TORREYA A MonTHLY JOURNAL OF BoTANICAL Nores anp News JOHN TORRBY, 1706-1873 EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB BY NORMAN TAYLOR LIBRARY NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN. Volume XI NEW YORK IQtI uN eR > > Soe taper Page Page Page Page nopsis. Page Page Page ERRATA, VOLUME XI 9, 13th line from the bottom, read carolinensis for caroliniana. 10, 5th line from the bottom, capitalize C in Cannon. 12, 6th line from the bottom, read Byrsonima for Brysonema. 95, 11th line from the bottom, read Crotonopsis for Chroto- 95, 10th line from the bottom, after Panicum read § for |j. 95, 12th line from the bottom after Aster read || for §. 96, the first five names in the list should precede the four in the second column on page 95. 99, 4th line from the top, read 7s for are. Page Page Page Page Page 190, 191, 194, 196, Penausken. Page Page Page Page 203, 236, 242, 248, last line, read vegetation for vegegation. 15th line from the top, read Haberer for Harberer. 7th line from the bottom, read east for west. 17th and 21st lines from the top, read Pensauken for 15th line from the bottom, read flowers for plants. 3d line from the bottom, read Dukinfield for Deunkinfield. 14th line from the bottom, read Anthurus for Arcturus. 13th line from the bottom, read R. A. Harper for R. H. Harper. i DATES OF PUBLICATION No. 1, for January Pages I-22 Issued January 31, I9II No. 2, February 22500 nr February 14, I911 No. 3 March 51-76 March Pei, UG) No. 4 April 77-100 April 19, IQII No. 5, May IOI-124 May 127 LO No. 6, June 125-144 June I9, IQII INI@s FH July T45-164 July TQ, IQIT No. 8, August 165-180 August I4, I9LI No. 9, September T8I—204 September 12, 1911 No. 10, October 205-224 October 18, 1911 IN@s eit, November 225-248 November 10, 1911 No. 12, December 249-276 December 20, I9QII iv Vol. 11 | January, IgiI No. 1 TORREYA A Monruiy Journat or Boranicat Notes anp News EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB BY NORMAN TAYLOR JOHN TORREY, 1796-1873 CONTENTS The Funkias or Day-Lilies: Gzorcr V. NASH....... Beertash Sean ety wok cao SNe I Additions to the Flora of the Carolinas. II.: W. C. COKER ....c..cccceeceeeeceseeeee “9 Additions to the Tree Flora of the United States. JoHN K- SMALL............. hogy EE _ Tragopogon pratensis porrifolius. EARL Ej SHERFF.........,...:0s00.seseeseeeeeeee 14 poe Notes : A New Gerardia from New Jersey: FRancis W. PENNELL.....:..... 15 Notes on Some Californian Green Algae: Douctas H. CAMPBELL 17 (PEE. Hough’s Leaf Key to the Trees: RALPH ©, BENEDICT..............s.0002.00 17 Stevens’ Diseases of Economic Plants: FRED J. SEAVER......,...:....... 1Q.~ 4 Proceedings of: the Club, ....0...25.ceslnejeccaneess AES Hoes owls dpe aia Sate betes cokes oases Shaw. 21 News Items,.:...........s000000006 Net oi hous plswd vs fy LSE Oman RNa NTC a noe aoe Ding 22 PUBLISHED FOR THE CLUB At 41 Nortu Queen Srreet, LANCASTER, Pa. ‘py Tue Naw Era Printinc Company ’ [Entered at the Post Office at Lancaster, Pa., as second-class matter. | THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB” OFFICERS FOR to1t President HENRY H, RUSBY, M.D: Vice- Presidents EDWARD S. BURGESS, PH.D. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A.M., M:D. Secretary and Treasurer BERNARD O. DODGE, Ph.B. Columbia University, New York City Editor PHILIP DOWELL, Pu.D. Associate. Editors JOHN H. BARNHART, A.M., M.D. TRACY ELLIOT HAZEN, Pu.D. JEAN BROADHURST, A.M. MARSHALL AVERY HOWE, Pu.D, ERNEST D. CLARK, Pu. D. HERBERT M. RICHARDS, S.D. ALEX. W. EVANS, M.D., PH.D: NORMAN TAYLOR picid ToORREYA is furnished to subscribers in the United States and Canada for one dollar per annum; single copies, fifteen cents. To subscribers elsewhere, five shillings, or the equivalent thereof. Postal or express money orders and drafts or personal checks on New York City banks are accepted in payment, but the rules of the New York Clearing House compel the request that ten cents be added to the amount of any other local checks that may be sent. Subscriptions are received only for full volumes, beginning with the January issue. Reprints will be furnished at cost prices. Subscriptions and remittances should be sent to TREASURER, TORREY BOTANICAL Cuius, 41 North Queen St., Lan- caster, Pa., or Columbia University, New York City. Matter for publication should be addressed to NORMAN TAYLOR New York Botanical Garden Bronx Park, New York City reBg= 11} TORREYA January, IgII Wool, 11 No. I THE HUNIKIAS ‘OR, DAY-LILIES By GEORGE V. NASH Many years ago, past the middle of the eighteenth century, that indefatigable explorer and botanist, Thunberg, visited Japan. During his travels in that then almost unknown country, he found a perennial plant which was of frequent occurrence, both wild and under cultivation. In those days of broadly drawn generic lines, Thunberg without hesitation referred his plant to the Linnaean genus Aletris, under the specific name of japonica. Some years later, in 1784, he transferred this to the genus Hemerocallis, perhaps a nearer approach to its true relation- ship as understood today; but it was not until 1807 that the first intimation was made that the group to which this plant belonged might be the basis of a new genus, and the name of Saussurea was very indefinitely proposed for it by Salisbury. The form in which this proposition was made could not possibly be con- sidered as publication under the rules of nomenclature of the present day. In any event, it is not available, as the name Saussuria had been previously employed by Moench for an entirely different group of plants. In 1812 Trattinick proposed the name of Hosta, ignoring the fact that Jacquin fifteen years earlier had used it for a genus of the Verbenaceae. These earlier names being disposed of the way is clear for the adop- tion of the Niobe of Salisbury, published in the same year as Hosta, and about which the question of priority might have been raised, had not Trattinick’s name proved a homonym. Salisbury ade- quately published his name, it being based on Hemerocallis japonica Ker. In spite of this, however, the name of Funkia, under which these plants are generally known and which was not published by Sprengel until 1817, is adopted in the Index Kew- ensis. This arbitrary usage is perhaps responsible for the wide [No. 12, Vol. 10, of ToRREYA, comprising pp. 261-292, was issued 23 D rg10.] 1 2 acceptance of this name and the continuation of the error. That this name must be abandoned and that of Niobe reinstated, is well supported by the above facts. The genus divides itself into two rather well-marked groups which were considered genera by Salisbury, under the names of Niobe and Bryocles. The former was applied to the plant known here as Niobe plantaginea, in which the flowers are white and have the filaments adnate to the tube for part of their length, while the name of Bryocles was given to what is here called Niobe coerulea, a group including at the present time several other species, in which the flowers are smaller, colored, and have the filaments free. It is said that in Niobe plantaginea there is present a small bracteole at the base of the pedicel, but I find this frequently wanting, so attach little value to it as a generic character. In view of the above, I find it better to adopt the generally accepted view of the present day, and consider the two groups as parts of one genus. The genus may be briefly characterized as follows: Niobe Salisbury, Trans. Hort. Soc. 1: 335. 1812 Bryocles Salisbury, 1. c. Hosta Tratt. Arch. Gew. 1: 55. 1812. Not Jacq. 1797. Funkia Spreng. Anl. Ed. 2, 2'!: 246. 1817. Libertia Dum. Comm. 9. 1822. Tufted perennial herbs, forming “arge masses, with petioled basal leaves, and,a racemose inflorescence borne on a naked or leafy stem. Perianth varying from white to deep lavender, tubular-trumpet-form, funnel-form, or campanulate-funnel-form: segments six, shorter or longer than the tube. Stamens six, de- clinate, from equalling to a little shorter than the perianth, the filaments filiform and free or nearly so, or adnate to the tube for a considerable part of their length: anthers oblong, versatile, in- trorse. Ovary sessile, oblong, 3-celled. Style filiform, a little thickened at the stigma. Ovulesnumerous. Capsule narrowly oblong or almost linear, loculicidally 3-valved. Seeds compressed, angled, or almost flat. Species seven or eight, perhaps more, natives of Japan, China, and eastern Siberia. The following key will help identify the six species in culti- vation: 3 Perianth white, 8-10 cm. long, tubular-trumpet-form; stamens adnate to the tube for a considerable portion of their length. 1. N. plantaginea. Perianth colored, 3-6 cm. long, stamens free. Perianth funnel-form, the tube gradually passing into the limb, from white flushed with lavender to pale lavender. Flowering stem with leaves or with leaf-like bracts, these gradually passing into the bracts of the inflorescence; leaf-blades green. Leaf-blades lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, usually equally narrowed at both ends, the nerves on each side of the midrib 3-5; perianth usually less than 5 cm. long. 2. N. japonica. Leaf-blades broadly ovate, the nerves on each side of the midrib 6-10; perianth usually 5 cm. long or more. 3. N. undulata. Flowering stem naked, or sometimes with a single bract at the middle; leaf-blades glaucous. Scape not or but little exceeding the leaves; petioles usually much exceeding the blades. 4. N. Sieboldiana. Scape much exceeding the leaves; petioles usually not exceeding the blades. 5. N. Fortunet. Perianth campanulate-funnel-form, the tube abruptly passing into the limb, blue. 6. N. coerulea. / 1. Niobe plantaginea (Lam.). White Day-lily. Plantain Lily Hemerocallis plantaginea Lam. Niobe cordifolia Salisb. Funkia subcordata Spreng. Funkia alba Sweet. Funkia grandiflora Sieb. & Zucc. A showy perennial, with large plantain-like leaves, and racemes of white odorous flowers. Leaves numerous, pale green; blades 15-23 cm. long, 8-13 cm. wide, broadly ovate, cordate at the base, acute at the apex, with 6-8 curved nerves on each side of the midrib; petiole usually exceeding the blade in length: scape 4-6 dm. tall, with 1 or 2 lanceolate bracts near the middle: inflorescence racemose, I-2 dm. long: flowers up to about 12, each in the axil of an ovate bract 3-4 cm. long, on pedicels I-2 cm. long: perianth about 1 dm. long, white, its lobes ovate or lanceolate, 3-4 cm. long, but little spreading; stamens shorter than the perianth: capsule about 2 cm. long. A native of Japan and China. Lamarck, who described this plant under the name of Hemerocallis plantaginea in 1789, thought that it had been growing for a few years in the garden of the king, to which it had been sent by M. de Guines from China. This is the first reference found to its cultivation outside of its native country, so its introduction to gardens may be taken as occurring somewhere near that date. It is known in Japan as 4 “tamano kandsaki.’”’ The variety grandiflora (Funkia grand1- flora Sieb. & Zucc.) appears to differ only in the somewhat larger flowers, and in having the bracts of the raceme larger and more leaf-like. From an inspection of the list of synonymy cited above, it will be seen that this plant has had many names. It has fre- quently been considered the Hemerocallis japonica of Thunberg’s Flora Japonica, on account of the flowers of that plant being - described as white. Thunberg, however, states that in his plant the filaments are attached to the base of the corolla at the edge of the ovary, a condition not existing in the plant here under consideration, in which these parts are adnate to the peri- anth tube for a considerable portion of its length. Thunberg may have had a pale-flowered form of the plant considered in this paper as NV. japonica. The name under which this plant is commonly known in gardens in this country and in those of Europe is Funkia subcordata, a name descriptive of the shape of the leaves, but not more so than is that of plantaginea, here adopted, which refers to the resemblance of these leaves to those of the common plantain of Europe, Plantago major, a resemblance striking indeed. 2. Niobe japonica (Thunb.). Japanese or Lance-leaved Day-lily Aletris japonica Thunb. Funkia lanctfolia Spreng. A showy perennial forming large dense masses, with elliptic to nearly ovate leaf-blades which are narrowed at the base, and racemes of lavender flowers. Leaves numerous, green: blades 10-15 cm. long, sometimes up to 6 cm. wide, lanceolate or elliptic to ovate-lanceolate, usually equally narrowed at both ends, rarely more broadly so at the base, with 3-5, rarely more, curved nerves on each side of the midrib: scape 4—6 dm. tall, overtopping the leaves, the scattered and distant leaves gradually passing into the bracts of the inflorescence: inflorescence racemose: flowers sometimes up to 20, finally nodding, on pedicels 4-6 mm. long: perianth pale lavender, 3—5 cm. long, the slender tube, less than one half the length of the perianth, narrowed into a broad limb, the segments 1.5—2 cm. long and 8-10 mm. wide, acute: capsule 2.5-3 cm. long, pendulous and appressed to the scape. A native of Japan. There is a variegated form in cultivation Or known as variety albo-marginata (Funkia albomarginata Hook.), which has the leaves marginedjwith a narrow band of white. There is another form which is quite distinct, the variety tardi- flora, in which the pedicels are longer, the lower ones 10-12 mm. long. It also flowers a little later, so that while the one is in ripe fruit, this variety is still in flower. It is also more resistant to frost. The synonymy of this plant has perhaps been more tangled than in any other member of the genus, and it was in part the fault of Thunberg himself. In his Flora Japonica, published in 1784, he described a Hemerocallis japonica. Previous to this, in 1780, he had published an Aletris japonica, but in the Flora Japonica he made no reference to this. As in the later publica- tion he quotes verbatim in part the description given of his Aletris, it is quite easy to connect the two. Subsequent to the publica- tion of Hemerocallis japonica Thunb., Kaempfer’s Icones Selectae Plantarum appeared, published in 1791, and at plate 11 of this work appeared another H. japonica, an entirely different plant from that of Thunberg. In 1794 Thunberg renames his plant, calling it Hemerocallis lancifolia, and maintains Kaempfer’s name for a plant, which, years afterward, was called Funkia Sieboldiana by Hooker. It is difficult to understand why Thunberg did this, unless it be that he associated this plate with the description of a plant published by the same author in 1712, but without a binomial. In the Botanical Magazine, under plate 1433, this same association is made. The flowers are there said to be 3 inches long, which hardly agrees with the plate cited in which the flowers are shown to be about 2 inches long—about the size they are in the plant named Funkia Sieboldiana by Hooker. This is of course interesting only as a matter of history, for the oldest specific name of this plant published with a description is japonica, and this must be adopted. 3. Niobe undulata (Otto & Dietr.). Wavy-margined Day-lily Funkia undulata Otto & Dietr. A tall showy plant, with long-petioled broad leaves, and numerous pale lavender flowers in a long raceme. Stems up 6 to 1.5 m. tall, bearing 3-5 long-petioled leaves which gradu- ally decrease in size, passing into the bracts of the in- florescence; basal leaves numerous; petioles often more than twice as long as the blades, deeply concave, thin-margined, up to 4.5 dm. long; blades usually 1.5—2 dm. long, up to 13 cm. wide, undulate on the margins, broadly ovate, acute at the apex, abruptly narrowed into the margined petiole, with 6-10 nerves on each side, the nerves depressed above, very prominent beneath, the upper surface dull, the lower shining: raceme up to 5 dm. long: flowers numerous, nodding, on recurved pedicels less than I cm. long; perianth 4.5-5.5 cm. long, funnel-form, pale lav- ender, the narrowly ovate acute segments about one half as long as the tube, the stamens and style recurved at the apex, the former exserted. A native of Japan. There is a plant, much lower than this, with smaller more strongly undulate leaf-blades, which are marked with large masses of white in the center, and a fewer- flowered raceme. I venture to consider this a variegated form of the above plant, under the name Niobe undulata variegata. It is perhaps the most commonly cultivated of all the day lilies, and is frequently used as an edging for paths. Its flowers are identical with those of the above in color, form and size, and they appear at about the same time. The stem is also leafy as in that plant. This is sometimes considered a form of Niobe japonica, but that flowers considerably later, and has dif- ferently shaped leaves with fewer nerves—characters which would seem to exclude this variegated form. 4. Niobe Sieboldiana (Lodd.). Siebold’s Day-lily Funkia Sieboldiana Hook. Funkia Sieboldii Lindl. Funkia sinensis Sieb. A showy pereninal forming large masses, with large cordate glaucous leaves, and racemes of pale lilac flowers which protrude little if any above the leaves. Leaves numerous: petioles 2-3 dm. long; blades 2-3 dm. long and 15-20 cm. wide, broadly ovate, cor- date at the base, acute at the apex, glaucous on both surfaces, with 12 or 13 curved nerves on each side of the midrib: scape, including the raceme, 3-4 dm. tall, barely equalling or little exceeding the leaves, the lower bracts 4-8 cm. long, finally spreading: inflorescence racemose; flowers 10-15, on pedicels 10-12 mm. long, finally nodding: perianth pale lilac or white flushed with the same color, 5-6 cm. long, the segments about 1.5 cm. long and 6-8 mm. wide: capsule 3-3.5 cm. long. Native of Japan. Introduced into cultivation at the Botanical Garden at Leyden, Holland, in 1830. 5. Niobe Fortunei (Baker). Fortune’s Day-lily Funkia Fortune Baker. A showy perennial, forming masses, with pale green glaucous leaves, which are much overtopped by the racemes of pale purple flowers. Leaves numerous: petioles 5-8 cm. long, shorter than the blades; blades 10-13 cm. long and 7—9 cm. wide, pale green, glaucous, cordate at the base, cuspidate at the apex, with 10-12 nerves on each side of the midrib: scape, including the raceme, 4-5 dm. long, much overtopping the leaves: raceme I-1.5 dm. long, the bracts lanceolate, the lower ones about 2.5 cm. long: flowers on pedicels 6-8 mm. long: perianth pale purple, about 4 cm. long, the segments lanceolate and about one half as long as the tube. Native of Japan. Introduced into cultivation in 1876. This and N. Sieboldiana are frequently confused. 6. Niobe coerulea (Andr.). Blue Day-lily Hemerocallis coerulea Andr. Funkia ovata Spreng. Funkia coeru- lea Sweet. A showy perennial forming large masses, with large cordate or ovate leaves, and racemes of blue flowers. Leaves numerous, green; blades 10-25 cm. long, 8-13 cm. wide, broadly ovate or sometimes cordate at the base, acute at the apex, the margin often wavy, with 6-9 curved nerves on each side of the midrib; petiole up to 30 cm. long: scape 3-6 dm. tall: inflorescence race- mose, extending much above the leaves, the bracts 2 cm. long or less: flowers up to 12, on pedicels 5-10 mm. long, finally nodding: perianth pale or deep blue, 4—5 cm. long, the tube, less than one half the length of the perianth, abruptly spreading into a broad ample limb, the segments of which are about 2 cm. long and 8-10 mm. wide, acute: capsule pendulous, 24-36 mm. long. Native of Japan, northern China, and eastern Siberia. It was first introduced some time prior to 1797 into England from Japan by Mr. G. Hibbert, of Clapham, in whose garden it flowered. It was first cultivated as a hothouse plant, but was later found to be hardy. This, as was the case with Niobe plantaginea, was first pub- lished as a Hemerocallis in 1797. By some this is considered to be the original Hemerocallis japonica of Thunberg’s Flora Japonica; but in that the leaves are said to have seven nerves, making this position hardly tenable, as the leaves in this have from 13-19. This is usually known under the name of Funkia ovata Spreng. There are forms of this also with variegated leaves. The variety albo-marginata has the leaves margined with white. A word now as to the uses of these plants in horticulture, to which they lend themselves readily and effectively. By selecting the species, flowers may be had continuously from June to the time of frost. The first to flower are Niobe Sieboldiana and N. Fortunei, closely related species, which are at their prime in June, with white flowers flushed with lavender. As these are waning the deeper lavender flowers of Niobe undulata and its variegated variety make their appearance, late in June or early in July, accompanied at almost the same time by the blue bell- shaped flowers of Niobe coerulea. Next to appear are the flowers of Niobe japonica, and its later-flowering form, the variety tardt- flora, which carry the flowering period of this interesting genus up to the time of killing frosts. Accompanying these last, and perhaps the most stately of them all, is Niobe plantaginea, some- times known as the plantain lily, from the resemblance of its leaves to those of that plant. This is quite in contrast with the other species, the flowers being much larger, of a different shape, and a pure white, with no trace of coloring. They appear usually early in September, and continue through the month. Some of the day lilies are desirable foliage plants, in addition to the interest of their flowers. For those who like the rich variegated effect of white and green, perhaps no other plant is more effective than is Niobe undulata variegata, planted as an edging to paths or beds. Where a mass of deep green foliage is desired, Niobe undulata and N. coerulea are desirable; or if a gray green is wished, Niobe Sieboldiana or its close relative N. Fortunei should not be forgotten. The plants spread rapidly, and delight in a deep rich soil, free from soggy conditions, and are impartial to the bright sun or part shade. Masses of them planted in the corner of a garden or in recesses in a herbaceous border are very effective. They may be readily propagated by division of the old plants, the new ones soon developing into masses rivaling those from which they were taken. They may also be readily grown from seed, which some of them produce freely. It is desirable, however, that the seed be sown soon after collecting, as it does not keep well. All of the species in cultivation are perfectly hardy in the latitude of New York, requiring no protection whatever, making them especially desirable for a herbaceous border, where per- manency is a great desideratum. New York BOTANICAL GARDEN. AO PUIONS LO THE FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS—ll By W. C. COKER Kalmia cuneata Michx. This species occurs plentifully on the edge of an open savanna on the south side of Prestwood’s Lake, Hartsville, S. C. It appears in scattered slumps along the transition line between the savanna and a typical dense “‘bay’’ formation. The soil it stands in is a nearly saturated black humus, and is covered in many places with Sphagnum. Associated with the Kalmia are Zenobia pulverulenta, Vaccinium australe, Azalea viscosa, Ilex glabra, Ilex coriacea, Aronia arbutifolia, Myrica cerifera, Myrica caroliniana, Xolisma foliostflora, Fothergilla carolina, Pieris nitida, etc. It has been taken previously only from southeastern N. C. The New York Botanical Garden and the Gray Herbarium have it only from Bladen Co., N.C. The Biltmore Herbarium has it also from Cumberland Co. (Hope Mills), and Moore Co. (Aberdeen), N. C. Pyxidanthera barbulata Michx. Forms dense and extensive mats at several places in the sand hills north of Hartsville, S. C., e. g., on the Camden road about four miles from town. It grows in very sandy soil associa- ted with such plants as arbutus (Epigaea repens) and wire grass (Panicum neuranthum). It was known heretofore only from 10 New Jersey and from southeastern North Carolina. This is one of the most beautiful and interesting of sandy plants. Mayaca fluviatilis Aubl. ; Plentiful in Prestwood’s Lake, Hartsville,S. C. Its range has heretofore been given as the Gulf States and Tropical America. The plant grows in delicate, loosely woven masses, quite sub- merged and, in company with Myriophyllum heterophyllum, Utric- ularia fibrosa, Utricularia biflora, Potamogeton diversifolius, and P. heterophyllus. Helianthemum canadense (L.) Michx. This is found on sand hills near Kilgore’s branch, Hartsville, S. C. April 14, 1910. Typically northern in its range, this plant has not been reported before below North Carolina. It was collected at Florence, S. C., by L. F. Ward (Herb. N. Y. Bot. Garden), and the Biltmore herbarium has it from Florence, S. C., and from near Augusta, Ga. Pentstemon australis Small. Dry. poor soil. Chapel Hill, N. C., May 14, 1910. Low, sandy flats, Hartsville, S. C., May 6, 1910. Heretofore pub- lished only from the Gulf States and westward, but the Biltmore herbarium has it from Dade City, Fla., Augusta, Ga., and south- eastern North Carolina. Baptisia villosa (Wait.) Ell. Collected on sand hills across lake, Hartsville, S.C. May 22, 1910, and on sand hills near Kilgore’s branch, Hartsville, S. C., April 14, 1910. Heretofore published only from Virginia and North Carolina of the seaboard states and extending westward to Arkansas; but Dr. John K. Small has collected it in Walton Con Mlonida: Rubus betulifolius Small. Occurs on south side of Prestwood’s Lake on the cannon place, April 23, 1910, in flower. Heretofore listed only from Georgia and Alabama, but in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden there is a sheet by Gibbs from Cooper River, S. C., that is referred to this species. . Rubus Enslenu Tratt. In good soil in woods, Laurel Land, Hartsville, S. C. April 24, 1910. This is the one-flowered plant considered by some a form of R. procumbens, and I can find no record of its occurrence in South Carolina. The typical R. procumbens is found in Chapel Hill, N. C., where it forms dense mats in wet places. Carex texensis (Torr.) Bailey. It covers the ground under trees, in the yard of Dr. A. A. Kluttz, Chapel Hill, N. C. So far it has not been published from either of the Carolinas, but Homer D. House has collected it at Clemson College, S. C. It is now known from Southern Illinois to the Carolinas, Georgia, and westward. This plant makes a good substitute for grass on lawns that are damp and densely shaded. Oenothera Drummondu Hook. This beautiful evening primrose was collected in very sandy soil along the trolley way on Sullivan’s Island, S. C., Aug. 28, 1909. It has been collected from this island before (Herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden) and from Ormond, Florida (Gray Herbarium) but I cannot find that it has been reported from South Carolina or Florida, or indeed collected from any other of the Southern States east of Texas. CHAPEL HILL, NorRTH CAROLINA. ANDIDININIOINS INO) INeN8, INNIS, LOR Ol INsls, UNDE De Si ATES By JOHN K. SMALL In several previously published papers* I recorded a number of trees new to silva of the United States. They were brought to light through exploration in southern Florida, and are as follows: Serenoa serrulata, Quercus Rolfsii, Chrysobalanus pello- carpus, Alvaradoa amorphoides, Suriana maritima, Cicca disticha, Mangifera indica, Rhus leucantha, Ilex Krugiana, Hibiscus Rosa- *Bull. N. Y. Bot. Gard. 3: 419-440: Torreya 7: 123-125; Bull. Torrey Club 37% 513-518. 12 sinensis, Tetrazygia bicolor, Sapota Achras, Solanum verbasci- folium, and Genipa clusiifolia. The following additions were discovered during more recent exploration in southern Florida. ANONA PALUSTRIS L. The ALLIGATOR APPLE grows abundantly in open moist ham- mocks on Long Key (Everglades) and in similar situations west of Camp Jackson (Small & Wilson no. 1648). The plants are easily distinguished from those of Anona glabra, which is common in southern Florida, by the flowers; these are usually only about one half the size of those of Anona glabra and have more pointed sepals and petals. The outer petals, too, are much longer than the inner ones. ANONA SQUAMOSA L. The preceding species, Anona palustris, like Anona glabra, is native in Florida. On the contrary, the SUGAR APPLE, Anona squamosa, is most likely an introduced species. While collecting on Lower Metacumbe Key, Florida, in August, 1907, I found specimens of this species thoroughly naturalized in hammocks on different parts of the island. Exploration on other keys long under cultivation would probably yield further stations for this species. CAPPARIS CYNOPHALLOPHORA L. The BAy-LEAVED CAPER TREE although common in southern peninsular Florida and on the keys seems to be but rarely en- countered asa tree. The writer had the good fortune to find it in January, 1909, growing as a tree on both Soldier Key and Key Largo. In both localities it reached a height of about twenty-five feet. Mr. Blodgett found it many years ago on Key West grow- ing to a height of twenty feet. BRYSONIMA LUCIDA (Sw.) DC. The Locust-BERRY, although known to reach the proportions of a tree in the West Indies, in Florida has heretofore been known only as a shrub, and usually a rather small shrub. How- ever, it was found on several of the small keys at the southwestern extremity of the Everglade Keys growing as a tree in January, 1909, by Mr. Carter and the writer. The maximum height it attained was about twenty-five feet. COLUBRINA COLUBRINA (L.) Millsp. The several collections of the WILD COFFEE, made both on the keys and the mainland of Florida appear not to have revealed it in any form but a shrub. Mr. Blodgett records it as a shrub on Key West reaching a height of twelve feet. During more recent exploration in the Everglades Mr. Carter and the writer found it on the main island of the Long Key group as a small shrub. During the fall of 1904 the writer found it very common in hammocks about the middle of the homestead country, some fifteen miles southwest of Cutler. Trees thirty to forty feet tall and six to eight inches in diameter were not uncommon. PARITIUM TILIACEUM (L.) Juss. The Manog, an old world plant established on the Florida Keys for many years, did not reach the proportions of a tree or become established on the mainland, except perhaps in cultiva- tion, until the present century. In 1905 Mr. S. H. Richmond sent me specimens from trees growing in the shore-hammock near Cutler. These trees evidently sprung from seeds brought there by some natural means from the keys. Although this is the only record we have of the tree occurring on the mainland, it is to be expected along the shore of the bay at any point between Cutler and Cape Sable. While in Miami in the summer of 1907 Mr. Richmond gave me additional specimens from the same station. LucuMa NERVOSA A. DC. The Ecc Fruit has evidently been a naturalized member of our flora for a number of years. This fact was brought to light after the severe hurricane which swept over southern peninsular Florida and the upper keys during the fall of 1906. The wind and flood during this storm swept the forests of Elliott’s Key clean of the under brush and thus allowed easy access to portions of the hammocks which were hitherto almost inaccessible. At different points in the forest we found fine trees which had evi- 14 dently become established there many years ago, while young trees were springing up from seed produced by the older trees. HAMELIA PATENS Jacq. The HaMmeELIA grows in hammocks in the southern two thirds of peninsular Florida and in the hammocks of the Florida Keys, but it seems never to have been observed except as a shrub. However, the writer has found specimens on the Everglade Keys growing in the dense hammocks between Cocoanut Grove and Cutler, reaching a height of 20 feet and with a trunk diameter of fully 6 inches. New YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN. TRAGOPOGON PRATENSIS xX PORRIFOLIUS By EarL E. SHERFF So far as the writer can find, the presence in the United States of hybrids between our two well-known species of salsify, Trago- pogon pratensis L. and T. porrifolius L., has not heretofore been observed with certainty. Britton and Brown* state that “an apparent hybrid between . . . [these two species] . . . has been noticed at New Brunswick, N. J.’’ But more recently, Brittont omits mention of this ‘‘apparent”’ hybrid and, similarly, Gray’s New Manualt fails to record it. That there exists, however, within the two species in question a potentiality for hybridization, was demonstrated by Linnaeus§ as early as 1759. By removing the pollen of 7. pratensis and placing upon the stigmas some pollen from T. porrifolius he secured hybrids with an intermediate color scheme in the flowers. Instead of the yellow peculiar to T. pratensis or the purple peculiar to T. porrifolius, the heads of the hybrid exhibited both red and yellow. These colors were somewhat approximated later in spontaneous hybrids observed by J. Lange|| in the Danish *Illustrated Flora, p. 269. 1898. New York. +Man. of Flora of Northeastern States and Canada. 1905. New York. tGray’s New Manual. 1908. New York. §Amoenitates academicae, X., p. 126. 1790. Erlangen. |\See Focke, Pflanzen Mischlinge, p. 222. 1881. Berlin. 15 islands of Fiinen and Laaland. The outer flowers were ‘‘brown- violet, the inner yellow.’ During the month of June, 1910, it was the writer’s privilege to make frequent observations upon both 7. porrifolius and T. pratensis along the right-of-way of the C. M. & St. P. R. R. at Elgin, Ill. For a distance of several hundred feet the two species were abundant, the former occurring in the northern half of the tract and the latter in the southern half. Where the two kinds met, there were found not only plants of each species but also some thirty or more plants quite distinct. In size, the last plants more nearly resembled 7. porrifolius, which in that vicinity was considerably the more robust plant. The flowers possessed, to a remarkable extent, the color pattern ob- served by Lange in the hybrids of Fiinen and Laaland; the outer flowers of each head being a reddish ‘“‘brown-violet’”’ and the inner a yellow color. The involucral bracts were mostly equal in length to the ray flowers. A remarkable uniformity prevailed in the flower-colorations, size of the mature plants, and proportionate length of the bracts. Individual plants were examined from time to time and in no case were they found to bear pure yellow or pure purple heads. However ramose the plant, its several branches produced heads with uniformly the outer flowers reddish brown-violet and the inner flowers yellow. It thus becomes obvious that these plants were nothing more or less than hybrids between the two species that abounded in either direction. It is the more obvious because they were found growing only in a small restricted area of about three square rods where the two pure stocks met. EVANSTON, ILLINOIS. SHORTER NOTES A NEw GERARDIA FROM NEw JERSEY.—Gerardia racemulosa. —Stem slender, 3-6 dm. tall, striate-angled, smooth, branched. Branches slender, elongated, ascending. Leaves narrowly linear to filiform, sparingly scabrous above, those of the stem 1.5-2.5 cm. long, 0.5-1.5 mm. broad, usually curling on drying, with con- spicuous c usters in the axils. Inflorescences strong’y racemose. 16 Pedicels 3 mm. long. Calyx-tube campanulate, 3 mm. high, its lobes triangular-subulate to subulate, 0.8—2.0 mm. long. Corolla rose-purple, about 20 mm. long, its lobes spreading, pubescent at base of upper lobes, purplish-spotted below within throat. Capsule ellipsoid-globose, 4—4.5 mm. in diameter. Type—Parkdale, Camden Co., N. J., F. W. Pennell 2692 Coll. Sept. 27, 1910, in Herb. Acad. Nat. Sci. of Phila. Moist sphagnous depressions, Pine Barrens of New Jersey; apparently also of North Carolina. Specimens seen: NEw JERSEY—Hornerstown, Monmouth Co., J. H. Grove 318; Pasadena, Ocean Co., B. Long; Forked River, Ocean Co., B Long; Egg Harbor, Atlantic Co., J. B. Brinton, A. MacElwee, CG: Mobr C. i. Pollard, H. H. (Rusby; Parkdale; Camdensi@oy F. W. Pennell 2692, 2604. NortH CAROLINA—Wilmington, G. McCarthy 47. This plant must be considered as an offshoot of Gerardia purpurea L. (abundant through most of the Atlantic Coastal Plain), adapted to, and largely replacing that species in the peculiar environment of the Pine Barren region of New Jersey. The two forms seem quite distinct, and for their better under- standing a diagnostic comparison is given. The characterization of G. purpurea L. represents the normal form of the plant as occurring about Washington, D. C., on the lower Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, in Delaware, and in New Jersey. Stem rather stout, 4-9 dm. tall, usually sparingly scabrellous; branches stiff, spreading; leaves linear or broadly linear, those of the stem 3-5 cm. long, I.5-3.5 mm. broad, not curling on drying; inflorescences not strongly racemose; calyx-lobes tri- angular-lanceolate to triangular-subulate; corolla mostly 25-30 mm. long; capsule globose, mostly 6-7 mm. in diameter. G. purpurea L. Stem slender, 3-6 dm. tall, smooth; branches slender, elon- gated, ascending; leaves narrowly linear to fili orm, those of the stem I.5-2.5 cm. long, 0.5-1.5 mm. broad, usually curling on drying; inflorescences strongly racemose; calyx-lobes triangular- subulate to subulate; corolla about 20 mm. long; capsule ellip- soid-globose, 4—4.5 mm.in diameter............. G. racemulosa. FRANCIS W. PENNELL« UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. iy NOTES ON SOME CALIFORNIAN GREEN ALGAE.—An examina- tion of Collins’ recent work on the green algae (F. S. Collins, “The Green Algae of North America,’’ Tufts College Studies 2:79-480. pl. 1-18. 1909) showed that two very characteristic species which have been collected in central California were not recorded for this state. The first species is a Spondylomorum, probably S. quaternarium Ehrenb., the only recognized species of the genus, of which there seems to be no previous record for America. According to Wille (Volvocaceae, Engler & Prantl, Die Natiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien, 17:40. 1890), this species occurs only in Europe and Asia. In 1896, Dr. W. R. Shaw, then instructor at Stanford Uni- versity, collected at Pacific Grove, near Monterey, a quantity of this species. He made a number of slides, three of which are now in the collection of the University. The specimens agree in all respects with the figures and descriptions of S. guaternarium, but are somewhat smaller than the dimensions given by De-Toni in his Sylloge Algarum, where the size is stated to be 36-75u. The largest Californian specimens hardly exceed 40u in length. No further collections of Spondylomorum have come to my attention. The second alga to be noted is Pithophora oedogonia (Mont.) Wittrock. This species has been collected several times in Felt Lake, a small body of water some four miles from Stanford Univer- sity. The identification was made by Professor W. A. Setchell. The species of Pithophora are for the most part tropical, but several species have been reported from stations in the eastern and central parts of the United States. So far as I know, the genus has not before been recorded from the Pacific Coast. _ DoucLas H. CAMPBELL. STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA. REVIEWS Hough’s Leaf Key to the Trees A little book of interest to teachers that has appeared recently is Mr. R. B. Hough’s Leaf Key to the Trees.* *R. B. Hough. Leaf Key to the Trees of the United States and Canada, and a Botanical Glossary, pp. 1-49. Published by the author, at Lowville, New York, Sept.. 1910 Price $.75 18 The book is “aimed to include all the generally accepted native and naturalized trees north of the latitude of the northern boundary of North Carolina, and east of the Rocky Mountains.” The key as drawn up is based on the normal typical leaves, ‘‘such as we consider distinctive of the various species and by which we recognize them,” ... “the average specimens on a mature tree, not those on very young or excessively vigorous shoots.’ Fruit characters are also included in connection with some of the trees ‘‘either as essential or accessory parts of the key; though many species can readily be traced without referring to the fruits.’ The book is intended to supplement the more extensive publications on native trees,—‘‘to enable one to have in a compact and systematic form an aid in the identification of trees by a study of their leaves’. The value of this little book to teachers lies in its availability as an aid for field work for older secondary students and for college students. Work on the identification of plants has a disciplinary value much higher than the amount of time usually devoted to it would seem to indicate. Trees offer probably by far the best medium for such work because of their size and usually the corresponding saliency of their distinctive characters, and also because of the greater interest attaching to them than to less conspicuous plants. Of course the value of any particular key for class work will depend in the end upon its workability in actual service, but those who are familiar with Mr. Hough’s Handbook will not question his very high qualifications for the preparation of a practicable key. As a matter of fact an examination of his treatment of some of the difficult genera shows that it is as good as would be expected. The differentiation of the species of oak is particularly good. One omission there is which detracts somewhat from the ready usefulness of the key—this is the failure to cite any of the varying different distributions of the trees. So for the oaks, a resident of Massachusetts seeking to identify a red oak would have to decide between four species, one of which is native farther south but which, at least in leaf characters, the red oak may at times resemble. For example I have in mind two large oaks with large flat-saucered acorns growing in the Litchfield hills in 19 northwestern Connecticut, the leaves of which might key out at Q. digitata, a southern species. If, however, the range of digi- tata were indicated, its elimination would have been instant. For many trees, however, this difficulty will not present itself and the book may be heartily recommended. Its size, about five by six and one half inches, and its flexible cover make it a convenient book to carry in the field. Rap C. BENEDICT. Stevens’ Diseases of Economic P.ants A new book entitled Diseases of Economic Plants, by F. L. Stevens and J. G. Hall,* of the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, has recently appeared. This work is de- signed to meet the needs of those students who wish to recognize, wherever this can be done with any degree of certainty, and treat diseases of plants without the laborious process of a detailed microscopic study. Those characters are used in diagnosing diseases which are evident to the naked eye or through the aid of the hand lens, and technicalities are avoided so far as possible, thus making the text a usable one to the agricultural students of the lower grade. The work is confined mainly to the bacterial and fungous diseases. The introductory chapters contain a brief historical sketch of the development of the science of phytopathology; also statis- tics regarding the damage caused by fungi, symptoms of disease, methods of preventing diseases, formulae of the various fungicides with directions as to the best methods of applying them, and a discussion of the cost and profit resulting from their use. The body of the work is devoted to a description of the symp- toms of the diseases of plants which are of economic importance with directions as to the best methods of controlling them. These diseases are classified according to the natural relationship of the hosts on which they occur and all of the diseases of a given host are treated under that host regardless of the relationships of the fungi which cause the diseases. The terms used in desig- *Stevens, F. L., & Hall, J. G. Diseases of Economic Plants. Pp. ijx-+1-513. f. 1-214. