-
plish much in this way in large forests, even were it known that
the lichens were very injurious to the trees. In our own country,
M. B. Waite, while experimenting with fungicides on fruit trees,
noted also that the Bordeaux mixture killed the lichens very
effectually. He was not at all certain that the lichens were in-
jurious to the trees, but thought that they might at least interfere
with the functions of the bark. It is true that the more conspicu-
ous foliose and fruticose lichens are more common on unhealthy
trees than on thrifty ones, but the question still remains as to
whether the lichens have worked injury to the trees, or whether
the unhealthy trees are more easily penetrated by the rhizoids
of the lichens. Also it may be that the unhealthy trees furn-
ish for tlie lichens some food material not present in the healthy
trees, or not so easily obtained as from the unhealthy ones.
In short, it probably is not worth while to take the time to re-

VEGETATION OF BALD KNOB, ALA. 265

move the lichens from trees, cultivated or in forests, for the
sake of saving the trees from injury.

We have considered briefly the uses of lichens, and it is evident
enough that these plants are of some economic importance. Aside
from direct interest in economic problems, it is hoped that this
brief presentation may add somewhat to the more important as-
pects of lichenology, viz., taxonomic, morphological, ecological
and physiological. An excellent statement regarding the uses of
lichens may be found in Lindsay's " Popular History of British
Lichens," and the briefer statement in Schneider's " Guide to the
Study of Lichens " is also very in^-eresting and instructive.

THE VEGETATION OF BALD KNOB, ELMORE
COUNTY, ALABAMA.

By Roland M. Harper,
Geological Survey of Alabama.

Wetumpka, the county-seat of Elmore County, Alabama, is
situated on both sides of the Coosa River, just at the fall-line
(inland boundary of the coastal plain), and about 200 feet above
sea-level. The river crosses the fall-line at such a small ansrle
that it is almost tangent to it in going through Wetumpka, and
the old part of the town, on the east side of the river, is in the
crystalline or metamorphic region, while the newer part across
the river is in the coastal plain, the demarcation between the
two physiographic provinces being very sharp at this point.
For several miles west of Wetumpka the country is quite flat,
as in many other parts of the coastal plain, but immediately
east of the town a steep hill of quartzite and gneiss, known
as Bald Knob, rises rather abruptly to a height of some 300
feet above the river.* The highest summits of this hill are
thickly strewn with angular fragments of cjuartz, with the up-

* These topographic features are plainly shown on the U. S. Geological
Survey's topographic map of the Wetumpka (erroneously spelled We-
tumka) quadrangle, published in 1903.

266 THE PLANT WORLD.

turned edges of almost vertical strata of rotten gneiss exposed
in places. The slopes are similar but are covered with more or
less soil and humus, and are furrowed with numerous ravines.

A stay of two or three hours on Bald Knob on December 9,
1905, revealed some interesting examples of succession of vege-
tation, with almost all gradations between the most xerophytic
and the most mesophytic types. The vegetation of the whole
hill, except a portion of the lower slopes close to the town, is
practically in a state of nature, and therefore in excellent con-
dition for study.

Although the flora of the dry summits passes by imperceptible
gradations into that of the rich ravines, the whole can be grouped
into three fairly definite habitat elements, namely, the vegeta-
tion of summits, dry slopes or radial ridges, and ravines. In
each of the three following habitat lists the component species
are separated into trees, shrubs and herbs, and the members of
each of these three structural classes are arranged in order of
abundance, as nearly as could be determined with such a brief
examination.

On the highest summits the following species were noticed : Trees —
Pinus palustris Mill., Qucrcns Cafcsbaci Mx., Q. Marylandica Muench.,
Q. hrevifolia (Lam.), Sarg. ; Shrubs — Vaccinium nitidum Andr., Sym-
plocos tiiicforia (L.) L'Her.. Gaylussacia ditmosa (Andr.) T. & G.,
Ceanothtis Amcricanus L. ; Herbs — Pteridium aqiiilinum (L.) Kuhn,
Afzelia cassioides (Walt.) Gmel., Cracca Virginiana L., Chrysopsis grami-
nifolia (Mx.) Nutt., Andropogon argyraeus Schult., Gcrardia sp., Lespe-
deza hirta (L.) Ell., Smilax pnmila Walt., Scricocarpus linifolius (L.)
BSP., Polygala Curfissii Gray ?, Coreopsis major Ocmlcri (Ell.) Britton.

Of these Pinus palustris greatly exceeded in bulk all the rest of the
vegetation combined, but itself made a very open stand, so some idea of
the sparseness of the floral covering (from which the hill doubtless takes
its name) can be had. (See Fig. 44.)

On the dry slopes, or ridges between the ravines, the following species
prevailed : Trees — Pinus echinata Mill., Qucrcus Marylandica Muench.,
Q. prinus L., Q. velutina Lam., Q. minor (Marsh.) Sarg., Hicoria sp. ;
Shrubs — Batodcndron arborcum (Marsh.) Nutt., Ascyrum hypericoidcs
L. ?, Gelscmium scmpcrvircns (L.) Ait. f., Callicarpa Americana L. ;
Herbs — Chrysopsis graminifolia (Mx.) Nutt., Andropogon scoparius L.,
Solidago odora L., Aster patens Ait., Meibomia sp., Chamaecrista sp.,
Aristida purpurascens Poir., Kocllia incana (L.) Kuntze, Elcphantopus
tomcntosus L., Eupatorium aromaticum L., Mitchclla repens L., Antcnnaria
plantaginifolia (L.) Richards., Solidago petiolaris Ait. ?, Panicmn Porte-

VEGETATION OF BALD KNOB, ALA.

267

rianuni Nash ?, Sericocarptis astcroidcs (L.) BSP., Sporoholus junceus
(Mx.) Kunth.

This vegetation is much denser and somewhat richer in species than
that of the summits.

In the shady ravines, where humus was naturally abundant, the vegeta-
tion was chiefly of the familiar type which can be seen in rich woods or
on bluffs almost anywhere in the Eastern United States. The following
species were observed: Trees — Qiicrcus alba L., Fagus Americana Sweet,

Fig. 44. Scene near highest summit of Bald Knob, showing sparcity of
vegetation. Trees nearly all Piniis palustris.

Liriodcndron Tulipifera L., Qucrciis Priinis L., Ilr.v opaca Ait., Cornus
Aorida L., Oxydendrum arborcuni (L.) DC, Tilia sp., Liquidambar
StyraciHua L., Acer leucoderme Small; Shrubs — Hydrangea qucrcifolia
Bartr., H. arborescens L., PhiladclpJius sp., Kalmia latifoUa L.. Bignonia
crucigera L., Hamamelis Virginiana L., Smilax lanccolata L., Berchemia
scandens (Hill) Trel., Callicarpa Americana L. ; Herbs — Polystichum
aerostichoides (Mx.) Schott., Adiautum pedatum L., Asanini arifolimn L.,

268 THE PLANT WORLD.

Mitcliclla rcpcns L., Aster Caniptosorus Small, Smilax pumila Walt.,
Tipiilaria discolor Nutt, SoUdago caesia L., Epiphegus Virginiana (L.)
Bart., Heuclicra Americana L., Uniola laxa (L.) BSP., Arisaema Dra-
coiitiiim (L.) Schott, JJ'oodsia obtitsa (Spreng.) Torn

In the ravines there were very Hinited areas of rock outcrops
and of stream-beds, but these were so small that their flora is
not worth mentioning here. ,

If now we examine the characteristics of the three habitat-
groups above defined and of their components we shall find
some interesting relations between them.

Taking first the total ranges of all the species in each group,
we find that nearly all of those growing on the summits
are common inhabitants of the pine-barrens and other parts
of the coastal plain ; and a few of them are so nearly confined
to the coastal plain that I had never seen them outside of it be-
fore. The plants on the dry slopes can also nearly all be found
in some part of the coastal plain, either in dry pine-barrens or
in dry woods in the Eocene region farther inland, but the ma-
jority of them are likewise common throughout the Piedmont
region of the southeastern states (at the extreme southwestern
edge of which Bald Knob is situated) as well as on the southern
slopes of the Blue Ridge. Few of the species growing in ra-
vines are pine-barren plants, though nearly all of them occur
locally in hammocks or on bluft's in some parts of the coastal
plain. With few exceptions they have a pretty wide distribution
in the Alleghanies and Piedmont region, and several of them
range as far north as Canada.

Looking at the vegetation of Bald Knob from the standpoint
of historical development, it is pretty evident that as the hill
is gradually lowered by erosion, and at the same time humus
accumulates on the slopes, the summit flora must be gradually
giving place to that now inhabiting the dry slopes, and the latter
to that of the ravines, thus furnishing an excellent example of
natural succession. The same reasoning, in connection with
the discussion of ranges above, strengthens the evidence already
gathered from other sources that the vegetation of the pine-
barrens represents a pioneer or transient type, while that of

RICCARTON BUSH. 269

ihe much older metamorphic region approaches the " meso-
phytic cHmax " condition described by Dr. H. C. Cowles * and
subsequent writers. While the xerophytic extreme (for East-
ern North America) is pretty well exemplified on the summit
of Bald Knob, the ravines still lack considerable of reaching
the mesophytic climax condition, as is shown by the consider-
able number of evergreens (about one-third of the list), which
can hardly be considered typical of the climax forest. All this
perhaps indicates that Bald Knob has been submerged or other-
wise cleared of vegetation at a considerably later period than
most of the Piedmont region, which possesses one of the most
ancient floras in existence. f

Similar examples of succession can be found on many other
hills in various parts of Georgia and Alabama, both in the moun-
tains and in the coastal plain, $ as well as at intermediate points,
though I have come across no other which exhibits such a xero-
phytic extreme as Bald Knob. This tends to support Dr. Cow-
les's contention that the character of the vegetation of any lo-
cality is to a considerable extent independent of the geological
formations ; a hypothesis which however is still subject to many
limitations, which it is not necessary to discuss here.

RICCARTON BUSH.

Riccarton Bush is especially noteworthy as being the sole re-
maining portion of that vast forest which, at one time, must have
occupied much of the country near the coast of Canterbury, New
Zealand. Notwithstanding its small size, the bush is still in a
remarkably good state of preservation, and shows admirably many
of the peculiar characteristics of a New Zealand forest. The
dominant tree is the kahikatea ; but while this gives the stamp to

* Bot. Gaz. 31 : 78-82. 178-180. 1901.

t See Torreya 5 : 207-210. 1905. The lists of plants observed on Bald
Knob are too incomplete and not representative enough (owing to the
season at which they were made) to be of much use for calculating the
percentages of monocotyledons, as was done in the paper cited.

X For a description of one such place see Torreya 5 : 56. 1905.

2/0 THE PLANT WORLD.

the physiognomy of the forest, other large trees are not wanting.
Such are the totara, the matai, the hinau, and the pokaka. There
are plenty of other smaller trees and shrubs. The tarata, with its
beautiful glossy leaves, the curious lancewood, the elegant ivy-
tree, the milk-tree, which exudes a white fluid from beneath its
bark, the true matipou with its red twigs, the pepper-tree with its
blotched leaves, the lovely white-flowered kaikomako, the charm-
ing lacebark — to mention some of the commoner plants — are all
there. Climbing plants, which give such a tropical aspect to a
New Zealand forest, are in profusion, the various classes, such as
twiners, tendril-climbers, scramblers and root-climbers, being
represented.

Many of the plants exhibit the remarkable phenomenon of pass-
ing through two distinct forms in the course of their development,
juvenile and adult plants looking like distinct species. The pokaka
illustrates this admirably, and in the bush the distinct juvenile and
adult forms are much in evidence, while one very old tree has pro-
duced from its naked trunk a large growth of the juvenile stage.
Many of the trees have buttresses at the base of their trunks —
another reminder of the tropics.

Nor is there any danger of the forest dying out. Apart from its
present vitality, seedlings are abundant in many places, and it is
especially pleasant to record that those of the kahikatea are particu-
larly numerous.

Finally, it may be pointed out that no other city in New Zealana
possesses so near its center a piece of pine forest, primeval so far as
its large trees are concerned ; and not merely this, but the last piece
of primeval forest of its kind upon the face of the earth !

A timely movement has been started in New Zealand to preserve
the Riccarton Bush. A committee has been appointed to further
the proposal to acquire the forest as a Public Reserve, and the
government of New Zealand has voted £1500 toward its ac-
Cjuisition.

GIFT TO UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 2/1

A BOTANICAL GIFT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF

CALIFORNIA.

Through the generosity of j\Ir. and Airs. T. S. Brandegee, of
San Diego, the botanical department of the L^niversity of Cah-
fornia has been enriched by nearly 125,000 specimens of the flora
on the Pacific coast, and by a library of over a thousand volumes.
As a result of this munificent gift the facilities for research work
at the university are practically doubled, and it now possesses the
most complete representation extant of the flora of this region.

Mr. and Mrs. Brandegee have for years given their time to the
scientific study of the plants of western America. During this
time their herbarium has steadily grown in size and importance,
specimens having been obtained by means of collecting trips, by
purchase, and by exchange. Nearly all of the more important
sets of plants from the southwestern United States and from
Mexico have been acquired, among which may be mentioned most
of the types and duplicate types from the Orcutt and Cleveland
collections ; a set of Bebb's willows ; nearly all of the Mexican
plants distributed by Lemholtz, by Palmer, by Pringle, Parry's
" Manzanitas and Chorizanthes," and many others no longer
obtainable. Another marked feature of the collection is its rich-
ness in sole remaining duplicate types, the originals of which
were lost in the recent San Francisco disaster.

The botanical library comprises, besides five hundred sets of
" Zoe," a biological magazine published by Mr. Brandegee, many
rare volumes — Lindley's " Botanical Register," in thirty-three vol-
umes of colored plates, Hooke's " Icones Plantarium," a complete
series of " Linnaea," and many books on Mexican botany.

REVIEW.

Handbook of Floivcr Pollinatiou, based upon Hermann Muellers
work, " The F crtilllzatlon of Flowers by Insects." By Dr. Paul
Knuth, translated by J. R. Ainsworth Davis. Vol. I., Intro-
duction and Literature. Pp. 19 + 382. Large 8vo. Illus-
trated. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1906.
This book, which is gracefully dedicated to the memory of the

2/2 THE PLANT WORLD.

founders of this aspect of plant biology, Christian Konrad Spren-
gel and Hermann Mueller, is a rich treasure to the student, pro-
fessional and amateur alike, and should give a new impulse to the
study of the subject with which it treats and, what is still more
to be valued, should direct the student into a far more critical
attitude than is, regretfully, usually characteristic of the average
observer of the interactions of flowers and insects. The chapter
on methods of research is, therefore, especially welcome in such
a volume, because it not only shows how it is to be done, but,
that it may be done, and that with little special technique and
training. It is a field in which, with this book for reference,
the earnest amateur may find himself at home. The introduc-
tion, which follows an historical review of the subject, is an
analysis of the facts at present understood, both from the bo-
tanical and zoological point of view. A most stupendous bib-
liography occupies i6i pages, and it must be confessed that the
relevancy of the works cited is not equally obvious. " Better,"
however, "the excess than the defect."