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1910. Price $2.00. 20) nating the various diseases are those most commonly used or where these are lacking or ambiguous a name is made by adding the termination ‘‘ose’’ to the generic name of the fungus which causes the disease. The work is thoroughly illustrated, the illus- trations being of such a nature as to be of material aid in the diagnosis of the various diseases. The appendix contains a brief discussion of the differences in the physiology of the chlorophyl-bearing and chlorophylless plants with a few of the most striking morphological characters of the bacteria and fungi. This part of the work is very brief. One of the points on which the work is to be commended is the fact that the manuscript of the various parts has been submitted to the best specialists in the groups treated for corrections and criticism, thus eliminating many of the errors which might other- wise appear in a work of this kind and ensuring accuracy as to details. The book will doubtless meet the need of a large number of students, especially in our agricultural colleges. FE. J, SEAVER: Dr. J. A. Harris (Biometrika, November) presents an exhaus- tive study ‘On the selective elimination occurring during the development of the fruits of Staphylea.”’ The author, keeping in mind the very different problem of the selective elimination of individuals, has striven to show the morphological and physio- logical value of the selective elimination of certain types of organs produced by individuals. Using statistical methods, now familiar through the work of Francis Galton and Karl Pearson, he recapitulates (in part), after presenting detailed tables of 21,000 locules and their ovules, thus: “The ovaries with relatively low numbers of ovules are more extensively eliminated than those with high numbers.”’, “The: ovaries which remain after elimination are more radially sym- metrical than those which are eliminated.” ‘Ovaries with one or more locules with an ‘odd’ number of ovules are more likely to be eliminated than those with all the locules bearing an ‘even’ numiber.’’ ‘‘Dimerous ovaries seem less likely, and tetramerous ovaries more likely to develop to maturity than the normal trimerous ones.”’ 21 So far as the last statement is concerned, the selective elimina- tion there recorded must be of very recent origin, for tetramerous ovaries of the bladder-nut are the exception rather than the rule. And if the elimination continues ever so slowly tetramerous ovaries of the bladder-nut must eventually become perfectly normal abnormalities. Wea: PROCEEDINGS, OF# THE CLUB NOVEMBER 8, I9I0 The meeting was called to order at the American Museum of Natural History at 8:30 P. M., with Dr. E. B. Southwick in the chair. Forty-six persons were present. The minutes of the meeting of October 26 were read and approved. The announced paper of the evening on “‘The Native Trees of Northeastern United States’? was then presented by Mr. Norman Taylor. The lecture was illustrated by lantern slides. Adjourned. PERcy WILSON, Secretary. NEWS ITEMS The Naples Table Association for promoting Laboratory Re- search by Women wishes to call attention to the opportunities for research in zodlogy, botany and physiology provided by the foundation of this table. The year of the Association begins in April and all applications for the year 1911-12 should be sent to the Secretary on or before March first, r91z. The appoint- ments are made by the Executive Committee. A prize of $1,000 has been offered periodically by the Associa- tion for the best thesis written by a woman, on a scientific subject, embodying new observations and new conclusions based on an independent laboratory research in biological, chemical or physical science. The fourth prize will be awarded in April, 1911. Application blanks, information in regard to the advantages at Naples for research and collection of material, and circulars giving 22 the conditions of the award of the prize will be furnished by the Secretary, Mrs. A. D. Mead, 283 Wayland Avenue, Providence, Rie At the New York Botanical Garden, Dr. Arthur Hollick has gone to Washington on a six month’s leave of absence to study Alaskan fossils, and Dr. J. A. Shafer and Mr. Percy Wilson have gone to eastern and western Cuba respectively to continue the botanical exploration of that island. Volume 6, no. 22, of the BULLETIN, containing descriptions of many new Bolivian plants by Dr. H. H. Rusby, was issued 30 of November. Volume 3, part 1 of North American Flora appeared 29 of December. It contains the order by Hypocreales. The college entrance examination board at its recent meeting appointed the following to prepare examination questions in botany for 1911. W.W. Rowlee, Cornell, chief examiner, M. E. Kennedy, Mount Holyoke, and Louis Murbach, Detroit, as- sociates. In the recently issued second edition of ‘““American Men of Science,”’ the editor, Prof. J. McKeen Cattell, as the result of an elaborate statistical study, ranks the five leading institutions in the following order of botanical eminence: Harvard, New York Botanical Garden, U.S. Dept. Agriculture, Chicago University, and Cornell University. Dr. Charles E. Bessey, professor of botany and dean at the University of Nebraska, has been elected. president of the 1911 Meeting of the A. A. A. S. to be held at Washington, beginning December 27, I9II. The Botanical Society of America has elected professor W. G. Farlow, of Harvard University, as its president for I9II. ep pte ‘ The Torrey Botanical Club Contributors of accepted articles and reviews who wish six gratuitous copies of the number of TorreEya in which their papers appear, will kindly notify the editor when submitting manuscript. | Reprints should be ordered, when galley proof is returned to the editor, from The New Era Printing Co., 41 North Queen Street, Lancaster, Pa., who have furnished the following rates : 2pp App 8pp 12pp 16pp 20pp 25 copies $ .75 $1.05 $1.30 $1.80 $2.20 $2.50 50 copies -90 1.20 1.70 2.20 2.50 2.85 100 copies 1.15 1.55 1.95 2.55 2.90 3.20 200 copies 1.70 2.35 2.90 3.75 4.35 4.70 Covers : 25 for 75 cents, additional covers 1 cent each. Plates for reprints, 40 cents each per 100. The following Committees haye been appointed for 1911 Finance Committee Field Committee J. 1. Kane, Chairinan E. B. SoutHwick, Chairman -H. M. Ricuarps Ww. MANSFIELD N. Tayior Budget Committee Program Committee H. H. Russy, Chairman ' Mrs. E: G. Britton, Chairman J. H. Barnuarr Miss JEAN BROADHURST N. L. Britton Tracy E. Hazen E. S. BuRGESS : F. J. SEAVER B. O. DopGE ~Puitie DOWELL Local Flora Committee N. L. Brerron, Chairman Phanerogams: Cryptogams: ie. P, BICKNELL“ * “Mrs. E.. G. Britton N. L. Britron Poitiep. DOWELL E. S. Burcess Tracy E. Hazen CG 5 Curtis M.A. Howe K, K. MAcKENZIE W. A. MurriLy E. L. Morris OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB (1) BULLETIN A monthly journal devoted to general botany, established 1870, Vol. 37 published in r91o, contained 630 pages of text _ and 36 full-page plates. Price $3.00’per annum. For Europe, 14 shillings. Dulau &-Co., 37 Soho Square, London, are, ' agents for England. ; Of former volumes, only 24~—37 can be supplied entire; cer- tain numbers of other volumes are available, but the entire stock of some numbers has been reserved for the completion of sets. “Vols, 24-27 are furnished at the published price of two dollars each; Vols. 28-37 three dollars each. : | Single copies (30 cents) will be Petes only when not pees complete volumes. (2) MEMOIRS The Memoirs, established 1889, are published at irregular — intervals. Volumes 1-13 are now completed ; Nos, 1 and 2 of | Vol. 14 have been issued. The subscription price is fixed at $3.00 per volume’ in advance. The numbers can also be pur-. ‘chased singly. A list of titles of the individual papers and oF prices will be furnished on application. cae (3) The Preliminary Catalogue of Anthtpleyta and Pteri- dophyta reported as growing within one hundred miles of New — York, 1888. Price, $1.00. Correspondence relating to the above publicotons should be ie addressed to MR. BERNARD O. DODGE | Columbia University . New York City “ Be Mol. rt February, IgII No. 2 ORREYA ~~ A Monruty Journar or BoranicaL Notes and News EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB BY NORMAN TAYLOR AS JOHN TORREY, 1796-1873 CONTENTS he Nature and Function of the Plant Oxidases: HRINESE ID): + GEAR Kick en Je 23 ediscovery of Tillandsia Swartzii Baker: N. L. BRITTON ........000..... 222... <a 31 Local Flora Notes — VIII: Norman WAV ROR 42245 sSaveeoct aan GR OTe Pa ee 33° Reviews: The Plant Life of Maryland : ROLAND M. HARPER.......: Paige aa ae Nae ame 36 Apgar’s Ornamental Shrubs of the United States: GrorcEe V. NASH........... 42 Proceedings of the Glabrae es PUR ai ot ee 44 Oi interestito Peactets ms es ae Sey ati re Ss on lie MA eh goa - 46 PIN CWWA SELON SY che yn icc ds SucTO ste sol Rear Ace Ran Te Meee ieee ale hake Souen nee petaGa see sheen entd Gita 50 PUBLISHED FOR THE CLUB At 41 NortH QUEEN STREET, LANCASTER, PA. By THe New Era Printinc Company [Entered at the Post Office at Lancaster, Pa., as second-class matter. | THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB OFFICERS FOR 1011 President \. HENRY H. RUSBY, M.D. Vice- Presidents EDWARD 5S. BURGESS, PH.D. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A.M.,M.D Secretary and Treasurer BERNARD ©. DODGE, Ph.B. Columbia University, New York City Editor PHILIP DOWELL, PxH.D.. ‘ Associate. Editors JOHN H. BARNHART, A.M. M.D; © TRACY ELLIOT HAZEN, Pu.D. JEAN BROADHURST, A.M. >. MARSHALL ‘AVERY HOWE, Pu: D,— ERNEST D. CLARK, Pu. D HERBERT M. RICHARDS, S.D. ALEX. W. EVANS, M.D., PH.D. NORMAN TAYLOR TorRreEYA is furnished to subscribers in the United States and Canada for one dollar per annum; single copies, fifteen cents. To subscribers elsewhere, five shillings, or the equivalent thereof. Postal or express money orders and drafts or personal checks on New York City banks are accepted in payment, but the rules of the New York Clearing — House compel the request that ten cents be added to the amount of any e other local checks that may be sent. Subscriptions are received only for full volumes, ‘beginning with the January issue. Reprints will be furnished at cost prices. Subscriptions and remittances should be sent to TREASURER, TORREY BOTANICAL CLuB, 41 North Queen St., Lan- caster, Pa., or Columbia University, New York City. Matter for publication should be addressed to NORMAN TAYLOR New York Botanical Garden Bronx Park, New York City TORREYA February, IgI1 Vol. 11. No. 2 THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF THE PLANT OXIDASES* By ErNeEsT D. CLARK One of the most noteworthy characteristics of living organisms is their ability to carry out many deep-seated chemical changes without the ordinary means of producing such reactions. In other words, the living cell is a laboratory equipped to provide the most varied chemical transformations, yet with none of the relatively crude and violent agents such as high temperatures and strong chemicals which we are forced to use in the test-tube experiments of our man-made laboratories. In no case is this power of the cell more striking than in the oxidative phenomena of plants and animals; the latter especially are continually oxi- dizing and transforming large amounts of material for the main- tenance of their life, and yet these oxidations are accompanied by few of the physical effects associated with oxidation and combustion in daily life orin the laboratory. It is not surprising, then, that the attention of biologists and chemists was early attracted to the investigation of biological oxidations. Beginning with Schoenbein in the fourth decade of the last century, and continuing to the present, numerous have been the theories advanced in regard to these phenomena. However, before pro- ceeding with a discussion of the factors involved in the oxidations of the plant, it is desirable to indicate the means which the cell * This paper is based on the author’s dissertation entitled ‘‘ The Plant Oxidases,”’ which was published last year in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in Columbia University. {No. 1, Vol. 11, of TORREYA, comprising pp. 1-22, was issued 31 Ja ro1t.] 23 24 has at its disposal for carrying out its chemical reactions with such wonderful efficiency. The fermenting action of certain bacteria and yeasts upon sugars and other substances has long been known and used in the industries. These yeasts were called organized ferments, while chemical preparations like pepsin, etc., which exhibit a fermenting or digesting action, were called unorganized ferments. This dis- tinction was retained until 1897 when Buchner performed his clas- sical experiment on yeast, showing that by the action of pressure applied in a hydraulic press he was able to obtain a liquid possessing all the fermenting power of living yeast plants even in the absence of the living organisms. This substance or property of the expressed liquid Buchner called an ‘‘enzyme.”’ He said that substances of like nature were products of the life- activities of cells, but were not dependent on the living cell for the exhibition of their characteristic fermenting action. It is to ferments or enzymes like this that the cell owes its great chemical efficiency. Enzymes are members of the class of substances known as ‘‘catalyzers’’ which, by processes that are not fully understood, cause reactions to take place with a speed not shown under ordinary conditions. Generally, catalysts are capable of causing or assisting in reactions without being themselves de- stroyed by the processes they propagate. In discussing the oxidases or oxidizing enzymes a somewhat critical attitude is necessary in the face of many conflicting and even contradictory results. To take an example, several of the so-called oxidizing enzymes have been shown to be not enzymes but heat-withstanding inorganic or organic catalyzers. At the present time our knowledge of these substances is being increased almost daily, with the result that we are now in a sort of tran- sitional period, the literature of the whole subject being filled with assertions and denials on the part of equally able investi- gators. The tendency at present seems to be to consider as enzymes those apparently complex organic substances of non- diffusable nature and of high catalytic power, which are produced during the life processes of plants and animals; but when in- vestigation reveals definitely their exact chemical nature, such 25 as the ‘‘laccase”’ of alfalfa, which Euler and Bolin! have recently proved to be calcium salts of simple organic acids, then they are referred to as organic catalysts. Bearing this in mind, the writer will use the terms oxidizing enzyme and oxidase interchangeably for convenience and with no implication that they are enzymes according to the strictest definition, or that future investigation may not prove the action of all the classes of oxidizing enzymes to be due to the same substance or property. In regard to the réle and the nature of many of the oxidases, we are still ignorant in spite of the study that has been devoted to them. In the case of enzymes like pepsin, trypsin, and lipase, investigation has produced considerable advances in our knowl- edge of them, but this cannot be said of the oxidases. In fact, there are doubts in some cases whether certain of the oxidases are enzymes at all, because a number of them have been proved to be comparatively simple organic or inorganic substances. However, such oxidases as peroxidase and tyrosinase still hold their places in the category of enzymes. In classifying the oxidases several arrangements have been suggested, many of which led only to confusion. After 1903, a more accurate classi- fication was proposed, for it was then that Bach and Chodat? showed that the so-called oxidases of Bertrand are really com- posed of three separate parts as indicated below: I. Oxygenase; a preformed organic peroxide resulting from auto-oxidation. 2. Peroxidase; a true enzyme which activates the oxygenase or added H2Ok, etc." 3. Catalase; a substance decomposing H2O2 into H:O0 + Or. Since 1903, a great deal of work has been done which shows that this conception of the so-called oxidases is founded on fact. 1Euler and Bolin. Zur Kenntniss biologische wichtiger Oxydationen: (a) I. (Same title as the series, Zur Kenntniss, etc.), Zts. Physiol. Chem. 57: 80. 1908. (b) II. Ueber die Reindarstellung der Medicago laccase, Zts. Physiol. Chem. ee LOO: 2Bach and Chodat. Zerlegung der sogenannte Oxydasen in Oxygenasen und Peroxydasen—V. Ber. Chem. Gesell. 36: 606. 1903. 26 : In the last edition of Oppenheimer’s ‘‘ Die Fermente’” he has adopted the following classification of the plant oxidases, which will be used in this paper: 1. Laccase; phenolase, etc. 2. Tyrosinase, melanin-forming enzymes. 3. ‘‘Oxidases.”’ (a) Oxygenase. (b) Peroxidase. 4. Catalase. LACCASE Schoenbein’s interest in the problems of oxidation led him to investigate the cause of the coloration of certain mushrooms, and in 1856! he published his results. In Boletus luridus he found a substance soluble in alcohol that showed the same bluing from injury of the fungus or on treatment with oxidizing agents in the test-tube, that characterizes the bluing of the guaiac tincture; moreover, the same substances decolorize this blued extract as in the case of the blued guaiac tincture. Schoenbein saw the importance of the fact that spontaneous bluing only took place in the fungus ztself, and concluded therefore that there was a substance present in the fungus with power to greatly increase the oxidizing power of the atmospheric oxygen. In Agaricus san- guinareus he was also able to find the same sort of spontaneously coloring substance that he noted in Boletus luridus. He con- cluded that, besides the chromogenic substance of these fungi, there is a substance present that can ozonize (activate) atmo- spheric oxygen; he called such an activating substance a “Sauer- ‘ stofferreger,’’ or literally an “‘oxygen-exciter.’’ The first really careful work on oxidizing ferments was done by Yoshida® who, in 1883, investigated the chemistry of lacquer. 3Oppenheimer. Die Fermente und ihre Wirkungen, “ Die Oxydasen,”’ chap. 7, PP. 337-391, Spezielle Teil, 3d ed. 1909. Also for an excellent treatment of oxidases in general see: Kastle. The Oxidases. Bull. 59, Hyg. Lab. U. S. Pub. Health and Mar. Hosp. Serv. Washington, 1910. 4Schoenbein. Ueber die Selbstblauung einige Pilze, ete. Jour. Prakt. Chem. 67: 496. 1856. 5 Yoshida. Chemistry of Lacquer. Jour. Chem. Soc. 43: 472. 1883. or 27 The lacquer-work of the Japanese has long been a famous and beautiful product of that country. The milky latex of the tree Rhus vernicifera, rapidly oxidizes in a moist atmosphere to a black lustrous varnish which is not attacked by any chemical except concentrated nitric acid. In the latex Yoshida found a sub- stance having the composition Cy4H gO, which he called urushic acid; besides this, he found a small amount of a nitrogenous constituent, ‘‘a peculiar diastatic matter,’’ which rapidly caused the urushic acid to oxidize to the black oxyurushic acid (Cy,H;s0s). This peculiar diastatic matter of Yoshida lost its power to oxidize urushic acid after being heated to 63°; so Yoshida thought it a substance of enzymatic nature, which acted as an oxygen carrier in these oxidations. Some years later, Bertrand® studied the lacquer formation more carefully. He called the substance an oxidizing ferment, which he believed brought about the oxidation of the mother-substance of the black lacquer. He found that the ferment was destroyed by boiling, and also that it was present in gum arabic and gum senegal, as well as in the latex of species of Rhus. He named this ’ and tested numerous plants for it, finding it present in many cases. Bertrand used the tincture of guaiacum as a test for laccase. In 1895, Bertrand with Bourquelot’ tested a great many of the higher fungi for laccase, using guaiacum as a reagent. They found that laccase was widely distributed in these plants as well as in those containing chlorophyll. They also investigated those fungi which become colored when injured, and they believed the phenomenon was caused by a ferment identical with laccase. Ber- trand® has shown that the oxidizing power of laccase is in some ferment ‘‘laccase’ way connected with the manganese present; for, by repeated pre- cipitation with alcohol, he divided his laccase preparation into three 6 Bertrand. (a) Sur la latex de Varbre a laque. Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. 118: 1215. 1894. (b) Recherches sur le suc laiteux de l’arbre a laque du Tonkin. Bull. Soc. Chim. [3], 11: 717. 1894. 7Bertrand and Bourquelot. Laccase dans les champignons. Compt. Rend. Soc. Biol. 47: 579. 1895. 8 Bertrand. Sur l’action oxydante des sels manganeux et sur la constitution chimique des oxydases. Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. 124: 1355. 18097. 28 fractions of different manganese contents, which with hydroqui- none solutions showed activities proportional to their percentages of manganese. Bearing this in mind, other investigators have used mixtures of protein substances and manganese salts to prepare artificial oxidases giving many of the reactions of the natural preparations. It should be noted, however, that Bach and other investigators have prepared oxidases from various - plants which, although active, did not contain manganese or iron. During the last year, Euler and Bolin? have shown that the laccase prepared from alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is not an enzyme according to the commonly accepted usage of the word. They found that heating did not destroy the activity of the oxidase, and that the protein thus precipitated could be filtered off without lowering the activity in the least. This so-called laccase proved to be mostly calcium glycollate, with traces of the calcium salts of citric, malic, and mesoxalic acids. If, as Bach and Chodat say, laccase consists of organic perox- ides activated by the enzyme peroxidase, then it is the peroxidase part which confers upon laccase what specificity it has. How- ever, laccase is not a specific enzyme in the narrow sense because, besides the laccol of Rhus spp., it will oxidize guaiacol, hydro- quinone, guaiac tincture, phenolphthalin, and many phenols and cyclic amino derivatives; still, it is not able to oxidize tyrosin or any of the tyrosin derivatives upon which tyrosinase exerts a truly specific action. So then, laccase is a specific enzyme, in that it acts only upon substances containing a certain grouping in their structure. The fact that laccase acts upon guaiac tincture and upon many other reagents usually employed to detect peroxidases, etc., makes one skeptical in regard to the nearly universal occur- rence of laccase claimed for it by the earlier investigators. TYROSINASE After Bertrand and Bourquelot had shown that the bluing of Boletus cyanescens upon injury was due to the effect of laccase acting with the atmospheric oxygen upon the ‘“‘boletol”’ in the 9 Loe. cit. 29 fungus, they turned their attention to the case of Russula spp., especially R. nigricans, the color change of which upon injury is from pink or reddish to black. In different researches they showed that laccase could not produce the same effect, and further, that it was an oxidation of a definite chemical substance in the fungus. Bertrand” next showed that the crystalline chro- mogen in Russula spp. was tyrosin and that it was also present in beets, potatoes, etc.; accordingly he named the enzyme which caused this change “‘tyrosinase,’’ and said that laccase and tyro- sinase were two representatives of the group of ‘‘oxidases.”’ About this’ time it was found that rosettes of tyrosin crystals were present in the tissues of the fungus Russula nigricans. At first it was thought that tyrosinase was as wide-spread an enzyme as laccase, but later results show this to be unlikely. Lehman and Sano" examined bacteria and higher plants for tyrosinase. A few species of bacteria showed the presence of tyrosinase, but in no case could it be separated from the living bacterial cells. Among the higher plants tyrosinase is present in wheat, barley, potatoes, Papaver orientale, Rhus spp., etc. Thus we see, this enzyme is probably concerned in the formation of the black wound-covering over injured areas on potatoes. The action of tyrosinase results in a yellowish pink coloration, then reddish, then brown, and finally black. This reddish black oxidation or condensation product is called melanin and is closely related to the natural animal pigments in dark hair, etc., and also in the so-called melanotic tumors. This action of tyrosinase and the resulting melanin have attracted a great deal of attention. The first investigators said that the action of the tyrosinase was simply the oxidation of tyrosin to melanin, and that the produc- tion of a black coloration in a plant was due to the action of its tyrosinase on tyrosin. However, it soon became clear that the matter was not so simple as at first thought. Certain experiments seem to show that the early change of tyrosin to a pink color 10Bertrand. Sur une nouvelle oxydase ou ferment soluble oxydant d’origine végétale. Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. 122: 1215. 18096. Also Bull. Soc. Chim. [3], 15: 793. 18096. ULehman and Sano. Ueber das Vorkommen von Oxydations-fermenten bei Bakterien und héheren Pflanzen. Arch. f. Hyg. 67: 99. 1908. 30 may be caused by an another enzyme and then it is upon this intermediate product that tyrosinase acts, finally giving the black melanin. The earlier workers considered that tyrosinase was a specific enzyme acting only on tyrosin, but in the course of time it has become evident that tyrosinase is specific in the same sense as laccase; namely, it acts upon a group of compounds closely related im structure. Just as it is possible to obtain anti-toxins, research has shown that we may obtain anti-enzymes. In this place we are con- cerned only with the anti-oxidases, which have been produced in the usual manner, that is, by the repeated injection of small though increasing amounts of the enzyme preparation into a rabbit or other animal, and the withdrawal of some of the blood after immunity has been established to that particular enzyme. The blood serum from such immune animals prevents or retards the natural oxidizing action of the enzyme under investigation. Gessard” obtained anti-tyrosinase and anti-laccase that com- pletely inhibited the oxidizing power of the corresponding plant enzyme preparations. We shall see later that anti-oxidases may play an important part in the physiology of the plant. Generally speaking, tyrosinase seems to be the nearest to the true enzyme of any of the oxidases with which we are acquainted. It is most specific in its action, most sensitive to exterior con- ditions, and up to the present, has not been replaced by any artificial enzyme in the oxidation of tyrosin to a melanin. It is usually associated with laccase in plants, but the presence of laccase does not indicate the appearance of tyrosinase, while on the other hand, the latter is almost invariably accompanied by laccase. As in the case of laccase, Bach™ claims that the tyrosinase is really composed of two parts, oxygenase and the peroxidase. He found that by the use of alcohol precipitations he was able to reduce the activity of the tyrosinase of the potato, as previ- 12Gessard. (a) Anti-laccase. Compt. Rend. Soc. Biol. 139: 644. 1904. (0) Sur la tyrosinase. Ann. Inst. Pasteur 15: 593. I901. 13 Bach. Ueber die Wirkungsweise der Tyrosinase. Ber. Chem. Gesell. 41: 221. 1908. ol ously noted by Bertrand; but curiously enough, the addition of hydrogen peroxide to the enzyme solution restored it to its usual activity. This and many similar experiments led Bach to believe that tyrosinase contains the oxygenase and peroxidase complements.* Our final conclusion must be then, that tyrosi- nase may have the usual oxidase complements (oxygenase plus peroxidase) and that its peroxidase may be specific just as the peroxidase of laccase is specific in its action upon substances having a certain constitution. (To be continued) LABORATORY OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY, OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, NEW YORK. REDISCOVERY OF TILLANDSIA SWARTZII BAKER By N. L. Britton In “Journal of Botany,” 26: 12, published in 1888, and in “Handbook of Bromeliaceae,”’ 191, 1889, Mr. J. G. Baker de- scribed this species, based on a specimen collected many years ago by Swartz in the island of Jamaica and supposed by him to be Tillandsia paniculata L. Professor Carl Mez, in his Monograph of the family Bromeliaceae (DC. Mon. Phan. 9: 884), published in 1896, states that he has seen this specimen, but regards it as doubtful, perhaps referable to the Liliaceae. The type specimen is preserved in the herbarium of the British Museum of Natural History, and while there in the spring of 1910, I examined it and was inclined to agree with Professor Mez. But, on returning to New York immediately afterward, I found in a parcel of choice Jamaica plants collected early the same year by Mr. William Harris, fine specimens, which I recognized as of the same species, and on sending one of these to Mr. Edmund Baker at the British Museum, he confirmed my identification by a comparison with the type. Mr. Harris found the plant growing on rocks in the Rio Minho Valley, March 3, 1910 (No. 10,855), more than one hundred years after its collection in 14 Recently he found that the salts of manganese, etc., could apparently replace the peroxidase part. In this connection see: Ber. Chem. Gesell. 43: 366. 1910. Tillandsia Swartzii Jamaica by Swartz, and, presumably, it has not been seen in a living state by any botanist during this long period, a striking illustration of the extremely local distribution of some West Indian species. It would appear that the plant was correctly referred to the Bromeliaceae at its original description; as Mr. Baker remarks, it is allied, at least in habit, to Tillandsia utriculata L., though he places the two in different subgenera. In floral structure it differs from both his subgenera Platystachys and Cyathophora by having a pair of scales at the base of each corolla-segment, and in this feature agrees with his subgenus Vriesia, a group regarded by Professor Mez as of generic rank. As shown by the specimens collected by Mr. Harris, the inflo- rescence is about 1.3 meters high, floriferous from about the middle, the lower panicle-branches up to 3 dm. long, the lower bracts of the scape lanceolate, 1-1.5 dm. long, long-acuminate; the basal leaves are narrowly lanceolate, 6-8 dm. long, 4-6 cm. wide and very long-acuminate, glabrous and finely many-nerved; the flowers are sessile and quite widely separated on the slender branches of the inflorescence, their bracts ovate-lanceolate, acutish, about 1 cm. long; the linear sepals are 2 cm. long, and the thin parallel-veined petals 3 cm. long, linear-lanceolate and acuminate, about one-fourth longer than the stamens. The capsule was described by Mr. J. G. Baker as at least twice as long as the calyx. NEw YorRK BOTANICAL GARDEN. LOCALE DEORN NOME Sv Las By NORMAN TAYLOR Species Specimens wanted from CRUCIFERAE Arabis hirsuta (L.) Scop. Northern N. J. and N. Y. Cardamine pratensis L. N. J. or elsewhere in the range.t * Continued from Bull. Torrey Club 37: 559-562. N 1910. + The local flora range as prescribed by the Club’s Preliminary Catalogue of 1888 is as follows: All of the state of Connecticut; Long Island; in New York the 34 Species Specomens wanted from Cardamine rotundifolia Michx. Western N. J. and eastern Pa. Cardamine purpurea (Torr.) Northern N. Y. and Pa. Britton. Dentaria maxima Nutt. Northern N. Y., N. J., and Pa. Dentaria anomala Eames. Anywhere in the range. Dentaria diphylla Michx. INS Je Dentaria incisifolia Eames. Anywhere in the range. Dentaria heterophylla Nutt. INGE Draba caroliniana Walt. Anywhere in the range. Lepidium apetalum Willd. Anywhere in the range. Lepidium medium L. ING AZo aime IN. Jf: Lepidium graminifolium L. Anywhere in the range. Roripa americana (A. Gray) Northern N. Y. and Pa. Britton. Roripa hispida (Desv.) Britton. N. Y. and Pa. Lunaria annua L. Anywhere in the range. Arabis patens Sullivant. Eastern Pa. Brassica japonica Siebold. Anywhere in the range. SARRACENIACEAE Sarracenia purpurea L. Westchester, Orange, and Rockland counties, N. Y., and from Somerset Co., N. J. DROSERACEAE Drosera filiformis Raf. Middlesex, Mercer, and Camden counties, N. J. PODOSTEMONACEAE Podostemon Ceratophyllum Anywhere in the range. Michx. counties bordering the Hudson River up to and including Columbia and Greene, also Sullivan and Delaware counties; all of New Jersey; and Pike, Wayne, Monroe, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon, Bucks, Berks, Schuylkill. Montgomery, Philadelphia, Delaware and Chester counties in Pennsylvania. : Species Specimens wanted from CRASSULACEAE Tillaea aquatica L. Sempervivum tectorum L. Rhodiola rosea L.. (Sedum). Sedum ternatum Michx. Anywhere in the range. N. J. and N. Y. Any stations not in Britton’s Manual. Anywhere in the range. PARNASSIACEAE Parnassia caroliniana Michx. Anywhere in the coastal plain. SAXIFRAGACEAE Micranthes (Saxtfraga) micran- thidifolia (Haw.) Small. Micranthes (Saxifraga) penn- sylvanica (L.) Haw. Tiarella cordifolia L. Heuchera Curtis T. & G. Heuchera pubescens Pursh. Mitella nuda L. Chrysosplenium americanum Schwein. Eastern Pa. Northern N. J. Eastern Pa. Anywhere in the range. Mountains of Pa. Northern N. Y. We leveentral Ne Je, and Pa- HyDRANGEACEAE Hydrangea arborescens L. New Jersey. ITEACEAE Ttea virginica L. Ocean and Monmouth counties, N. J. HAMAMELIDACEAE Hamamelis virginiana L. In or near the pine-barrens of IN-alerand ver: ALTINGIACEAE Liquidambar Styraciflua L. In or north of the highlands of the Hudson. 36 Species Specimens wanted from GROSSULARIACEAE Ribes lacustre (Pers.) Poir. = Northern N. Y. Ribes glandulosum Grauer. (R. Pa. & N.Y. prostratum L’ Her.)* Ribes americanum Mill. (R. Northern N. Y. and N. J. floridum L’Her.) Rives triste Pall. (R. rubrum L.) N. J. and N. Y. Grossularia jhuirtella (Michx.) N. J. and Pa. Spach. (R. huronense Rydb.) Grossularia (Ribes) Cynosbatt Northern N. J., N. Y., and Pa. (L.) Mill. PLATANACEAE Platanus occidentalis L. Ulster, Greene, and Delaware counties, N. Y. NEw YorK BOTANICAL GARDEN. REVIEWS The Plant Life of Maryland + There are very few states in the Union whose vegetation has been described with any pretense of thoroughness, and in Mary- land not even a catalogue of the vascular plants of the whole state had been published before; probably chiefly because the state contains very few rare and perhaps no endemic species, and therefore offers little attraction to the average systematic botanist. Maryland is the northernmost state, south of the glaciated region, which extends all the way from the coast to the mountains (and incidentally probably the only one which contains both Taxus minor and Taxodium, or Pinus Taeda and * The names used are those maintained in North American Flora 22; 193-209. 1908. The ones in brackets are those in Britton’s manual. + The Plant Life of Maryland. By Forrest Shreve, M. A. Chrysler, Frederick H. Blodgett and F. W. Besley. Special publication Maryland Weather Service, new series, Vol. 3, 533 pp-, 39 plates (including 1 map), 15 text-figures (including I2 maps). Baltimore, 1910. Abstracts or reviews of it have already appeared in Science II. 32: 837-868. Dec. 16, 1910; Forestry Quarterly 8: 484-486. t1o11; and Scottish Geograph- ical Magazine 27: 1-6. f. 1-4. Jan., I9QII. 37 Lanx). Although comparatively small in area, it includes parts of such distinct physiographic provinces as the coastal plain, the Piedmont region, and the Alleghany mountains, the last reaching altitudes within the state of over 3000 feet; and the present work throws much light on the local distribution of the plants characteristic of each of these areas, or of two or more of them, and is an important contribution to existing knowledge of the vegetation of eastern North America. After being delayed considerably beyond the expected time of appearance, as is very often the case with important scientific works, this handsome royal octavo volume, embodying the re- sults of field work which was done mostly in the years 1904-6, was finally given to the public about the middle of last summer, the exact date not being known. In mechanical make-up the book is fully up to the standard of other recent scientific publications of the state of Maryland, which means that it is practically faultless. The type is large and neat, and the 74 half-tone illustrations of vegetation are well chosen and skillfully executed in nearly every case, the principal exception being that one or two of them are a few degrees out of plumb.* The principal author and one of the others having been absent from the state and largely engrossed with other matters during the printing, it fell to the lot of Mr. E. W. Berry as editor to bring the several contributions into harmony with each other as far as possible, and to attend to numerous other essential details; a kind of work which can hardly be appreciated by the reader, as it attracts attention only when poorly done.t Besides the preface, indexes, and other necessary appendages, the book is divided into Part 1, Introduction, 42 pages; Part 2, * This is a defect often observed in the best magazines, both popular and scien- tific, and even in text-books; but there would seem to be little excuse for it, as it lies within the power of author, editor, and engraver, each and severally, to remedy it before it is too late. + The reviewer notes with gratification the editor’s independence of an auto- cratic band of geographical orthographers located about forty miles from him, in spelling the names of the three counties which have possessive endings according to local and official usage, and not according to arbitrary rules. 38 Floristic plant geography, 30 pages; Part 3, Ecological plant geography, 192 pages; Part 4, Relation of natural vegetation to crops, 9 pages; Part 5, Agricultural features, 53 pages; Part 6, Forests and their products, 17 pages; and Part 7, List of plants, I14 pages. In all of these parts a three-fold division of the state on physiographic grounds (and not climatic, as one might be led to expect from the auspices under which the book ap- peared) into coastal zone (coastal plain), midland zone (meta- morphic or crystalline rocks), and mountain zone (Alleghany plateau) is recognized. The coastal zone is further subdivided by Chesapeake Bay into two perceptibly different parts, and the midland zone into lower and upper (or foot-hills and ridges), corresponding with the Piedmont region and Blue Ridge of the states farther south. Part 1, by Dr. Shreve, outlines the scope of the work, making a sharp distinction between floristic and ecological plant geog- raphy (a point which deserves more attention than has been given to it in the past), and then discusses the climatology, topography, mineralogy, and soils of the state. Part 2, also by Dr. Shreve, opens with a brief sketch of the history of botanical exploration in Maryland, up to the time when the present authors took the field. Then follow lists of plants which are supposed to be confined to a single zone or to two adjacent zones, plants which reach their northern limits on or near the Delaware peninsula, strand plants, salt-marsh plants, pine-barren plants which seem to skip Maryland, etc. If the systematic list (part 7) represents fully the authors’ knowledge of the local distribution of plants within the state, then some of the zonal lists might have been considerably modified or extended. But discrepancies of this kind are almost inevitable in such a large book, in which considerable time must elapse between the writing of the various parts. Kearney’s table of the northern limits of ‘‘austroriparian’’ plants, although men- tioned approvingly in a footnote on page 93, was apparently not utilized to the utmost in preparing the list of plants whose northern limits pass through Maryland. The list of “pine- barren”’ plants which are not known between New Jersey and Virginia is somewhat misleading in that it includes at least half a dozen species which in the southern states are known only in the mountains, and not in the coastal plain, and one or two whose occurrence northeast of Maryland is doubtful. (It is interesting to note that nearly half of the 44 spermatophytes listed as pine- barren plants are monocotyledons, and the proportion would be still larger if the corrections just indicated had been made.) This part closes with an instructive discussion of the factors by which vegetation provinces are differentiated, and a bibliog- raphy of works relating to the flora of Maryland and the District of Columbia. In Part 3, the longest and most important of all, the vegetation of each of the five subdivisions of the state is classified by habitat; Dr. Shreve taking the easternmost, middle and westernmost, Dr. Chrysler the ‘‘Western Shore”’ (that part of the coastal plain west of the Bay), and Dr. Blodgett the upper midland zone. In the habitat lists prepared by Dr. Shreve, the species, in- stead of being arranged in taxonomic, alphabetical, or merely haphazard order, as was customary up to four or five years ago (and is yet, to a considerable extent), are divided into trees, shrubs, and herbs (bryophytes and thallophytes being left out of consideration), and arranged in approximate order of abun- dance (as stated in a rather inconspicuous way in a footnote on page 110). Unfortunately in such lists the trees are mentioned only by their. common names, and these are run into paragraphs instead of being arranged in columns like those of the herbs, which makes this part less valuable for purposes of reference than it should be. In order to find from the index all that is said in the book about any particular species of tree its common name has to be constantly borne in mind. The names of the herbs are sometimes run into paragraphs too, but in most cases they are arranged in single columns, thus wasting considerable space which might easily have been filled with condensed informa- tion about the structure and adaptations, or even the geographical distribution, of each species. If smaller and more closely set type or double columns had been used for the herbs each habitat list would have been confined to one or two pages, and thus 40 more easily comprehended at a single glance. These details however were probably not left entirely to the judgment of the authors. In Dr. Chrysler’s part some definite ratios of abundance are given for the trees in certain habitats, but the herbs in most of his lists seem to be arranged in Engler & Prantl sequence, with no indication of relative abundance. Dr. Blodgett had to deal with a rather complex region, in which he found it expedient to describe almost every ridge and valley separately, and to mix trees, shrubs, and herbs together in his habitat lists, as if in the same order in which they were observed in the short time avail- able for field work in that region. The chapter on agricultural features (Part 5), by I Dr. Blodgett, although it seems a little out of place in a volume devoted primarily to phytogeography, is a valuable original contribution to economic geography. After the history of settlement and agricultural development of the state there follows a discussion of the influence of soils on civilization, and then notes on the distribution of several of the principal crops, illustrated by maps. Mr. Besley’s remarks on forests (Part 6) are rather brief, but it would be hard to cover the ground any better than he did with the same number of words, and the forest industries of Maryland are probably not important enough at the present time to justify a more exhaustive treatment. In preparing the list of plants collected and observed, Dr. Shreve did not waste any time ransacking old herbaria with a view of citing every specimen ever collected in Maryland, but included only plants which had been seen by him or his associates or by local botanists still living in the state. The list therefore makes no claim to completeness, but is primarily a taxonomic index to the plants which are classified by habitat in Part 3. The nomenclature follows Britton & Brown’s Illustrated Flora (1896-1898), and all specific names are decapitalized, as has been customary in Washington since 1893, but not so much else- where. Numerous arbitrary “‘common’”’ names which are never seen outside of botanical literature have been inserted in the catalogue, but this practice is not carried to the extreme that it 4] was in some quarters a decade or two ago, for many of the less familiar species are left without such names. Ranges and bibliographic citations or other references to literature are omitted, which is entirely justifiable in such an unpretentious catalogue and in a region so well covered by descriptive _ manuals. The information given about the distribution of the several species within the state is not as complete as an interested reader might wish, only about two lines (besides the name) being devoted to each, on the average, and usually not more than one county being mentioned. For over one-fourth of the species the cata- logue gives no indication whatever of habitat, and a still larger ae number are treated in very general terms, like ““swamps,”’ “‘dry open situations,” etc., which are not readily correlated with the habitats described in detail in Part 3. It would not be fair, however, to compare such a list with those numerous local floras in which a taxonomic catalogue is the most important feature. Throughout the catalogue, as well as in other parts of the book, weeds are not distinguished very sharply from native plants, which is unfortunate, though not at all unusual. Weeds are more easily recognized than some persons who have not given the matter much thought may imagine, and a reform in this respect is urgently needed in all our phytogeographical literature. An extremely conservative course has been followed with re- gard to the numerous recently described (and perhaps ill-defined ?). species of Panicum, Sisyrinchium, Rubus, Crataegus, Viola, etc., the five genera just named having only 56 species among them in the book. The catalogue comprises 60 pteridophytes, 13 gymnosperms, 384 monocotyledons, and 980 dicotyledons, or 1437 species and varieties of vascular plants. About 28.2 per cent. of the angio- sperms (counting both native and introduced species, for they are not separated) are monocotyledons, which seems to show that the vegetation of Maryland is on the whole considerably nearer the climax condition that that of New Jersey, and farther from it than that of Pennsylvania. 