L.

Volume 9 Number 12

The Plant World

SI ;fHag:a^tnr of popular ^otanp
DECEMBER, 1906

THE TOUAIEY CACTUS GARDEN.*

By Professor J. J. Thounber,

Unii'crsity of .Arizona.

The Tourney Cactus Garden is one of the most unique features
to be found on the grounds of the university at Tucson, Arizona.
However tame and insignificant it may appear to the native who
is acquainted with boundless areas of hke plants, the garden
represents to the botanist a group of most interesting species
growing under essentially the same natural conditions that have
contributed for ages to their present highly specialized adaptations.
It is not too much to state that outside of the southwest the main-
tainance of so representative a collection of xeroph)tes is im-
possible in our country, except at enormous expense.

Planting in this garden was begun during the years 1 894-1 895
by Professor James W. Toumey, then botanist of the Arizona
Experiment Station. Its location on the university grounds
is nearly central, being immediately in front of the main uni-
versity building and adjacent to the principal approach from the
west. In general outline it is heart-shaped, and in area some-
what less than an acre. In addition to the rather prominent loca-
tion which it enjoys, it is rendered more striking by the contrast
which obtains between its spiny, and for the most part, leafless
desert forms and the refreshing green lawns, shrubs and trees

* Illustralions, by courtesy of the Popular Science Monthly, from an
article by Professor F. E. Lloyd, entitled " A Botanical Laboratory in the
Desert," February, 1905.

274

THE PLANT WORLD.

if-.--.

e^

on either side. P'or this reason it has been referred to not in-
advertently as " a desert in an oasis."

The surface, sloping noticeably to the west, is ridged, thereby
dividing- the ground into many small areas a few to twenty feet

in extent. It will be inter-
j esting to note here that the

soil for this purpose was nec-
essarily hauled in. the soil
cover in the garden averag-
ing but twelve inches in depth,
below which there is a more
or less impervious calcareous
deposit several feet deep,
known locally as " caliche."
By virtue of the small ridges
already noted, the excess of
water from the torrential sum-
^ ' mer showers and the less fre-
' '' quent winter rains is pre-
^ vented f r om running off.
Thus all the annual rainfall,
which averages about twelve
inches for Tucson, and which is usually sufficient for the nor-
mal growth of these plants, becomes available for them. The
garden is, however, irrigated occasionally, i. c, during periods
of lessened precipitation or of prolonged drought, the intention
being always to supplement rather than supplant the scant rain-
fall. As a matter of fact it has never been found needful to
water the garden oftener than once or twice a year, notwithstand-
ing that periods of six months will pass with a precipitation of
two inches or less.

About six hundred numbers have been planted, representing
one hundred and fifty species from Arizona, California, Texas,
and a few from Mexico and South America. Most of these plants
from the two latter countries, and some from higher elevations
have died out, owing, perhaps, to unfavorable conditions. The
loss is apparent, however, only when a study of the garden list
is made, since new ones have been added from time to time and

Fig. 45. Ocotillo.

THE TOUMEY CACTUS GARDEN. 275

manv of the older plants have grown to several times their orig-
inal size. In addition to the cactaceae there are in the garden
other equally interesting xerophytes — the agaves, yuccas, the
sotol, ocotillo, creosote bush, and palo verde.*

The saguaro or giant cactus {Cereus giganteits) is easily the
most striking plant, and is, perhaps, the best known to the visitor,
so far as it is possible for one to become acquainted with plants
through literature. The larger of the specimens in the garden
are about fifteen feet high and as yet unbranched, though in the
foothills about Tucson mature candelabrate branched ones thirty
feet or more in height are very common.

The rather large cream-white flowers of the saguaro are pro-
duced in abundance toward the tips of the spiny, fluted, column-

FiG. 46. Saguaro flower and fruit cut longitudinallj'.

like trunks during portions of j\Iay and June. The fruit, which
is ovate and about the size of a hen's egg, begins to mature early
in July, the ripe ones dehiscing from above, thus exposing to the
birds' delight their juicy, crimson though somewhat inciped con-
tents, studded with many small black seeds. At this stage the
fruit with its split, reflexed pericarp, the inner wall of which is
also bright red, suggests to one a showy pomegranate flower.
In passing it will be interesting to note that the saguaro flower
was adopted as the territorial flower by a recent Arizonian legis-
lature.

The ocotillo, candle flower, or coach-whip cactus {Fouquiera
splendens) is another equally interesting and distinctively south-
western species. It is abundant enough in most of the foothill

* For a description of the palo verde see Plant World, vol. 9, no.
7, July, 1906, p. 165.

276

THE PLANT WORLD.

country of southern Arizona to give decided character to the
landscape. Its scarlet flower, produced during the spring months
in terminal contracted panicles six to nine inches long, suggest
many burning candles. Its numerous, spiny unbranched stems
diverge at quite uniform angles from a common base, thus giving
to the plant the characteristic, sharply outlined, obconical form.
During the flowering period it appears at some little distance as a
green, inverted cone with a bright red base. With a reasonable

Fig. 47. The biznaga, or barrel cactus contains a good deal of water at

times.

rainfall its stems become clothed with many delicate green leaves
which turn yellow and fall off at the approach of another dry
period. The first young leaves have been noted on the plants in
the garden forty-eight hours after watering.* The classification
of Foiiquiera has given taxonomists no little concern. The re-
cent authorities, Engler and Prantl, regard it as a member of the

* F. E. Lloyd, " Artificial Induction of Leaf Formation in the Ocatillo,"
Torreya, Vol. 5, No. 10, October, 1905. Reprinted in The Plant World,
vol. 9, no. 3, March, 1906, p. 56.

THE TOUMEY CACTUS GARDEN.

277

tamarisk family; others have classed it with the phlox family,
the purslane family, the orpine family, and with the Frankeniacese.

The native night-blooming cereus {C evens greggii) is also
worthy of brief mention. This
plant is quite unique among
cacti in that it develops some
distance underground a fleshy
root six to twelve inches in
diameter and two feet or less
in length, from which pro-
ceed one or more inconspicu-
ous, stick-like stems. Thus
Cereus greggii stores in un-
protected, subterranean struc-
tures what other cacti collect
in their spine-coated stems.
During the latter half of
June or the early part of July
the large cream-white flow-
ers, the handsomest and most

fragrant among Arizona cactus flowers, open in the evening hours
and close shortly after sunrise.

Other plants of special interest are the chollas or cylindro-
puntias and the biznagas or fish-hook cacti, the barrel-shaped
bodies of which almost without exception lean southward. These
plants are virtual reservoirs scattered here and there over the
arid mesas, from which the thirsting traveller may obtain water
in times of need. From the large fleshy interiors of these plants
is made the delicious cactus candy, the " cubierto " of the local
markets.

Fig. 48. Biznaga, or barrel cactus,
cut across to show the thick, white,
water-bearing tissue. The small
center is the wood and pith.

278 THE PLANT WORLD.

PREPARATION OF SPECIMENS OF OPUNTIA.