42 In the general index the only persons mentioned are those whose names occur on the first 20 pages. About 75 others, many of whom are shown in the text to have made important contributions to the knowledge of the Maryland flora, are omitted. This perhaps should not be charged up to the authors, however. The botanical index seems to be complete, except for the plants mentioned on pages 86, 87, and 385 (and these are the ones excluded from the state flora), and in the footnotes on page 164 and in the catalogue.* With the few exceptions here noted, the Plant Life of Maryland is a model of its kind, and it easily ranks among the foremost of existing local phytogeographical works. It is to be hoped that botanists in other states, especially those whose vegetation has not yet been systematically described, will soon follow the splendid example set by Dr. Shreve and his associates. ROLAND M. HARPER. Apgar’s Ornamental Shrubs of the United States In criticising a book we must look at it from the standpoint of the author. The late Mr. Apgar has fully informed us in the preface that his aim has been to produce a work that will reach “that large public who wish to know by name the attractive shrubs cultivated in parks and private grounds, but who are actually afraid of anything called botany.’ Viewed from this frank avowal of its purpose, the little book before us will fill the need of a large number of people who have not an extended knowledge of botany and its terms. What terms the author has found it necessary to use have been fully explained in the first part of the work and in the glossary at the end. The primary classification is based upon the form and position of the leaves, when these are present; or in their absence keys are provided for deciduous-leaved shrubs, and for thorny or spiny * Although the present work is not a good illustration of the point, it might not be out of place to remark here that indexing is too often regarded as a mere mechanical process, requiring no intelligence or discretion, and delegated by the author to persons who have no interest in his work. yt Apgar, A. C. Ornamental Shrubs of the United States (Hardy, Cultivated). Pp. 1-352. pl. 1-4. f. 1-621. American Book Co. Price $1.50. 45 plants. Flowers and fruits are assigned a secondary place. Part II is devoted to the ‘‘General Opening Key”’ and the “ Keys to the Genera,’’ with instructions as to their use. In Part III are the descriptions of the shrubs, and here a valuable help is offered in the numerous illustrations, made by the author himself, in which he has indicated what are considered the essential char- acters. The little work must not be viewed from the scientific stand- point, for the author makes no claim along this line. Considered from the point of view of the author, and of that large class who desire merely to know the names of shrubs, this little volume will be of great use. GEORGE V. NASH. A recent investigation of the sargasso sea was undertaken by Dr. John J. Stevenson. He says (Science, December 9, 1910) that the ‘‘indefinite descriptions of the area and mass of seaweed, as well as the extraordinary statements made by some authors in discussing the origin of coal, induced the writer to make an examination of the conditions for himself. The matter is easy, because the steamship route between Barbadoes and the Azores crosses the area diagonally and passes very near the center.” His own observations, and the information gained from officers who had crossed the sargasso sea many times, lead him to think that ‘‘much depends on the time of year, for weed appears to accumulate while the trades are mild and to be broken up later in the season when the strength of the winds increases. In any case, however, the weed occupies only a small part of the area, the patches being separated by wide spaces of clear water, almost free from weed. Many of the bunches show unmistakably that they had been attached to rock; and the plants have traveled far, since in a large proportion of bunches only a part is living, the dead parts being of a brownish color.’”’ It is evidently un- usual to find a patch exceeding a half acre in extent. In passing through the Bahamas the seaweed is found to be ‘ abundant than along either of the lines followed across the sar- gasso. The weed is evidently the same, being in circular bunches “much more 44 up to 18 inches diameter arranged in strips according with the direction of the wind, though occasionally in bands or even in patches 8 by to feet. The patches are near the large islands.”’ Mr. Stevenson feels that “At best, the quantity of weed seen at any locality is wholly insignificant. Midway in the sargasso sea, the bunches seen in a width of a mile would form, if brought into contact, a strip not more than 65 feet wide. This, where the weed is most abundant. But the bunches are very loose, the plant material, as was estimated, occupying less than one fifth of the space, so that if the bunches were brought together so that the plant parts would be in contact, each square mile would yield a strip not more than 13 feet wide and 3 or 4 inches thick, or barely 2,500 cubic yards to the square mile. . . . The accumula- tion of decayed vegetable material from seaweeds must be com- paratively unimportant under the sargasso sea; and what there is would be merely foreign matter in mineral deposits.”’ J. B. PROCERDINGS, Of THb CLUB NOVEMBER 30, IQI1O This meeting was held at the New York Botanical Garden. Nineteen persons were present. Vice-president Barnhart occu- pied the chair. The minutes of the meeting of November 8 were read and approved. Dr. W. D. Hoyt, of Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J., was proposed for membership. The first paper of the announced scientific program was by Dr N. £. Britton om the Flora ot Pinan del Rio, Guibas Dr Britton gave an account of his recent botanical explorations in this province of Cuba in company with Mrs. Britton, Professor F. S$. Earle, and Professor C. Stuart Gager. After a sketch of the earlier botanical explorations of Cuba by Charles Wright and others, the general floral features of the province of Pinar del Rio were described and many specimens were exhibited. An account of this work is published in the Journal of the New York Botanical Garden for October. 45 The second paper on ‘‘Thistle Hybrids from the Rocky Moun- tains’’ was by Dr. P. A. Rydberg. The speaker exhibited speci- mens of nineteen supposed hybrids in the genus Carduus, to- gether with their putative parents. The evidences of hybridity were drawn from intermediate morphological characters, sup- ported in most cases by close association in nature with the supposed parents. Descriptions of these Carduus hybrids were published in the Bulletin for November. Adjournment followed. MARSHALL A. Howe, Secretary pro tem. DECEMBER 13, I9IO The meeting was called to order at the American Museum of Natural History at 8:30 p.M. Tuesday, December 13, Ig10, with President Rusby in the chair. One hundred people were present. After the reading and approval of the minutes of November 30, 1910, Dr. W. D. Hoyt, Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J., and Miss Jessie P. Rose, Crystal, Oregon, were elected to membership. The resignations of Prof. Henry Kraemer, Dr. Raymond H. Pond, and Mrs. L. Schéney were read and accepted. The scientific program consisted of an illustrated lecture by Dr. Marshall A. Howe on ‘‘A Visit to the Panama Canal Zone.” The visit described by the speaker occurred in December, 1909, and January, 1910, and was undertaken under the auspices of the New York Botanical Garden, with the special object of studying and comparing the marine floras of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, here within less than fifty miles of each other. The marine algae proving unexpectedly scarce, especially on the Pacific side of the Isthmus, there was considerable oppor- tunity for taking photographs of general botanical interest and the lantern-slides shown illustrated chiefly some of the more striking features of the land flora of the Canal Zone, such as the numerous native palms, the vegetation of the extensive fresh-water swamps between Colon and Gatun, the swampy forests bordering the 46 Chagres River, and the flora of the rocky islands of Panama Bay, A report covering some of these features of the lecture was published in the Journal of the New York Botanical Garden for February, 1910. The speaker justified a somewhat extended discussion of the Panama Canal and its history by the general interest in the subject both here and on the Isthmus. Among the photographs shown were several of the Atlantic and Pacific entrances to the Canal, the Gatun locks, a flood on the Chagres River, the Culebra Cut, the Ancon Hospital, and the Taboga Sanitarium. The success of modern sanitary methods in combatting yellow fever and malaria was especially dwelt upon. The speaker alluded also to incidents of interest in the romantic early history of the Isthmus and in the building of the Panama Railroad. Photo- graphs of the ruins of Old Panama, located about five miles east of the present city, were also shown. Adjournment followed. SERENO STETSON, Secretary pro tem. OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS* COLLEGE BotANy NOTES An interesting set of sheets giving some of the directions for freshman and sophomore botany has been provided us by Pro- fessor Clements of the University of Minnesota. Drawings form quite a prominent part of the work as might be expected. It is directed that the drawings be drawn to scale—a thing which is more important than most of us realize. The following recom- mendation is also made: “‘As a rule, write the answers to the questions first, and make the drawings afterward.” The pro- cedure is often exactly the opposite, with the result that the drawing shows but indifferently the characteristics of the plant parts under consideration. Structure and function are too often too widely separated—in time at least—even in general courses in botany. In the work on plant cells and tissues given below * Conducted by Miss Jean Broadhurst, Teachers College, Columbia University. 47 one can see clearly that very different drawings would be made before and after answering the questions. 1. Cell and protoplasm (Lat., cella, room: Gr., protos, first plasma form). (a) Mount a leaf of the water weed, Philotria. Note the structure of the cell, the position of the green bodies, chloroplasts, and especially the movement of the protoplasm. Compare various cells. (6) Mount a stamen of the spiderwort, Tvadescantia, taking care not to crush it. Note the structure of the stamen-hair, and especially the streams of protoplasm and the nucleus. Answer the following questions definitely but briefly: (1) Explain the different shapes of the cells. (2) What indicates that the wall is elastic? (3) Do the streams of protoplasm change their shape, position, or direction? (4) What forms the ‘“‘banks”’ of the streams? (5) Find the rate of flow. (6) Does the protoplasm pass from one cell to the next? (7) How and why does it line the cell wall? (8) Explain the position and shape of the nucleus. (9) Does the nucleus move? If it does, explain how. (10) Do the streams center at it? Do they flow into it or over it? (11) What fills the bulk of the cell? Draw to scale a cell of Philotria, showing the wall and chloro- plasts; draw a cell of the stamen-hair, showing wall, streams of protoplasm, nucleus, etc. Almost all of the work is carried on in the field and green- house. Lectures and books are replaced by independent labora- tory (in the widest sense) work by the students. It means time, patience, and real teaching power on the part of the in- structors if the students are to solve for themselves the problems of physiology and work out the structural adaptation to function. It is also felt at the University of Minnesota that the students are more interested by and in work of this type than by the usual method of lectures, and text and reference books. 48 The beneficial effects of soil,bacteria have lately received much emphasis. The Outlook notes popularly the recent investigation of injurious soil bacteria—(October 29, 1910) at the experiment station at Rothamsted, England. ‘‘It occurred to the experi- menters at Rothamsted that perhaps there exist similarly in the soil, not only the “‘good”’ microbes that can be reinforced at will, but ‘““bad”’ organisms that, as in the human system, are at warfare with the benefactors. And this was demonstrated to be a fact. Perhaps, then, they thought, we can not only reinforce the helpful organisms by addition from without, but treat the soil with something that will kill or minimize the effect of those undesirable. Isolating the organisms and experimenting with them, it was soon found that various antiseptics, in liquid and in vapor form, will kill or paralyze the undesirable organisms, and hence, if applied to soils, materially increase their yield, even without a reinforcement of the army of their natural enemies, the ammonia-forming bacteria; and at length it was discovered that heat alone will answer every purpose. Partial sterilization of the soil by heat, while destroying some of the desirable bacteria, totally destroys those that prey upon them. Cans of earth from the same field heated to about the temperature of boiling water yield enormous growths of leaf and seed compared with identical samples unheated. Here is the sign-post that points to a most fascinating path of research. Perhaps some way will be found to apply this discovery practically. Experiment will not rest here, although it seems at first thought impossible to heat the soil over any large area; yet in greenhouses it might pay, where the area under cultivation is relatively small and the crop rela- tively very valuable. A lady of our acquaintance found it im- ~° possible to grow certain flowers in a pot; the seeds germinated, but the plants failed to mature. Thinking that there might be some worm or grub in the soil that attacked the seeds or the roots, and that heat might kill it, and as fresh soil was not easy to secure in the city, she put the pot in the oven and baked the contents. Afterwards there was no trouble when the seeds were again planted. She had unconsciously confirmed the Rotham- sted experiment, destroying the harmful bacteria. Professor 49 Hall, the writer of the article which is the subject of this review, concludes as follows, after admitting the difficulty of applying this remedy on a large scale: ‘“‘Sooner or later, our trials will reach a cheap and practical issue. But if we do succeed, we shall have added one more to the number of new discoveries which are as old as time: Virgil in his Georgies describes the advantages to be obtained by mixing the surface soil with weeds and rubbish and burning it gently, and the practice is still followed among the native cultivators in India.” This, Mr. Hall é concludes means a warfare “‘against an invisible population, of which the very existence was unsuspected a generation ago.” And the results are due to the killing of “unsuspected groups of large organisms of the protozoan class, which feed upon living bacteria,’’ and heating or treatment by antiseptics relieves the bacteria which partially escape the treatment from their attack, allowing them to increase to an enormous degree, with a corre- sponding rise in ammonia production—and therefore of fertility. — Science, September 16, 1909. The October Journal of the New York Botanical Garden contains an article by George V. Nash on ‘‘Winter Decorative Shrubs.”’ Over thirty such shrubs are listed with brief descriptions. School grounds are usually planted with summer decorative shrubs, and are consequently not at their best during the greater part of the school year. It is possible to use winter shrubs in such a way as to add to the summer display, and yet leave a well- balanced and pleasing scheme during the winter. A recent paper by Alma G. Stokey on Lycopodium pithyoides notes the fact that in this species the sporangia are cauline rather than folia, through continued inequality in the rate of growth which causes it eventually to take a “‘ position on the stem entirely distinct from the leaf.” The Japanese are going to replace the cherry trees presented to Mrs. Taft by Japan to adorn the Potomac Drive at Wash- ington, and which had to be destroyed on arrival because they were infected by insects. 50 NEWS ITEMS We learn from the Ottawa Evening Journal of January 19 details of the remarkable expedition of Mr. J. M. Macoun, naturalist of the Geological Survey of Canada. He left Halifax on July 2d, reached Churchill on the twenty-fifth and after botanizing for a month in that vicinity started north. Sailing up Hudson Bay, in the steamer “Jeannie” the party reached Wager Inlet, which is almost on the Artic Circle, and here on the evening of September 5th the vessel was wrecked in a storm. The party rigged up two small boats, rescued from the “ Jeannie,”’ and succeeded in reaching Fullerton, about 150 miles south- ward, in two and a half days. From Fullerton to Churchill it is 450 miles and they made this part of the return trip in a whaler. Finding it impossible to stop at Churchill on account of scarcity of food the party traveled 800 miles overland by snow shoes and sledges to Gimli in Manitoba, a small town on the southerly end of Lake Winnipeg. Here they were within reach of civilization. The botanical specimens were all saved and will prove of much interest as ‘‘before no botanist had been on the west coast of Hudson Bay between Churchill and Repulse Bay.’ At the latter place all the species areearctic. No lives were lost and no one was seriously injured. The American Fern Society has elected the following officers for 1911: President, Philip Dowell; Vice-president, Miss Nellie Mirick; Treasurer, H. G. Rugg; and Secretary, L. S. Hopkins. In honor of Prof. L. R. Jones, formerly of the University of Vermont, and now professor of plant pathology at the University of Wisconsin, a 450-acre reserve in Vermont has been named the ““L. R. Jones State Forest.’’ During February and March several hundred orchids will be in flower at the New York Botanical Garden. The collection includes many interesting and rare species from all parts of the world. The editor of TorreEyA has accepted the position of Curator of Plants at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the appointment to take effect March 16, 1911. “we The Torrey Botanical Club Contributors of accepted articles and reviews who wish six gratuitous copies of the number of TorreyAin which their papers appear, will kindly notify the editor when submitting manuscript. Reprints should be ordered, when galley proof is returned to the editor, from The New Era Printing Co., 41 North Queen Street, Lancaster, Pa., who have furnished the following rates : 2pp App 8pp 12pp 16pp 20pp 25 copies $ .75 $1.05 $1.30 $1.80 $2.20 $2.50 50 copies -90 1.20 1.70 2.20 2.50 2.85 100 copies 1.15 1.55 1.95 2.55 2.90 3.20 200 copies 1.70 2.35 2.90 3.75 4.35 4.70 Covers: 25 for 75 cents, additional covers 1 cent each. Plates for reprints, 40 cents each per 100. The following Committees have been appointed for 1911 Finance Committee Field Committee J. 1. Kane, Chairman E. B: Soutuwick, Chairman _H. M. Ricuarps Wm. MANSFIELD N. TAyLor Budget Committee Program Committee H. H. Russy, Chairman Mrs. E. G. Britton, Chairman J. H. Barnuart Miss JEAN BROADHURST N. L. Britton yes TRACY EW HAZEN E. S. BurGEss PF. J;-SEAVER B. O. Dover : Puitie DowELL Local Flora Com mittee N. L. Brirron, Chairman Phanerogams: Cryptogams: E.-P. BicKNELL Mrs. E. G. Brirron N. L. Britrron PHitie DOWELL E. S. BurGess Tracy E) Hazen C2C Curtis -.- M. A. Howe K, K. Mackenzie W. A. Morrityi E. L. Morris OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF THE ‘TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB (1) BULLETIN u monthly journal .devoted to general boeay, established 1870. Vol. 37 published in 1910, contained 630 pages of text and 36 full-page plates. “ Price $3.00 per annum. For Europe, 14 shillings. Dulau & Co., 37 Soho Square, London, are, agents for England. ! Of former volumes, only 24-37 can be Supphed entire ; cer- tain numbers of other volumes are available, but the entire aoe of some numbers has been reserved for the completion of sets. Vols. 24-27 are furnished at the published pues of two dollars each ; Vols. 28-37 three dollars each, ) See copies (30 cents), will be furnished only shen not | breaking complete volumes. Coan } a. MEMOIRS The Memoirs, established 1889, are published at seve ulay intervals. Volumes 1— 13 are now completed: Nos. 1 and 2 of — Vol. 14 have been issued. The) subscription price is fixed at $3.00 per volume in advance. The numbers can also be pur- chased singly. A list of titles of the individual papers and of prices will be furnished on application, Be a (3) The Preliminary Catalogue of Anthophyta and Pteri- _ dophyta reported as growing within one hundred miles ety New York, 1888. Price, $1.00. | Correspondence relating to the above publications should be addressed to | : MR. BERNARD 0. DODGE Galisaibie Wave ay New York City we MMOL TY: se: ~ March, 1911 No. 3 ORREYA A -Monruty JourNaL or BoTaANIcAL Nores AND News EDITED FOR THE: TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB BY NORMAN TAYLOR sn JOHN TORREY, 1796-1873 : CONTENTS : The Clogging of Dein. Tile by Roots, G. E, STONE-..., PE ks ee, 51 The Nature and Fongtion of the Plant Oxidases : PRNESTD), “CLARE ae. ok. 55 May Method of Making Leaf Prints: EDwArp W. BERRY............0.. Ba faass Syinde= aah “62 -_A New Plum from the Lake Region of Florida: “ROWLAND M, HARPER............. 64% Proceedings of the Club... .i.....c:..csers.seecens tees sarc t aaeanraret END A or Say Rad cates 68. Of Interest to Teachers...... an ees ects SE Rip ee Se Ae POR ance ee mae ne ole aria eezo™ PAN CWS TECHIS 5 Soo ole ies seein vextem eee ts Re NAR aan, Cast ete Peek 8 HE ees 75 PUBLISHED ‘FOR THE CLUB » AT 41 Nortu Queen STREET, LANCASTER, PA. BY THE New Era PrRinrinc Company Entered at the Post Office at Lancaster, Pa: » as second-class’ matter. Jie ‘THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB OFFICERS FOR 1911 President HENRY H. RUSBY, M.D. > Vice- Presidents EDWARD S. BURGESS, PH.D. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A.M., M.D Secretary and Treasurer BERNARD O. DODGE, Ph.B. Columbia University, New York City | Liditor _ PHILIP DOWELL, Pu.D. Associate Editors JOHN H. BARNHART, A.M., M.D. TRACY ELLIOT HAZEN, Pu.D. JEAN BROADHURST, A.M. ~ MARSHALL AVERY HOWE, Px.D, ERNEST D. CLARK, Pu.D. HERBERT M. RICHARDS, S.D. ALEX. W. EVANS, M.D., PH.D. NORMAN TAYLOR Torreya is furnished to subscribers in the United States and Canada for one dollar per annum; single copies, fifteen cents. To subscribers elsewhere, five shillings, or the equivalent thereof. Postal or express money orders and drafts or personal checks on New York City banks are accepted in payment, but the rules of the New York Clearing House compel the request that ten cents be added to the amount of any other local checks that may be sent. Subscriptions are received only for full volumes, beginning with the January issue. Reprints will be furnished at cost prices. Subscriptions and remittances should be sent to TREASURER, TORREY Botanical Cius, 41 North Queen St., Lan- caster, Pa., or Columbia University, New York City. — _ Matter for publication should be addressed to NORMAN TAYLOR Central Museum, Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N. Y. TORREY A March, IgI1I Vol. 11 No. 3 THe CLOGGING OF DRAIN TILE BY ROOTS By G. E. STONE Quite frequently trouble is experienced from roots of various trees entering drain tile, sewers, etc., and this often causes much vexation, labor and expense. The Carolina poplar, which is often planted as a shade tree in cities, frequently becomes a nuisance in consequence of its peculiar habit of working its roots through the joints of tile used for sewerage, etc. It is a com- paratively easy matter for roots to gain entrance into the un- cemented joints of tile, and even when tile is cemented they often manage to crowd in and fill the tile with a mass of roots which eventually clog the tile and render it useless. Instances are even known of roots penetrating sewers constructed of brick and cement. The roots of other trees besides Carolina poplars are known to be offenders in this respect. Willows, elms and others are responsible for considerable clogging of tile, and grass roots will in a comparatively short time put out of commission the most effective drain. There are also many instances of even fungi and algae clogging up small drains. The writer some years ago had called to his attention a case of Oscillatoria constantly clogging tile, much to the annoyance of the landowner; and, is also familiar with a case where the drain tile underlying the steam conduit of a central heating and distributing plant was con- tinually being clogged by root growth. The joints of the six- inch Akron tile underlying the steam heating pipes were not cemented and were four or five feet below the surface. In two or three years after the tile were laid some of them had become clogged with elm tree roots. This clogging prevented the water from flowing through the tile and caused a dam, as it were, resulting in the water flowing back into the conduit and flooding [No 2, Vol. 11, of TORREYA, comprising pp. 23-50, was issued 14 F 1o11.] 51 52 the steam pipes which greatly interfered with their efficiency. It is necessary, of course, to leave the joints of Akron tile open . when used for the purpose of draining the conduit trench since these pipes must take off the water from the trench and prevent it from coming into contact with the steam pipes in the conduit. As long as the joints remain open it is with great difficulty that the roots of trees, etc., are kept from growing in the tile, and sooner or later it is made ineffective. Tree roots will penetrate tile protected with carefully cemented joints and become a nuisance, as is shown by the following in- stance. In the city of Newark, N. J., the Shade Tree Commis- sion have been requested by the Department of Sewers and Drainage to omit the planting of Carolina poplars on streets since the roots of these trees proved to be a nuisance to drains. Mr. Edward S. Rankin,* Engineer of Sewers and Drainage of the city of Newark, writes as follows: ‘Replying to your letter of the twentieth inst., we find that the roots go through the joints of tile pipe even when carefully cemented and the trouble seems to be increasing. In 1909 we had 15 stoppages caused by roots; for the first 11 months of 1910, 23, of which 5 occurred in the month of November. These stoppages were all in house connections, and in addition to these we have also had a number of cases in our main pipe sewers. The roots after penetrating the pipe seem to spread out and practically fill the whole pipe. I have no way of knowing how long a time it takes for these roots to grow. To the best of my knowledge we have had no trouble with any of our brick sewers. The trouble seems to have been caused in all cases by poplar trees.”’ There recently came to our attention a notable case of a large drain tile being clogged by the roots of a pear tree. This tile was 12 inches in diameter and was laid about seven years ago to take the seepage waters from a reservoir located in the town of Belmont, Mass. The pipe passed near a pear orchard, and there was a constant flow of water through it summer and winter, although it was never full. At the time the tile was laid the joints were not cemented, and of course there was an opportunity * See also Municipal Journal and Engineer, vol. 30, no. 1, January 4, I9QIl. 5d for roots of various kinds, if so disposed, to penetrate the joints of the pipe and secure an abundant supply of water. During November, 1909, about seven years after the drain pipe was installed, it became necessary to dig up a large part of it on account of its inefficiency and replaceit. It was found on digging up this tile that it was badly congested by a profuse root growth. A careful examination of the location showed that this growth Fic. 1.—Showing pear tree root taken from drain tile. of roots originated from a single off-shoot of a pear tree located some seven feet away. This enormous mass of pear roots was removed from the tile and carefully laid aside and at our request was presented to our museum, with full data concerning it. The roots were found to measure 61 feet in length. Only a single root entered the tile, it having a diameter of about five- eighths of an inch inside the tile, but where it entered the tile it was somewhat flattened out. The root, on entering the tile, subdivided into innumerable rootlets, and these were again di- vided into countless smaller roots. At the time the tile was 54 dug up and the roots removed the drain had been in operation seven years, although a cross-section of the root and an examina- tion of the annular rings where it entered the tile, showed that it was only five years old. It required, therefore, only five years for this mass of roots to clog up a 12-inch tile. The maximum diameter of this mass of roots in the dry state is six or seven inches, but when alive and flourishing in the tile its diameter exceeded this. The roots as they reached the laboratory had a decidedly bad odor, showing that if no sewage was present in the tile there was certainly a considerable amount of organic matter in the seepage derived from the soil or some other source which proved of value as plant food. Soon after the specimens arrived at this laboratory they were spread out on the floor and measured. This was done by laying out on the floor sections five feet in length. The number of roots in each five-foot section was counted. These were multiplied by the length of the section and the whole tabulated (see table). The total length of these roots was 8,498 feet, as shown in the table, which is equal to 1.61 miles. Adding to this the numerous small roots which range from a few to several inches in length and which were not considered in our section count, the total length was estimated to be over two miles. This enormous development from a single root cf a pear tree is greatly in excess of what would take place if the roots were TABLE SHOWING THE GROWTH OF PEAR TREE ROOTS IN DRAIN TILE No. of Section. Length of Section. Moues Rots ux ate eee m it 5 ft. 34 170 ft. 2 5 4I 205 3 5 73 365 4 5 153 765 5 5 199 995 6 5 313 1565 7 5 373 1865 8 5 447 2235 9 5) 141 795 a0) 5 53 2605 iit 5 31 155 12 5 36 180 13 I 28 28 Total ope 1922 8498 55 in the soil, since the conditions of the drain tile stimulate root development very materially. However, the root system of any tree or shrub is far in excess in length and area of what the lay- man imagines. The profuse growth of roots in water is also seen in cases where old wells become filled with root growth, but the pear tree root in question is one of the best examples which has ever come to our notice of root development in drain tile. MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS. ie NATURE SAND hUNCHION OF THE, PLANT OXIDASES By Ernest D. CLARK] (Continued from February Torreya) PEROXIDASE Besides the laccase and tyrosinase which we have been con- sidering, there are other oxidizing enzymes which are not specific like the two mentioned. They act only in the presence of hydro- gen peroxide, and therefore are called peroxidases. These en- zymes have also been called ‘indirect oxidases’’ in distinction from those substances (Bach’s oxygenases) which show their activity without the addition of peroxide as in the case of tyro- sinase, etc. In 1903, Bach and Chodat™ discovered that by fractional precipitation of aqueous extracts of Lactarius vellereus, they were able to obtain two precipitates of very different prop- erties. The fraction insoluble in 40 per cent. alcohol proved to be a direct oxidase, while the other fraction, soluble in 40 per cent. alcohol, but insoluble’in 95 per cent. alcohol, had no direct oxidizing properties. With hydrogen peroxide and other perox- ides, however, the second fraction showed strikingly peroxidase properties. Moreover, the peroxidase fraction, when allowed to act with the direct oxidase fraction, showed all the properties of 15 Bach and Chodat. Title of series is: Untersuchungen iiber die Rolle der Per- oxyde in der Chemie der lebenden Zellen; V. Zerlegung der sogenannte Oxydasen in Oxygenasen und Peroxydasen. Ber. Chem. Gesell. 36: 606. 1903. 56 the original oxidizing substance as present in the plant. This research was the beginning of.a series of notable contributions to our knowledge of the oxidizing enzymes. In another paper, _ these authors state that peroxidase is present in nearly every plant. They were able to prepare a pure peroxidase from the horse- radish root, which exhibited great stability towards heat. In further comparative studies they showed that peroxidase great y augments the power of the natural oxidases, especially that oxy- genase from the same source as the peroxidase itself. All of these observations led Bach and Chodat to separate oxidases into two parts, the organic peroxide part, which they called ‘“‘oxyge- nase’’ and the activator of oxygenase and other peroxides, to which alone they gave the name “ peroxidase.” | Kastle and Loevenhart" in 1901 published a very important paper which has not always received due attention from the European chemists engaged in this work. These authors found that the substance bluing guaiacum directly is easily precipitated by alcohol and is destroyed by small amounts of hydrocyanic acid, hydroxyl amine and phenyl hydrazine. It seemed peculiar to them that these substances should be so harmful, but that sodium hyposulphite, silver nitrate and mercuric chloride, sub- stances usually fatal to enzymes, should exert little effect on the constituent of the potato which blues guaiacum directly. In general, those substances which prevented the direct bluing of guaiac tincture by the potato juice also prevented similar action upon guaiacum by the organic and inorganic peroxides with which they experimented. All of these experiments caused them to believe that this direct bluing was not due to enzymes at all, but to organic peroxides which were formed when the juice is exposed to the air, according to Engler’s theories of auto-oxida- tion. Thus we see, the idea that oxidases are made up of an organic peroxide part activated by the enzyme peroxidase receives further confirmation from this work of Kastle and Loevenhart. In a valuable paper by Kastle!” on “The Stability of the 16Kastle and Loevenhart. On the Nature of Certain Oxidizing Ferments. Amer. Chem. Jour. 26: 539. Igot. : 7 Kastle. On the Stability of the Oxidases, etc. Bull. 26, Hyg. Lab. U.S. Pub. Health and Mar. Hosp. Serv. Washington, 1906. 57 d Oxidases,’’ it appears that oxygenases of certain fungi are ex- tremely resistant to the influence of both heat and long standing. In the case of the oxygenase from Lepiota americana, it was necessary to heat for several minutes to a’ temperature of about 85° in order to destroy the power of the extract to blue guaiacum directly. Still more striking is the case of the glycerin extracts of certain Lactarius spp., which after standing from 1905 to 1909 were found to be still active towards ,both guaiacum and tyrosin. It is interesting to note that of the many species of the higher fungi which Kastle tested, only one, Amanita verna, did not show any response for the oxidases. This p'ant is so poisonous that it has been called the ‘“‘destroying angel.”’ From all the experimental work of the different investigators it seems probable that peroxidase is an enzyme rather than a simple catalyzer. Little is really known of the nature of peroxi- dase. Bach'® has prepared a powerful peroxidase which gave no tests for proteins, nor did it contain iron or manganese. On the other hand, Van der Haar™ claims his Hedera oxidase was a glucoprotein. Resistance to heat seems to be a peculiarity of peroxidase. Heating to boiling is necessary to destroy peroxi- dase, while oxygenase is destroyed at a much lower temperature. Bach and Chodat noted this fact and also that upon standing after boiling, the peroxidase regained its activity. Woods” first discovered, this phenomenon while studying the peroxidase of the tobacco leaf, and concluded that in these cases we are dealing with a zymogen or a substance which regenerates the peroxidase upon standing. Aso” also found that there were zymogens more stable towards heat than peroxidase itself, which slowly yielded more of the latter after the destruction of the initial supply. A second heating permanently destroys the peroxidase; the stronger the solution of the enzyme, the more resistant it is towards heat. 18 Bach. Zur Theorie der Oxydasenwirkung: I. Mangan und eisenfreie Oxydasen. Ber. Chem. Gesell. 43: 364. IgI0. 19Van der Haar. Untersuchungen in Pflanzenoxydasen: II. Die Hederaper- oxydase, ein Glucoproteide. Ber. Chem. Gesell. 43: 1321. 1910. 20Woods. The Mosaic Disease of Tobacco. Report No. 18 [p. 17], U. S. Dept. Agric. 1902. 21Aso. Which Compound Can Liberate Iodine from Potassium Iodide? Bei- hefte z. Botan. Centralblt. 15: 208. 1903. 58 The writer has also noted cases of the regeneration of the peroxi- dase after its apparent destruction by heat, especially in the case of the oxidase of the sweet-potato. Hasselbring and Als- berg” have recently found that only in the presence of coagulable protein are the oxidases easily destroyed by heat. With the exception of catalase there is probably no enzyme more common among plants and animals than peroxidase. There is hardly a plant or any part of its organs that does not blue tincture of guaiacum in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, thus proving the presence of peroxidases. The oxidases also play an important part in many industrial processes. The curing of tobacco, the production of the bouquet of wines, and the formation of commercial indigo from Indigofera antl in India, all seem to be somewhat dependent upon the oxidases. Green tea is produced when the freshly picked leaves are immediately spread on hot plates which, of course, destroys the oxidases, while the slow curing with consequent activity of the oxidases yields the black tea of commerce. The aroma of the vanilla- bean and the fragrance of the English meadow-sweet (Ulmaria Ulmaria) have also been attributed to oxidase action. Leptomin is really a peroxidase but Raciborski,”’ finding the indirect oxidase localized in the leptome (phloem) of plants, considered it a new enzyme, and one distinct from the direct ox dase. With guaiacum and hydrogen peroxide the strongest bluing is localized in the phloem through which the sieve-tubes pass, the latter acting as carriers of the food materials of the plant. This so- called leptomin is present in largest amount in the phloem of the latex plants. These illustrations will serve to show the distri- bution and importance of the oxidases in plants. CATALASE It has long been known that finely divided metals, blood, plant juices and fluids from the animal body cause the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. But this fact did not 22 Hasselbring and Alsberg. Studies upon Oxidases [an abstract]. Science Ul, Bus OBZ. WOUO- *3 Raciborski. Ein Inhalts-korper des Leptoms. Ber. Botan. Gesell. 16: 52. T8098. Or te) attract special attention at first because it was generally thought that the power to decompose hydrogen peroxide was a property common to all ferments (enzymes). However, beginning in 1888 with Bergengriin, different investigators discovered that the power to decompose hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water could exist independently of the ordinary activities of such enzymes as the oxidases, diastase, emulsin, etc. Gottstein stated that the power of cells to break up hydrogen peroxide is due to their nucleic acid content and not to any enzyme, and further- more, this power is shown after the death of the cell as well as during life. In 1901, Loew~ found, in his studies on the enzymes of the tobacco leaf, that these leaves often caused a very active evolytion of gas from hydrogen peroxide, but yielded none of the tests for oxidases, protein digesting enzymes, and other enzymes. This led him to study the matter more fully, with the result that by precipitation of the leaf extracts with ammonium sulphate and subsequent purification by alcohol precipitation, he obtained preparations that were extremely active in decomposing hydrogen peroxide, but which had no other property agreeing with the other classes of enzymes, such as the starch digesting action of diastase, etc. He named this substance ‘‘catalase’’ and con- sidered that it was a new enzyme. Loew then made a more careful study of catalase and found that it apparently existed in two forms, a-catalase, which is insoluble in water, and the B-catalase, solublein water. Ina study of its distribution, Loew found that catalase is of practically universal occurrence in both plants and animals, a conclusion fully substantiated by the work of all later investigators. Recent observations made by Apple- man” seem to show that catalase may be separated into a water- soluble and -insoluble portion as was previously claimed by Loew. Euler* investigated the catalase of the fungus Boletus scaber in a painstaking manner. This catalase proved to be more sensitive to acids than animal preparations, but like them, there seemed to be some connection between the fat content of the *%4TLoew. Catalase, a New Enzyme of General Occurrence. Report No. 68, U. S. Dept. Agric. toot. 2 Appleman. Some Observations on Catalase. Bot. Gazette 50: 182. 1910. **Euler. Zur Kenntniss der Katalase. Hofmeister’s Beitrage, 7: 1. 1908. 60 fungi and the amount of their catalase. Like the other investi- gators, he found that in dilute solutions and with a relative excess of the enzyme solution, the reaction followed the equation for reactions of the first order, thus tending to show that active oxygen was formed. In some cases he found that the physico- chemical constant k’ equalled 0.0107 at 15°, this value for k’ being identical with that found by Bredig and his collaborators for a colloidal platinum solution containing 0.006 gram of the metal per liter. The enzyme solution used by Euler in this determination con- tained 0.004 gram of enzyme preparation per liter. This enzyme was associated with globulin, but, taking the molecular weight as 1000, while that of platinum is 195, then 0.006/195 N equals the concentration of platinum and 0.004/1000 N equals the concentra- tion of enzyme. This will give one an approximate idea of the tremendous catalytic activity of both of these substances. Not only do colloidal metal solutions and the vegetable catalases act in the same quantitative manner, but they also show the same sensitiveness to chemicals. It seems likely that there is an antagonistic action between peroxidase and catalase. Shaffer?” found that if uric acid were allowed to stand for several days with hydrogen peroxide solu- tion, it was oxidizéd, but in the presence of catalase and hydrogen peroxide, there was no oxidation of the uric acid. This led Shaffer to believe that the spontaneous decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide results in the formation of traces of active oxygen, while that set free under the influence of catalase is wholly in the molecular (inactive) state. The main point of Shaffer’s publication is that the oxygen set free by catalase is not in a nascent state and therefore catalase may have a certain protective power in the oxidation processes carried on by the cell. Herliztka®® agreed with Shaffer that catalase has a protective action in the presence of peroxides or peroxidases. He also made quantitative studies on the oxidation of guaiacum by peroxidase and found a retarding action in the oxidation whenever catalase 27 Shaffer. Some Observations on the Enzyme Catalase. Am. Jour. Physiol. I4: 209. 1905. 28 Herliztka. Richerche sulla catalasi; Sull’antagonismo tra catalasi e peros- sidasi. Rendic. Accad. Lincei. Atti. V. 162: 493. 1906. 61 was present. Bach showed that in a mixture of catalase and peroxidase the latter did not have an appreciable effect upon the action of the catalase. As we shall see in discussing the réle of catalase in the cell, it is possible that it acts as a brake on the processes carried on by the oxidases. In the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen there has long been a controversy in regard to the nature of the oxygen evolved; that is, whether it is in the active state or in the inactive molecular condition. Now, in the case of catalase we know from the results of Shaffer and others, that no active oxygen is formed in the process, because guaiacum is not blued, and none of the reactionsof nascent oxygen are shown; and furthermore, as Shaffer pointed out, if catalase produced active oxygen in the living cell, the protoplasm would probably be killed at once by this extremely active and destructive agent. How are we to harmonize those of the physico-chemical measure- ments with the results of Shaffer, Liebermann and others? From the physico-chemical data, the oxygen is in an atomic state, while from tests on the reaction mixture, it is apparently in a molecular state! We may say that the greater weight of evidence seems to favor the idea that the oxygen is in the inactive state and not capable of oxidizing directly. In concluding this short discussion of catalase, we are forced to admit that our knowledge of this subject is very imperfect, and Cohnheim” voiced the thoughts of many investigators when he said: “It may well be that catalase is not an enzyme at all, but that the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide is a function of the large surfaces exposed by colloidal molecules, whether of organized matter or of metals in colloidal solution, the ‘inorganic ferments’ of Bredig.’”° LABORATORY OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, NEW YorRK. (To be continued) *Cohnheim. Lecture at the New York University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City, December 10, 1909. ® Bredig. Die Anorganische Fermente, 19or. 62 A METHOD OF MAKING LEAF PRINTS By EpwArpD W. BERRY The following method of making prints of leaves while not new has much to recommend it and seems worthy of having attention called to it in print. It has proven by far the most satisfactory which I have utilized during a life-long interest in leaf study. I do not know the original discoverer, nor does it matter particularly. The process was described in the Scientific American a decade ago and more recently Julia E. Rogers* in ‘““A New Method of Knowing our Tree Neighbors” gives an illustrated account of how it is done, crediting her information to W. W. Gillette, of Richmond, Virginia. The process was deemed of sufficient utility to form the subject of one of the Cornell Home Nature Study leaflets some years ago and finally it has been utilized abroad for a number of years for the purpose of furnishing cheap and accurate reproductions in paleobotanical works of existing leaves with which the fossil leaf species were compared. The necessary outfit is cheap and simple and consists of a small quantity of printers’ ink, a smooth surface eight to ten inches square on which to distribute it, a piece of glass or slate will answer, or astone slab can be purchased from any printers’ supply house for a small sum. Two rollers are needed—one an inking roller such as is used by printers in “pulling” small proofs. This is known technically as a “brayer’’ and various sizes can be purchased at prices ranging from fifty cents upward. I find that a fifty-cent one answers my purposes very well. The other roller is one such as is used in photographic work either of rubber or faced with rubber and costing from thirty-five cents upward. A small bottle of benzine for cleaning purposes is also useful. The process is as follows: A small quantity of ink, a teaspoonful or less, is placed on the slab and rolled to a thin film with the proof roller. Then the leaf is laid on the slab and care- fully rolled with the same roller until a thin film of the ink uniformly coats both sides. The leaf is then placed between * Country Life in America 18: 66, 88. Igto. 63 two sheets of paper and rolled with the photographie roller, care being taken that the pressure be uniform and the paper be not allowed to slip or wrinkle. The result is an accurate and artistic print of both surfaces of the leaf, which should be allowed to become thoroughly dry before handling as the thick Fic. 1.—1 and 2. Quercus Chapmani. 3 and 4. Quercus myrtifolia. ink offsets and rubs for several hours. These prints when well done can be used for the making of line or half-tone cuts or the same process could be used in making transfers for lithographic 64 purposes. The various advantages of this process are obvious. As a means of interesting both young and old in becoming acquainted with the trees of their neighborhood this method has no equal and need not be dwelt upon in the present connec- tion. As an aid to paleobotanical work it is also extremely useful. It is not necessary to dry the leaves as fresh ones answer equally well, although dried leaves from the herbarium give equally good prints if they are reasonably flat and not too brittle. The prints show both surfaces as the result of a single operation and the varying appearance of the vascular system on the two surfaces is especially valuable for comparison with fossil leaf impressions. From fifty to one hundred can be made within an hour and with a little practise the results are uniformly excellent. The accompanying illustrations are chosen to show this feature although these particular prints are much less artistic than dozens of other leaf species which might have been selected. The upper figures show the upper and under print of a leaf of Quercus Chapmani while the lower figures show the corresponding surfaces of a leaf of Quercus myrtifolia, both oaks of our extreme southern states. JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND. A NEW PLUM FROM THE LAKE REGION OF” FLORIDA By RoLAnD M. HARPER The lake region of Florida,* which was scarcely known to botanists before the researches of Mr. George V. Nash in 1894,7 has yielded a rich harvest of plants new to science, probably at least 75 species, about half of which are not at present known outside of this region. By far the greater number of these were discovered in the central part of Lake County by Mr. Nash in the year named, and many of them were described by him. * The boundaries and most striking characteristics of this region have been indicated by the writer in Ann. Rep. Fla. Geol. Surv. 3: 223-224. pl. 16. IgIt. +See Bull. Torrey Club 22: 141-161. 1895. 65 During the present century very little collecting has been done in this region, but its botanical possibilities are by no means exhausted. In the southern part of Lake County, especially just west of Lake Apopka, is an area of several square miles characterized by high sandy hills, sometimes known as mountains,* which Mr. Nash never saw. Like most other parts of the lake region, this area is dotted with small lakes, and contains no streams or valleys, and rocks are conspicuous by their absence. The hills under consideration differ from other hills of the region chiefly in being higher and steeper, the summits of some of them being perhaps 150 feet above the lakes at their bases. They are believed by some people to be the highest elevations in Florida, but their altitudes above sea-level have probably never been accurately determined. The vegetation of these hills is uniformly of the “high pine land”’ type described by Mr. Nash in the paper cited, with the addition of a few species more characteristic of the ‘‘scrub,’’ such as Ceratiola and Selaginella, and a few very local species such as Polygala Lewtonii and the shrub presently to be described. The forests have scarcely been touched by civilization, the greater part of them not even having experienced the ravages of the turpentine industry. On Feb. 19, 1909, just before dark, I first saw these hills from a train on the Tavares & Gulf R. R., which winds about their bases close to Lake Apopka for several miles, and is probably the crookedest railroad in Florida. The next day I walked southward on this railroad from Tavares, the county-seat of Lake County, and reached the northern edge of the hills about ten miles from Tavares and five or six from West Apopka. Almost immediately upon entering the hill country my attention was attracted to some low diffusely branched plum bushes, some of them in full bloom and leafless, and others a little more advanced, with very young leaves and fruit. The bushes were not more than two feet tall, on the average, and about the same in diameter, with branches exceedingly numerous, decidedly *The most comprehensive description of these hills that I know of, and the one which first called my attention to them, is in Tenth Census U.S. 6: 237. 1884. 66 zigzag — somewhat as in Malapoenna geniculata — and inclined to be spinescent, as in several other species of plums. The flowers were a centimeter or less in diameter, very short-pedi- celled, and arranged in few-flowered sessile umbels, much like those of Prunus angustifolia. At this time I had no collecting apparatus with me, and was not going to be back in Tavares for several hours, so that there © was no way of preserving any specimens which would be recog- nizable; and nearly two months elapsed before I had another opportunity to visit this interesting region. On the morning of April 17 I approached the same group of hills from the southwest side, leaving the same railroad at Minneola; and on some of the highest hills about half way between Minneola and West Apopka (which are about four miles apart in a straight line and ten miles by rail) I found my new plum again in abundance. (I had had glimpses of it two days before from a train between Killarney and Minneola.). The leaves were of course full-grown by this time, and the largest had blades about 2.5 cm. long and petioles about a third of that length. Some were very much smaller, but the average dimensions were probably about three-fourths of the maximum. All were oblong, about twice as long as wide, minutely mucronate at the apex, with finely crenate-serrate margins, and most of them were aggregated on very short peg- like branchlets in the manner of many other woody plants of the Rosaceae and allied families. The drupes, although still green, must have been full-grown or very nearly so, and they were prac- tically indistinguishable from those of Prunus angustifolia at the same season. They were about 22 mm. long and 18 mm. in diameter, on stout pedicels about 3 mm. long. At this time I photographed one of the largest bushes, which was about four feet tall and well loaded with fruit, and made several herbarium specimens from it. Wishing to ascertain the size, color, taste, etc., of the ripe fruit, I revisited the place on the twentieth of the following month, but was too late for it that season. A diligent search failed to reveal a single fruit or even a shriveled remnant of one, not even on the same bush which had furnished my specimens a few weeks before. On May 67 18, 1910, I came across several specimens of the same plant on somewhat similar high sandy hills about 35 miles farther south, near Haines City, Polk County, but was again too late for fruit. This peculiar little Prunus seems to have its nearest relative— in the eastern United States at least—in P. angustifolia Marsh. (P. Chicasa Mx.), a large shrub or small tree whose favorite habitat is old fields and fence-rows in regions where agriculture has been practiced for a generation or two at least. The native home of P. angustifolia, if it has any, is not definitely known, but is supposed to be somewhere west of the Mississippi River.* The new species differs from P. angustifolia in being much smaller in almost every way except its fruit, in its diffuse habit and crooked branches, its short pedicels, and especially in being confined to a very limited area of very poor soil, which may not be cultivated for several decades to come. The description given above, although incomplete in several particulars, and not arranged in conventional order, will be amply sufficient to enable any one to recognize the plant in the field. Several more seasons may elapse before I have a chance to collect flowers and ripe fruit, and it seems best to give the plant a name without further delay, so that it can be mentioned in descriptions of Florida vegetation. I therefore propose to call it Prunus geniculata. Specimens collected at the time and place above mentioned have been distributed as no. 31 of my Florida plants, and have been pronounced undescribed by all systematists who have examined them. I have recently been informed that there is in the Gray Her- barium a flowering specimen of the same species, collected in March, 1889, by Otto Vesterlund near Killarney, which is on the southwest side of Lake Apopka, where the Tavares & Gulf R. R. crosses the ‘‘Orange Belt’’ division of the Atlantic Coast Line, a few miles southeast of West Apopka. *For notes on its supposed origin, present habitat, etc., see Michaux, FI. Bor. Am. 1: 284-285. 1803; Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 332. 1814; Nuttall, Genera 1: 302. 1818; Elliott, Bot. S.C. & Ga. 1: 542. 1821; Sargent, Tenth Census U. S. 9: 66. 1884; Silva N. A. 4: 25-26. 1892; Mohr, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 6: 551. 1901; Harper, Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 17: 115, 228. 1906; Bull. Torrey Club 35: 350. 1908. 68 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CLUB JANUARY I0, IQII The first meeting of the Club for 1911 was held at the American Museum of Natural History, beginning at 8:25 P.M., President . Rusby in the chair. There were nineteen persons present. Dr. C. A. Darling, of the department of botany, Columbia Univer- sity, was nominated for membership. This being the annual meeting, reports were presented by the various officers. The report of the Treasurer was presented and upon motion referred to an auditing committee. The Secretary reported that fifteen meetings had been held during the year with a total attendance of 467, as against 411 in 1909, and an average attendance of thirty-one, as against twenty-seven last year. Twelve persons have been elected to membership, and eight resignations received and accepted. Six illustrated lectures were delivered during the season at which the combined attandance was 319, as against 251 at seven meet- ings last year. The Editor reported that the Bulletin for the year 1910 con- tains 630 pages and 36 plates, and that the expense of its publica- tion was less than the amount allowed for it by the Budget Committee. He also reported that only one paper had been published in the Memoirs, this being a paper by Dr. O. Butler on The Californian Vine Disease. The Editor declined to be considered for reélection. His detailed report is appended. The Editor of TorrEYA presented a special report for that periodical. The volume of TorrEyA for 1910 contaifie@, 292 pages. The chairman of the Field Committee reported that twenty- three meetings were advertised during the year, one of which was an afternoon lecture at the New York Botanical Garden. Eight meetings were not held on account of stormy weather or from other causes. At the fourteen field meetings actually held there was a total of 103 persons present, making an average attendance of a little more than seven at each meeting. 69 As chairman of the Local Flora Committee, Dr. N. L. Britton gave a brief report of the investigat’ons being carried on Ly Mr. Norman Taylor on the local flora. Election of officers for the year 1911 resulted as follows: President, H. H. Russy. Vice-presidents, EDWARD S. BurGEss and JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART. Secretary and Treasurer, BERNARD O. DODGE. Editor, PH1iLiep DOWELL. Associate Editors, JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, JEAN BRoap- HURST, ERNEST DUNBAR CLARK, ALEXANDER WILLIAM EVANS, Tracy ELLiot Hazen, MarsHALL AVERY Howr, HERBERT MAvLE RIcHARDS and NORMAN TAYLOR. The following committees were appointed by the President for the year I9QI1: Finance Committee, JOHN I. KANE, H. M. RICHARDs. Program Commiitee, ELIZABETH G. BRITTON, FRED J. SEAVER, Tracy E. HAZEN and JEAN BROADHURST. Field Committee, E. B. SouTHWICK, WILLIAM MANSFIELD and NORMAN TAYLOR. Committee on Local Flora, N. L. Britton, Chairman. FPhan- erogams: Ni. Ju) Brirron, €) @. Curnis,-2. PB. BICKNELL, K. K: MACKENZIE, E. S. BurcEss and E. L. Morris. Cryptogams: Wm. A. Murrity, E. G. Britton, Tracy E. Hazen, M. A. Howe and Puitie DOWELL. Budget Committee, H. H. Russpy, E. S. BurcEss, J. H. BARN- HART, B. O. DopGE, PuiLip DOWELL and N. L. Britton. A motion was made by Dr. M. A. Howe that for the ensuing year the offices ef secretary and treasurer shall be held by one person; that th@ secretary and treasurer shall be instructed to assist the editor by preparing the annual volume indexes for the BULLETIN and TorRREYA, by selecting the titles and preparing the copy for the Index to American Botanical Literature, and by distributing to subscribers the Card Index; that in considerat'on of the demands upon his time and attention, the secretary and treasurer shall receive from the funds of the Club the sum of $300 a year, payable in equal monthly instalments, and that 70 this amount shall be he'd to include any disbursements by him for clerical assistance. The motion was carried. Resignations were read and accepted from Mr. Macy Carhart and Mr. Gifford Pinchot. Adjourned. Percy WILSON, Secretary. OF INTEREST TO TEACHERS*! THE SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT Under “Practical Science’’ Professor John M. Coulter dis- cusses (Science, June 10, 1910) the scientific attitude of mind or the scientific spirit. He describes three of its useful characteristics: First, that it is a spirit of inquiry, and in connection with this he makes the statement that it “is not the spirit of unrest, of discomfort, but the evidence of a mind whose every avenue is open to the approach of truth from every direction. For fear of being misunderstood, I hasten to say that this beneficial result of scientific training does not come to all those who cultivate it, any more than is the Christ-like character developed in all those who profess Christianity. I regret to say that even some who bear great names in science have been as dogmatic as the most rampant theologian. But the dogmatic scientist and theologian are not to be taken as examples of ‘the peaceable fruits of righteousness, for the general ameliorating influence of religion and of science are none the less apparent.” Second, it is a “‘spirit which demands that a claimed cause shall be demonstrated. It is in the laboratory that one first really appreciates how many factors must be taken into the count in considering any result, and what an element of uncertainty an unknown factor introduces. Even when the factors of some: simple result are well in hand, and we can combine them with reasonable certainty that the result will appear, we may be entirely wrong in our conclusion as to what in the combination has produced the result. For example, the forms of certain * Conducted by Miss Jean Broadhurst, Teachers College, Columbia University. 71 plants were changed at will, by supplying to their surrounding medium various substances. It was easy to obtain definite results, and it was natural to conclude that the chemical structure of these particular substances produced the result, and our pre- scription was narrowed to certain substances. Later it was discovered that the results are not due to the chemical nature of the substances, but to a physical condition developed by their presence, a condition which may be developed by other sub- stances or by no substances, and so our prescription was much enlarged.”’ Professor Coulter calls attention to the fact that the ‘“‘pre- vailing belief among the untrained is that any result may be ex- plained by some single factor operating as a cause. They seem to have no conception of the fact that the cause of every result is made up of a combination of interacting factors, often in numbers and combinations that are absolutely bewildering to contem- plate.’’ Though it is fortunate when leaders, as in public opinion, “have gotten hold of one real factor,”’ this habit of .“‘ considering only one factor, when perhaps many are involved, indicates a very primitive and untrained condition of mind.” Third, this spirit keeps one close to the facts. ‘‘There seems to be abroad a notion that one may start with a single well- attested fact, and by some logical machinery construct an elabo- rate system and reach an authentic conclusion, much as the world has imagined that Cuvier could do if a single bone were fur- nished him. The result is bad, even though the fact may have an unclouded title. But it happens too often that great super- structures have been reared upon a fact which is claimed rather than demonstrated. Facts are like stepping stones; so long as one can get a reasonably close series of them he can make some progress in a given direction, but when he steps beyond them he flounders. As one travels away from a fact its significance in any conclusion becomes more and more attenyated, until pres- ently the vanishing point is reached, like the rays of light from a candle.” Such ‘vain imaginings’ are ‘‘delightfully seductive to many people, whose life and conduct are even shaped by them. I have 12 been amazed at the large development of this phase of emotional insanity, commonly masquerading under the name of ‘subtle thinking.’ Perhaps the name is expressive enough, if it means thinking without any material for thought. And is not this one great danger of our educational schemes, when special stress is laid upon training? There is danger of setting to work a mental machine without giving it suitable material upon which it may operate, and it reacts upon itself, resulting in a sort of mental chaos. An active mind, turned in upon itself, without any valuable objective material, certainly can never teach any very reliable results. It is the trained scientific spirit which recognizes that it is dangerous to stray away very far from the facts, and that the farther one strays away the more dangerous it becomes, and almost inevitably leads to self-deception. This Professor Coulter feels is the attitude of mind that sci- entific training is contributing to the service of mankind—con- tributing as an ideal which is already yielding tremendous results, and:as a force accumulating momentum for a larger expression. In response to appeals from various scientific bodies, the Smith- sonian Institution has concluded the preparations for a biological survey of the Panama Canal Zone. Friends of the Institution have contributed funds for the expenses of the investigators, as it is felt a properly conducted survey would yield important scientific results. ‘‘It is known that a certain number of animals and plants in the streams on the Atlantic side are different from those of the Pacific side, but as no exact biological survey has ever been undertaken, the extent and magnitude of these differ- ences have yet to be learned. It is also of the utmost importance to determine exactly the geographical distribution of the various organisms inhabiting those waters, as the Isthmus is one of the routes by which animals and plants of South America have en- tered North America and vice versa. When the canal is completed the organisms of the various watersheds will be offered a ready means of mingling together, the natural distinctions now existing will be obliterated, and the data for a true understanding of the fauna and flora placed forever out of reach.” 733 “By the construction of the Gatun Dam a vast freshwater lake will be created, which will drive away or drown the majority of the animals and plants now inhabiting the locality, and quite possibly exterminate some species before they become known to science.” Miss Graham, studying Conocephalum conicum ( Fegatella conica), finds that at Ithaca, N. Y., the gametophores begin to appear in June, that fertilization takes place about the first of July, that the spores are fully formed before the beginning of winter, and that in the following May the gametophore stalk rapidly elongates. This elongation is quickly followed by the elongation of the stalk of the sporogonium. The venter of the archegonium is two-layered at the time of fertilization, and soon becomes a massive calyptra. The first division of the fusion nucleus gives rise to free nuclei, which may lie parallel with or transversely to the major axis of the archegonium. A cell wall is not laid down until some little time has elapsed after division of the fusion nucleus; when the wall appears, it is transverse. By successive transverse divisions a filament of four or five cells is formed. This observation differs from that of Cavers, who described an octant stage. The first longitudinal walls appear in the outer or capsule end of the filament. At the time of separa- tion of the mother cells, the growth of the capsule is checked, while the calyptra continues growth, leaving quite a space between capsule and calyptra. The capsule and seta soon resume growth, fill the cavity, and distend the calyptra. No pseudoperianth, such as is found in Marchantia, is present. A sheath, which is a specialized portion of the gametophore, invests the calyptra. (W. J. G. Land, Botanical Gazette, February.) Duncan S. Johnson, in the December Journal of the New York Botanical Garden calls attention to a heavy flood (November and December, 1909) in the Blue Mountain region of Jamaica, in which “scores of acres of coffee fields were stripped to the bare rock”’ and “‘even the primeval forest of the valley bottoms was swept out and carried down to the sea.’’ The “gray desert”’ 74 appearance in June, 1910, is described, and the sparse and hardly typical new growth is noted. It is expected that this ‘occupation of a virgin soil by a new plant covering’’ will prove as interesting as that previously described after the volcanic disturbances at Krakatoa. It certainly adds a new type to the work previously done at Krakatoa and along the ocean, and to that now being conducted at the Salton Sea. A paper by C. V. Piper on botany in its relation to agricultural advancement, too varied to be abstracted here, appeared some months ago in Science (June 10, 1910). Hybrids, sports, and other plant variations—especially with reference to cultivated or agricultural plants are discussed in a way to be interesting even to the general reader. The Nature Study Review for November, 1910, contains two articles of interest to high school teachers. One is by Alice J. Patterson on potatoes and oats as nature study topics. It includes much in subject matter and method that would be help- ful in the first year high school classes. The cuts are especially interesting. The first is of the first potato introduced into Europe from a water color of 1588 by Clusius; the second shows potato fruits, about one inch in diameter. The second article is by Frederick L. Holtz on weeds, the common kinds, and the methods of eradicating them. It is in a form suitable for high school reading. The question of coastal subsidence is discussed again in a recent Science (January 6, 1911) by H. H. Bartlett. Conditions near Buzzard’s Bay where fresh water peat is found fourteen feet below sea level are given as proof of subsidence which is still going on. The controversy is continued in the same journal (January 13 and February 24). In the latter issue D. S. Johnson writes to explain some of the facts used by Mr. Bartlett, in a way that leaves coastal subsidence very much of an open ques- tion. NEWS ITEMS From a recent number of the 7imes we learn that the United States Bureau of Fisheries will send the steamer Albatross on a scientific cruise, and by special arrangement the American Museum of Natural History of New York will codperate. The Albatross will sail from San Diego, Cal. Collecting parties will be landed in lower California to gather specimens of birds, reptiles, mammals and of the plant life of the coast. The New York Zodlogical Society and the New York Botanical Garden will be represented in these landing parties. The Gulf of California will be explored and the pearl shell fisheries studied with a view to transplanting pearl shell oysters to Florida waters. Professor V. R. Gardner has been appointed associate professor of pomology at the Oregon Agricultural College to succeed Pro- fessor C. A. Cole, who has resigned. During 1910 over three million persons visited the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The greatest day’s attendance was 152,454. The University of Colorado Mountain Laboratory at Tolland, Colorado, begins its third session June 19, 1911. Courses in systematic botany, plant ecology, algology and field biology (plant and animal). The laboratory is at 8889 ft. and offers varied conditions for study. Pamphlet may be obtained from Dr. Francis Ramaley, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo- rado. Recent visitors at the New York Botanical Garden include Dr. Ezra Brainerd, Dr. W. C. Coker, Dr. Marie Stopes of Man- chester, and Dr. C. F. Millspaugh en route to the Bahamas. Dr. and Mrs. N. L. Britton have gone to Cuba, and Dr. Small has returned from explorations in Florida. The board of the University of Iowa has definitely decided to provide a special building for the collections of Prof. Calvin and Dr. T. H. Macbride, whose work on the geology and botany 76 of Iowa has heretofore been handicapped by lack of adequate room. Contributors to TORREYA are requested to note the change of address of Mr. Norman Taylor, the editor. After March 16 letters should be sent to Central Museum, Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N. Y. A Volume 1, No. 1 of Phytopathology, the official organ of the American Phytopathological Society has just appeared: The editors are L. R. Jones, C. L. Shear, and H. H. Whetzel. The biological laboratory of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences at Cold Spring Harbor, L. I., announces summer courses in botany as follows: Cryptogamic botany, Ecology, special advanced work in either of these subjects, and other studies of a more general character. For further information address Prof. F. W. Hooper, Academy of Music, Brooklyn, N. Y. i has, ec — The T orrey Botanical Club Contributors of accepted articles and reviews who wish six gratuitous copies of thenumber of TorreyA in which their papers appear, will kindly notify the editor when submitting manuscript. _ Reprints should be ordered, when galley proof is returned to the editor, from The New Era Printing Co., 41 North Queen Street, Lancaster, Pa., who have furnished the following rates : 2pp App 8pp 12pp 16pp 20pp 25 copies $ .75 $1.05 $1.30 $1.80 $2.20 $2.50 50 copies .90 1.20 1.70 2.20 2.50 2.85 100 copies 1.15 1.55 1.95 2.55 2.90 3.20 200 copies 1.70 2.35 2.90 BT 4.35 4.70 Covers: 25 for 75 cents, additional covers 1 cent each. Plates for rep:ints, 40 cents each per 100. The following Committees have been appointed for 1911 Finance Committee Field Committee Jj. 1. Kane, Chairman E. B. Sournwick, Chairmai H. M. RicHarps Wm. MANSFIELD N. Tayior Budget Committee Program Committee H. H. Russy, Chairman Mrs. E. G. Brirron, Chairman J. H. Barnuart Miss JEAN BROADHURST N. L. Britron Tracy E. Hazen E. S.-BurcEss F. J. SEAVER B. O, DovcEe Puitie DowELL Local Flora Committee N. L. Britton, Chairmau Phanerogams: Cryptogams: 2 Pi OBICKNELT. ©; Mrs. E..G. Britton” N. L. Brirron Puitre DOWELL E. S. BurGEss Tracy E. Hazen CC“ CURTIS ' M.A. Howe K. K. Mackenzie W. A. Murritr E, L. Morris Delegate to the Council of the New York Academy of Sciences, WILLIAM MANSFIELD OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB’ (1) BULLETIN A monthly journal devoted to general botany, established 1870. Vol..37 published in 1910, contained 630 pages of text and 36 full-page plates. Price $3.00 per annum. | For Europe, 14 shillings. Dulau SEES) 237 Soho Square, London, are, agents for England. ead Of former volumes, ae 24—37 can be supplied entire; cer- - tain numbers of other volumes are available, but the entire stock of some numbers has been reserved for the completion of sets. ~ Vols. 24-27 are furnished at the published price of two dollars each; Vols. 28-37 three dollars each. Seine copies (30 cents) will pe furnished only when ae ; breaking complete volumes. (2) MEMOIRS | The Mewmorrs, established 1889, are published at irregular intervals. Volumes I-13 are now completed ; Nos. 1 and. 2 of Vol. 14 have been issued. The. subscription price is fixed at $3.00 per volume in advance. The numbers can also be pur- - chased singly. A list of titles of the individual papers and of | prices will be furnished on application. (3) The Preliminary Catalogue or f Anthophyta and Pte: dophyta reported as growing within one hundred miles of New York, 1888. Price, $1.00. ‘Correspondence relating to the above publications should be addressed to MR. BERNARD 0. DODGE Columbia University New York City Vol. 11 | April, 1911 No. 4 TORREYA A Monrutiy JourNnaAL oF BoranicaL Notes AND News EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB f BY : e NORMAN TAYLOR @ : _JOHN TORREY, 1796-1873 CONTENTS Some Floral Features of Mexico: H. H, RUSBY ......0....c. ccc ccsccesesessccveee vosseeees 77 The Nature and Function of the Plant Oxidases: ERNEST D. CLARK..........00c0.005 84 Chondrophora virgata in West Florida: ROLAND M. HARPER »......0c.cccccececesceeees g2 DVEWS DLECMIS Hor Us cies, icc duac ines pie ees Hes AC ae howe wawenenvale Kacsteccaibeuclace ep 98 PUBLISHED FOR THE CLUB AT 41 NortH Queen Street, LANcastsR, Pa. BY THe New ERA Printinc Company [Entered at the Post Office at Lancaster, Pa,, as second-claes matter. | THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB President HENRY H. RUSBY, M.D. Vice-Presidents EDWARD S. BURGESS, PH.D. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A.M., M.D Secretary and Treasurer BERNARD O. DODGE, Ph.B. Columbia University, New York City — Lditor PHILIP DOWEEL, Pu. D Associate Editors . JOHN H. BARNHART, A.M., M.D. TRACY ELLIOT HAZEN, Pu.D. JEAN. BROADHURST, A:M. | MARSHALL AVERY HOWE, Pu.D. _ ERNEST D. CLARK, Pu.D. HERBERT M. RICHARDS, S.D, ALEX. W. EVANS, M.D., Px.D. NORMAN TAYLOR Torreya is furnished to subscribers in the United States and Canada for one dollar per annum; single copies, fifteen cents. To_ subscribers elsewhere, five shillings, or the equivalent thereof. Postal or éxpress money orders and drafts or personal checks on New York City banks are accepted in payment, but the rules of the New York Clearing House compel the request that ten cents be added to the amount of any other local checks that may be sent. Subscriptions are received only ~ for full volumes, beginning with the January issue. Reprints will be furnished at cost prices. Subscriptions and remittances should be sent to TREASURER, TORREY BOTANICAL CLusB, 41 North Queen St., Lan- caster, Pa:, or Columbia University, New York City. ; Matter for publication should be addressed to NORMAN TAYLOR Central Museum, Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. TORREYA April, IgII Vol. 11 No. 4 SOME FLORAL FEATURES OF MEXICO* By H. H. Russy At a rough estimate, two thirds of Mexican territory is arid, and nearly half of this can be considered a desert, in that it cannot naturally support grazing animals. The fertile region includes (1) the lowland of the south, witha tropical climate, and amidst which there are numerous mountains possessing a subtropical, or some of them even a temperate climate, and which gradually changes into an arid region as it rises into the central table-land; (2) an eastern or Gulf Coast strip which, gradually narrowing, extends from the southern tropics clear up into Texas; (3) a Pacific Coast strip which, narrow at all points, gives way northward to the desert region of and adjacent to the Peninsula of California. Within these boundaries, and stretching to the Rio Grande, is the arid region, of which more than the northern half, and especially the northwestern portion, is a real desert. This, with the exception of its western part, is the region best known to tourists and visitors, for the reason that the main lines of travel run directly through it from north to south. It presents the same general aspect as the country through which the Southern Pacific Railroad runs from western Texas to Los Angeles. If one passes through it toward the close of the dry season, which extends in its most favorable sections from De- cember to July, and in its most unfavorable ones begins nearly two months earlier, he encounters a region of torrid heat and * Abstract of an illustrated lecture delivered to the Torrey Botanical Club, February 14, 1gtt. [No. 2, Vol. 11, of TORREYA, comprising pp. 51-76, was issued 21 Mr rg1t.