By David Griffiths, Ph.D.,
U. S. Department of Agriculture.

We fancy that difficulty of preparation accounts in the largest
measure for the dearth of specimens of the genus Opuntia in all
of our large herbaria. That the preparation of specimens is
difficult there can be no question, but it is not true that good ones
can not be prepared ; indeed the different species lend themselves
to the collector's art much more readily than do the succulents
in general. The impression should not be given that no collec-
tors have made specimens of these plants, for some have pre-
pared beautiful ones, but poor material or none at all is the rule.
Our large herbaria are beautifully supplied with other easily pre-
pared plants with which these grow, but the dearth of material
in this and allied groups is appalling. Some botanists have con-
tented themselves with forwarding cuttings to some garden or
conservatory, — an admirable plan so far as it goes — but this form
of record is not a permanent one. From these specimens, some-
times supplemented by a few meager notes by the collector, de-
scriptions have been drawn which in many cases do not describe.
The cuttings have failed to grow, or growing for a time, have
lost their identity and have had their labels shuffled in the proc-
esses incident to all cultural work, or they have " gone the way
of all living," so that in any case there is no type specimen to
which botanists may refer questions of doubt. As an illustration
of this point we might mention the case of Opuntia treleasii pub-
lished in 1896. Even with the care exercised in such an admir-
ably conducted institution as the Missouri Botanical Garden, the
type of this species has disappeared. It is true that we know
the type locality, and the collector remembers much about the
characteristics of the plant, but the species is very variable in the
immediate type locality so that it is difficult even now to deter-
mine the exact form which was originally described. Dead
specimens should, therefore, back up descriptions of new species

PREPARATION OF SPECIMENS OF OPUNTIA.

279

in this group of plants as in all others. The difficulty of prepara-
tion is no excuse for not having them. They are always of more
permanent and certain value than living material.

The most important collection of the genus O/'^nzi/a, and doubt-
less of other cacti in this country, is that in the Engelmann Her-
barium in the Missouri Botanical Garden, but, aside from this
collection, the garden, like other repositories, contains but little
material. The Engelmann specimens came to him largely
through some of the western surveys and in many cases con-
sisted of one or more joints dried in the open air without pres-

. , <j ^. .jhb

m

^' ^'.ZM

i_J *|m

f 1 r^iii

^

1-.^^

^fBsB

">,^-'

^W^^l

;f\J^[- i

Fig. 49. An arborescent prickly pear, Opiuitia Engelmannii.

sure. These are stored in boxes, but pressed specimens mounted
upon sheets in the ordinary fashion are also numerous.

There are several ways in which these plants may be preserved
and each way has some advantages over the others. On the
whole, a specimen of Opiiutia properly prepared and pressed be-
tween blotters is the most satisfactory. There are some char-
acters which can not be perfectly preserved by this method, it
is true, but no herbarium specimen shows living characters per-
fectly. In all cases it is an approximation only.

In many succulent plants boiling before being put in press is
advocated but this it not at all satisfactory with Opnntia. In

280 THE PLANT WORLD.

the first place it is cumbersome and inconvenient, if not quite im-
possible to prepare specimens in this way, and in the second place
my success in several trials has not been flattering. My plan
now almost invariably is to cut the joints in half with a sharp
knife, then remove the greater part of the succulent tissue, after
which the specimen is put in press between thin sheets of paper
and ordinary driers, like any other plant, except that when
possible much more pressure is used. Ordinarily, one can use
any amount of pressure from lOO to 300 pounds, and the latter
gives more satisfactory results than the former. It is not a
pleasant task at all to prepare the specimen for the press. A
long, stout-bladed knife is to be preferred, but I use an ordinary
jack-knife. The joint is split in two, parallel to the flat sides.
Specimens can be dried in this way but it takes a long time. My
practice has been to scrape out the pulpy mass, leaving little be-
sides the palisade cells attached to the epidermis. The scraping
out is usually much more easily done if the vascular reticulation
is first removed. If the joint- is an old one, this can be done
almost perfectly by cutting the vascular system loose at the con-
striction between the joints for a distance of an inch or two or
the depth of the knife blade. By holding the epidermal portion
flat and bending the vascular bundles back, they may be pulled
out complete and much of the pulpy interior will adhere to them.
Then by a litte scraping with the knife blade the remainder of the
pulpy parenchyma is easily removed, when the specimen is ready
for the press. These directions appear formidable, no doubt, but
the process is simple enough.

All who are familiar with the prickly pear will question the
comfort of the collector in the preparation of specimens. Of
course, the spines and spicules are always present and usually
some of them find their way into one's hands, which is very
aggravating, especially inasmuch as the hands are usually at
the same time slippery and slimy with nnicilage from the plant.
But this is one of the penalties of having anything to do with the
plants and must be put up with. However, a few precautions
and a little care will enable one to minimize the annoyance.

PREPARATION OF SPECIMENS OF OPUNTIA. 28 1

One can, in the majority of species, avoid the spines very nicely
by choosing his method of grasping the joint, but it is very diffi-
cult to keep away from the spicules if the joints are touched at
all. A few thicknesses of paper or one thickness of pasteboard
doubled in the left hand will enable one to handle almost any
species with impunity.

Both young and fully matured joints should be put up when
possible. The young joints in the growing season will show the
leaves beautifully and these should always be preserved. The
young joints for several weeks after growth begins are very
tough and leathery, making it a very difficult task to split them
neatly. Experience and a long knife blade to enable one to keep
away from spines and spicules which are very easily separable
at this time, are the only requisites to success. No scraping is
necessary with these for they usually dry without scraping as
quickly as the older joints do after being scraped.

When possible, it is a good plan to leave the prepared joints
to dry in the sun for several hours before being put in press.
They can then be subjected to heavy pressure for about twelve
hours. When the driers are first changed the cut surfaces are
firmly attached to the papers. This prevents rapid evaporation
of moisture. The joints should, therefore, be loosened from the
sheets each time the driers are changed until the cut surface
becomes dried so that it will not stick. After being under heavy
pressure until well shaped, the specimens may then be placed for
a time between driers wdthout pressure, but when they begin to
buckle and curl the pressure should be restored again. I often
find it convenient, especially when in a hotel or other room at
night, to take my Opuntia specimens out of the press entirely
and spread them over the floor to dry, as they \;ill at night,
placing them under a heavy pressure again in the morning.

But all this relates to joints alone. Flowers and fruit must
also be preserved if they are to be found. The flowers of Opuntia
may be made into specimens as successfully as almost any of our
large and showy flowers. The only difficulties involved consist
in determining how best to prepare them so as to show the maxi-
mum of characters upon a flat surface. Very successful floral

282

THE PLANT WORLD.

Fig. so. O. versicolor, with yellow,
brown or majenta flowers.

specimens can be made by cutting off the top of the ovary just
below the outer petals or, better still, in many cases just below
the upper leaves on the ovary. The flower is then put in press
face down. Of course, this cuts off many of the stamens and
the style is severed in every instance, but the relation of the
style to the ovary is best shown in longitudinal sections, which
should also be made. If the flower is not too deep, simply

pressing back the petals a
little is all the preparation
that the flower needs afte-
being removed from the
ovary. When the species is
one with a deep flower the
specimens will not stay put,
but will buckle in the center
when pressure is removed,
and when it is restored again
the petals will be wrinkled
and doubled. In this case
it will be advantageous to cut the flower from the center out-
ward at a single point, giving it a chance to spread outward
into a segment of a circle. A few extra pistils should always be
put up, for they are likely to be severely mashed by the heavy
pressure given the other parts. Unless the material is abundant,
flowers should always be mounted upon the herbarium sheets in
envelopes so that both sides can be readily examined. Contrary
to what was said about the joints, it \\ill be found better not to
examine or disturb the sheets between which the flowers are
placed until they are fairly well dried, because when wilted the
petals do not lend themselves well to handling and if once out of
position it is very difficult to restore them again to their proper
shape. Neither do they require as much pressure as the joints.
Care should be taken never to allow one flower to overlap another
in press, for when dried they can not be properly separated.
When dried, the flowers, unlike tlie joints, are not difficult to
remove from the papers, for there is a minimum of cut surface.
The fruit is best put up in longitudinal sections one fourth inch

PREPARATION OF SPECIMENS OF OPUNTIA. 283

thick. Outer sections can then easily be pressed down on the
edges and the soft rind cut out with a knife, leaving little but
the dished epidermis, which when flattened out shows much of
the tubercular and areolar arrangement. The sections from the
center show the relation of the pulp and rind rather imperfectly,
it is true, but still they give characters of value.

Tracings of the fruit should always be made when they are
put in press. The fruit is cut through the middle lengthwise.
It has been my plan to lay this cut surface on the page of my
note book and trace its outine with a pencil and then, with the
specimen before me, draw in a line representing the outer margin
of the seedy pulp. Often a section is cut out of the center in-
stead of simply taking half of the fruit for the tracing. The
pencil point can then be punched through the edge of the pulp
at three or four points so as to guide one in outlining the pulpy
center. This tracing, easily made, shows graphically and ac-
curately the outline of the fruit, the shape of the apex, the relative
thickness of the rind and the exact color, which is transferred to
the paper as the tracing is made. With a little additional care
the stain on the sheet can often be made to show the relative
density of color of rind and pulp, all of which are of taxonomic
importance.

All of this relates to specimens intended for the herbarium
sheet. Of course, fruits can be preserved for a time and most
species indefinitely in fluid, but the colored parts lose all of their
color, the liquid must be changed occasionally, and it is a constant
source of annoyance and inconvenience.

A large part of the old survey material consists of joints dried
in the open air without pressure. This is a very slow process,
and while satisfactory so far as showing the spine arrangement
is concerned, the specimens must be kept in boxes, flowers must
be separated from their joints in the herbarium, and the color is
scarcely so well preserved as in pressed specimens.

Of course, the more field notes one can take the better. When-
ever time permits, it is my practise to write quite as full a de-
scription as the condition of the plants will warrant. These
notes are always much more satisfactory than any drawn from

284 THE FLANT WORLD.

fragmentary herbarium specimens. Even these are imperfect,
for all taxonomic characters are seldom shown by a plant at one
time. For instance, flowers and mature fruit are seldom found
together.

To the uninitiated it is always questionable what to take note
on. What are the differences which these plants present one
with another? There never were better descriptions than those
of Dr. Engelmann, which are reasonably accessible. These usu-
ally characterize the plants fairly well and they can be relied
upon for a scale of points which should be noted. Color char-
acters are especially fugacious and these should be noted in the
field. This should include color of the general plant body, flower,
its parts, and the fruit.

These plants are usually considered an epitome of variation,
but in spite of this, little space is devoted in any of our literature
to a characterization of this variation. Authors have generally
contented themselves with a description of the material before
them, which was often fragmentary, and we are therefore in
blissful ignorance regarding the limits of variation of any char-
acter in practically all of the species. That they are variable
there is no question, but I believe, after devoting considerable
time to a study of them for the past six years, that the variation
is of such a character that it can be defined. But this must be
done in the field. No amount of herbarium investigation will
do the work thoroughly, although laboratory studies and labo-
ratory materials are an indispensable adjunct. The study of con-
servatory living material often does not suffice, for there are
comparatively few of the species that grow normally in such
situations. Even when grown together out of doors some species
are perforce out of their natural environments and the forms are
often so modified as to be scarcely recognizable. I believe that
my confidence in my own sense of sight never received such a
shock as in connection with one of these plants out of its natural
habitat. It was on the coast of southern California under the
influence of the sea breeze that I found a specimen of Opuntia
fulgida, a plant perfectly familiar to me. When I asked Mr.
C. R. Orcutt, than whom few are better acquainted with this

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS. 285

form of desert life, regarding the identity of the species, one
can imagine my surprise at being told " I should expect Opuntia
ftilgida to assume that appearance under these climatic condi-
tions." Specimens of perfectly familiar species in Mr. Orcutt's
own collections subject to accidental abnormal conditions are
absolutely unrecognizable.

OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS.
Edited by Dr. C. Stuart Gager.

At a meeting of the Biology Section of the New York High
School Teachers Association at the High School of Commerce,
on November 3, 1906, Dr. A. J. Grout, of the Boys High School,
Brooklyn, read a paper on " A Possible Way of Obtaining
Ideal Conditions for High School Biology in Large Cities."

The tendency of population to concentrate in cities both re-
moves the people from the opportunity to become acquainted with
living animals and plants at first hand, and also makes them out
of sympathy with agricultural pursuits and interests. There is
grave social danger in these conditions, and a general knowledge
of plant and animal life would go far to remedy the conditions.
At the same time no satisfactory teaching of Nature Study and
Biology is possible when the material is limited to dissection-
table specimens. The ideal conditions for teaching these sub-
jects are right on the soil. A plan that will combine the use of
out-door methods with our New York City school organization
is the following : the city should own a large tract of land within
one hour of the high school by the most rapid means of trans-
portation ; the pupils should be carried out to the park in specially
constructed trains, in charge of teachers, that the travelling time
may be used as regular school time ; the biology work should be
done on the plots assigned to the pupils, and in a building fitted
up with museum, laboratories, breeding rooms, etc. Some such
arrangement Mr. Grout believes feasible, and one that will offer
ideal conditions for teaching biology to city pupils.

B. C. Gruenberg,

Secretary.

286 THE PLANT WORLD.

A meeting of the New York Association of Biology Teachers
was held at the High School of Commerce, on Friday evening,
December 14, 1906.

The subject of the evening's discussion was, " How Can
Teachers of Biology in Secondary Schools Maintain a
Spirit of Investigation While Engaged in Teaching?"

The speakers of the evening were Dr. C. Stuart Gager, Director
of the Laboratories of the New York Botanical Garden, and Dr.
M. A. Bigelow, Head of the Department of Biology at Teachers
College.

Dr. Gager distinguished between research and a spirit of
research. Every high school teacher should have a spirit of
curiosity directed toward high ideals, but he will not necessarily
be a better teacher because he has added some fact to the sum
of human knowledge. The world needs teachers more than it
needs new facts. There is a vast field of research for the
teacher, practically as yet untouched, in the pedagogical problems
connected with his subject. " While the pupil studies the subject
the teacher should study the pupil." Research and publication
are not s}non}'mous, and much good research work is never
heard from. Research should never be a thing apart from a
teacher's work, but should grow out of his work. A man may
gain much from the study of problems already known, provided
he gets his information at first hand, and such study ma}- prove
a great source of inspiration and rest from drudgery.

Dr. Bigelow started with the asumption that a teacher has the
spirit of research when he enters upon his work of teaching and
considered the question, " how can a busy teacher keep up his
interest in problems zvhich shall add nezv facts to the sum of
knozvledgc — facts zvhich shall be zvorthy of publication." Prac-
tically, a man must decide to what he will devote his energies — ■
to teaching or to research w^ork — for if he gives his energy to
teaching he will not have time or strength for successful research
work. We are coming to realize that research in the line of
biological education is as valuable as the solving of strictly
biological problems. The teacher should keep in touch with
periodicals and books relating to his subject, and wath the various

ECOLOGY OF THE WALLULA GORGE. 28/

scientific meetings. In these ways a man may keep in the spirit
of research while doing" httle because of lack of time.

A discussion followed in which the following points were
emphasized :

Research problems should be of such a nature that they stimu-
late to abstract thinking, and they ought to have some definite
relation to human life.

Important problems are those connecting the subject and the
pupil as, " What parts of the subject are best to give the pupil? "
" In what order can they best be given? " " How can the subject
be made most impressive."

As much will be done in the next fifty years in studying
methods of teaching biology as has been done in the last fifty
years on strictly biological problems.

Myra S. Chatterton,

Secretary.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE VEGETATION OF THE

WALLULA GORGE.*

By a. S. Foster.

The vast zone between the Rocky Mountains on the east and
the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges on the west, and extend-
ing from the Arctic Ocean to the plateaux of Mexico, is an arid
region, the different parts of which have received various names.
That part to which this paper more particularly refers is known
as the Columbia Plateau. The Columbia River winds through
this region, and after breaking its way across range after range,
and flowing through a succession of basins, it finally turns west-
ward in latitude 46° north, longitude 119° west, until it is finally
lost in the " fountain of all waters." At an altitude of 327 feet,
the Walla Walla River empties into the Columbia just as it
enters an immense gorge known as the Wallula Gorge.

This particular gorge — for there are many — is about eighteen

* Abridged from a paper read before tbe Oregon State Academy of
Sciences, June 16, 1906.

288 THE PLANT WORLD.

miles long, one and one half miles wide, 1800 feet deep on the
Washington side, and 2500 feet deep on the Oregon side. The
mesa, or table-land, is composed largely of loess, a decomposed
lava dust ; the contour of rolling hills and dales is formed by
this wind-drift carried by and in the direction of the prevailing
winds. This drift is from 90 to 150 feet thick where attempts
have been made to reach water by digging. After the surface
moisture has been penetrated, none other is found. In a few
basins temporary ponds are formed after a winter rain. The
soil has an alkaline impregnation, as is indicated by Chenopodium
album, which grows in these depressions. The winds, in giving
a roundness to the contour, often dig out " sand-blows," which
are the analogue of " pot-holes " ; in other places " dunes " may
travel over a ridge to disappear on the lee side, all of which
seems to have a marked effect on the character of much of the
life of the region.

The annual rainfall varies from seven to eleven inches ; one
third of this is in the form of snow, while a small portion comes
from the rime and frost which accumulates on every available
object during the prevalence of a severe northeasterly wind ac-
companied by its usually attendant fog which, freezing, forms
acicular points of hoar-frost even to two or three inch crystals.
These " Walla Walla winds " are cold and penetrating, in winter
bringing dust storm, snow storm or blizzard. During many
days this gorge is filled with fog, while the mesa is clear and
sunny. The current of this river of fog is determined by the
wind. This body of dense fog hovering over the body of water
keeps up the general temperature of the gorge, and this may in
part account for the variety of rock-loving lichens therein.

The plant-life of this region occurs in three distinct vertical
zones: (a) The mesa and "breaks," (b) face of cliff's and talus,
(c) the margin of the rise, or littoral. There are no bottom or
alluvial lands. The following observations thereon extend over
a period of nearly six months, from October 17, 1905, to April
10, 1906.

On several basaltic reefs extending well out into the river
and but six or eight feet above water at low stage, was found

ECOLOGY OF THE WALLULA GORGE. 289

Scouleria aquatica in abundance but not fruiting-. This moss
is always found on the " up-river " side of rocks where currents
strike strongest. On the upper surface an aquatic Hchen, Endo-
carpon ininiatuni, was found in quantity ; also a few strands of
Scleropodimiv ohtiisifoliiim, a moss usually associated with the
Scoulerias.

The shore line seems to be the habitat of most of the immi-
grants transported hither by this all-water route. Mullein was
found, also purslain, Portulaca oleracca; cockle bur, Xaiithium
spinosum; Russian thistle, Shepherd's purse, and one or two
mustards of very hardy habit in bloom on December 10 and
again February 15. Well down the banks, below the flood line,
was Marsilia vcsfi.va with tomentose rhizocarps, fruiting freely
among the shifting sands. Where some bold wall reached down
to the moist sands a few plants of Scouring Rush, Equisetunt
hyemale, are likely to be found.

Among the woody plants of this narrow margin is the Desert
Juniper, Jiiniperiis scopulorum, having migrated apparently
down the gorge of Juniper Canon from the flanks of the Blue
Mountains. Of the willows, a cluster of three Salix amygda-
loides and a patch of vS". cxigua were found along the exposed
bars. The chief tree or shrub is Crataegus columhianuin of
Howell, rooted in the shifting sands, crowded with peculiar
" galls " and often encrusted with a lichen, Theloschistes lycJi-
neus. A few shrubs of wild cherry, Cerasus emarginata, are
always associated with Rosa nntkana, and the Golden Currant,
Ribiis aurcuui, said to be the same as the cultivated currant of
Missouri.

Among umbelliferous plants, Oregenia fusiforniis is the earliest
to flower, its white blossoms contrasting later with the yellow
ones of Puccdannm grayi, both in abundance along the flood
line, with an occasional Alliiiiii douglassii (sp. ?). Nicotina
attenuata, or a similar tobacco, found here, is said to have been
cultivated by the Indians.

Artemisia Iiidoi'ieiaiia, with its densely white leaves, and
another sage brush, Artemisia draennculoides, some fifteen feet
tall, grow on the talus. The latter is the host of its parasite,
Orohrancke Indoviciana.

290 THE PLANT WORLD.

The boulders are covered with a blackish moss, Grimmia, in
dense cushions, while Orthotrichiiiii laevigatuui prefers the
combined shade of boulder and brush. Monfia rubra is found
along the water line, and M. Sihcrica higher up. The Grease
wood, Ccrcocarpiis intricatus, called Mountain ^Mahogany, an
intricate much-branched low shrub, with sparse, small, green
leaves, is found straggling along the bank. Still further accen-
tuating the arid appearance of the vegetation is the cactus,
Opuntia polyacantha.

Along the ledges of the gulches Andihcrtia nicana seems to
thrive best. Upon distillation these leaves yield a volatile oil,
pleasant and penetrating, with a lasting aromatic odor. This
Audihertia is related to the " honey sage " or " white sage," so-
called, of the mesas of Southern California. Along the terraces
with a northeastern exposure may be found a few colonies of
the delicate fern, Woodsia oregana, the only fern of the region.
In the upper gulches Lithophragma tenella, with its peculiar
glandular pubescence and laciniate petals, grows in company
with Montia siberica, the Indian lettuce. Here also are Heu-
chera and Tiarella, their old stems filling up their niches. In
the upper stretches, clambering over the coarse talus, several
vines of Clematis Ugusticifolia (sp. ?) were seen at the foot of
a 500-foot blufif. In a gulch with some appearance of seepage
there was one lone specimen of Rhus diversiloba, perhaps near
its northern limit east of the Cascades. Nearby was that beau-
tiful moss, Anacolia Mensiesii, not fruiting, but always abundant
in its preferred habitat. The floor of this gorge was patched
with Grimmia montana, growing in closely mottled green cush-
ions, turning a reddish brown as the season closes.

Here the lichens, some twelve species, give color and distinc-
tion to the different buttresses, — Lccanora chlorophanc, painting
walls with a rich chrome-yellow, to be distinguished for two or
three miles when contrasted with the red of Placodium elegans,
shading off into another Placodium ferriiginca; then re-touched
in another section with the bluish-gray of Lecidea cacrulescens,
which in turn is brightened by Lecanora rubina.

Other thalloid lichens, as Peltigera canina, were plentiful.

ECOLOGY OF THE WALLULA GORGE. 29 1

usually on the surface of rocks, Parmelia prolixia occupying the
better part of a square yard of the upper surface of a block of
lava in the shade of a sage brush. Parmelia coitspersa and P.
caperata were on the ledges, contending with the Grimmias for
a share of moisture. Umbilicaria phara generally stuck to rocky
faces, so situated that the disintegrating material could not fall
behind the thallus to pry it from the hold-fast. Of the fruticose
lichens Cladonia Umhriata was the only one seen.

Besides Griminia calyptrata, with long, pointed leaves, were
found G. alpestris, G. leucophea and G. tencrriuia in scatter-
ing cushions ; TortuJa rnralis and T. aciphylla, generally lying
loosely on or in slight niches of the ledges, while along the
edges, on small lumps of humus, Encalyptra vulgaris, the big
Extinguisher moss, was sparingly scattered. West of the Cas-
cades the calyptra is fringed, hence Encalyptra ciliata. The Tor-
tulas sometimes grow in the upper stretches on soil of steep
gulches. On the sands, under sage brush, Desmatodon plin-
thobius sends up its yellow seta to fruit quickly and die. The
scarcest, though most interesting moss, is Pterigoneurum cavi-
folium, with its abnormally large capsules and abundant reddish-
brown spores.

The higher plateaux are occupied by Artemisia tridentata,
which gives its peculiar hue to the " Sage Plains." On the
hills, among this sage brush, Gila gracilis is among the first to
put forth its tiny blue flowers, although the yellows always pre-
dominate. Among the most beautiful and hardiest of the Com-
positae is Aster amethystinus, growing along fence rows, the
flowering continuing into December. Another, not so large, with
the basal leaves 5-7 lobed and smafler violet rays, seemed to be
Aster fremontii.

On the hills, Bigelozria graveolens offers some " brousi." On
the Nevada plains it is called " Rabbit brush," as it affords about
the only covert for the little cotton-tail, Lepiis hardii.'^

* For the determination and verification of the phanerogamia as well as
the cryptogamia the writer is indebted to his numerous friends who are
specialists along their several lines. In consultation a free use has been
made of A Flora of the Palouse Region, issued by the Washington Agri-
cultural College, Portland, Oregon, June 9, 1906.

292 THE PLANT WORLD.

CERTAIN RELATIONS OF RAINFALL AND TEM-
PERATURE TO TREE GROWTH.

Under the above heading Mr. Henry Gannett, in the Bulletin
of the American Geographical Society for July, 1906, states that
temperature and rainfall are the two factors which determine
whether trees can grow, and, if so, what species. Other factors,
such as seasonal temperatures, seasonal rainfall, atmospheric
humidity, wind and slope exposure, angle of slope, and texture
and depth of soil, are secondary factors which have a modifying
effect.

The paper " is designed to show how much and what informa-
tion our present knowledge of the climatic elements develops con-
cerning tree growth in the western United States." The records
are derived from a little over four hundred stations having a rain-
fall record of more than five years. " The distribution of these
stations is not, however, by any means what could be desired, the
great majority of them being situated in towns and cities, and
therefore in low and open or non-timbered country ; and very few
of them are high up in the mountains, so that in those parts of
the West in which the timber is confined to the mountains the
timbered regions are not well represented."

The author's results are tabulated. " The table relating to
yellow pine shows that the greatest number of stations is found
where the temperature is between 50 and 55 degrees, while the
entire range of the species, as indicated by the stations, is from
40 to 65 degrees."

" Nearly all the stations in the red-fir region are found between
50 and 55 degrees. Indeed, outside of this group the stations are
but scattering."

" In the red-wood region all the stations are between 50 and
60 degrees."

From the results of this study and those published in a former
paper on " The Timber Line," in the Atn. Jour. Sci., 1882, p. 275,
the author concludes that the timber line has a mean annual tem-
perature of approximately 30 degrees, so that the location of this
isotherm is a simple matter.

RAINFALL AND TREE GROWTH. 293

In regard to rainfall, the table shows that the average in the
open country is 13 inches, with a range of from 7 inches in Ne-
vada to 18 inches in northern California. Yellow pine grows
under an average rainfall of probably over 34 inches, with a range
of from 19 inches in Wyoming to 44 inches in northern Califor-
nia. Red fir in Oregon and Washington grows under an average
rainfall of 56 inches, the redwood of 46 inches. Desert species
grow under a range of from 15 inches in Arizona to 30 inches in
northern California, with an average for the entire West of 24
inches. There are indications that the lower limit of the yellow
pine is at or just below 20 inches of rainfall. For the red fir
the lower limit is at or about 30 inches of rainfall, with apparently
no upper limit, as the species abounds in regions where the rain-
fall exceeds 100 inches annually. The isohyetal line of 30 inches
appears to be the lower limit of the redwood, as only one station
in the redwood strip in California has a rainfall of less than that
amount. C. S. G.

REVIEW.

Principles of Botany. By Joseph Y. Bergen and Bradley M.
Davis. Pp. 8-555. Small 8vo., with many illustrations. New
York, Ginn and Company.

The present volume is a partially rewritten form of the earlier
" Foundations of Botany " of the first named author. It is dis-
tinctly modern in its spirit, and presents the whole subject by
fair and adequate representation. The success of the previous
works which have led up to the " Principles," being as it is a meas-
ure of their adaptibility to the high school student, will be still
further justified in the new volume, which deserves a first place
in secondary schools. It is certainly a first class text-book for the
elementary student of the subject. Especially pleasing are the
etched illustrations which are made after the photographs which
they happily replace. The use of the colored plate (illustrating
the structure of the lichens) is an innovation in xA^merican text-
book making, and one which should be welcomed.

L.

294

INDEX.

INDEX TO VOLUME IX.

Agave, Queen Victoria's, 191

Ailanthus Glandulosa, 136, 239

Alabama, December Ramble in Tus-
caloosa County, 102; Vegetation
of Bald Knob, 265

Amids, Relation of, to Plant
Growth, 70

Anderson, Mrs. A. A., personal, 99

Andrews, F. M., loi

Aquatic Plants and their Place in
Nature, Microscopic, 194

Arizona Desert, Two miles Up and
Down in an, 49

Arthur, J. C, 227

Avebury's Notes on the Life His-
tory of British Flowering Plants
[Review of], 146

Bald Knob, Alabama, Vegetation of,
26s

Barlc}', Pure Races of Brewing, 7

Bergen, Joseph Y., and Bradley M.
Davis' Principles of Botany [Re-
view of], 293

Bessey's Elementary Botany [Re-
view of], 147, 176

Bigelow, M. A., 286

Biological Science in the Secondary
Schools of Prussia, 144

Biology, Ideal Conditions for High
School, in Large Cities, 285 ; How
can Teachers of. Maintain a Spirit
of Investigation? 286

Blumer, J. C., 86, 240

Botanical Literature, Notes on Cur-
rent, 22, 97, 200; Society of
America, ']2>

Botany in New York City, An His-
torical Sketch of the Development
of, 153, 186; Content of the High
School Course in, 47

Bowman, Howard H. M., 136

Brandegee, Mr. and Mrs. T. S.,
personal, 271

British Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science, 99

Buck's Wild Flowers of California
[Review of], 71

Cactaceae, The Classification of, 171
Cacti, Singed, as Forage, 164
Cannon, W. A., 49
Cassia, Imparipinnate Leaves in,

139
Cocklebur, Seeds of, 227

Coco de Mer, A Rare Palm, the,

67
Cook, Mel. T., 129, 192
Courses in Botany, Summer, 121

Davis' Studies on the Plant Cell
[Review of], 147

Devil's Tongue, The, 18

De Vries' Species and Varieties,
Their Origin by Mutation [Re-
view of], 223

Dioscurides Codex, The, ^Z

Disintegrating Influences of Trop-
ical Plants, The, 129

Dorner's Window Gardening in the
School-i-oom [Review of], 147

Epiphytes, Tropical, 192
Evolution, Collapse of, 94
Experiments with Water Cultures,
13

Fairchild, D. G., 7
Ferns, The Filmy, 219
Fibers, Commercial Plant, 20; Im-
portation of Vegetable, 218
Fink, Bruce, 179, 258
Floral Notes of Foreign Land, 43,

59
Folsom's Entomology, with Special

Reference to its Biological and

Economic Aspects [Review of],

248
Forest Belts of Western Kansas

and Nebraska, 11
Forestry in the Public Schools, 69
Foster, A. S., 287
Fruits, Key, 233 ; and Shrubs of the

Priest River Valley, Wild, 240

Gager, C. Stuart. 203, 286; Per-
sonal, 24

Garden, The Tokyo Botanical, 251;
Tourney Cactus, 273

Gardens, The Hope Botanical, 201 ;
Children's, and Their Value to
Teachers of Botany and Nature
Study, 237

Gentian, Closed, 138

Germination of Orchid Seeds, 98;
of the Morning Glory, 246

Georgia Bark or Quinine Tree, 39

Grape Fruit, 97

Griffiths, David, 278

Grout, A. T., 285.

INDEX.

295

Grout's Mosses with Hand-lens and
Microscope [Review of], 222

Gynaecocentric Theory and the
Sexes in Plants, 179

Hall's Rothamsted Experiments

[Review of], 70
Harper, Roland M., 102, 265
Harris, J. Arthur, 13Q
Harwood's New Creations in Plant

Life [Review of], 173
Hemenway's Hints and Helps for

Young Gardeners [Review of],

148
Hitchcock, A. S., i
Hofmeister, Wilhelm, note on, 150
Hook Mountain, 149
Hope Botanical Gardens, 201
Hop-hornbeam or Ironwood, 17
Hymenophyllaceae, 219

Ice in Plant Tissue, The Occurrence
of, 25

Jackson and Daugherty's Agricul-
ture through the Laboratory and
School Gardens [Review of], 71

Jardin des Plantes. The, Before and
During the Revolution, 196

Junipers of the Southwest, Two, 86

Keller and Brown's Hand-book of
the Flora of Philadelphia and
Vicinity [Review of], 71

Key Fruits, Origin of, 233

Knuth's Hand-book of Flower Pol-
lination [Review ofl, 271

Koch, Felix J., 43, 59

Leavitt, R. G., 75, 12=;

Lichens : Their Economic Role, 258

Literature. Notes on Current Bo-
tanical, 22. 97, 200

Livingston, B. E., 13, 62; Personal,
24

Lloyd, Francis E., 56, 165 ; Per-
sonal, 24

Lubbock's Notes on the Life His-
tory of British Flowering Plants
[Review of], 146

MacDougal, Daniel T., personal, 24

Masdevallia muscosa, 75 ; a correc-
tion, 125

Meeting of Biology Teachers of
New York City, 46, 123

Moccasin Flowers and Other Or-
chids, 81

Morning Glory, Germination of the,
246

Mountain Top, On the, 132

Nature Studj^, Value of, 21
News Items, 72>, 74> 99> 148, I49
Niles, Grace G., 81

Ocotillo, Artificial Leaf Formation
in the, 56

Opuntia, Preparation of Specimens
of, 278

Orchid, The Blooming of an Un-
usual, 75 ; The Perils of. Hunting,
91 ; Moccasin Flowers and Other,
81; Germination of. Seeds, 98;
Cypripedium Faireanum, 47

Osterhout, George E., 132

Ostrya Virginiana, 17

Palm, a Rare, the Coco de Mer, 67

Palmer, William, 8

Palo Verde : The Evergreen Tree of
the Desert, 165

Paraffine Blocks, Labeling, 96

Paraffined Wire Pots for Soil Cul-
tures, 62

Parks, National, 185, 55; Success-
ful Natural, 8

Parsons, Henry G, 237

Parsons' The Wild Flowers of Cali-
fornia, Their Names and Haunts
[Review of], 71

Personals, 24

Pfeffer's Physiology of Plants [Re-
view of], 222

Phenological Records for 1905, 131

Pinkneya Pubens, The Georgia
Bark or Quinine Tree, 39

Prairie Flora, The Passing of the,
162

Pyxie (Py.vidaiifhcra barbulafa, 48,
100

Ramaley, Francis, 251

Rcid's The Principles of Heredity

[Review of], 172
Riccarton Bush, 269
Robinson, Winifred J., 219
Roots, Regeneration in, 95
Rusby, Henry H., 153, 186

Sargent's Lichenology for Begin-
ners [Review of], 173

Saunders' Wild Flowers of Califor-
nia [Review of], 23

Seeds and Seedlings, Study of, 208;
of Cocklebur, 227

Sexes in Plants, 179

Shreve, Forrest, 201

Slosson's How Ferns Grow [Re-
view of], 223

30069

296

INDEX.

Society for the Protection of Native
Plants, Meeting of the, 119

Soil Cultures, Parafifined Wire Pots
for, 62

Squires, Walter Albion, 162

Sumach, Chinese, or free of Hea-
ven, 136, 239

Symposium, Botanical, Third An-
nual Meeting, 118

Taylor, Mary E., 246
Taylor, Elfleda B., 39
Teachers, Biology, Meeting of, in

New York City, 46, 123, 285
Thornber, J. J., 2^2,
Torrey Botanical Club, Meeting of

the, 149; John, 157
Tree Growth, Relations of Rainfall

and Temperature to, 292
Trees, Aiding Cities and Towns to

Name Their, 142
Trelease, William, 239

Trillium, Monstrosities in, loi
Tropical Plants, The Disintegrating
Intluences of, 129; Epiphytes, 192
Tullsen, H., 233
Twigs of Woody Plants, i

Van Hook, Mary S., 17

Wallace's Heather in Lore, Lyric

and Lay [Review of], 71
Wallula Gorge, 287
Water Cultures, Experiments with,

13 : Passage of, from the Plant

Cell during Freezing, 107
Watkins Glen, 149
Whittelsey, Olga, 18, 100
Wiegand, K. M.. 25, 107
Wild Flower Preservation Society

of America, Notice to Members,

45
Wintergreen, Production of Oil of,

74

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