} ae ABRARY ‘EW YOR SOTANICA (iARDEN 78 intense dryness, in which every motion stirs up a copious, fine, penetrating dust which keeps one covered as long as he remains in it. At this time, the landscape is almost unvaryingly bare and of various shades of gray, brown and red. Flowers are almost wanting, although this is a favorite blooming time with many cactuses, and there are some other succulents, such as jatrophas, which then begin to bloom. Not only does the period of rains differ greatly in different parts of this arid region, but the amount of rain shows remarkably wide limits of variation. Even where there is but little, a surprising change occurs in the aspect of the country after its occurrence. Within a month, the ground acquires a more or less nearly complete covering of grasses and is carpeted in patches, often large ones, with solid masses of bloom, and the appearance of the surface is abundantly broken by patches of flowering shrubs. ; ‘The most conspicuous objects on these plains are yuccas, agaves, flat and cylindrical jointed opuntias, covilleas, Proso- Fic. 1. The Balsas River. pis, and artemisias. The opuntias grow almost everywhere. yuccas of some species are almost as generally distributed, 79 though the very large and conspicuous ones are confined to certain districts. Agaves are mostly confined to the mountains or rocky places. Of all these plants, the most striking is a giant branching yucca, reaching a height of twenty feet or more, which bears its dense panicles of white flowers, more than a yard in length and two thirds as broad, in a strictly pendulous position. The larger shrubby growth is mostly mimosaceous, consisting of Prosopis and Acacia, with smaller mimosas and calliandras about their bases. Very frequently the Prosopis attains the dimensions of a good-sized tree, though this more commonly occurs as we are entering the fertile or semi-fertile southern districts. It is very rare that we encounter streams in this region, though arroyos, carrying water in the rainy season, are seen in all directions. In such locations, where there is a water supply not too far below the surface, a fringe of cottonwoods and pepper trees may be seen. The herbaceous patches of bloom, to which reference has been made, consist chiefly of Compositae, especially Pectis, Actinella, Layia, Melampodium, and taller Baileya, Coreopsis, Grindelia and Gymnolomia. ‘There are also many tuberous rooted ipomeas and oxalids. Everywhere in sight are mountains of enormous height, many of their slopes being apparently inaccessible. Their appearance, for the most part, is even more arid than that of the plains, but since they receive much more frequent and copious showers, their upper portions probably possess a rich and interesting flora. It has never been my lot to ascend any of them. The northwestern desert region I have never visited, and I must say the same of the eastern coast, so that I shall not at- tempt a description of those regions. The transition from this desert table land, where the produc- tion of cultivated crops without irrigation is impossible and where water for irrigation is not to be had, by any present methods, is of great interest. It must be stated, however, that in some places portions of the desert have been brought under cultivation by means of a water supply obtained either 80 from rivers or artesian wells, and here the soil has been found of great fertility, so that there is hope of eventually redeem- ing a large portion of this desert. The first change noticed, a little more than half-way from the United States border to the City of Mexico, is a more liberal water supply, encouraging extensive tillage by irrigation methods. A little farther south we find that although irrigation is very largely resorted to, it is possible to produce such crops as corn through the unaided agency of the rainy season. The rapidity with which such crops grow and attain maturity at this time is indeed remarkable. Most of my own field work in Mexico has been performed in this semi-arid region, so that I have had an opportunity to become rather well acquainted with the general features of its Fic. 2. Lava Beds along Cuernavaca R. R. flora, while not having found time to determine many of the species encountered. One of the most noticeable sights to the visitor from the north is that of the vast fields of maguey or century plant, used for the manufacture of the fermented bever- age pulque and its distillate, mezcal. Its buds, taken just before flowering, resembling huge cabbages and occasionally a hundred 81 pounds or more in weight, are baked into a sugary mass which is eaten as a sort of sweet conserve. In these cultivated lands, the Prosopis becomes a tree, much resembling a spreading oak, or even a large apple tree. These trees are left standing in the cultivated ground and their branches become the support for stacks of hay or other fodder, thus placed out of reach of maraud- ing animals. In the vicinity of Iruapato, vast areas are devoted wholly to the culture of the strawberry, irrigation by the use of shallow wells being resorted to, and the delicious fruit being supplied throughout the year. The natural aspects of the vegetation here have largely disappeared, owing to the fact that the land is almost wholly cultivated, but in the waste places there is a rich and varied herbaceous and suffrutescent flora. In many places the steep hillsides and narrow valleys are used only for grazing purposes and here there is often a dense covering of large shrubs or small trees. In some places these trees consist largely of junipers, intermingled with Acacia, Prosopis, Arctosta- phylos and cotton-woods, while along the edges of the streams the beautiful and often enormous Mexican cypress begins to appear. A specimen of the last-named tree, growing in Oaxaca and called “the Tule,’’ is one of the largest trees in the world. A strange and very showy effect is sometimes produced amidst this arborescent hill growth by the abundance of loranthaceous parasites which it supports. Much of this parasitic growth consists only of Phoradendron, and is merely green or yellowish green, but at times the crowns of the trees in all directions will be seen invaded by masses of brightly colored members of this family, the entire mass glowing with brilliant scarlet, crimson or yellow. Sometimes almost the entire crown of a juniper tree will be occupied by such a growth. During the rainy season many of the natural hollows will be converted into pools, some- times acquiring the dimensions of small lakes. In addition to these natural deposits of water, artificial ones are created by the farmers, wherever there is a sloping surface which can be dyked with mud at its lower boundaries, so that one sees so much water as to create the impression that he is in a country of 82 marshland. Around the margins of such pools, especially the natural ones, there is frequently seen a broad band of pink or purple Cosmos, sometimes a hundred yards or more in breadth and presenting a solid mass of color. Similar patches of yellow Helianthus, Coreopsis and related genera are abundant. These are the conspicuous features of the flora, as viewed by one who is passing through it. When we dismount and walk over these hills and through the valleys, our interest centers in the wonderful variety of small annual and perennial herbs, both as to species and larger groups, which crowd into every undis- turbed spot. In the foothills of the mountains of this region, the botanist becomes quite lost in the profusion of unfamiliar plants. The acacias and Prosopids exist in undiminished abundance and, grow- ing among them so thickly as to make travel difficult, are nu- merous species of Terebinthus, or Bursera, spiny erythrinas bearing long moniliform pods showing brilliant scarlet seeds through their half-opened sutures, stinging jatrophas, intricately thorny Rubiaceae and small silk-cotton trees, and all these frequently bound together by twining Clematis, Passiflora, Thomaea and leguminous vines. Many of the smaller shrubs also are leguminous, among them the beautiful Brongniartia, with silky-white herbage and lovely dark chocolate-colored flowers. In some places the arborescent growth is almost wholly of the Palo Amarillo rubber-tree, Euphorbiodendron fulvum. Extremely varied are the lantanas, their flowers ranging in color from pure white or white with a golden eye, through various shades of pink and purple, even to brilliant orange or vermilion. Almost equally abundant and varied are the species of Stevia. Among the herbaceous vegetation, purple flowered Oxalis exists in great variety, with many Geraniums, purple flowered ruellias and Nyctaginaceae, and yellow Tribulus. Ferns of the hardier kinds, such as rigid pellaeas and notholaenas, are frequent, but not nearly so abundant as farther south. Where the canyons open out into valleys leading to the plains, the Cactaceae comprise the greatest bulk and the most interesting feature of the flora. In places the entire surface over many acres is so intricately covered with opuntias that travel is slow and difficult. At first sight, and until one has become accustomed to their examination, all seem to be slightly variable forms of a single species, but one presently becomes aware that the varia- tions, however numerous and slight, are constant. If he is then fortunate enough to secure the companionship of a competent and experienced mountaineer, he will learn that all these forms, and more than he has differentiated, are distinguished by names and that the differences between them, such as the shade of green of the surface, the form and relative thickness of the joints, the shade of color of the flowers, their time of appearing and the color, especially the internal color, of the fruits, and their edible properties, are all well defined by the natives. I am strongly of the opinion that the relation between the present state of our knowledge of the Mexican opuntias, and that of the future, is much like that of our knowledge of American Crataegi Fic. 3. Vitis blanco Munson. of ten years ago as compared with that of the present. Some of these flat-jointed opuntias are old and large trees, with trunks two feet or more in diameter. The huge, widely and densely branching Myrtilocactus is often conspicuous and abun- 84 dant. Its small, delicious fruit is an important article of trade, under the name of ‘‘Garambulla.”’ As we approach the valley of Mexico, we come into a more fertile region, producing tropical fruits and other products indi- cating the rich luxuriance which we are to encounter after another day’s journey to the south or east. The mountain flora of the vicinity of Mexico is of special interest and beauty. Here there are many species of salvia, oxalis, verbena, geranium, Solanum, etc. Terrestrial orchids are decidedly numerous, though scarcely abundant, and the instant that we penetrate to the warm and moist valleys, even quite near to the city, interesting and handsome arboreal species begin to appear. Arboreal ferns, tillandsias and. other bromeliads are also nu- merous. In rich places among the rocks dahlias of various colors are common and abundant. (To be continued) THE NATURE AND PUNCTION OF THE PLANT OXIDASES By ERNEST D. CLARK (Continued from March Torreya) FUNCTION OF THE OXIDASES IN THE PLANT Physiology It is evident from the preceding chapters that oxidizing enzymes are very widely distributed. Since enzymes generally seem to be produced by plants or animals for some definite purpose in the life of the organism, it was natural that specula- tion should arise regarding the function of the oxidizing enzymes. Their usefulness to the plant probably lies in their power to act as accelerators of the ordinary processes of oxidation as we shall see in a closer study of their function in the plant. The oxidases, more especially peroxidase and occasionally oxygenase, are found in seeds and seem to bear some relation 85 to the age of the seed, state of germination, etc. Brocq-Rousseu and Gain*"” examined the seeds of species of plants from many different families. They used both guaiac tincture and guaiacol with the addition of hydrogen peroxide as tests for peroxidase or ‘‘peroxydiastase,’’ as they called it. Peroxidase was present in nearly all seeds examined, the amount decreasing with their age; however, in kernels of corn they found peroxidase after the corn had been standing for over two hundred years. They further noted that oxygenase was rarely present in the seeds, and also that the strongest test for peroxidase was given by the embryo. Bialosuknia*! made glycerine extracts of resting and germinating seeds, testing these extracts for oxidases with guaiac tincture, indophenol reagent, benzidin, etc. Peroxidase was present in the resting seeds and at all stages of germination, while oxygenase (direct oxidase) could not be detected in the seeds before the second day, after which it was always present. Deleano® also made a study of the germination of seeds, getting the same results as those obtained by Bialosuknia. The catalase increased rapidly and then disappeared along with the fat. He found further that reductase (reducing enzyme) was present and that it was localized in the protein part of the seed. Issajew* made a careful study of the oxidase of germinated barley, his results agreeing with those of the other investigators already noted. He found the same increase of oxidases after germination and confirmed the presence of the so-called reducing enzymes under these conditions. In the study of oxidizing substances and enzymes in biological materials, it soon became apparent that in many cases there occurred reducing substances along with the oxidases, etc. Frequently these reducing substances were called enzymes and given special names, such as the “philothion’’ of Rey-Pail- 20° Brocq-Rousseu and Gain. Sur l’existence d’une peroxydiastase dans les graines seches. Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. 145: 1297. 1907. 31 Bialosuknia. Ueber Pflanzen-Fermente. Zts. Physiol. Chem. 58:487. 1908. 8 Deleano. Recherche chemique sur lar germination. Centralbl. f. Bakt., II. Abt. 24: 130. 1909. %8Issajew. Ueber die Malzoxydase. Zts. Physiol. Chem. 45: 331. 1905. 86 hade,** who in 1888, announced that in beer yeast he had found a substance which caused the evolution of hydrogen sulphide from sulphur, even in the cold. In the potato, egg-plant, etc., Kastle and Elvolve® found that there were substances which reduced nitrates to nitrites, the most favorable temperature for this action being from 40° to 50°; the action being retarded by acids and much increased by benzaldehyde and benzyl alcohol. Action is also completely checked by boiling, but the authors hesitated to say that this action is due to an enzyme; they classified this reducing substance with those compounds that are unstable and easily oxidized, and which reduce nitrates, but not in unlimited quantity. This statement might also be applied to the so-called reducing enzymes found by Irving and Hankinson®® in the Gramineae. In the action of both yeast and bacteria, reduc- ing substances probably play a part, since they are usually present. : We may say, then, that reducing substances are of common occurrence in plants, both in the higher and lower representatives. In many plant juices there occur reducing substances which, in the test for oxidases with the color reagents, gradually de- colorize all the mixture except a zone near the surface of the liquid; this upper colored part being immediately bleached if the solution is thoroughly shaken, but it reappears upon standing. These reducing substances, as well as catalase, may act as a check upon the activity of peroxidase in the living cell, but after death or narcosis, the production of reducing substances is lessened and the oxidases develop pigments, 7. e., oxidize the chromogens to colored compounds. It seems doubtful that these reducing substances are enzymes, since we know that ordinary reducing substances resulting from metabolism are present in practically all animal and plant cells. Such substances 34 Rey-Pailhade: (a) Nouvelle recherche physiologique sur la substance organique hydrogénant le soufre a froid. Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. 107: 430. 1888. (6) Sur une corps d'origine organique hydrogénant le soufre a froid. Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. 106: 1683. 1888. 35 Kastle and Elvolve. The Reduction of Nitrates by Certain Plant Extracts, etc. Am. Chem. Jour. 31: 606. 1904. 36Trving and Hankinson. The Presence of Nitrate Reducing Enzymes in Green Plants. Biochem. Jour. 3: 87. 1908. 87 may be formed by photosynthesis and in the metabolism of the plant. Heffter*” believed that the so-called reducing enzymes are not enzymes at all, but that the reducing action is due to the decomposition products of protein, especially those containing the SH group. This, however, is denied by Frankel and Dimitz*® who believe that the reducing power of cells is due to their unsaturated fatty substances. It seems likely that the oxidizing ferments assist in carrying on the oxidative processes of respiration by increasing the rapidity of the combination of oxygen with the oxidizable sub- stances in the plant. It has long been known that there are certain plants which at times develop a temperature above that of their surroundings, representatives of the Araceae showing this peculiarity in a striking manner. Hahn* investigated this phenomenon in Arum maculatum, the spadix of which is often from 20° to 27° C. warmer than the surrounding air. He used press-sap from the spadix of the plant and found that upon ex- posure to the air, the liquid rapidly became greenish black; so he concluded that an oxidizing enzyme (tyrosinase) was present. Hahn allowed the press-sap to remain at 25° for several days and at the end of that time the content of sugars, originally high, dropped to nothing, with accompanying loss of weight in the carbon dioxide evolved. This process could be entirely pre- vented by heating the press-sap to 60° for half an hour before allowing it to stand. Furthermore, the same process took place in an atmosphere of hydrogen; so Hahn thought he was dealing with a case of intra-molecular respiration carried on by oxidizing enzymes. Krause“ noticed a similar elevated temperature with loss of dry weight [probably carbohydrates] in Arum ttalicum and Knoch* did so in the case of the flower of Victoria Regia 37 Heffter. Die reduzierenden Bestandtheile der Zellen. Med. Naturwiss. Arch. I: part I, p. I5. 1907. % Frankel and Dimitz. Gewebatmung durch Intermedidrekérper. Wiener klin. Wochensch. 1909: No. 51, p. 1777. ® Hahn. Chemische Vorginge im zellfreien Gewebsaft von Arum maculatum. ' Ber. Chem. Gesell. 33: 3555. 1901. Krause. Ueber die Bliitenwirme von Arum Italicum. Abhandl. Naturfor. Gesell. zu Halle, 1882, p. 16. 41Knoch. Untersuchungen iiber den Physiologie, etc., der Bliite von Victoria Regia. Diss. Marburg, 1897. 88 at the time of the opening of its petals. As we have seen, the many striking changes of color in plants after injury with the resulting exposure to the atmospheric oxygen, have long been subjects of investigation, but until recently such research was confined to studies of the enzymes involved, to the consequent neglect of the chromogens affected by these enzymes. Instudying the role of the oxidases, if we were to consider only the enzymes, we should be neglecting the other half of the problem, for the chromogens occurring in plants are the sources of all the colora- tions and may very well act as oxygen carriers in the metabolism of the plant. Even in 1882 Reinke” interested himself in the substances in the plant which gave colored oxidation products under the influence of oxidases and of the air. The juice of the potato and of the white beet contained a chromogen which became dark upon standing in the air, but it was easily changed back to its original colorless state by reducing agents or by certain bacteria. He thought that the colorless condition of the chromogens in the living cell is due to accompanying reducing substances, or else that the cell is able to oxidize the chromogens through the colored state to a more highly oxidized colorless condition. To show the distribution of these chromogens among plants this outline, adapted from Chodat,® is given (the changes being from colorless to that indicated) : Yellow, to green, then to blue—Boletus spp. Red, violet and then black—many of the higher fungi, es- pecially Agaricaceae; wheat seedlings, potatoes, apples, nuts, Lathyrus niger, secretions of certain ink-fish, etc. Brown, then black—Rhus succedana, etc. Violet-red—Jacobinia spp.™ Black—the higher fungi, especially Hygrophorus spp.; Mono- tropa uniflora and Viburnum lantana. ? 42 Reinke. Ein Beitrag zur Kenntniss leicht oxidirbarer Verbindungen der Pflanzen-kérpers. Zts. Physiol. Chem. 6: 263. 1882. 43Chodat. Chapter on the ‘“‘Oxydases’” in Abderhalden’s Handbuch der Bio- chem. Arbeitsmethoden, III, 2d part, p. 42 ff. 1910. 44Parkin. Ona Brilliant Pigment Appearing after Injury in Species of Jacobinia Report Brit. Assn Advancem. Sci. 1904, p. 818. 89 Palladin® and his collaborators have taken up the question of the role of the chromogens and the oxidases in the respiration of the plant. They have followed out the general line of thought first conceived by Reinke. They have published many papers on the subject which cannot be abstracted here in detail, but a general outline of their results and conclusions will be given. In the anaerobic respiration of seeds, alcohol, acetone, and sub- stances of aldehyde nature were obtained. Oxygenase increases with the growth of the part containing it. Both oxygenase and peroxidase are much increased by feeding the plant freely with sugars. The chromogens also increase under such circumstances. Palladin made a systematic search for the respiratory chro- mogens, and found they were very wide-spread and were gen- erally red or brown when oxidized. To detect the chromogens he ground the plant material under water and thus obtained a light-colored solution to which he added peroxidase (from horse- radish) and hydrogen peroxide; if the chromogen were present, it was soon oxidized and caused the solution to darken. In this manner he found that of seventy-one different plants examined, sixty-seven contained chromogens and that the parts with an active respiration like flowers, young shoots, etc., showed the greatest amount of respiratory chromogen. Chloroformed plants soon began to show coloration due to the oxidation of their chromogens. These chromogens seem to be derivatives of the cyclic series, and Palladin considered that they often occur in the form of glucosides, which, by the action of glucoside-splitting enzymes, are separated from the sugars and then take up oxygen by the aid of the oxidases, thus becoming colored. During the normal life of the plant there is a codrdinated action of these hydrolytic, oxidizing, and reducing enzymes, which prevents oxidation of the chromogens, but during narcosis or after death, 45Palladin: (a) Die Atmungspigmente der Pflanzen. Zts. Physiol. Chem. 55: 207. 1908. (b) Die Verbreitung der Atmungschromogene bei den Pflanzen. Ber. Bot. Gesell. 26a: 378. 1908. (c) Ueber das Wesen der Pflanzen- atmung. Bioch. Ztsch. 18: 151. 10909. (d) Ueber die Bildung der Atmungs- chromogene in den Pflanzen. Ber. Bot. Gesell. 26a: 389. 1908. (e) Die Arbeit der Atmungsenzyme der Pflanzen, etc. Zts. Physiol Chem. 47: 407. 1906. (f) Ueber die Prochromogene der Pflanzen-Atmungschromogene. Ber. Bot. Gesell. Zi7f2 wit, | oYaYoy. 90 the inter-relation of these enzymes is disturbed, with the result that the respiratory chromogens become evident by their color. The fact that these respiratory chromogens may take up oxygen and later give it up again under the influence of reducing sub- stances, led Palladin to call the respiratory chromogens the ‘‘phyto-haematins’’ because he thought they were similar to the oxygen-carrying pigments of the blood of animals. This work of Palladin and his students upon respiratory chromogens is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the respiration of plants. His conception of the respiratory pig- ments as being cyclic compounds bound to the sugars in the form of glucosides which are insoluble, seems to be founded on fact. In the case of indigo-blue, according to Walther* and also in the case of many other pigments, the chromogen is held in the insoluble glucoside form, from which it is separated by the hydrolytic enzymes to give sugars, and then the oxidases attack the chromogen thus set free, imparting to it a definite color. In Schenckia blumenaviana, Molisch” found that the green plant became red upon treatment with chloroform vapor. This result he attributed to the action of an enzyme upon a chromogen in the plant. In certain of the Dipsacaceae, Miss Tammes*® demon- strated the presence of a colorless chromogen dipsacan which, under the influence of oxidases, was changed to a blue pigment called dipsacotin by this investigator. Miss Wheldale® believes that the red colorations of certain leaves and flowers are caused by anthocyan, a pigment resulting from the coérdinated action of oxidases and hydrolytic enzymes. She also considers that the color or lack of color in the offspring of such plants is due to the action of oxidases and reducing substances, etc., as factors in heredity. Overton®® and also Tswett®! came to the con- 46Walther. Zur Frage der Indigo-bildung. Ber. Bot. Gesell. 27: 101. 1909. 47 Molisch. Ueber ein neues, einen karminroten Farbstoffe erzeugendes Chro- mogen bei Schenckia blumenaviana. Ber. Bot. Gesell. 19: 149. 1901. 48Miss Tammes. Dipsacan und Dipsacotin, ein neues chromogen und neues Farbstoffe der Dipsaceae. Recueil. Trav. Bot. Néerland. 5: 51. 1908. 49Miss Wheldale. Plant Oxydases and Chemical Relationships of Color Va- rieties. Prog. Rei. Botan. 3: 457. 1910. 50QOverton. Beobachtungen und Versuche iiber das Auftreten von rothem Zell- saft bei Pflanzen. Jahrb. Wiss. Botan. 33: 171. 1899. 51Tswett. Ueber den Pigmente der Herbstlich-vergilbten Laubes. Ber. Bot. Gesell. 26a: 98. 1908. 91 clusion that the beautiful autumn colors of leaves are due to this same process, when the slowing up of the metabolic processes of the plant by the frost tends to hasten the formation of the oxidized pigments. It should be noted that in many cases the tannins act in this manner when oxidized, after being set free from their glucoside form. In a very recent study of the rdéle of the glucosides in the plant, Weevers®’ concludes that these substances may be considered as reserve foods, the cyclic com- pounds being attached to glucose-yielding substances of low diffusibility, thus serving to accumulate sugar, etc., for future use. Besides this coérdinated action of the hydrolytic and oxidizing enzymes just described, there also seems to be an antagonistic action between the oxidases and the reducing substances in the cell; this antagonism tending to keep each sort from getting the upper hand during life, but after death when the production of reducing substances ceases for a time, the oxidases run riot, and blackening as well as colorations of various sorts result. The blackening of the foliage of many plants after a frost, and the production of the red and gold of our autumn forests, are doubtless due to the killing of the leaves or to an interference with their metabolism by the low temperature, and consequent excessive activity of the oxidases upon tannins and other sub- stances. Finally, Czapek® has brought to light a most interesting example of the part played by oxidases in the life of the plant. He found that geotropically and phototropically stimulated plant organs always contained more reducing substances and also showed weaker tests for oxidases than similar organs unstimu- lated. Later he proved that the reducing substance which ac- cumulated after stimulation was homogentisic acid, and that, after stimulation, it did not seem to be destroyed by the oxidases as it had been before. What caused this accumulation of easily 8 Weevers. Die physiologische Bedeutung einiger Glycoside. Recueil. Trav. Bot. Néerland. 7: 1. 1910. 58 Czapek: (a) Ueber einen Befund an geotropsich gereizten Wurzeln. Ber. Bot. Gesell. 15: 516. 1897. (b) Stoffwechselprocesse in der geotropisch gereizten Wurzelspitze, etc. Ber. Bot. Gesell. 20: 464. 1902. 92 oxidizable substances in the stimulated plant parts? By a series of careful experiments Czapek demonstrated that there was no decrease in the amount of oxidases present, but that they were inhibited by some influence, this influence later proving to be an anti-enzyme. He showed that the anti-enzyme thus formed really neutralized the oxidizing enzyme in definite proportion; that it was specific for that one plant, less so for the genus and not at all for distantly related plants; that heating a mixture of anti-enzyme and enzyme to 62° destroyed the former, the latter then regaining its original activity. Czapek demonstrated also that the anti-enzyme does not exist at all in unstimulated parts of the same plants, but later is produced in them upon stimulation. This anti-enzyme has the power of inhibiting the normal oxida- tion of the homogentisic acid in the plant, so that after stimula- tion, both the homogentisic acid and the anti-enzyme make their appearance and accumulate. However, Graefe and Linsbauer™ report that they were unable to find the increase of reducing substances in stimulated parts as claimed by Czapek. LABORATORY OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, NEw YORK. (To be continued) CHONDROPHORA VIRGATA IN WEST FLORIDA ROLAND M. HARPER Ninety-three years ago that sagacious botanist, Thomas Nuttall, proposed as a new species Chrysocoma virgata,* describing it at some length, and remarking that it was allied to C. nudata Mx., but might easily be confounded with Solidago tenuifoha. The locality given for it was “On the borders of swamps in New Jersey, near the sea-coast.’’ In 1836 A. P. DeCandolle included this species and a few others in his new genus Bigelowia,t and cited a specimen collected “in Florida prope Savannah.” 54Graefe and Linsbauer. Zur Kenntniss der Stoffwechselanderungen bei geo- tropischer Reizung. Sitzber. Wien. Akad. I. Abt. 118: 907. 1909. * Gen. 2: 137. 1818. } Prodr. 5: 329. 1836. 93 About the same time specimens corresponding very well with Nuttall’s description were collected in Louisiana by Hale and in Texas by Riddell and by Drummond, and these were doubtless taken into consideration by Torrey & Gray in describing the range of their ‘‘ Bigelovia nudata,’’* for they did not regard the plant in question as specifically distinct. ; No such plant has since been found. within sixty miles of Savannah (Georgia), or within several hundred miles of New Jersey. The Louisiana and Texas specimens are still preserved in the Torrey Herbarium, but unfortunately, as in the case of many others collected in the first half of the nineteenth century, they are accompanied by no information about where they came from other than the name of the state. The omission of all data about habitat is especially disappointing, since in this particular species its habitat is one of its most important charac- ters, as will be shown presently. At various times in the second half of the roth century our plant was mentioned in floras of the northeastern and south- eastern states, usually as a variety of C. nudata, and in the absence of any accurate information to the contrary, it was assumed to have about the same range and habitat as its better-known relative, namely, the pine-barrens of the coastal plain. In 1894 Dr. Britton substituted Rafinesque’s name Chondrophora for DeCandolle’s Bigelowia (which was a homonym), and the fol- lowing year Prof. Greeneft restored our plant to specific rank, at the same time restricting the genus Chondrophora to these two species, nudata and virgata. Twenty years ago, although the fact was probably not realized at the time, Chondrophora virgata was as completely lost to science as Franklimia, Elliottia, Chrysopsis pinifolia, Pentstemon dissectus and Mesadenia diversifolia, for no botanist then living had ever seen it growing. But on Sept. 15, 1892, Dr. Charles Mohr found on the rocky banks of Little River on Lookout Mountain in DeKalb County, Alabama, about 1,600 feet above sea-level, specimens of a plant which he identified with some hesitation *E], N. A. 2: 232. 1842. See also Gray, Syn. Fl. N. A. 17: t41. 1884. { Erythea 3: 91. 1895. 94 as this long-lost species of Nuttall’s,* and a few years later Mr. Henry Eggert collected immature specimens of the same thing in the same general region.t In the spring of 1901 Mr. T. G. Harbison found it ‘‘in shallow soil in the glades and along rocky streams’? on Sand Mountain in Marshall County, Alabama;t and in the winter of 1905-6 I saw it in Marshall, DeKalb and Cherokee Counties,§ always on Carboniferous sandstone along streams on the plateaus, as my predecessors had found it. Up to 1903 the only known stations for this plant (excluding those in New Jersey, Louisiana and Texas as unknown) were in the mountains of Alabama. In that year, however, I collected it on outcrops of Altamaha Grit in Tattnall and Dooly Counties in the coastal plain of Georgia,|| and in 1906 I saw it in similar situations in Washington and Coffee Counties, in the same region.§| At each of these places some of its associates were the same as in the mountains of Alabama, although the general aspect of the surrounding country was very different. The only known exposure of Altamaha Grit in Florida is at Rock Hill, which is about 414% miles southeast of Chipley; and up to last fall this interesting spot does not seem to have ever been visited by a botanist.** Having heard something of this place through geological literature, I visited it on Sept. 24, 1910, to see how it compared with similar places in Georgia. * See Bull. Torrey Club 24: 28. 1897; Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 6: 79, 771. 1901. +I saw one of Eggert’s specimens in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden several years ago, but it has since been misplaced or destroyed, and I do not remember the exact data on the label. {Biltmore Bot. Stud. 1: 153. 1902. § Torreya 6: 112, 114, 115. 1906. || See Bull. Torrey Club 32: 168. 1905; Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 17: 42, 43, 146. 1906. These two localities have since been included in the new counties of Toombs and Crisp, respectively. In 1900 (Bull. Torrey Club 27: 423) I inadver- tently designated this species as an inhabitant of moist pine-barrens in Sumter County, Georgia; but my specimens proved to be nothing but the common C. nudata. _ [See Torreya 6: 243, 244. 1906. ** In the Plant World for April, 1902 (5: 71), Mr. A. H. Curtiss reports having collected Cheilanthes Alabamensis ‘‘on top of a tower like rock’’ at Cedar Grove, a few miles south of Chipley. There happens to be a tower-like rock on one side of Rock Hill, but there are no ferns on it, and Mr. Curtiss’s rock must have been of a very different sort, probably limestone . 95 Rock Hill is one of a group of several peculiar isolated hills in the northern part of Washington County, Florida.* I would estimate its dimensions roughly as about one-fourth mile long (approximately north and south), one-eighth mile wide, and 50 feet high. Like the country for several miles in all directions, it is covered with open forests of long-leaf pine, now badly damaged by lumbermen, so that the rocks on it can be seen from a considerable distance. On its slopes there are several hori- zontal ledges of a pine-bark-colored rock which seems to differ from the typical Altamaha Grit of Georgiaf only in being a little more sandy, and this difference is apparent only on close inspec- tion. Like the corresponding rock in Georgia, too, it never appears on the summit of a hill, but always on slopes. (See illustration.) It seems to be generally true that the flora of any particular habitat is richest near the center of distribution of that habitat.f This principle is illustrated by the vegetation of Rock Hill, which is about 100 miles from any other known outcrop of the same kind of rock. On the bare rocks, and on the thin soil which covers them on gentle slopes, I identified the following species (which are here arranged approximately in order of abundance): TREES Pinus palustris Quercus geminata SHRUBS Gaylussacia dumosa : Batodendron arboreum Vaccinium nitidum Callicarpa americana Chrysobalanus oblongifolius Serenoa serrulata Symplocos tinctoria HERBS Aristida stricta Pteris aquilina Chondrophora virgata Aster sp.§ Chrotonopsis spinosa? Laciniaria gracilis Panicum dichotomum?|| Campulosus aromaticus * See Tenth Census U.S. 6: 224. 1884. +See Bull. Torrey Club 32: 134-144. 1905; Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 17: 22-23. 1906. {See Bull. Torrey Club 32: 149 (second paragraph). 1905; Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 17: 55, 78, 89. 1906; Torreya 7: 43, 44. 1907. § One of the dichotomous panicums, at any rate. In July, 1906, I saw what is probably the same thing on an outcrop of the same kind of rock in Washington County, Georgia. || With rather large blue heads and narrow leaves. 96 : Fimbristylis puberula Anthaenantia villosa Fimbristylis laxa Trilisa odoratissima Gerardia filifolia? Chaptalia tomentosa Afzelia cassioides Agave (Manfreda) virginica Muhlenbergia expansa LICHENS Cladonia sp. Nearly all of these plants are common in ordinary dry pine- barrens in the neighborhood, the only ones especially character- istic of the rocks being the Chondrophora, Crotonopsis, Fim- bristylis laxa, and perhaps the Panicum and Agave. Next to the wire-grass, our Chondrophora seemed to be the most abundant plant. It was in bloom at the time, and I secured plenty of specimens, which agree with those from Georgia and Alabama in every particular. In some places on the slopes of Rock Hill a little water seeps out, making a suitable habitat for a moist pine-barren flora, of the kind that is characteristic of Southeast Georgia, West Florida, etc. One of the commonest plants in such habitats, from North Carolina to Mississippi, is Chondrophora nudata. Here at Rock Hill, as well as in Crisp County, Georgia,* it could sometimes be found within a few feet of its rock-loving relative; and there being no marked difference between them except in the width and number of their basal leaves, they could hardly be distinguished a few feet away. This suggests an interesting problem in evolution. If Chon- drophora virgata were known only from the two localities last mentioned, one might reasonably assume’ that it was merely a narrow-leaved extreme of the common C. nudata, developed in direct response to its rocky habitat. But the fact that it is most abundant in the mountains of Alabama, far removed from any C. nudata (which is strictly confined to the coastal plain, and does not even approach the fall-line very closely, as far as known), would seem to make this hypothesis untenable. For all we know, our plant may have been growing on the Carbonifer- ous sandstones long before the coastal plain—or the pine-barren * See Bull. Torrey Club 32: 168. 1905. What is now Crisp County was then included in Dooly. ot portions of it at least—emerged from the sea. An alternative hypothesis would be that C. nudata was evolved from C. virgata at a comparatively recent period, geologically speaking, and being in some manner adapted to a widespread habitat became widely Fic. 1. Ledge of Altamaha Grit on west side of Rock Hill, Florida. Chon- drophora virgata is common on top of these rocks. distributed. This however does not account for the remarkably disjointed distribution of C. virgata, unless we ascribe to it extraordinary facilities for dissemination. Evidently there are some unknown historical factors still to be taken into considera- tion. The known distribution of Chondrophora virgata may now be summed up by saying that it is known from three counties in the mountains of Alabama, four in the coastal plain of Georgia, and one in West Florida, always on non-calcareous rocks. (I have seen it myself in all these eight counties, and have collected it in half of them.) The re-discovery of the long-lost stations in Louisiana and Texas is greatly to be desired, especially in view of the fastidiousness of this plant as to habitat. It would appear 98 from statements in geological literature that a rock similar to the Altamaha Grit occurs in several places in Louisiana (possibly also in Texas), and it is in just such places that the plant should be sought. Its eastern limit may be placed at the Ohoopee River in Geor- gia, at least until the mystery of the type-locality is solved. Now it happens that Nuttall was in all probability the first botanist who ever saw an outcrop of Altamaha Grit;* and know- ing this, one might jump to the conclusion that he really found the plant in Georgia, and ascribed it to New Jersey through a mixture of labels or an error of his printers. But unfortunately for this theory, the supposed date of his exploration of the Altamaha Grit country is several years subsequent to the publication of his ‘‘Genera’’; although it would appear from statements in this book (1: 231, for instance) that he had already visited Augusta and Savannah. . UNIVERSITY, ALABAMA. NEWS ITEMS The old house in which Asa Gray lived for forty years, in the botanic garden of Harvard University, is to be taken down to avoid the danger from fire to the adjacent Gray Herbarium. This building, for many years the home of the university herba- rium and of Dr. Gray’s collections, is to be rebuilt elsewhere without much change in its form. Dr. and Mrs. N. L. Britton have returned from a collecting trip to Cuba where explorations have been carried on in connec- tion with the studies on the West Indian flora. Most of the collections were made in the western end of the island. Mr. Lowell M. Palmer has given the Brooklyn Botanic Garden a collection of evergreens consisting of over five hundred plants. Many of these are rare forms in cultivation and their acquirement through the generosity of Mr. Palmer, will materially increase the beauty and educational value of the new garden’s collections. * See Torreya 4: 138-141. 1904. oe Dr. Marie C. Stopes, lecturer on paleobotany in the University of Manchester, and Dr. R. R. Gates, of the Missouri Botanical Garden, were married on March 18 in Montreal. The biological laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, are offering the usual number of courses in botany and related sub- jects for the coming summer session. At a meeting of the section of biology of the New York Acad- emy of Sciences Prof. C. Stuart Gager recently exhibited photo- graphs of an abnormal plant of Onagra biennis that appeared ina pedigreed culture, following exposure to radium rays of the ovule employed in producing the plant. The plant possessed two primary shoot-systems (rosettes and subsequent cauline stems) of equivalent value, but manifesting entirely unlike mor- phological characters. That the effect was due to the exposure to radium rays was held to be possible, though not conclusively shown. The antecedent history of the plant, and the fact that hybrids between the two unlike halves manifested the characters of only one of the parent shoots, was interpreted to emphasize the fact, already recognized, that the inheritance of a character and its expression are two quite different phenomena. This paper will appear in full in a forthcoming number of the BULLETIN. Dr. R. M. Harper, whose monograph on the peat formations of Florida has lately appeared, spent several weeks consulting the collections at the New York Botanical Garden. His present address is University, Alabama. A meeting of men interested in the advancement of biological teaching in secondary schools was held at the Harvard Union, Cambridge, February 4. The relation of school biology to civics, the sequence of laboratory experiments, outdoor work with classes, and college requirements were the topics informally discussed. Those present were Professor G. H. Parker (Harvard University), Principal Irving O. Palmer (Newton Technical High School), Dr. H. R. Linville (Jamaica High School), R. H. Howe, Jr. (Middlesex School), Samuel F. Tower (Boston English High School), S. Warren Sturgis (Groton School), Head Master Frank E. Lane and W. L. W. Field (Milton Academy, Milton, 100 Mass.). The last named was authorized to communicate with other teachers with a view to establishing a series of conferences, to be held probably alternately in Boston and New York. Mr. J. J. Levison will deliver the fourth in a series of six lectures on the Cultivation and Preservation of Trees, on April 20, in the Brooklyn Academy of Music Lecture Hall. The special topic of the evening will be “Selection and Grouping of Trees for Streets, Parks and Lawns,” and it will be illustrated by lantern photographs. The alfalfa weevil introduced into this country six or seven years ago is spreading rather rapidly in the northwestern states. The damage in Utah last year is estimated at half a million dollars. Prevention seems impossible, owing chiefly to the adult habit of hiding in hay and similar commerical articles; twenty- seven were taken from the vestibule of one sleeping car at Salt Lake City last summer. Mrs. H. L. Britton, the mother of Dr. N. L. Britton, director of the New York Botanical Garden, died April 7 at Venice. THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB OFFICERS FOR 1910 President ~ HENRY H. RUSBY, M.D. Vice- Presidents EDWARD S. BURGESS, PH.D. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A.M., M.D. Recording Secretary PERCY WILSON Botanica] Garden, Bronx Park, New York City Editor Treasurer MARSHALL AVERY HOWE, Pu.D. WILLIAM MANSFIELD, Puar.D. ; Botanical Garden, Bronx Park College of Pharmacy, 115 West 68th St. ae! New York City New York City Assoctate Editors JOHN H. BARNHART, A:M., M.D. TRACY ELLIOT HAZEN, Pu.D. JEAN BROADHURST, A.M. WM. ALPHONSO MURRILL, Pu.D. PHILIP DOWELL, Pu.D. CHARLES LOUIS POLLARD, A.M. ALEX. W. EVANS, M.D,, Pu.D. HERBERT M. RICHARDS, S.D. Meetings the second Tuesday and last Wednesday of each month alternately at the American Museum of Natural History and the New York Botanical Garden PUBLICATIONS. Bulletin. Monthly, established 1870. ~ Price $3.00 per year; single numbers 30 cents. Of former volumes only 24-36 can be supplied en- tire. Certain numbers of other volumes are available, and the epee inn of sets will be undertaken. Memoirs. A series of technical papers published at irregular intervals; estab- lished 1889. | Price $3.00 per volume. Torreya. Monthly, established gor. Price $1.00 per year. All business correspor.dence relating to the above publications should be addressed to Dr. William Mansfield, College of Pharmacy, 115 W. 68th St., New York City. OTHER PUBLICATIONS os OF THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB (1) BULLETIN A monthly journal devoted to general botany, established 1870. Vol. 37 published in 1910, contained 630 pages of text” and 36 full-page plates. Price $3.00 per annum. For Europe, 14 shillings. 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Correspondence relating to the above publications should be addressed to : MR. BERNARD O. DODGE Columbia University New York City - Vol. 11 May, Igi1 No. 5 TORREYA “A Monrury Journar or Boranicat Notes anp News EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB BY NORMAN TAYLOR JOHN) TORREY, 1796-1873 CONTENTS The Nature and Function of the Plant Oxidases: ERNEST D. CLARK......2.....:..... Ior Some Floral Features of Mexico: H. H. RUSBY ..........ccccccceceueeevouseteseessseceesect IIo Proceedings of the Club........0.....0.66 asseseceeeees Aap EB i ys SN Seats cer Se eS 118 Piel OMECCEINGS Fe 0h oh c. ats coucas aur vnge pica pes edeos tok aataos px teas sda t,o 0es me Seen y earl ties 122 News Items PUBLISHED FOR THE CLUB At 41 NortH Quzzn Street, LANcAsTER, Pa. BY THe New Era Printinc Company {Entered at the Post Office at Lancaster, Pa., as second-claes matter | THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB OFFICERS FOR 1o11 te _ President HENRY H. RUSBY, M.D, ~ Vice- Presidents é E EDWARD S. BURGESS, PH.D. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A.M.,M.D Secretary and Treasurer BERNARD O.. DODGE, Ph.B. Columbia University, New York City Editor PHILIP DOWELL, PH.D Associate Editors JOHN H. BARNHART, A.M., M.D. TRACY ELLIOT HAZEN, Pu.D. JEAN BROADHURST, A.M. ~MARSHALL AVERY HOWE, Pu.D. ERNEST D. CLARK, Pu. D. HERBERT M. RICHARDS, S.D, ALEX. W. EVANS, M.D., PH.D. NORMAN TAYLOR Torreya is furnished to subscribers in the United States and | Canada for one dollar per annum; single copies, fifteen cents. To. subscribers elsewhere, five shillings, or the equivalent thereof. Postal or express money orders and drafts or personal checks on New York City banks are accepted in payment, but the rules of the New York Clearing House compel the request that ten cents be added to the amount of any other local checks that may be sent. Subscriptions are received only for full volumes, beginning with the January issue. Reprints will be furnished at cost prices. Subscriptions and remittances should be sent to TREASURER, TORREY BoTanicaL Crus, 41 North Queen St., Lan- caster, Pa., or Columbia University, New York City. Matter for publication should be addressed to NORMAN TAYLOR Central Museum, Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. MAY £6 !9t) TORREYA May, IgII Vol. 11 No. 5 THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF THE PLANT OXIDASES By ERNEST D. CLARK (Continued from April Torreya) Pathology In most of the cases first considered, the oxidases played a beneficial or useful part in the activities of plant life, but we are now to see that under certain conditions they may cause pathological processes. There is a disease of tobacco known as the ‘‘mosaic disease’? which is characterized by the checkered appearance of the green leaves, these checkered places being yellow. In 1902, Woods*® showed that rapid growth caused by cutting back often induced this disease, which he attributed to the abnormal activity of the oxidases. He believed the trouble was caused by an excessive activity of these enzymes due to lack of nitrogenous and other foods in the cells, which if present in normal quantities, seem to enable the cells to keep the oxidases within bounds. The diseased portions of the leaves showed the presence of great quantities of oxidases, but exhibited a striking lack of starch, nitrogenous matter, etc. In the so-called “ mul- berry dwarf’’ disease of the mulberry tree in Japan, Suzuki® found the same state of affairs. When the mulberry trees were repeatedly cut back, they developed a wrinkled and yellow ap- pearance of the leaves, accompanied by a great increase of oxi- dases in the yellow portions, and also by a lack of plant foods in the diseased places. Suzuki thought that anything inter- 55Woods. Observations on the Mosaic Disease of Tobacco. Bull. 18, Bur. Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. Agric. 1902. 56Suzuki. Mulberry Dwarf Troubles in Japan. Bull. Agric. Coll. Tokyo, 4: 167 and 267. 1900. [No. 4, Vol. 11, of ToRREYA, comprising pp. 77-100, was issued 19 April 1911.] 101 102 fering with the proper translocation of foods to rapidly grow- ing parts would permit an abnormal development of oxidases and a consequent yellow or diseased condition. Woods*’ discovered that oxidases, when acting in the sunlight, have the power to destroy chlorophyll and cause yellow spots on leaves; a condi- tion noted on the foliage of the Bermuda lily, carnation, tomato, etc. Punctures of leaves by insects or the presence of parasitic fungi, most of which contain oxidases, result in the decomposition of chlorophyll and the production of such yellow spots. Oxi- dases may exist in the soil or plant remains for several months, and thus cause infection if the new plants are not in a healthy condition. Recently Hasselbring and Alsberg** found that there is a disease of cabbage and spinach somewhat like the “ mosaic disease’’ of tobacco. They also noted an apparent increase of oxidase content in the diseased spots, but thought this result might be caused by a decrease of anti-oxidases in the affected area. EXPERIMENTAL PART The historical part of this paper makes it evident that there has been no lack of effort to determine the distribution and nature of the oxidizing enzymes. However, many previous in- vestigations were carried out with the use of but one reagent, which was generally guaiac tincture; besides, adequate checks upon the reagents or upon the plant juices were not made. Any _ one familiar with the use of the oxidase reagents realizes that the most sensitive of them, such as the indo-phenol reagent and phenolphthalin, are so easily oxidized that constant care must be taken that the action of atmospheric oxygen be not interpreted as a positive test for a weak oxidase. Furthermore, in all in- vestigations involving the use or comparison of colors, one must be alert to detect differences due to a personal factor or to the illumination. Our investigation was undertaken with the purpose of examining and extending previous work upon the distribution of the oxidases; studying the conditions of their activity, and their effects upon different reagents, etc. 57 Woods. The Destruction of Chlorophyll by the Oxidizing Enzymes. Central- blt. f. Bakt. II Abt. 5: 745. 1800. 5 8 Hasselbring and Alsberg, loc. cit. 108 The Nature of the Investigation The object of our experiments may be formally stated as follows: (a) To study the distribution of the oxidases and of catalase in the higher plants, beginning with the lowest; using repre- sentatives of as many available orders and families as possible. To make the data more systematic and to reveal, if possible, any natural relationships, the results are tabulated according to the botanical classification.” (b) To examine as many plant parts as possible, to see if there is a localization of the oxidases in special organs. (c) To use a series of different oxidase reagents upon each sample, and to repeat all tests, under parallel conditions, with boiled controls in every case. Our purpose in this was to detect any differences in the behavior of the several reagents when used under controlled conditions upon a large number of materials of plant origin. (d) To determine the extent of the distribution of those chromogens in plants which are oxidized to colored compounds by the natural oxidase of the plant itself. These chromogens are the so-called “respiration pigments”’ of Palladin. The Methods of the Investigation The method of preparing the enzyme solution varied with the nature of the material. Fleshy parts that were sufficiently large were run through a meat-chopper, smaller ones were grated on a vegetable grater, while leaves, flowers, etc., were macerated in a mortar. Control experiments proved that the iron of the grater had no effect. In whatever manner the material was finely divided, it was then treated with distilled water and allowed to stand for fifteen minutes. The volume of dis- tilled water varied with the amount and nature of the material. After standing for fifteen minutes with distilled water, the extract 59For full details of experimental work and for the arrangement of results ac- cording to the botanical classification see the original dissertation upon which this paper is based. 104 thus obtained was filtered through muslin.® These clear solu- tions were made up to 50, 100 or 200 cubic-centimeters, depending upon the amount of material used in the preparation of the extracts. The tests -were carried out in the following manner: 5 C.c. of the plant extract were placed in each of a series of test-tubes and to each such portion of extract ten drops of reagent were added from a dropping bottle. This was a test for the oxygen- ases (direct oxidases) and was repeated in every detail, except for the addition of five drops of I per cent. pure hydrogen peroxide solution,®*! when testing for peroxidase. The latter treatment caused an increase of coloration, when compared with the corre- sponding oxygenase effects, if peroxidase were present. Boiled portions of the enzyme solutions were tested in precisely the same manner for control purposes.. Portions of the extracts were tested again after standing one hour, and once more after the lapse of twenty-four hours, to reveal any subsequent change in the action of the oxidases. The presence of catalase was shown by the evolution of gas when five drops of I per cent. hydrogen peroxide solution were added. Any change of color indicating chromogens or any peculiar appearance of the plant juices were noted. It became evident very early in our work that failure to obtain a positive test for oxidases usually indicated the presence of acids; so we determined the acidity of many of the extracts by titrating ten cubic-centimeter portions with N/10 potassium hy- droxide solution, using phenolphthalein as the indicator. To serve as a further check on our results, all of these tests were made on another day with another sample of the material to obviate the effects of any psychological differences on the ob- server’s part, or individual variations in the plants examined. 60 This muslin had previously been treated with boiling dilute hydrochloric acid solution. It was then washed with water, treated with boiling dilute ammonium hydroxid solution, washed with distilled water until neutral, and finally dried in a dust-free place. 6. The best hydrogen peroxide is the ‘‘Perhydrol’’ of Merck, containing 30 per cent. of H2O2. It was diluted with twenty-nine volumes of water. This product is practically neutral and contains no preservative. 105 Naturally, the collection and recording of all these data per- taining to over a hundred separate plants and plant parts was no mean task, and to facilitate the process as much as possible we had mimeographed sheets prepared with appropriate columns so that the labor of recording and preserving many hundreds of observations was reduced to a minimum. As reagents for the oxidases, we used ordinary guaiac tincture, also tincture of guaiacum which had been boiled with bone-black to remove peroxides,” a-naphthol, the hydrochloride of para- phenylene-diamine, phenolphthalin, the indo-phenol reagent and phenol. Both the ordinary and purified guaiac tinctures were 2 per cent. solutions of gum guaiacum in absolute alcohol. These tinctures give a blue color when oxidized. The a-naphthol reagent had a concentration of I per cent. of the substance in a 50 per cent. aqueous solution of alcohol. It gives a lavender color when oxidized. The para-phenylene-diamine solution contained I per cent. of the hydrochloride in distilled water. This reagent yields a greenish color when oxidized. The phenolphthalin reagent was made according to Kastle’s method. We treated a pinch of phenolphthalin with 1 c.c. of N/1o NaOH solution, dissolved as much of it as possible, then added 25 c.c. of water, filtered and made up to 100 c.c. We used 5 c.c. of this solution plus 10 c.c. of the extract to be tested for the oxidase, let the mixture stand fifteen minutes, then made it alkaline with N/20 NaOH solution, when the mixture, in the presence of oxidases, acquired a pink or red color due to the phenolphthalein resulting from the oxidation of the colorless phenolphthalin. The indo-phenol reagent was applied by adding two or three drops of a I per cent. solution of a-naphthol in 50 per cent. alcohol and an equal amount of a I per cent. aqueous solution of para-phenylene-diamine hydrochloride to the extract to be tested, then making the mixture slightly alkaline with sodium ® Moore and Whitley. The Properties and Classification of the Oxidizing En- zymes, etc. Biochem. Jour. 4: 136. 1909. 6% Kastle, Chemical Tests for Blood. Bull. 51, Hyg. Lab’y, U. S. Pub. Health and Marine Hospital Service, Washington, 1909, p. 25 ff. 106 carbonate solution, which caused the purple oxidation product to dissolve. Phenol was used in a 5 per cent. aqueous solution and became reddish brown in twenty-four hours if oxidized. The phenolphthalin and indo-phenol reagents oxidize spon- taneously in the air and must be freshly prepared for satisfactory use. In testing for the chromogens in the various plants we merely allowed some of the juice to stand for twenty-four hours, when the chromogens became evident by being changed by the oxidases to the colored state, generally brown, reddish or black. For the detection of oxidases in plant sections, under the micro- scope, one may use the a-naphthol reagent described above, either with or without hydrogen peroxide. Under these conditions oxidizing tissues or cells soon stain violet or lavender and make a beautiful picture until the diffusion of the oxidases is complete and the whole preparation becomes dark. Sections of vines containing much food-conducting tissue, such as Aristolochia macrophylla, stain very strikingly as a result of this treatment. SUMMARY OF OXIDASE TESTS Specimens Examined Oxygenase Peroxidase Catalase Chromogens All parts (110) 55 78 105 “30 Leaves (17) 12 12 16 6 Floral organs (20) 8 Il 20 7 Tubers, bulbs, etc. (21) I4 20 19 7 Fruit (47) 13 28 40 4 Other parts (11) 8 7 10 3 Study of the Effect of Acidity upon Oxidases In the course of our systematic search for the oxidases, it soon became evident that an acidity in the plant juices and extracts greater, per 10 c.c. of plant liquid, than the alkalinity of 0.8 c.c. of N/1o KOH solution, with phenolphthalein as the indicator, usu- ally indicated the absence of oxidases in the plant part under examination. These observations led the writer to study this phe- nomenon further. It was found that 10 c.c. of lemon juice re- quired 18.5 c.c. of N/1o KOH solution for neutralization, and did not show the presence of oxidases either before or after neutraliza- 107 tion. Three or four drops of a coffee-bean extract showing a very high oxidase activity were added to 10 c.c. of fresh lemon juice, with the result that the oxidase action was inhibited, but immediately after neutralization the oxidase caused a faintly positive test. This same experiment was repeated, using 9.25 c.c. of N/5 acetic acid solution, the N/5 solution being used to make the total acidity equal to that of the lemon juice and to keep the total volume always the same (10 c.c.), with the ad- dition of distilled water and a few drops of coffee-bean extract as before. To our surprise this apparently did not affect the oxidase at all, for a very strong coloration was obtained with guaiac tincture, etc. Then the experiment was repeated in exactly the same manner upon mixtures containing 9.25 C.c. of N/5 H:SO,., HCl, and citric acid solutions. The results were the same in the three cases: the oxidase reaction was completely inhibited and after neutralization with calcium carbonate or potassium hydroxid, a faint bluish coloration of guaiacum was de- tected in the citric acid test-tube. The rest were negative after neutralization. The sulphuric acid mixture was neutralized with calcium carbonate and divided into two portions, to one of which fresh coffee extract was.added, to the other some fresh guaiac tincture; no bluing was produced in either case, nor was it ob- tained in several repetitions of the experiment. To determine more exactly the influence of different acids upon the bluing of guaiacum by the oxidase of the coffee-bean, a series of experiments were made in the manner already described. In all cases the results obtained were consistent and showed the inhibiting effect was traceable to the activity of the hydro- gen ions from the acids in aqueous solution. We conclude, therefore, that the failure to find oxidases in most plant juices, when the acidity is greater per 10 c.c. than that equal to the alkalinity of 0.6 to 0.8 c.c. of N/10 KOH solution, is due to the effect of the different acids upon the peroxidases, etc., and this influence is probably not specific for the acids, but depends upon their dissociation and consequent yield of hydrogenions. In the following table we indicate the known comparative accelerat- ing effects of these common acids upon the inversion of sucrose, 108 and their relative retarding effects upon the oxidase tests. The names are arranged in the order of the corresponding activities: Acceleration of Sucrose Inversion Retardation of Oxidase Test HCl (greatest) HCl (greatest) HeSO. HeSOs Citric acid Citric acid Acetic acid Acetic acid. Summary of General Conclusions 1. The oxidases are of very wide distribution among the flowering plants; peroxidases, especially, being present in about seventy-five per cent. of all the specimens examined, while oxy- genases (direct oxidases) are less widely distributed, being found in one-half of the plants used. Catalase may be said to be universally distributed, since there were only a few cases in which it was not found. 2. The leaves, stems, roots and food-storage organs of the plants seemed to contain the greatest amounts of the oxidases. The flowers and fruit were in many cases comparatively poor in oxidases. In regard to the fruits this statement must be qualified because dry seeds of somewhat uncertain age were the only available material of certain species. 3. Our experience with a great many parallel tests, using the different oxidase reagents upon a great variety of vegetable tissues show that all of the reagents seem to detect the same sub- stance or substances, for if one reagent gave a positive test the others generally acted in like manner. The phenolphthalin and indo-phenol reagents gave positive results in more cases than the others. This is undoubtedly due to their greater ease of oxi- dation, for they are spontaneously oxidized by the air. 4. It is prebable that in the presence of acid juices in the plant the latter does not form oxidases or else that they are immedi- ately destroyed by the acid. It was shown that the inhibiting effect of acids upon the action of oxidases seemed to be a func- tion of the concentration of the hydrogen ions. 5. Among plants the chromogens are found to the greatest extent in certain orders such as the Liliales, Orchidales, Ranales, and most frequently of all in the latex plants of the Convol- we 109 vulaceae, Boraginaceae, Labiatae, Solanaceae, Rubiaceae, Com- positae, etc. Active oxidases are also likely to be associated with chromogens in the latex plants. These conclusions are interesting because of the bearing they have upon Palladin’s theory that these chromogens play an important part in the respiration and the metabolism of plants. The writer wishes to express his deep indebtedness to Professor William J. Gies for suggesting the nature of this investigation and for the aid received from him during its course. The sincere thanks of the writer are likewise due to Doctor N. L. Britton of the New York Botanical Garden, for material obtained from the Conservatories, and also for the other privileges of the institution. SUPPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PAPERS RECENTLY PUBLISHED Bailey. Oxidizing enzymes and their relation to “‘sap-stain’’ in lumber. Bot. Gaz. 50: 142. 1910. Bassett and Thompson. The preparation and properties of an oxidase occurring in fruits. Jour. Am. Chem. Soc. 33: 416. IQII. Battelli and Stern. Recherche sur la fonction dela catalase. Compt. Rend: Soc. Biol, 68/31. | 1910: Bertrand and Rosenblatt. Sur la temperature mortelle des tyrosin- ases végétales. Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. 150: 1142. I9gI0. Betting. Oxidase and peroxidase in tobacco. Reviewed in Chem. Abstracts 5: 740. I9II. Combes. Du role de Voxygene dans la formation et la destruction des pigments rouges anthocyaniques chez les végétaux. Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. 150: 1186. I9gI0. Dox. Catalase of molds. Jour. Am. Chem. Soc. 32: 1357. I910. Gramenisky. Ueber die Widerstandfahigkeit der Oxydasen. Re- viewed in Zentralblt. f. Biochem. u. Biophysik. 1: 606. 1910. Harter. Starch content of leaves dropped in autumn. Plant World 1g)2 TiAl» — si@NO, Hoffman and Sokolowski. Vergleichenden Atmungsversuche mit verschiedenen Kartoffelsorten. Zeitsch. f. Spiritusindustrie 33: ZOu LOLO: Huber. Ueber die Lebensdauer der Oxydationsenzyme in der Birnenfriichte. Schweiz. Wochensch. f. Chem. u. Pharm. 48: 393. I910. 110 Kostytschew. Ein eigentiimlicher Typus der Pflanzenatmung. Zeitsch. f. Physiol. Chem. 65: 350. 1910. See also Zeitsch. f. Physiol. Chem. 67: 116. 1910. Nalli. Sulla sede intracellulare del fermento ossidante. Clinico Med. Ital. 48: 24. 1909. Palladin. Synergin das Prochromogen der Atmungspigmente der Weizenkeime. Biochem. Zeitsch. 27: 442. 1910. ——. Ueber die Wirkung von Giften auf die Atmung lebender und abgetéteten Pflanzen, sowie auf Atmungsenzmye. Jahrbuch f. Wiss. Bot. 49: 431. 1910. and Stanewitsch. Die Abhangigkeit der PHanvenatinune von Lipoiden. Biochem. Zeitsch. 26: 351. 1910. Rosenberg. Ueber die Rolle der Katalase in den Pflanzen. Ber. Bot. Gesell. 28: 280. 1910. Schreiner. Reduction by Roots. Bot. Gaz. 51: 121. 1911. and Sullivan. Studies in soil oxidation. Bull. 73, Bureau of Soils, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. Washington, 1911. Sée. Les diastases oxydants et réductrices des champignons. 1-39. Paris, 1910. Sjollema. Ueber die Bedeutung kolloider Manganoxydlésungen bei biochemischen Oxydationen. Reviewed in Chem. Zentralblt. LOU aie p 4.0: Wolff. Action des phosphates alcalins bibasiques sur la tyrosinase. Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. 150: 477. 1910. ——. Contribution a la connaissance de divers phénoménes oxy- dasiques naturels et artificiels, I-99. Paris, 1910. Zaleski. Ueber die Rolle der Reduktionsprozesse bei der Atmung der Pflanzen. Ber. Bot. Gesell. 28: 319. 1910. and Reinard. Zur Frage der Wirkung der Salze auf die mee enzyme. Biochem. Zeitsch. 27: 450. 1910. LABORATORY OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS, NEW YORK. SOME FLORAL FEATURES OF MEXICO* By H. H. Russy (Continued from A pril Torreya) One of the most beautiful spots that I have ever visited is that of the lava beds a few miles south of Mexico City, on the railroad leading to Cuernavaca. This has been one of the favor- TA ite collecting grounds of our Mr. Pringle, for which reason alone it should always possess a: deep interest for American botanists. As I remember, Cuernavaca is distant from the City of Mexico in a straight line only about fifteen miles, but, since the train has to pass over a summit more than ten thousand feet in height, about three thousand feet higher than Mexico, we travel some fifty miles in reaching it. The mountain thus traversed consists of the roughest kind of lava formation, full of deep gullies and ravines which are bordered by rugged and often overhanging walls, with sharp pockets, sometimes caves, and innumerable abrupt and jagged projections. Were this surface to be viewed with its vegetation wholly removed, it would appear as though the growth of ordinary vegetation upon it was almost impos- sible, yet it bears a flora of the richest character and greatest in- terest, and one that is varied in every sense of the term. Much of its surface is covered with a fine forest of good sized pines, with some cypress and other coniferous evergreens. At places this gives way to arborescent Arctostaphylos, with many oaks. Its shrubs grow densely and represent so many families and genera that from a systemic point of view this growth is scarcely characteristic. It is, however, the herbaceous growth which is most varied and interesting. If everything but the ferns were removed the appearance would still be that of an abundant vegetation. Taking only five or six good specimens of each spe- cies, I could have loaded my portfolio within an area of a hundred yards square. Thisis the natural home of the dahlia and one is bewildered by the variety which it displays. It is impossible to say whether the different forms are mere variations, or hybrids, or numerous closely related species. Acres are covered with them and they are often from six to eight feet in height. They are for the most part of very slender habit. Pentstemons, lamourouxias and other scarlet-flowered figworts are very con- spicuous. Verbenas are abundant and varied, as are castilleias, and there are dazzling golden patches of composites lying flat upon the ground. Beautiful asters and flea-banes abound. The cool, damp, open places at the higher altitudes are densely carpeted with a free blooming, large-flowered Stellaria. Upon 112 the summit of this range there is a kind of table land which for many miles forms an open prairie. The predominent grass grows in very large and high bogs or hummocks in the rich black soil. The roots of this grass are shipped by train loads to Ger- many, it is said for the manufacture of some sort of a brush or broom. Abruptly descending upon the southern side of this range, we cross a broad cultivated valley or plain and there follow Fic. 4. The Great Oaxaca Canyon. a river through a deep canyon which traverses a range which appears of even greater height than that previously crossed. Upon the other side we continue down this river valley until it empties into the Balsas, at the town of Balsas, which is the end of the railroad line. I made no stop in this second range but it was very evident that its flora is totally distinct from that of the Cuernavaca Mountains. At Balsas we are distant about fifty miles from the Pacific, though as the river runs, the distance is much geater. We are in the midst of a multitude of gigantic mountains, which continues without interruption almost to the ocean’sedge. Except in the immediate vicinity of the streams this mountain region is very arid. The rainy season is of short duration and the rains are usually not at all copious. The ground therefore has but a slight permanent supply of moisture, 113 springs are scarce, and the vegetation dries up with surprising quickness at the close of the rainy season. Nevertheless, while the season lasts, this vegetation is fairly abundant and varied. It is, moreover, rather peculiar to the region, therefore of special interest. Not only the herbaceous vegetation, but the shrubs and trees, are of strange relationship. Among the smaller trees, an extremely poisonous species of Rhus is perhaps most notice- able. Near the water the alligator pear grows spontaneously and reaches a rather large size. The canyons and gulches are full of beautiful white-flowered or violet-tinted acacias. A small arborescent Malpighia, with edible fruit, is abundant. The ground is covered in many places with gorgeous Tribulus, Fic. 5. Balsas Mountains, Guerrero. in others with Ruellia, and very often with some plant related to Allionia, but with handsome rose-purple flowers as large as ordinary morning-glories. Many Asclepiadaceous vines twine among the shrubbery. The Echinocacti are of peculiar type, scarcely projecting above the ground and crowned with woolly tufts. I twice visited Limon Mountain, about four miles from the town of Balsas, and the crowning peak of the region. Its sides are extremely steep and for the most part densely clothed with 114 small trees and shrubs, Mimosaceae predominating. One of these small trees is a Clerodendron, or ally thereof, with very showy flowers. Another tree is a beautiful new species of Hauya. A new species of Linociera bore excellent edible fruit. The open spaces were clothed with composites and shrubby heliotropes and a graceful bamboo grows freely. Vuztis blanco is a very peculiar grape, with massive but inedible fruit. Upon the rich shaded banks beautiful Achimenes intermingle with a plant related to Tradescantia, its broad fleshy leaves lying flat upon the ground and beautifully variegated with purple and several shades of green. Here grew upon the rocks, in sunny places, a peculiar Opuntia, unlike any that I have seen elsewhere, and about the edges of cliffs were robust growths of Plumiera. Quite a collec- tion of plants was obtained upon this mountain but I have found no opportunity of studying them. Returning to Mexico City, and traveling thence via Puebla, we pass down into the state of Oaxaca, a region which is really a continuation of the Balsas district, though farther south and correspondingly hotter. Its conditions of aridity are about the same as those of Balsas. Like Balsas, too, it possesses a formid- able mountain range. In the highlands about Puebla, we are surprised to see the otherwise bare ground densely carpeted with a bright rusty yellow Cuscuta. It probably lives upon grass rhizomes. . Approaching Oaxaca, we pass for many miles through one of the greatest of mountain canyons, in some places approaching in depth and grandeur our Grand Canyon of the Colorado. Some of the summits in the vicinity of this canyon are said to be almost inaccessible, while others can be scaled only on foot and by a few circuitous routes. Several days were spent in this canyon. My special work was laborious and exacting, but I managed to snatch a collection of nearly a hundred species. These and the very many that I saw without being able to collect them, have left me with an intense desire to spend some time in that region. The proper time to collect here is from late June to September. In the bottoms of the canyons and along the sides of the shaded ravines, where one can traverse them, he finds a profusion of strange forms and many exceedingly beautiful ones. When he succeeds in passing over and among the mountain tops he finds forests of oak, mingled with a great variety of other trees and thickly clothed with epithytes, including many orchids, ferns and bromeliads. Wherever he encounters a little stream or some boggy ground, there is a world of little things which add ‘ Fic. 6. Byrsonima Karwinskiana. a peculiar charm to the day’s study. Along the larger streams we see many trees at whose affinities we can hardly guess. One of them is heavily clothed at the ends of the branchlets with tufts of thick, shining linear leaves resembling in outline and size the fruits of the catalpa, and having dense masses of fruits resembling 116 small, unopened cotton bolls. The shrubbery in the river bottom is completely covered with what we take to be wild grape vine but which proves to be a broad-leaved bignoniad. Among the lower hills we find a dense growth of horrible Jatropha shrubs and tangled among their bases a peculiar Pedilanthus. Plumieras are also abundant and like the two last-named are capable of yielding some rubber. Every bank is gay with Tribulus and Nyctaginaceae. Asclepiadaceous vines and ipomeas are every- Fic. 7. Near the summit of Limon Mountain, Guerrero. where. In one of the gulches I found an undescribed species of mulberry. The plains and lower hills of this valley are almost exclusively 117 occupied by a cactaceous growth. Although there are many Opuntias, the predominant forms are of the giant Cereus type. The most conspicuous and truly gigantic of them is locally known as ‘‘cardon”’ and is, I believe, a species of Pachycereus. I have seen a single tree under which, I believe, almost an entire company of mounted cavalry might gather. These species bear, for the most part, delicious edible fruits. Among the rocks on the hillsides, great numbers of mammillarias and other dwarf species are encountered. We cannot get much farther south than Oaxaca without getting into the truly tropical vegetation of the lowlands. Indeed, we have only to cross the great mountain range south of this canyon, a distance of some fifteen miles, to find ourselves in the fever infested fens of the Tuxtepec valley. Here of course the flora is almost totally distinct from any- thing that has been described. The trees are the huge giants which characterize our American tropics and the vines which bind them together are great woody climbers with trunks several inches in diameter and branches extending for hundreds of feet. A variety of palms, some of them of exceeding beauty, occupy the slopes and among them are gigantic, as well as curious and beautiful aroids and superb cycads. Huge ferns, fuchsias, be- gonias and oxalids occupy the ledges and steeper banks, and both terrestrial and arboreal orchids are abundant. The rivers are bordered by great Fici, and several species of spondias, and the swamps are filled with the peculiar Glumaceae and showy aquat- ics which characterize similar situations throughout our tropics. Of this tropical region, time will not permit me to speak, but I can say that, while its general character is like that of Central America, its specific characters are largely unknown. COLLEGE OF PHARMACY, NEW YORK. 118 IAROCIZIEIDIUNGS, OR Wiss, CILU)s JANUARY 25, IQII The meeting of January 25 was held in the museum building of the New York Botanical Garden at 3:45 P.M. President Rusby occupied the chair. Twenty-two persons were present. The minutes of the meeting of January 10 were read and approved. The name of W. W. Eggleston was proposed for membership. It was then voted to accept the resignations of Mr. S. B. Parish and Miss Louise Bruckman. President Rusby, chairman of the committee on the ‘‘budget”’ for 1911, submitted a report on a special meeting held January rye The report was approved and the recommendation of the committee to borrow $400 from the permanent fund was adopted by unanimous vote. The application of Norman Taylor for a grant of $200 from the Esther Herrman fund to enable him to make further investi- gations on the flora of the Catskill Mountains and of New Jersey was read and ordered forwarded to the Council of the New York Academy of Sciences with the unanimous approval of the club. A communication was read annnouncing the death of Frederic Ehrenberg and the secretary was authorized to extend the sympathy of the members of the Club to the relatives of the ; deceased. Dr. William Mansfield was unanimously elected delegate to the Council of the New York Academy of Sciences, and Dr. C. A. Darling and W. W. Eggleston were elected to membership in the club. First on the announced scientific program was a discussion of ‘Two New Species of Edible Fruits” by Dr. H. H. Rusby. These fruits were both from Mexico, one being Morus mollis Rusby, the other Linociera macrocarpa Rusby. Their descrip- tions will appear in an early number of the Bulletin. The second number on the program was ‘‘Notes on Cuban Ferns” by R. C. Benedict. An abstract prepared by the speaker follows: 119 ‘Cuba promises to be especially rich in ferns. At present it is not very thoroughly explored botanically, but by comparing the number of species in certain genera now known from Cuba with the total number of species in these genera known from North America, it appears probable that eventually Cuba will prove to be as rich in ferns as Jamaica is now known to be. “To illustrate with one genus, Anemia as presented in the North American Flora, Volume 16: part 1, is recognized as having twenty-six North American species, with ten in Cuba. Recent collections for the New York Botanical Garden have included material of three species not accredited to Cuba in the Flora. The list of Cuban anemias now stands: (previously recorded) A. phyllitidis, A. Underwoodiana, A. obovata, A. pastinacaria, A. Wrightu, A. cicutaria, A. speciosa, A. cuneata, A. coriacea, A. adiantifolia; (to be added) A. nipeénsis Benedict (new), A. aurita (either this or undescribed), and A. sp. (probably un- described). “Thus, Cuba now has thirteen out of twenty-eight, and in the total number, there are several species now found in neighboring islands, and which may be expected in Cuba. “Some of the Cuban species of Anemia are especially interest- ing. For example, A. pastinacaria has been found in the West Indies only in Cuba, but is native also in Mexico and South America. A. speciosa has a somewhat similar distribution. Mrs. N. L. Britton has collected in Cuba material here identified as A. speciosa which exceeds Mr. Maxon’s North American Flora description, in that it has leaves twice-pinnate below instead of merely pinnate. “Anemia nipeénsis Benedict, was collected by Dr. J. A. Shafer in the Sierra Nipe, a hitherto botanically unexplored Cuban mountain range. The plant indentified as Anemia aurita is similar to small Jamaican specimens of this species but is not certainly the same.”’ The next number on the program was “Reviews of Recent Moss Literature,” by Mrs. N. L. Britton. “Mrs. Britton gave a brief abstract of three recent publications which contain references to or descriptions of North American Mosses as follows: 120 ‘“‘t, The mosses of Swedish-Lappland by Arnell and Jensen contains a reference to Polytrichum gracile var. anomalum with a record of its occurrence in Maine. The ecological studies and tables are of much interest and the nomenclature follows that of Lindberg’s mosses of Scandinavia of 1879 and adopts the oldest specific name and the original generic name in its primitive sense. ‘‘2, The non-European or exotic mosses by Dr. Georg Roth as a sequel to his European mosses in which an attempt is made to describe and figure all mosses from original specimens. In the first part, the genus Andreaea is treated, including 102 species of which 5 are North American and 28 from South America, all but 13 of these illustrations have been drawn from original material and the codperation of many prominent bryologists and botanical institutions has been secured so that this publication will be of great value to American students. “3. In the December number of the Journal of Botany, Mr. H. N. Dixon has a new genus of mosses and a contribution to the bryology of India, including some from the Mitten Herbarium. As Mr. Dixon and Monsieur Cardot are the two most prominent bryologists who have recently followed the ‘Kew Rule’ in the nomenclature of mosses, we welcome the statement made on page 303 that ‘‘The nomenclature of Brotherus in Engler and Prantl Pflanzenfamilien has been and will be followed hereafter in these lists.”’ “a. In the Bulletin of the Botanical Society of France, Memoir 17, Monsieur Dismier has recently published a revision of Philo- notis of America including 8 species and 4 subspecies from North America with an extension of range northward into Florida, Louisiana and Texas of P. gracillima, P. sphaerocarpa and P. tenella and the description of two new subspecies P. fallax and P. americana. Stations and numbers of specimens are cited in detail and M. Dismier promises to continue the study of the genus.” Dr. W. A. Murrill then exhibited a specimen of an interesting fungus which had grown in total darkness in a mine. It was completely sterile not even having conidia. The specimen which he called Elfvingia megaloma showed several regions of growth corresponding to the age in years of the plant. 121 Dr. N. L. Britton showed several specimens of Zamia and Miss Pauline Kaufman exhibited several varieties of edible nuts recently appearing in the markets of New York City. Adjourned. B. O. DopceE, Secretary. FEBRUARY 14, I9II The meeting of February 14, 1911, was held at the American Museum of Natural History at 8:30 P.M., with President Rusby in the chair. Eleven persons were present. The minutes of the meeting for January 25 were read and approved. The announced paper of the evening on ‘“‘Floral Features of Mexico”’ was then presented by Dr. H. H. Rusby and illustrated by lantern-slides. This paper appears on another page of TORREYA. Meeting adjourned. B. O. DoncE, Secretary. MARCH 14, I9QII The meeting was held at the American Museum of Natural History. The meeting was called to order by 8:15 with Dr. E. B. Southwick in the chair. Twenty-eight persons were present. The minutes of the meeting for February 14 were read and approved. On the motion of Mr. G. V. Nash the regular order of business was dispensed with for the evening. The scientific program consisted of a lecture on ‘‘Orchids, Wild and Cultivated,” by Mr. Geo. V. Nash. The lecture was illustrated by a large number of beautiful lantern slides. An abstract of the lecture prepared by the speaker follows: “By the general public any odd or strange flower was con- sidered an orchid, and as an illustration of this common error nepenthes and bromeliads were cited. |The large division of endogenous plants to which the orchids belong was illustrated with a slide of the lily, this being taken as typical. Especial attention was called to the stamens and pistil which are distinct in this flower. As an illustration of a typical orchid flower a _ slide of Cattleya was shown. The uniting of the stamens and pistil 122 into one organ, known as the column, was pointed out as the distinctive character of the orchid. ‘‘ Another interesting feature is the diversity of the lip-form. The lip is one of the petals. In some forms, such as Odonto- glossum, it much resembles the other petals. In Oncidium it is markedly different in size and color; in Cattleya it becomes more modified by the inrolling of the base into a tube which surrounds the column; in Dendrobium a still greater modification occurs in the inrolling of the margins of the lip into a saccate organ; and in Cypripedium this tendency is greatly magnified, giving us the “‘slipper.”’ ‘The stem or leaves of orchids are frequently thickened, thus serving as storage organs for water. The water supply of many orchids, on account of their habitat on trees and rocks, is very uncertain, and those. thickened leaves or stems carry the plants safely through periods of drought. When the thickened stems are short, and round or oval, they are known as pseudobulbs. “Some orchids grow in the ground and are known as terrestrial. These are commonly found in temperate regions, where dangers from frost exist. The majority, however, are epiphytic, that is, they grow on trees, and are found in warm temperate and tropical regions. The number of species is between 6,000 and 7,000, of which about 150 are found in the United States. The two great centers of their occurrence are: in the New World, in northern South America, northward into Central America, and in the West Indies; in the Old World, in India and the Malay region. A series of slides was then exhibited illustrating some of the common wild and cultivated forms.” Meeting adjourned, B. O. DODGE, Secretary. FIELD MEETINGS The following excursions are advertised by the field committee: May 13.—Edenwald, N. Y. Meet at Terminus of 3rd Avenue Elevated R. R. at Botanical Garden, at 1 Pp. M. Fare 20 cents. Guide, Dr. P. A. RYDBERG. 123 May 20.—Springfield, L. I. For Orchids. Meet at East 34th Street Ferry, New York side, 1 Pp. M. Guide, Dr. E. B. SOUTHWICK. May 27.—Summit, N. J. Lackawanna R. R. Meet at West 23rd Street Station, at 9 A. M. Guide, Mr. SERENO STETSON. June 3d.—To Staten Island, N. Y. Guide to determine Station. Fare 20 cents. Meet at Staten Island Ferry, N. Y. side,9 A.M. Guide, Mr. B. O. DODGE. June toth.—To Hollis, L. I. Meet at East 34th St. Ferry, INeeYe side, 9. A. M.- For study of Fungi. Guide’ Mr. F. J. SEAVER. June 17-21. Slide Mountain, Ulster Co. This excursion may involve camping on the summit of the mountain for two nights. All those desiring to attend please communicate with the guide Mr. NorMAN TAYLOR, Central Museum, Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, by May 320th in order that the necessary arrangements may be made. The Field Committeee. E. B. SOUTHWICK, Chairman. NEWS ITEMS We learn from the Tribune (May 1) of the death of Dr. Pehr Olsson-Seffer in a train, wrecked and shot at by Mexican revo- lutionists. The week-end special train for Cuernavaca, seventy- five miles south of Mexico City, was stopped by the firing of a volley through it and its derailment. Dr. Olsson-Seffer, who was widely known for his work in tropical botany and agri- culture, was born in Finland, went to Australia and subsequently to California where he became instructor in Stanford University. Latterly he made a tour of the tropical world to study the rubber industry, and was recently appointed to the chair of botany in the newly created Mexican University. | The following public lectures are advertised at the New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park. They are at4 p.m. May 20. “The Reef-building and Land-forming Seaweeds,’ by Dr. Marshall A. Howe. May 27. “The Influence of Soil Acidity 124 on Plant Distribution,’ by Mr. Frederick V. Coville. June 3. “How Plants are Distributed,” by Prof. Carlton C. Curtis. June 10. ‘The Royal Gardens at Kew, England,’ by Dr. William A. Murrill. June 17. ‘Collecting in the High Moun- tains of Colorado,’ by Mr. Fred J. Seaver. June 24. “Past Climatic Conditions Indicated by Fossil Plants,’ by Dr. Arthur Hollick. At an arbor day celebration in the Central Museum, Brooklyn, held on April 27, more than 1,600 school children actually heard and saw the exercises. Nearly 2,500 more, who could not be accommodated, were obliged to go home, although some of this excess crowd took part in a tree-planting in the adjacent Botanic Garden grounds. In TorreyA for January, page 9, bottom line, the name Panicum neuranthum should be Aristida stricta. Dr. C. B. Robinson of the Philippine Bureau of Science expects to return to this country about the end of July. Dr. Robinson was formerly an assistant curator at the New York Botanical Garden, and has been in the Philippines for the last three years, giving much of his time to fiber investigations. He is now col- lecting along the Indo-China coast. According to the New York Evening Post a gift of $25,000 from an anonymous donor makes possible the immediate construction of a two-story addition to the Gray Herbarium building, in which the botanical library will be housed. ~ At the annual meeting of the Naples Table Association, held at Smith College on April 30, the table for 1911-12 was awarded to Miss Mary Edith Pinney, B.A. Kansas 1898, M.A. 1910. Miss Pinney is now studying at Bryn Mawr for her Ph.D. degree, and has just received the M. Cary Thomas European fellowship for 1911-1912. Mr. K. F. Kellerman of the Bureau of Plant Industry sailed for Europe on April 25 to study recent progress in soil bacteri- ology. He will visit Germany, Russia, France and England. Professor Eduard Zacharias, director. of the Botanical Insti- tute of Hamburg and author of numerous papers on cytology, has died. The T orrey Botanical Club Contributors of accepted articles and reviews who wish six gratuitous copies of the number of TorreEya in which their papers appear, will kindly notify the editor when submitting manuscript. | Reprints should be ordered, when galley proof is returned to the editor, from The New Era Printing Co., 41 North Queen Street, Lancaster, Pa., who have furnished the following rates : 2pp 4pp 8pp 12pp 16pp 20pp 25 copies $.75 $1.05 $1.30 $1.80 $2.20 $2.50 50 copies -90 1.20 1.70 2.20 2.50 2.85 100 copies 1.15 . 1.55 1.95 2.55 2.90 3.20 200 copies 1.70 2.35 2.90 3.75 4.35 4.70 Covers : 25 for 75 cents, additional covers 1 cent each. Plates for reprints, 40 cents each per 100. _ The following Committees have been appointed for 1911 Finance Committee . Field Committee J. 1. Kane, Chairman FE. B. Sournwick, Chairman H. M. Ricuarps Wma. MANSFIELD : N: TAYLor Budget Committee Program Committee H. H. Ruspy, Chacrinan Mrs. E. G. Brirron, Chairinan J. H. Barnuarr Miss JEAN BROADHURST N. L. Britron Tracy E. Hazen E. S. BurceEss F. J. SEAVER B. O. Doper Puitip DowELL Local Flora Committee N. L. Britron, Chairman Phanerogams: Cryptogams: E. P. BicKNELE Mrs. E. G. Brirron N. L. Brirron ~ Puitre DowELy E. S. BurcEss Tracy E, Hazen CC CURTIS M. A. Howe K. K. Mackenzie ae W. A. MurriLy E. L. Morris Delegate to the Council of the New York Academy of Sciences, WiLtiAM MANSFIELD OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB (1) BULLETIN A monthly journal devoted to general botany, established 1870. Vol. 37 published in 1910, contained 630 pages of text and 36 full-page plates. Price $3.00 per annum. For Europe, 14 shillings. Dulau & Co., 37. Soho Square, London, are, agents for England. ; Of former volumes, only 24-37 can be supplied entire ; cer~ tain numbers of other volumes are available, but the entire ‘Geek of some numbers has been reserved for the completion of sets, Vols, 24-27 are furnished at the published price of two dollars each; Vols. 28—37 three dollars each. : Nets copies (30 cents) will be furnished only when not breaking complete volumes. (2) MEMOIRS The Memoirs, established 1889, are published at irregular intervals. Volumes 1-13 are now completed ; Nos. 1 and 2 of Vol. 14 have been issued. The subscription price is fixed at $3.00 per volume in advance. The numbers can also be pur- chased singly. A list of titles of the individual papers and of prices will be furnished on application. (3) The Preliminary Catalogue of Anthophyta and Pteri- dophyta reported as growing within one hundred miles of New York, 1888. Price, $1.00. Correspondence relating to the above publications should be addressed to MR. BERNARD O. DODGE Columbia. University New York City Vol. 11 June, Igi1 No. 6 ORREYA A Monruty Journar or BoranicaLt Notes Aanp News EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB BY NORMAN TAYLOR JOHN TORREY, 1706-1873 CONTENTS A Nomenclatorial Problem with a Description of a New Form, Petalostemum purpureum f. arenarium: F. C. GATES... 2... co. ices ecieceee cess eneveneeeets 125. The Botanical Name of the Wild Sapodilla: N. L. Brirroy,...... cd rate techie geo 128 Shorter Notes: An Undescribed Opuntia from Jamaica: N. L. Britron............. 130 Some Records from the Potomac Region: F. W. PENNELL.......... 130 Proceedings ofthe, Clap 65.5. 30h. Rt Ae sieges) etnuscenesavde seleacki enn cattncees fobeos 131 Reviews: Gepps’ Codiaceae of the Siboga Expedition. ..........00...000 00.0 Resa ees Of Interest to LeaChersy ss. -. Geoks comics shag ose Roun pos voasenemtsn Be es See Rela cae Ane 137. Mewes) Feemis 2): aes, 20 ec athe eka aoa ap vonleee ada oa aise be Caupley caaebne ehaduc daar ag feted beuse 143 PUBLISHED FOR THE CLUB 1 At 41 NortH Qugen Street, LANCASTER, Pa. by Tue New Era Printinc Company {Entered at the Post Office at Lancaster, Pa,, as second-class matter. | THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB OFFICERS FOR 1011 * President HENRY H. RUSBY, M.D. Vice--Presidents : EDWARD S. BURGESS, Pu.D. JOHN HENDLE Y BARNHART, A.M.,M.D Secretary and Treasurer BERNARD O. DODGE, Ph.B. Columbia University, New York City LEeditor PHILIP DOWELL, Pu.D ‘Associate Editors JOHN H. BARNHART, A.M., M.D. TRACY ELLIOT HAZEN, PH.D. JEAN BROADHURST, A.M. MARSHALL AVERY HOWE, Pu.D. ERNEST D. CLARK, Pu.D. HERBERT M. RICHARDS, S.D. ALEX. W. EVANS, M.D., Pu.D. NORMAN TAYLOR ~Torreya is furnished to subscribers in the United States and Canada for one dollar per annum; single copies, fifteen cents. To subscribers elsewhere, five shillings, or the equivalent thereof. Postal or express money orders and drafts or personal checks on New York City . banks are accepted in payment, but the rules of the New York Clearing — House compel the request that ten cents be added to the amount of any other local checks that may be sent. Subscriptions are received only for full volumes, beginning with the January issue. Reprints will be furnished at cost prices. Subscriptions and remittances should be-sent - to TREASURER, TORREY BOTANICAL CLupB, 41 North Queen St., Lan- caster, Pa., or Columbia University, New York City. Matter for publication should be addressed to NORMAN TAYLOR Central Museum, Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N. Y. bei is 3 aU TORREYA june; tort Vol. 11 No. 6 A NOMENCLATORIAL PROBLEM WITH A DESCRIP- TION OF A NEW FORM, PETALOSTEMUM PURPUREUM F. ARENARIUM* By FRANK C. GATES Individual plants of a given species occupying different habitats may become considerably modified, giving rise to variation among themselves. This is usually conceded to be an adaptation, induced by the local habitat, in the individual plant. To a taxonomist, the resulting form is but an extreme variation from the type and no general advantage is secured in giving it a name. A specific name is inapplicable, as complete series of inter- grading forms are frequently present. To an ecologist, however, the matter stands ina very different light. He is dealing primarily with plants in their habitats. The ability of a single species to live in more than one habitat may often be an important factor in determining the relationships of the vegetation. The usual form of a species tends to grow in the preferred habitat of that species. Widely varying forms are likely to be results of associational succession. The forms are consequently given the terms relics or invaders according to their position in the genetic series of succession. The form of the relic species changes because some of the external conditions have been changed by the successful invasion of an association. The invasion of the forest upon the prairie furnishes many excellent examples through the persistence of a number of prairie species * Contributions from the Botanical Laboratories of the University of Michigan No. 124. Submitted with the spelling in accordance with recommendations of the Simpli- fied Spelling Board, and changed to conform to the editorial policy of TORREYA: —N. T. ; {No. 5, Vol. 11, of TorREYA, comprising pp. 101-124, was issued 17 May to1t.} 125 _LIBRAE NEW YQ BOTANIC GARDE 126 in spite of the unaccustomed shade. Relic species are frequently very tenacious of life and will struggle for a long time before they succumb. They are usually able to reproduce vegetatively. The status of invaders is only a little different. The invader must be able to cope advantageously with the new conditions from the beginning, in order to maintain its life. This may induce extreme variation, which is not mutation because there are usually a'l stages of transition from the usual form to the new form. Furthermore, when the succeeding association be- comes dominant in an area in which the extreme form originally developed, only usual forms occur. Conclusive evidence is at hand to show that the vegetative structures of a perennial plant, Fic. 1. Petalostemum purpureum f{. arenavium growing among the bunches of Andropogon scopartus in the bunchgrass prairie. Waukegan, Illinois. acting as an invader, may be strikingly different from the struc- tures of the same plant after the successful invasion of the 127 association, of which it is a characteristic species, takes place. This would seem to indicate that such forms are responses to environment. Consequently their distinguishing characteristics are not characters of organization. If this were not so, such forms would hold valid claims to specific rank. Such-modifica- tions occur constantly, but only occasionally are they of impor- tant ecological significance. It may happen to several, and sometimes to all, of the species growing in a certain habitat. There need be no taxonomic relationship between the species so involved. The modifications most frequently observed tend towards the conservation of water supply. These are observed on soils made up chiefly of sand and gravel. The plants themselves are usually smaller. They are frequently more pubescent than usual. The leaves are narrower, thicker, often rolled, and frequently assume positions of protection from the noonday sun. The root system is more extensively developed, the flowers and fruit, however, do not ordinarily exhibit noticeable differences from the ordinary type. There is frequently a tendency to bloom more freely un- less the growing conditions are extremely severe. PETALOSTEMUM PURPUREUM f. arenarium FORMA NOVA* Petalostemum pur pureum (Pats olen) Petalostemum purpureum f. arenarium Root tap root larger and more bulky tap root Crown composed of a few upright)composed of many (20-38) radiating stems stems ; Stems stout and upright shorter, wiry, divaricate, 7. e., standing at an angle of less than 45° with the earth from the commencement of growth. When growing on little hillocks the stems project below the horizontal Leaves divaricate, lancolate-trifoli- appressed, linear-trifoliolate olate Heads cylindrical, larger cylindrical, smaller relatively Flowers ; and Fruit no appreciable differences An ecologist meets with such a state of affairs quite frequently, and these extremely varying forms may occasionally be of such * Planta caule procumbente ab initione, foliolis lineariis, arenariam incolat. Vv 128 significance that they must be distinguished from the usual forms, in any critical discussion of the vegetation. For this reason they deserve a name. As a single condition produces similar variation, it seems most logical to apply the same term to the results of similar conditions. Accordingly I propose that the [term ‘“‘arenarius’”’ be used to designate those forms of species of plants in which xerophytic adaptations are induced by growth in sand. I append a description of such a form which has come under my observation. TypE. (Gates 2922) growing in sandy soil in the Andree scoparius consocies of the bunchgrass prairie at Waukegan, Lake County, Illinois, August 7, 1908. PHOTOGRAPHS. Gates 163 (August 17, 1909) and Gates 347 (August 13, 1910), the latter of which accompanies this article . as figure one. Specimens may be consulted at the Herbarium of the Univer- sity of Illinois, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, (type) and the author’s private herbarium. A similar form of Apocynum hypericifolium was commented upon by Schaffner.* It may be termed Apocynum hypertct- folium f. arenarium. Other such forms are under observation. These forms are always easily recognized in the field, but her- barium specimens illustrating them are difficult to prepare. Consequently ordinary herbarium material, unless fully labeled does not furnish satisfactory data. This difficulty is in a large measure obviated by the use of the camera and the notebook in the field. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. THE BOTANICAL NAME OF THE WILD SAPODILLA By N. L. BRITTON The wild sapodilla or wild dilly, recorded by different authors under various names, is of the genus Mimusops, and occurs in southern Florida and through the Bahama Archipelago from Abaco and Great Bahama to the Caicos Islands and Inagua. * Ohio Naturalist 10: 184. June Ig10. 129 In the writings of Dr. Chapman, Dr. Gray, Prof. Sargent and Dr. Small, it is recorded from Florida as Mimusops Sieberi DC.., a tree which is apparently restricted to the island of Trinidad and recently referred by Pierre to a variety of Mimusops balata. It is recorded from the Bahamas by Grisebach, by Dolley, and by Mrs. Northrop as Mimusops dissecta R. Br., which is an Asiatic species, and I have accepted for it (North American Trees 782) the name Mimusops parvifolia (Nutt.) Radlk. The tree was first illustrated and described by Catesby in the second volume of the ‘‘Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands” at plate 87. Professor Sargent (Silva 5: 184) identified this plate with the tree under consideration. Like most of Catesby’s plant illustrations, the figure is not wholly characteristic, but it is unmistakable to one familiar with the Bahama flora. Sloanea emarginata of Linnaeus was based wholly upon this plate 87 of Catesby, but erroneously attributed by him to Carolina, and as this has priority over all other names given to the species, it should be used. Its synonymy is as follows: MIMUSOPS EMARGINATA (L.) Sloanea emarginata L. Sp. Pl. 512. 1753. Mimusops parvifolia Radlk. Sitz. Akad. Wiss. Muench. 12: 344 (misprinted parviflora). 1882. Not R. Br. Achras Zapotilla parvifolia Nuttall, Sylv. 3: 28. 1849. Achras bahamensis Baker in Hook. Ic. 18: pl. 1795. 1888. Mimusops floridana Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 12: 524. 1890. Mimusops bahamensis Pierre, Not. Sapot. 37. 1891. Mimusops depressa Pierre, Not. Sapot. 37. 1891. Examination of the Cuban coastal flora at many localities has up to the present time failed to disclose the occurrence of this species there. ~NEw YorK BOTANICAL GARDEN. A 130 SHORTER NOTES. AN UNDESCRIBED OPUNTIA FROM JAMAICA.—Opuntia jamai- censis Britton & Harris sp. nov. Erect, dull green, 1 m. high or less, subcylindric below, the several branches ascending, Joints obovate, much narrowed at the base, flat, rather thin, readily detached, 7-13 cm. long, 5—7.5 cm. wide; areoles about 2.5 cm. apart, those of the lower parts of the joints usually without bristles, the others bearing I—5 (usually 2) acicular, unequal white spines 2.5 cm. long or less, with yellowish-green tips, the numerous glochides fulvous; flowers about 4 cm. broad, opening at II o'clock A.M. and beginning to close at 4 P.M.; sepals small, green, scale-like; petals 16-18, in about 3 series, those of the two outer series yellowish-green, triangular, 1.2 cm. long or less, apiculate; those of the inner series 6, light lemon-yellow with a reddish- brown streak at the middle, obovate-orbicular, 2.5 cm. long; filaments greenish-white; anthers white; style white, longer than the stamens; stigmas 7 or 8, creamy-white; fruit pyriform, con- cave at top, red, much narrowed at the base, 3.5-4 cm. long, 2—2.2 cm. thick, its areoles about. I cm. apart, bearing many yellow-brown glochides; seeds densely persistently woolly, biconvex, brown, 4 mm. broad, 1.5 mm. thick, the raphe promi- nent. Roadside plains near Salt Ponds, St. Catharine, Jamaica, Britton & Harris, 10,887, August 31, 1908 (type); same locality (Britton 3069); flowered at Hope Gardens, Jamaica, January, 1910, and fruited in April, 1910. I tentatively refer the species to the series Divaricatae Salm- Dyck, from all of which it differs, however, in its erect habit and subcylindric trunk. N. L. BRITTON. NEw YorK BOTANICAL GARDEN. SomE RECORDS FROM THE Potomac District.—The following collections made in the vicinity of Washington, D. C., during the summer of 1910, have seemed worthy of record. Eleocharis flaccida (Spreng.) Urban, determined by Dr. N. L. Britton [= E. ochreata (Nees) Steud, of our manuals] collected at the mouth of Cameron Run, near New Alexandria, Fairfax Co., Va., Aug. 13, 1910, Philip Dowell 6454, Pennell 2580. 131 Growing in shallow water in company with a small Eriocaulon, possibly E. Parkeri Robinson.* Veronica scutellata L. Same locality and date (2591). This species, as shown by specimens in the National Herbarium, has been collected several times previously along the Potomac River in the vicinity of Washington. As it occurs frequently in the mountain district of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, occasionally below this as at Tullytown, Bucks Co., Pa., and along the lower Susquehanna River, the range of this species in the manuals must be extended considerably southward. Galinsoga caracasana (DC.) Sch. Bip.—In a moist corn field along the Potomac River above Great Falls, Fairfax Co., Va., collected Aug. 7, 1910 (2579), in company with G. parviflora hispida DC. F. W. PENNELL. UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. PROCEEDINGS, OF; THE, CLUB MARCH 29, IQII The meeting was held at the museum building of the New York Botanical Gardens at 3:30 P.M. Vice President Barnhart occupied the chair. Thirteen persons were present. The minutes of the meeting of March 14 were read and ap- proved. _ The following communication from Miss Caroline C. Haynes was then read: “Sixteen East Thirty-sixth Street, New York City. Mr. BERNARD O. DODGE, Secretary and Treasurer, Torrey Botanical Club, Columbia University. Dear Sir: It is desired by a number of the members of the club and by others interested, to establish a fund in memory of * According to the determination of Dr. J. K. Small this is Eriocaulon Parkert. The plant was heretofore known only from near Camden, N. J., and from near Bordentown, N. J., where it was collected by the writer of this footnote in August, t910. Mr. Pennell’s discovery of this plant near Washington, D. C., increases its known range about two hundred miles, and also reduces the number of plants strictly endemic in the local flora range.—N. T. 132 the late Professor Lucien Marcus Underwood, the income of which may be used to aid in+the illustration of the Club’s publica- tions. It is hoped that this fund may. reach at least $5,000. I ask that you obtain from the Club its consent to administer such a fund, and enclose my check for $100, as an initial sub- scription drawn to the order of the Torrey Botanical Club. Sincerely yours, (Signed) (Miss) CAROLINE C. HAYNES. February 15, 1911.” Dr. M. A. Howe made a motion that the Club establish a Lucien Marcus Underwood fund, the income of which shall be used in illustrating the publications of the Club, and that the secretary be instructed to convey to Miss Haynes the hearty and appreciative thanks of the Club for her generous initial subscription. The motion was unanimously adopted. The resignations of Elizabeth Billings, Alice Knox, W. L. Sherwood and Rey. L. T. Chamberlain were read and accepted. Dr. H. H. Rusby reported having received several acceptances to his invitations to become sustaining members of the Club. _ First on the announced scientific program was a paper on “Virginia Fungi,’ by Mr. B. O. Dodge. After reviewing the literature relating to Virginia fungi the speaker gave a report on the fungi collected on the estate of Mr. Graham F. Blandy at White Post, Clark Co., Va., last September. The second number on the program was on “A Little-known Mangrove from Panama,” by Dr. M. A. Howe. The mangrove in question, Pelliciera Rhizophorae, a member of the Tea or Camellia Family, was found in association with Rmzophora, Aviunnia, etc., near the Pacific terminus of the Panama Canal. Specimens and photographs were exhibited. A description and discussion of this mangrove appeared in the April number of the JOURNAL of the New York Botanical Garden. Meeting adjourned. B. O. DopGE, Secretary. REVIEWS The Codiaceae of the Siboga Expedition, including a monograph of the Flabellarieae and Udoteae* The recent phycological work issued under the above title is one of the extensive series of monographs, now approaching completion, that embody the zodlogical, botanical, oceanographic, and geological results of the scientific expedition to the Dutch East Indies in 1899-1900 under the leadership of Dr. Max Weber, professor of zodlogy in the University of Amsterdam. The study of the specimens of the interesting family Codiaceae of the green algae obtained on this expedition was entrusted to Mr. and Mrs. Gepp of the Botanical Department of the British Museum. The numerous comparisons necessary for the proper determination of these East Indian specimens and the unexcelled advantages for a review of the species of the world offered by the collections of the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew led quite naturally to a general mono- graphic treatment of the principal sections of the family. And as these groups are particularly well represented in tropical and subtropical America the monograph will prove of much interest and importance to American students of the marine algae. _ The general introduction to the monograph includes suggestive ““genealogical trees’’ indicating the authors’ views as to the relationships of the genera and of some of the species. The presence or ‘absence of calcification is considered of primary importance and two series are accordingly recognized. The synopsis of genera shows sixteen groups of generic rank, as con- trasted with the eight of*Wille’s treatment in the Engler & Prantl Natiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien (1890) and the ten of his recent (1910) Nachtrage to that work. Flabellaria Lamour. has been revived for a group of two species typified by the chiefly Mediterranean plant commonly known as Udotea Desfontainit. For a group of three species (two newly described) typified by Kiitzing’s West Indian Rhipilia tomentosa, Kiitzing’s generic *A,&E.S.Gepp. The Codiaceae of the Siboga Expedition, including a Mono- graph of the Flabellarieae and Udoteae. Siboga-Expeditie, Monographie 62: I-150. pl. 1-22. F igit. E. J. Brill, Leiden. 4to. Price, fr. 15.50. 134 name Rhipilia has been restored. Rhipiliopsis, Rhipidodesmis, ° and Boodleopsis are new generic names proposed for groups in which the authors have recognized no American species. The treatment of the genera and species of the Codiaceae is based on years of careful study of the plants and the relevant literature and is characterized by historical accuracy, by usually successful efforts to examine original specimens, by a scrupulous regard for nomenclatorial types in applying generic and specific names, by a grasp of the really diagnostic characters, and by an eminently fair and judicial attitude toward the views of other workers in the same field. The authors are particularly generous in their acknowledgments of the efforts of the present reviewer toward an orderly and natural arrangement of the plants of this family. The confusions that have resulted from insufficient materials and from wrong application of the older names are being gradually cleared away, but much as to the life-histories and modes of reproduction of these attractive plants remains to be learned by some patient investigator who may have the opportunity to keep living specimens under more or less con- tinuous observation for extended periods of time. The admission that the paper under review is one of the very best types of a modern taxonomic monograph does not, of course, preclude the possibility of an honest difference of opinion as to some of the minor points involved, even among those who are in possession of the same basal facts. Whether or not Avrainvillea sordida Murray & Boodle p.p. is preferred to Avrazinvillea levis Howe is simply a matter of codes of nomenclature or of their interpretation. The case is a complicated one and none of the prevalent rules of nomenclature is altogether definite as to its solution. But the reviewer has little doubt that many sup- porters of the Vienna Rules may be found who will hold that the combination Avrainvillea sordida was first effectively pub- lished by Mazé and Schramm and that its proper application is determined by the citation of the previously published diag- nosis of Udotea sordida Mont. and not, as the Gepps hold, by the citation of a numbered specimen. The Vienna Rules, as is well known, avoided a definite and precise application by ignoring the idea of nomenclatorial types and they certainly contain no warrant for asserting that the first specimen cited by Mazé and Schramm, which may or may not exist in any herbarium, “‘stands good as type” of Avrainvillea sordida Crouan. Avrainvillea sordida Crouan being really according to the Gepps’ showing, a mix-up of five species, and the later Avrainvillea sordida Murray & Boodle being a mix-up of three, the adoption of “ Avrainvillea sordida Murray & Boodle p.p.” as the “‘oldest specific name to which no doubt can be attached”’ strikes the reader as a trifle odd. The adoption of the name Avrainvillea Mazei Murray & Boodle for the species for which the reviewer and Mr. F. S. Collins have of late used the name Avrainvillea longicaulis (Kiitz.) Murray & Boodle p.p. hinges on the authors’ doubts as to the identification of Kiitzing’s Rhipilia longicaulis. Kiitzing’s description and figures of this plant seem at first sight not altogether easy to harmonize with any one of the species recognized today. The original specimen or specimens, collected in the West Indies, apparently do not exist in the Kiitzing herbarium, now owned by Madame Weber van Bosse, and the authors of the monograph under review state that they have not seen them. Kiitzing in publishing Rhipilia longicaulis cited ‘“‘Herb. Sonder.’”’ The reviewer, a few years ago, learning that the Sonder herbarium had become part of the National Herbarium of Victoria, Austra- ‘lia, wrote an inquiry to the acting curator of the latter herbarium whe courteously replied that there was in the Sonder collection a specimen from Antigua bearing the name Rhipila longicaulis Kiitz. He furthermore kindly enclosed small fragments, suf- ficient for a microscopic examination, from both flabellum and stipe. A study of these fragments led to the adoption of the name longicaulis for the species described by Murray and Boodle as Avrainvillea Mazet. The authors of the new monograph, relying upon Kiitzing’s figure of flabellum filaments, which from the scale of magnification used appear to be much more slender that those of A. Mazei, have expressed doubts as to the correct- ness of the reviewer’s interpretation of Rhipilia longicaulis and have suggested the disturbing possibility that the name /ongi- caulis may have to be taken up for the species which they call 136 Avrainvillea sordida. The reviewer believes that a study of what is presumably the original specimen would convince them that no such unhappy step will be necessary and also that longicaulis is the legal specific name for the plant that they are calling Avrainvillea Mazei. The flabellum filaments of the Sonder plant have a diameter of 28—55u, while those of A. levis (A. sordida) have a diameter of 6-24u. Filaments with slender rhizoidal endings of the size and nearly the form figured by Kiitz- ing may be found in the stipe of the Sonder plant as well as in the stipes of most of the plants that are referred to A. Maze. The true explanation of the peculiar character of the filament figured by Kiitzing is probably that although the filament may have come from the “ Phyllom”’ as alleged, it came from so near the stipe as to have the characters of the stipe filaments. Fur- thermore, the natural-size figure given by Kiitzing, although the bifid flabellum depicted is rare and abnormal, has decidedly the habit of plants of the species called A. Maze by the authors of the monograph and not the habit of plants of the species called A. sordida. Under the discussion of Penicillus one finds the unexpected statement that the specimen in the British Museum issued as no. 1482 of the Phycotheca Boreali-Americana under the name Udotea conglutinata represents a diminutive and deceptive state of Penicillus capitatus. Mr. F. S. Collins in ‘“‘The Green Algae of North America”’ has recently referred this number to Udotea cyathiformis and the present reviewer agrees with Mr. Coilins in this determination. The specimen under this number in the ' New York Botanical Garden set of the Phycotheca is, like that — in the British Museum, diminutive and possibly a ‘“‘starveling,”’ but the reviewer has seen and collected several intermediates between this condition and the larger explanate states of Udotea cyathiformis. The last-named species is often strikingly Penicil- lus-like in its structural characters, being scarcely more than a Penicillus with a cup-shaped or much flattened head, though its filaments are more coherent than in any recognized species of Pemecillus. Bérgesen’s “ingenious”? but unsupported theory that Clado- cephalus scoparius Howe is probably a condition of C. luteofuscus (Crouan) Borg. ‘developed under peculiar, most probably un- favourable external conditions of life’’ has been rejected by the authors of the monograph as also by Mr. F. S. Collins, though unfortunately it has been adopted by Wille in his recent Nach- trage to the Engler & Prantl Natiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien. In this connection it may be remarked that if any real evidence is ever brought forward to show that Cladocephalus scoparius and C. luteofuscus are forms of one species it may be contended with some justice that the legal name for the species will be Clado- cephalus scoparius, inasmuch as the Flabellaria luteofusca ot the Mazé and Schramm list remained essentially a nomen nudum until after the publication of C. scoparius. An appendix to this admirable monograph contains Latin descriptions of the new genera and species proposed in the body of the work. Re-publication in this form has been considered desirable in order to conform to the requirements of the Vienna Rules, though it is pleasing to note that the authors have not ventured to reject a certain recently proposed specific name simply because it has never been accompanied by a Latin diag- nosis. Twenty-two handsome lithographed plates supplement in a most helpful manner this notable contribution to phycological literature. MARSHALL A. Howe. OF CINIERESE: 2O> TEACHERS BIOLOGY FOR COLLEGE ENTRANCE The new plan for admission to Harvard, which aims to improve articulation with secondary schools, especially public high schools, reduces the examinations to four, which must be taken at one time. A satisfactory record in these examinations will admit to Harvard College without conditions: (a) English, (b) Latin, or for candidate for the degree of S.B., French or Ger- man, (c) Mathematics, or Science (Physics or Chemistry), (d) * Conducted by Miss Jean Broadhurst, Teachers College, Columbia University. 138 any subject (not already selected under (b) or (c) from the fol- lowing list: Greek, German, History, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics. It will be noticed that botany (or zodlogy) is not mentioned here. Why is a question that might bring various answers, opening discussion and criticism of methods, adapta- bility and advisability of subject matter, and the cost of labora- tories and biological materials. Many prominent teachers will also disagree as to the desirability of such intensive work in either botany (or zoélogy) as a position on the favored list may be supposed to indicate. Nevertheless there is no reason why the ‘open door” should not be offered to the biological sciences, be the applicants few or many. In a discussion regarding the order of high school science courses (School Science and Mathematics, February, 1911) W. Whitney describes the science groups recommended by the principals of the Chicago high schools and recently adopted by the Board of Education of Chicago. It surely is, as the author indicates, ‘‘the first time any sccondary school has systematically offered such opportunities in science.’ “Tt must be understood that this science group is only one of some eleven groups of courses from which pupils are to make their selection by groups. The first year’s work is to include physiol- ogy a half year and physiography a half year. In the second and following years there are to be offered one and one half years each of botany, zodlogy, physics, and chemistry and a year of physiography. A half year of each of the first four is to be of a practical or applied nature. The student on reaching the second year may choose between the biological and the physical sciences. If he chooses the biological, he will take three years’ work in these sciences and two years of the physical. If he chooses the physical, he will take three or four years of the physical and one or two years’ work in biological science. In any event, he must have six years of science. ‘“‘All will agree with the claim that in any scientific course of studies, if it be is to worthy of the name, there should be oppor- tunity for a second year’s work in, at least, one physical and one 139 biological science. There is no good reason why opportunity for advanced work should be given in business courses or in language courses and denied in the science courses. Science plays a large part in the affairs of man and should be given liberal treatment in any scheme of education.” An abstract of Dr. D. T. MacDougal’s address before the Society of American Naturalists is given in Science, January 20, 1911. As an introduction the abstract lists the recent events in the field of evolution; gives brief statements of the present presentation of long-recognized evolutionary theories, such as isolation, geographical distribution, natural selection, and in- heritance of acquired characters; and recent work showing organic responses, including the plant changes secured by Mac- Dougal in treating the reproductive elements of seed plants with various solutions, by Gager in using radium, and by Zederbauer on Capsella by climatic changes. The different mutants of Oenothera secured in Amsterdam and New York are explained by the statement that ‘“‘Jatency and recessivity of any character may be more or less influenced by the conditions attendant upon the hybridization.”’ The abstract ends with a discussion of the permanency of acquired characters. Not all “environic effects induced in the laboratory or by transplantation are heritable, although these may be carried over for two or three generations: and no satisfactory basis has yet been found upon which it might be predicted that any effect would be ephemeral or permanent.” Speaking of color photography in botanical work, Franics Ramaley (Science, February 17) recommends that botanists ‘‘make use of the new color photography especially in studies of ecology and plant breeding. Many features of vegetation are brought out much more clearly than by ordinary photography. Thus, a moor with scattered shrubs or a lake-margin surrounded with belts of different plants can be well shown. In plant- breeding experiments the appearance of the different hybrids 140 and extracted forms can be reproduced with much faithfulness. Colored plates from books are easily reproduced upon lantern slides. The exposure required is about 200 times that for an extra rapid isochromatic plate. Hence no ‘snap shots’ can be taken, but if the light is good there need be no difficulty in securing good results. Development can be carried out in an ordinary dark room. The solutions used are inexpensive and easily prepared.” The August (1910) issue of the. Popular Science Monthly contains an article on the rédle of selection in plant breeding. Another on the réle of hybridization follows it for October. Deprecating the lack of discrimination in a public, with a “repu- tation for always looking for the dollar sign,’”’ the writer wonders that horticultural novelties of limited use and small importance are received with loud acclaim, when new agricultural productions of great economic value are almost unnoted. As an example of the latter class a ten per cent. increase in yield in corn might be given—an increase which would add $100,000,000 yearly to the wealth of the nation. The discussion of selection and hybridization. are well illus- trated with photographs—chiefly corn and tobacco. The lack of proper credit mentioned above is probably due to insufficient knowledge concerning these two methods; ignorance which these articles are well adapted to destroy, with regard to range in variation, technique, the difficulties to be overcome, their relation to the natural method of flower pollination, the evils of inbreed- ing, and the interpretation of results in the newer phraseology —such as Mendel’s law. Cereal cropping and soil sterilization (Science, February 10) are discussed by H. L. Bolley of the North Dakota Agricultural College. He mentions (1) the large yields of high quality on new soils, (2) the deterioration in amount and quality that soon sets in, (3) that neither the exhaustion theory nor the toxin theory can satisfactorily account for the failure of such virgin soils to produce the earlier characteristic yields, (4) the improvement 141 in such soils due to soil sterilization, (5) the difference in conclu- sions reached by the Rothamsted workers and by Mr. Bolley; the injurious effect (after soil sterilization) upon the first growth of the (wheat) seedlings is thought to be due to fungi, parasitic upon the wheat itself rather than in the soils—fungi which with soil fungi account for the deterioration of wheat and other cereal crops, instead of protozoa affecting the ammonia-making bacteria as claimed by the Rothamsted workers. In a paper read before Section G at Minneapolis Mr. Bolley describes several genera of imperfect fungi responsible for cereal crop deterioration (Science, February 17). The fact that quack- grass is a common host for most of these is thought to account for the destructive influence attributed to that plant. The January Plant World, which by the way is appearing in a much more attractive cover, contains an article by Professor F. E. Lloyd on the behavior of tannin in persimmons. Recently several scientific papers have printed short articles on tannin, or have referred to problems connected with the presence of tannin in plant tissues. Professor Lloyd does not consider this paper his final word on the subject; nevertheless among his conclusions are: (1) the colloid character of tannin, (2) the cause of its insolubility (intimate and complete association with a second carrier, also a colloid), and (3) the absence of intercellular tannin in normal tissue. Under ‘‘Some Useful Plants of Mexico’’ Dean Rusby describes (Journal of New York Botanical Garden, January, 1911) a large number of interesting plants of economic value in Mexico. The Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station calls attention to the perennial character and the vegetative propagation of the cotton plants grown there—older plants yielding sometimes a hundred cuttings each. The continuous growing season makes it possible to regulate the harvest time by judicious pruning— a great commercial gain. 142 Under “‘Soil Productivity” (Science, February 10) T. C. Cham- berlin discusses (1) the early origin of soils and of soil vegetation; (2) the sources, wasting, and mixing of soils, the direct relation between film-water and productivity; (3) the great relative con- tact of soil air and the special advantage of its action; (4) the minute forms of plant and animal life which themselves more or less parasitic or predatory on each other modify the inorganic activities, and the fact that the “ productivity of soils is measured more by the efficiency of its complex of activities than by any mere measure of its inorganic constituents’; (5) the importance of the capillary cycle in maintaining the supply of potash and phosphorus in the soils, and the selective action of certain soils in concentrating potash and phosphorus surfaceward; (6) that the capillary cycle and the plant cycle contribute to a potash and phosphorus cycle, and that “it is not, in the main, the material substance of the soil that is needed for food, but the energy locked up in grains, fruits, etc.,’’ and therefore that the return of plants or their products to the soil is a most effective ‘mode of maintaining soil productivity; (7) and that, despite alarming reports to the contrary, the lands most densely in- habited and intensely cultivated—at home and abroad—do, unit for unit, show an increase in productivity. In answer to this Professor Cyril G. Hopkins has written a lengthy answer (Science, March 17) quoting the experiments at the Illinois State College and Rothamsted. At the latter place in a four-year rotation, including always a legume crop, “the yield of turnips decreased from 10 tons in 1848 to léss than I ton per acre as an average for the last 20 years; that the barley decreased from 46 bushels in 1849 to 14 bushels as an average for the last 20 years; that the clover has decreased from 2.8 tons per acre in 1850 to less than one half-ton average since 1890; and that the wheat produced 30 bushels in 1851, and 33 bushels average during the next 12 years, but only 24 bushels since 1890, and 20 bushels per acre since 1900. ‘‘As an average of the last twenty years the value of the four crops on the unfertilized land at Rothamsted is $33.83 (from four acres), but where the same crops were grown on adjoining land f 43 to which mineral plant food had been applied the average value is $76.83, the increase being 140 per cent. above the cost of the minerals.”’ Professor Hopkins therefore questions encouraging the Whitney “‘doctrine’”’ that it is never necessary at any time to introduce fertilizing material into any soil for the purpose of increasing the amount of plant food in that soil. NEWS ITEMS At the University of Chicago the following promotions have been made in the department of botany: C. J. Chamberlin from assistant to associate professor; H. C. Cowles from assistant to associate professor; W. J. G. Land from instructor to assistant professor; and William Crocker from instructor to assistant professor. Mr. E. L. Morris, curator of natural sciences at the Brooklyn Institute Museum, has been appointed acting curator-in-chief to hill the vacancy occasioned by Dr. F. A. Lucas’s resignation. Dr. Lucas has been appointed director of the American Museum of Natural History, New York. The University of Michigan’s announcement for the summer session of its Biological Station includes several courses in botany under Dr. H. A. Gleason. The Station will be located in a tract stretching from Douglas to Burt Lakes, Cheboygan Co., Michi- gan. The session will extend from July 3 to August 25. Mr. Carl Sherman Hoar has been appointed as an assistant in botany at Harvard University, and the following have been ap- pointed Austin teaching fellows for 1911-1912: R. H. Colley, A. J. Eames, and E. W. Sinnott. We learn from Science (June 9) that a party from the University of Nebraska will spend the time from June 15 to September 15 in making an ecological survey of the central and western parts of the state. Recording instruments will be set up at intervals and a particular study of the ecology of the sandhills will be undertaken. The party includes R. H. Wolcott, F. H. Shoemaker, R. J. Pool, and C. V. Williams. 144 Cyrus Guernsy Pringle, for many years a collector for the American Museum and Harvard University, died May 15 at Burlington, Vt. Professor Pringle, who was seventy-three years old, made very extensive collections in Mexico and in parts of New England. In 1906 he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Vermont at which institution he was curator of the herbarium. According to the Evening Post (June 10) Professor D. W. John- son, of Harvard, will undertake a survey of the Atlantic coast. . Special efforts will be made to determine the recently much- discussed question of coastal subsidence. Work will be carried on from Newfoundland to Florida. From the same source we learn that Professor C. S. Sargent has been elected an honorary member of the Société Nationale d’Acclimation de France and of the Royal Irish Academy. Professor R. A. Harper, of the University of Wisconsin, visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on June 4. Alfred S. Goodale (Amherst, ’98) has been appointed professor of botany at Amherst College. On Saturday afternoon, May 13, the grounds of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden were opened to the public for the first time. Of the ten sections that will ultimately comprise the Garden’s out-door collections, three are already established, at least in part. They consist of a Morphological Section, illustrating the forms and structures of plants; an Economic Section, including our common vegetables, medicinal plants, condiments, and fibers: and a Local Flora Section. The latter is an attempt to grow as many of our native wild plants as it is possible to get established under cultivation, and includes an artificial bog for the growing of plants requiring such an environment. The Torrey Botanical Club Contributors of accepted articles and reviews who wish six sratuitous copies of the number of TorreyAin which their papers appear, will kindly notify the editor when submitting manuscript. Reprints should be ordered, when galley proof is returned to the editor, from The New Era Printing Co., 41 North Queen Street, Lancaster, Pa., who have furnished the following rates : ' 2pp App 8pp 12pp 16pp 20pp 25 copies $.75 $1.05 $1.30 $1.80 $2.20 $2.50 50 copies -90 1.20 1.70 2.20 2.50 2.85 100 copies 1.15 1.55 1.95 2.55 2.90 3.20 200 copies 1.70 2.35 2.90 3.75 4.35 4.70 Covers: 25 for 75 cents, additional covers 1 cent each. Plates for reprints, 40 cents each per 100. ‘The following Committees have been appointed for 1911 Finance Committee Field Committee eae Kane, Chairman E. B. Sournwick, Chairman H. M. RicHarps Wma. MANSFIELD : N. TAYLor Budget Committee Program Committee H. H. Russy, Chairman Mrs. E. G. Britton, Chairman J. H. Barnuart Miss JEAN BROADHURST N. L. Brirron Tracy E. Hazen E. S. BuRGESS F, J, SEAVER 8B. O. DopGE ~PuHitip DOWELL Local Flora Committee N. L. Brirron, Chairman. -Phanerogams: ; Cryptogams: E. P. BickNELL Mrs. E. G. Britron INGA BRI ONS sh: Puitip DowELi E. S. BurGEss Tracy E. HAzeEn C.€, Curtis ge 7M HOWE, K, K. MacKenzie W. A. Morrity E. .L.. Morris Delegate to the Council of the New York Academy of Sciences, WILLIAM MANSFIELD OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF. THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB (1) BULLETIN A monthly journal devoted. to general botany, established 1870. Vol. 37 published in 1910, contained 630 pages of text and 36 full-page plates. Price $3.00 per annum. For Europe; 14 shillings. Dulau & Co., 37 Soho Square, London, are, — agents for England. ares an Of former volumes, only 24~37 can be supplied entire ; cer- tain numbers of other volumes are available, but the entire stock : ‘of some numbers has been reserved for the completion of sets. Vols. 24-27 are furnished at the published pice of two dollars each; Vols. 28—37 three dollars each. Sikale copies (30 cents) will be furnished only when not breaking complete volumes. (2) MEMOIRS The Memoirs, established 1889, are published at irregular intervals. Volumes 1-13 are now completed ; Nos. 1 and 2 of — “Vol. 14 have been issued. The subscription price ts fixed at $3.00 per volume in advance. The numbers can also be pur- chased singly. A list of titles of the individual papers and of - prices will be furnished on application. (3) The Preliminary Catalogue of Anthophyta and Pteri- dophyta reported as growing within one hundred miles of New York, 1888. Price, $1.00. | m1 Correspondence te )deing to the above pdbicauens should’ be addressed to , : _ MR. BERNARD 0, DODGE Columbia University New York City Vol. 11 july, 1911 No. 7 TORREYA A Monruty Journat or BoranicaL Notes anp News EDITED FOR | THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB BY NORMAN TAYLOR JOHN TORREY, 1796-1873 CONTENTS Herbarium Suggestions: EDWARD L. MORRIS. .......cecccecescecesccesceceeceeeseeeeues Fesiad LAS A Rare and Little-known Publication : ARTHUR HOLLICK... .0.......00..c.cc0ee ceeeeees 150 Shorter Notes : Opuntia Tracyi sp. nov.: N. L. BRITTON........0.50.0 ccc ceeceeeee eens 152 Field Meetings for July and August...............-..:.-:0105 seeeeeee Ve SAL SGN hanes 152 Proteedinas Ofte. Clib 8 ccs fates he weet des eh teeeeeeteeaeer-ns Seine eee pe 153 Reviews: Hunter’s Essentials of Biology and-Sharpe’s Labovatery Manual in pte Biology si JEAN BROADHURSI ceowsieae « eccae tec ody actos cap ube oe accuse 155 Of Interest ‘to Teachers. ..........,....... Sane se Peete Hee ke Sead aay wai abeed 5 Mody ae Ke 156 PINGS ALIS Or a rehire Ta Ge aot aed Saas eae cera oak ca thie Eat ee ts aCe ae ad ode cre oue 163 PUBLISHED FOR THE CLUB Avr 41 NortH Quzen StReET, LANCASTER, Pa. By Tue New Era Printing Company {Entered at the Post Office at Lancaster, Pa., as second-class matter. | THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB -OFFICERS FOR 1o11 President HENRY H. RUSBY, M.D. Vice-Presidents — EDWARD S. BURGESS, Pu.D. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A'M., M.D Secretary and Treasurer - BERNARD 0. DODGE, Ph.B. ’ ‘Columbia University, New York City Lditor PHILIP DOWELL, PH.D Associate Editors JOHN H. BARNHART, A.M., M.D. TRACY ELLIOT HAZEN, PxH.D. JEAN BROADHURST, A.M. - =). MARSHALL AVERY HOWE, Pu.D. ERNEST D. CLARK, Pu. D. HERBERT M. RICHARDS, S.D. ALEX. W. EVANS, M.D., PH.D. NORMAN TAYLOR ToRREYA is furnished to subscribers in the United States and Canada for one dollar per annum; single copies, fifteen cents. To subscribers elsewhere, five shillings, or the equivalent thereof. Postal or express money orders and drafts or personal checks on New York City banks are accepted in payment, but the rules of the New York Clearing House compel the request that ten cents be added to the amount of any other local checks that may be sent. Subscriptions are received only for full volumes,’ beginning with the January issue. Reprints will be - furnished at cost prices. Subscriptions and remittances should be sent ‘to TREASURER, TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB, 41 North Queen St., Lan- caster, Pa., or Columbia University, New York City. _ 4 Matter for publication should be addressed to NORMAN TAYLOR Central Museum, _ Eastern Parkway, Brook'yn, N. Y. JU & 2 1991 EO KR, Y-A. July, 1911 Vol. 11 No. 7 HERBARIUM SUGGESTIONS By Epwarp L. Morris This article is presented not with the idea of establishing any- thing specially new to those interested in herbarium work and equipment, but with the hope that the solutions suggested will answer some of the problems which many of us have run across from time to time. Nearly everyone who has consulted American herbaria has noticed the enormous pigeon hole boards, indicating the contents of the herbarium, usually arranged by families. These large boards, if made of the size of the pigeon hole and hanging from the top of a full package, are awkward, unsightly, and have the disadvantage of being heavy, if made strong enough to stand wear and tear. We have also witnessed the other extreme, in some herbaria, by finding nothing whatever to indicate the contents of this or that tier of spaces in the cases; or, if such indi- cation were fastened on the outside of the case, experience has often taught us that the location of such signs has not kept progress with the growth and redistribution of the covers in the series of pigeon holes. Figure I indicates a very mild form of overhanging tags to show the location and sequence of plant families. The main difficulty is the readiness with which these tags are torn off, if fastened, or drop out, if merely slipped into the first genus cover. Uni- formity is highly desirable, and when a system of family boards is once installed, the space alloted to such installation will remain constant. Figure 2 is submitted with the suggestion that each family board takes little space, is of light weight and, in the use of the {No. 6, Vol. II, of Torreya, composing pp. 125-144 was issued 19 June ro1t.] 145 146 storage case, is sufficiently readable to meet any demand. The entire series of class, order, and family names has been printed on Soe Fie. t. Old style of Order and Family tabs. Courtesy of Central Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. large sheets, so spaced that with the ordinary form of “compo board”’ the printing occupies the proper space on the edge of a 16144X11% inch sheet of compo board. Experience with us “147 has shown that only the utmost carelessness on the part of a visiting student will result in the displacing of one of these boards from its proper location at the beginning of a family. Fic. 2. Uniform Order and Family Boards. Courtesy of Central Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Under the old system of large hanging signs, if several families consisting of only a few species, appear in the same pigeon hole their names must be presented in series on one end board, or 148 on a sufficient number of tags to require their being placed in alternating positions. The compo board sheets, as suggested in 3672. LUPINUS [Tournefort ex L., Syst. ed. 1 (1735).] Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. ed. 1 (1753). 721. Catalog card, reduced from the regular 75125 mm. size. 3672. LUPINUS [Tournefort ex L., Syst. ed. 1 (1735).] Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. ed. 1 (1753). ae Fic. 3. Genus cover slip, reduced from 75 X125 mm. Courtesy of Central Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Figure 2, will give all the family names in one vertical arrange- ment. oe 149 Genus covers are often entered in so many handwritings that their records are confusing, or at least trying. Uniform cards, arranged alphabetically ina catalog, give ready reference by the sequence number to the sequence itself in the proper family, that number and genus name being readily seen and recognized if the genus label is placed at the lower left hand corner. Figure 3 is presented with sample reprints of a legible and durable catalog card and its genus cover slip duplicate. The mere matter of the card being printed at the top, and the slip being printed at the bottom, for more ready reference in their respective places, is but a matter of slight ingenuity on the part of any capable printer in adjusting two sets of guides on his platen so that both sets may be printed without removing the locked form from the press. The difference in thickness of card and slip is, of course, obviated by the proper make-ready on the platen. It often happens that herbaria, even those of a private nature, specialize in some local range or limitation. The ordinary buff genus cover does not require any discussion. Local species may be well distinguished from those of more general range by placing them in a genus cover of different color which may be placed immediately above the regulation buff one. “Red rope paper”’ is suggested as durable and suitable for such local indication and will wear as well as the ordinary buff tag board. The writer will be very glad, through the generosity of the Central Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, to furnish sample copies of the family lists, and representative genus cards and slips to those who have the intention of incor- porating such a system for the more convenient use of their herbaria. CENTRAL MUSEUM OF THE BROOKLYN INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, BROOKLYN, N. Y. 150 ACRARE eA DFE SIONOW IN (PUBLICATION By ArTHUR HOLLICK About sixty years ago a monthly publication was issued under the title ‘‘The People’s Medical Journal and Home Doctor,” edited by Frederick Hollick, M.D., and published by T. W. Strong, 98 Nassau St., New York. Volume I, Nos. 1-12, includes the period from July, 1853, to June, 1854. Volume II, Nos. 1-6, from July to December, 1854, when it terminated. A complete series is in my possession, and I have never seen, elsewhere, even a single copy of any one of the numbers. The contents cover rather a wide range of subjects; many statements of fact are curiously at variance with our present knowledge, and much of the diction appears quaint and at times crude, according to our modern ideas of style and expression. Doubtless, however, it was classed as a reliable popular scientific journal at the time of its publication, and it probably reflected, more or less accurately, the popular ideas and scientific concep- tions then prevalent on the subjects treated. Among these subjects are many relating to botany. One series of articles is included under the title ‘‘Medical Botany of the United States,” illustrated by a number of woodcuts of medicinal plants, with the scientific and popular names under which they were then known. The species figured are Hepatica Hepatica, Hydrastis canadensis, Ranunculus acris, Coptis trifolia, Cimiei- fuga racemosa, Magnolia virginiana, Berberis vulgaris, Caulo- phyllum thalictroides, Podophyllum peltatum, Papaver somni- ferum, Sanguinaria canadensis and Eupatorium perfoliatum. Their recognized and traditional properties and uses are de- scribed, and some of the remarks are interesting, when read in the light of what we have learned during the last half century. In connection with Berberis, for example, is the statement that ‘‘many people suppose that the pollen, or dust of the flowers, will cause rust in wheat, but the most careful experiments have proved this notion to be entirely without foundation.” The alleged use by the Indians of so many different plants is com- mented upon as follows: “‘We would here ask how it is that the Indians were supposed to have so much experimental knowledge of medicinal plants... if they really found out all that is attributed to them they must have been tolerably well afflicted and for a long time. The fact is these ‘Indian Remedies”’ are, for the most part, gross humbugs, and were never known until the white men compounded them.” Other series of articles are entitled ‘‘The Natural History of Perfumes and Flowers,’ and ‘Chapters on the Physiology of the Origin of Life.” From the latter we learn that “‘the vegetable kingdom is divided by the philosophical botanist into two great classes, the cellulares and the vasculares; the former containing the lowest, and therefore the least complicated forms . . . some orders of algae, the Desmidae and Diatomaceae, for example, are equally claimed by the botanist and the zoologist, so uncertain is it to which department of science they truly belong.” In describing the systematic position of plants both the natural and the Linnaean systems of classification are used, as for ex- ample: ‘““AnisuM. Pimpinella anisum. Anise. Belongs to the natural family Umbelliferae and to the Linnaean class and order Pentandria Digynia.”’ ‘““ANTHEMIS. Anthemis nobilis. Chamomile. Belongs to the natural family Compositae and to the Linnaean class and order Syngenesia Superflua.” There are also directions for growing ‘‘simples’’ and how to prepare various lotions, emulsions, salves, tinctures, etc., from them. In his farewell editorial the editor says that “‘he finds it utterly impossible, once a month, to prepare the matter for a No. of the Journal . . . he cannot bestow that attention upon his task which it requires, and assistance of the right kind cannot be procured . . . in addition to the above reason, we also find that a monthly issue is liable to many irregularities . . . our sub- scribers mostly receive their Nos. by post, or rather should do so . . . but a large portion of them never reach their destination and have to be sent again, sometimes two or three times over. 152 The trouble and loss which is thus experienced is incalculable, and only becomes greater as our subscribers increase.’’ From which we infer that the scientific and business trials and tribula- tions of an editor were similar then to those of today. NEw YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN SHORTER NOTES Opuntia Tracyi sp. nov.—Low, diffusely much branched, pale green, about 2 dm. high or less. Older joints oblong to linear- oblong, flat, 6-8 cm. long, 1.5-2.5 cm. wide, about I cm. thick; young joints scarcely flattened or terete, I cm. thick; areoles elevated, 5-10 mm. apart; spines I—4, acicular, light gray with darker tips, 3.5 cm. long or less; glochides numerous, brownish; corolla pure yellow, 4 cm. broad; ovary 1.5 cm. long, bearing a few triangular acute scales similar to. the outermost sepals, which are 2 mm. long; sepals triangular-ovate, 5-15 mm. long, the outer green, the inner yellowish with a. green blotch; petals obovate, apiculate, 2—2.5 cm. long; filaments light yellow, 1 cm. long, anthers white. In sandy soil near the coast, Biloxi, Mississippi,| SV irae: May, 1911; flowered at New York Botanical Garden May 12-13, I9QII (33786, type). The plant was collected some years ago by Mr. C. L. Pollard near the same locality (7739) and distributed as O. Pes-corvi LeConte, which differs in having larger flowers, longer and wider joints and stouter, dark brown spines. N. L. Britron. SAMIDE SINUS THOR IIL ANID) AUGUST _ The field committee announce the following field meetings from July 22—-August 26 inclusive. The work of the com- mittee would be greatly facilitated if those able and willing to act as guides would send their names to the chairman. Kindly state the days you could serve, whether whole- or half-day trips, and the localities with which you are familiar. July 22. Wakefield, N. Y. Meet at Grand Central Station, 1:15 P.M. Meetguide, Mr. R.S. Williams, at Wakefield Station. 15¢ July 29. Springfield, L.I. Meet at Long Island Ferry, 34th St, 9 A. M. Guide, Mr. F. J. Seaver. August 5. Mosholu, N. Y. City. Meet at 155th Station Elevated R. R., 1 P. M. Guide, Dr. William Mansfield. August 12. New Baltimore and Coxsackie, N. Y. Meet at New Baltimore Hotel, 9 A. M., August 12. Fare, $5.00. Hotel rates, $2.00 per day. Guide, Dr. E. B. Southwick. August 19. Pelham Bay Beach. Meet at Bartow Station, Pelham Bay Park, 1 P. M. Guide, Dr. M. A. Howe. August 26. Moonachie, N. J. Meet at Rutherford Trolley, Hoboken, 1 P. M. Guide, Mr. G. V. Nash. E. B. SouTHWICK, Chairman. THE ARSENAL, CENTRAL PARK, Ig Mo (Cranks PROCEEDINGS, OF tHE Crus AP Rien Teen Ouy The meeting of April 11, 1911, was held at the American Museum of Natural History at 8:15 P.M. Dr. E. B. Southwick presided. Thirty-two persons were present. The regular order of business was dispensed with and the - announced lecture of the evening on ‘‘ Poisonous Mushrooms,” by Dr. W. A. Murrill, was then presented. The lecture was illustrated with many lantern slides. An abstract of the lecture prepared by the speaker follows. A more complete discussion of the subject by Dr. Murrill may be found in the November number of Myco.octa for 1910. ‘“‘Considering its importance, it is remarkable how little is really known about this subject, most of the literature centering about two species, Amanita muscaria and Amanita phalloides, which have been the chief causes of death from mushroom eating the world over. “As the use of mushrooms in this country for food becomes more general, the practical importance of this subject will be vastly increased, and it may be possible to discover perfect anti- dotes or methods of treatment which will largely overcome the 154 effects of deadly species. This would be a great boon even at the present time, and there will always be children and ignorant per- sons to rescue from the results of their mistakes. Another very interesting field, both theoretical and practical in its scope, is the use of these poisons in minute quantities as medicines, as has been done with so many of the substances extracted from poison- ous species of flowering plants, and even from the rattlesnakes and other animals. Thus far, only one of them, the alkaloid muscarine, has been so used. “The poisons found in flowering plants belong chiefly to two classes of substances, known as alkaloids and glucosides. The former are rather stable and well known bases, such as aconitine from aconite, atropine from belladonna, nicotine from tobacco, and morphine from the poppy plant. Glucosides, on the other hand, are sugar derivatives of complex, unstable, and often un- known composition, such as the active poisons in digitalis, helle- bore, wistaria, and several other plants. “The more important poisons of mushrooms also belong to two similar classes, one represented by the alkaloid muscarine, so evident in Amanita muscaria, and the other by the deadly principle in Amanita phalloides, which is known mainly through its effects. Besides these, there are various minor poisons, usually manifesting themselves to the taste or smell, that cause local irritation and more or less derangement of the system, depending upon the health and peculiarities of the individual. “The principal species of poisonous fungi were illustrated by colored lantern slides, the series containing Amanita cothurnata Atk., Amanita muscaria L., Amanita phalloides Fries, Amanita strobiliformis Vittad., Clitocybe tlludens Schw., Inocybe infide Peck, Panus stypticus Fries, Russula emetica Fries, and several other poisonous species of interest.”’ Meeting adjourned. B. O. DonceE, Secretary. APRIL 26, IQII The meeting of April 26, 1911, was held in the museum building of the New York Botanical Garden at 3:30 P.M. Vice-president Barnhart presided. Twelve persons were present. The minutes of the meetings of March 29 and April I1 were read and approved. The first number on the announced scientific program was a paper on “Fern Collecting in Cuba,” by Mrs. N. L. Britton. This paper is published in full in the American Fern Journal, Wolke: p. 75. The next number was a discussion of ‘‘Fern Venation,’’ by Miss Margaret Slossen. A more complete discussion of the subject by Miss Slossen may be found in her book ‘‘How Ferns Grow.” The meeting then adjourned to the Fern House of the New York Botanical Garden under the guidance of Mrs. N. L. Britton for a further study of ferns. B. O. DopncE, Secretary. REVIEWS Hunter’s Essentials of Biology and Sharpe’s Laboratory Manual in Biology Essentials of Biology* is the title of a new and fuller book by George William Hunter, designed also apparently to fit the New York City syllabus. It is accompanied by Richard W. ~ Sharpe’s Laboratory Manual in Biology.7 Hunter’s volume is a great improvement over his earlier book in content, illustration, and correlation of the three subjects, botany, zodlogy and physiology. The problem idea which runs throughout is a good one, but all the subject matter does not lead itselfreadily to this arrangement (e. g., the patent medicine discussion). Fertilization is not really explained by the text (p. 36) and alternation of generations as treated under mosses can mean nothing until after the following chapter on ferns has been completed. There are also a few misleading statements, such as the storing of proteids for future use (p. 345), the implied “osmosis of starch”’ (p. 106, p. 356) and that plants absorb only useful substances (p. 32). These graded reference lists are helpful, and the varied illustrations add much to the value of the book. * Hunter, George William. Essentials of Biology Presented in Problems. Pp. 448. American Book Company. IgITI. 7 Sharpe, Richard W. A Laboratory Manual for the Solution of Problems in Biology. Pp. 352. American Book Company. 1911. 156 The manual is most attractively spaced; and unusually well- illustrated for a laboratory manual. The questions and special reports are varied and interesting. Some of the questions (e. g., on nutrition) seem too difficult; as do one or two of the graphic charts; and ray flowers and petals are confused (p. 31). Some good tables, directions, etc., are included; the clay-pipe charcoal experiment is one of several neat devices. These books ought to do much to secure sufficient uniformity of treatment of the “‘syllabus”’ to enable New York City teachers to estimate its real value. They must also prove a great help to many of the present uncertain interpreters of it and of “‘na- ture’’ and should lead to great improvement in the content and presentation of first-year biology. JEAN BROADHURST. OF INTERPSiy ao; TEACHERS: Professor E. L. Thorndike discusses methods of testing the results of the teaching of science (School Science and Mathematics, April). It contains much that is helpful to biology teachers in estimating the results obtained, but only the definite suggestions are quoted here. ‘The topic which I am to discuss is one of enormous com- plexity. The changes in human beings which result from the teaching of science in schools are real, are measurable, and will some day be defined in units of amount as we now define changes in the rate of a moving body or in the density of a gas. But they include thousands of different elements; they vary with every individual; some of them can be demonstrated only long after school is completed; and at present units and scales in which to state changes in knowledge, power, interests, habits and ideals are mostly matters of faith. An adequate measure- ment of the changes wrought in one class by one course in physics would be a task comparable to a geological survey of a state or an analysis of all the materials in this building.” * Conducted by Miss Jean Broadhurst, Teachers College, Columbia University’ N. Y. City. ty ore 157 Professor Thorndike’s suggestions fall “into two divisions ac- cording as one searches for means of measuring the specific information, skill, interests, and habits added by courses in science, or the more general changes in total mental make-up— in, for instance, open-mindedness, accuracy, zest for verification and the like. “The specific changes are, of course, the easier to measure. Indeed, my first suggestion is that we make scientific use of the measurements that we already make. For example, the regular school examinations are, or should be, careful scientific measures of important changes inour pupils. If we would test our classes with the examinations set by other teachers, have the pupils’ work graded by other teachers, and print questions, work and grades, we should be making a start toward a real measurement of educational achievement. If examinations are worth giving at all, they are worth giving, at least occasionally, in such a way as to measure not only how well a pupil has satisfied some par- ticular person, but also what he really is or knows or can do in certain special fields. ““We need thousands of significant questions, in each science, thousands of ‘originals’ in physics, chemistry and biology like the originals of geometry; and above all we need to have thou- sands of classes tested by outside examiners; for if an examina- tion, instead of being a hasty, subjective selection of questions, graded still more personally (and alas, how hastily), were made a serious educational measurement, the examination papers of a year would alone give us a large start toward knowledge of what science teaching actually does. | “Knowledge may, however, be measured more conveniently than by the examination of notebooks, essays, or replies to questions of the ordinary sort. These have the merit of adequacy and richness, but the defects of measuring too many things at once and too indefinitely. Greater uniformity in the use of the test, quickness in scoring it, and freedom from ambiguity in the numerical value assigned can be secured by the exercise of enough ingenuity. I will mention two tests as samples of the many that are possible. The first is an adaptation of a test, 158 devised by Ebbinghaus to measure mental efficiency in general, in filling in words omitted from a passage. From even the hastily devised sample presented here it will be seen that this form of test is scored with reasonable ease. The speed of an individual in selecting words to fill the gaps and the appropriate- ness of his selections together measure his knowledge. The former is scored with no effort at all and the latter with far less effort than is required to evaluate answers to questions, essays or experimental work. The paragraphs and omissions therefrom should be arranged with care and improved after trial, but it may be of interest to some of you to compare the ratings obtained in six or eight tests of five minutes each like the following: ‘““A body changing its position in space moves in a certain TEER Ea ee Oa Atiancentantis ils oA Lh ee ee DEIN Mies elle ARE AC ARE called acceleration. To change either the ts Bane OPAC ED Tee SR OREUMOL Dein te silat ad. Joes) LO NP aaame@naines mela cas Mea Neca .......-requires...... Suppose a pound of lead to be held at rest 500 feet above the surface of the ocean by a string “Olne cuts Waelooaky willl, es eseccceees coos. toward the and ete. ‘The second is a very simple development of so-called associa- tion tests which I have used with good success in regular examina- tions in psychology for a number of years. It needs no explana- tion other than a sample. | ‘Write after each of these words some fact which it suggests to you. acceleration gravity current lever density expansion elastic inclined ”’ “This test may be modified by selecting given words‘ much less easily provocative of thoughts about facts of science, and being mixed, if necessary, with words that would call up facts of science only in a person absorbed by scientific interests.’ Of course if ‘such association tests are to be used to measure interest, they should not be used previously in the form calling definitely for facts about science.’ These tests of interest may be used to measure both special interest in particular sciences and general interests, as in fact rather than fiction, knowledge rather than opinion, or verification rather than dispute. “‘Of course means of measuring the general changes wrought by the study of science I will mention only two. The first con- cerns the power to utilize experience well in thought. ‘‘What is needed for this purpose is a series of problems or tasks, relative success with which depends as much as possible upon having power to use experience and as little as possible upon having had certain particular experiences. For example, relative success with the problem, ‘‘ Which is heavier, a pint of cream or a pint of milk?’ is determined largely by ability to select in thought the essential fact that cream rises and to infer its obvious consequence. The data themselves are possessed adequately by all, or nearly all, pupils alike. “To get such problems we wrote some time ago to one hundred teachers of science, half in universities and colleges, and half in secondary schools. I quote some of them: “Rain drops are coming straight down. Will a car standing still or one moving rapidly receive in one minute the greater number of drops on its roof and sides? “‘Since it is possible, for a person to float in water why is it possible for him to sink? ‘““A cylinder and a cone equal in base and in altitude rest on a plane surface. Which is harder to tip over? ““A magnet attracts two iron nails. If the magnet is removed will the nails attract each other? “Does an iron ball weigh more when it is hot than when it is cold? “Tf a bottle of gas which is lighter than air be placed with its open mouth upward, will the gas escape from the bottle or will the heavier air press the gas back into the bottle? “Will a ship that will just barely float in the ocean, float on Lake Erie? “Will a pound of popcorn gain or lose weight or stay the same after it has been popped? “The second means of measuring changes in general power to ‘think is an adaptation of one devised by Professor R. S. Wood- worth, in which the pupil picks out from such a series as that below, the statements that are logically absurd, not possibly 160 true. It will be seen that statements could be chosen which would test the power of analysis and of thinking things together in any field of science from the most specialized to the most universal. Following is an example of this form of test. “Put a mark in the margin opposite each of the following sentences which is absurd: “Though armed only with his little dagger, he brought down his assailant with a single shot. “Silently the assembly listened to the orator addressing them. “While walking backwards he struck his forehead ee a wall and was insensible. ““T saw his boat cleaving the water like a swan. “With his sword he pierced his adversary, who fell dead. “The storm which began yesterday morning has continued without intermission for three days. _ “That day we saw several ice-bergs which had been entirely melted by the warmth of the Gulf Stream. “Our horse grew so tired that finally we were compelled to walk up all the hills. ‘Many a sailor has returned from a long voyage to find his home deserted and his wife a widow. ‘The two towns were separated only by a narrow stream which was frozen over all winter. “The great advantage of these means of measuring intellectual ability lies in their rapidity and objectivity. If well devised, only two answers are possible, the pupil is measured easily, rapidly, and independently of subjective factors, and his condition is defined in terms of a simple numerical value. “There is no time for me to discuss methods of making, recording and utilizing these or the hundreds of other equally worthy measurements of educational achievement, that is, of changes produced or prevented in human nature. Nor is this a proper occasion to outline the precautions that are required by the complexity and variability of facts of intellect and character and the absence of well-defined scales with equal units and known ° zero points, in which to measure facts of intellect and character. For our present purpose it is enough to know that, in spite of 161 difficulties, the measurements can be made, and that a man of science can, if he will, be as scientific in thinking about human beings and their control by education, as in thinking about any fact of nature.” THE BEST METHODS OF TEACHING BOTANY TO, SCHOOL STUDENTS* It would seem that the title of the present address should read The Method of Teaching Botany, since I should argue that there is only one method deserving mention, namely the experimental. Perhaps I should say that I do not underestimate the value of purely observational processes; but unless these lead up to some sort of experimental trial or test it would seem that such method is inadequate in scientific education. Students of agriculture are concerned chiefly with the behavior of plants rather than with the form of plants. One can scarcely imagine circumstances under which a farmer would find it necessary to describe in technical language the form of a leaf or the structure of a flower. The important thing for him is to know what the functions of the various parts are and how they behave. If he knows this, he may then go further if he will. The inference from this is that our education should aim at cultivating the habit of mind which looks for the exact behavior of plants and is able to sift out the causes of variation in behavior. In the brief time at my disposal, I can do no more than to point out some fundamental ideas underlying the successful application of the method of experimentation. In the first place, the proper attitude of mind in the teacher is most essential. He must have constantly before his mind the fact that plants are living organisms. To be sure they do not move as do animals and we therefore are sometimes slow to regard them as being as much alive as animals are; and one of the practical difficulties in education is to get our pupils to realize this. If plants are living, then the idea of change constitutes * From an article by Professor F. E. Lloyd in a report on Agricultural and Industrial Education, Department of Agriculture, Montgomery, Alabama. 162 the key-note of our thought about them. It is the purpose of experiment to determine how these changes are related to changes in the environment, how the organism adapts itself into the circumstances surrounding it. A science which has to do with such phenomena should be vividly alive itself; its methods should be plastic and should not be hampered by custom or habit. The essential point is to get at the truth, and the way to get at the truth is to observe carefully what goes on in nature, realizing all the time that organic nature is nothing but a complex experi- ment, or to observe by means of special experiment, consciously undertaken. .. . Teachers are very frequently overawed by what they assume to be the difficulty of conducting experiments. They very easily give way to fear that it involves too much apparatus and it is assumed too frequently that experimentation involves large expenditures of money for apparatus. Aside, however, from exceedingly abstruse work, a vast amount of good experimenta- tion can be done with very little apparatus, if indeed we may call it that at all. The simplest means frequently answer the purpose as well as elaborate apparatus. The feeling is frequently entertained also that experimentation is too complex for a young student, that it is altogether too diffi- cult and that therefore the work of young pupils must be confined to pure observation. The answer to this is obvious. The real difficulty of science lies not in the method by which knowledge is gained but by the complexity of materials with which it happens to deal. A successful teacher in this regard is one who can skill- fully select the materials and subjects for experimental work. In fact, scientific workers are constantly on the out-look for favorable material, as it is called, that is to say, material which gives the desired result with the greatest ease. For example, we choose the grain of Indian corn for work with pupils because it is large and because the young plant is easily studied for the same reason. We might get the same facts by studying the germination of millet but this would entail the use of a magnifving glass or even a microscope while Indian corn may be studied equally well with the naked eye. If on the other hand, we are 163 studying the behavior of a plant toward the light, we choose one which responds readily and grows quickly. Here millet would perhaps be better than Indiancorn. . . . Knowledge is to us real in precise proportion to our actual contact with the things them- selves. The most vivid ideas about plants are gained by experi- menting with the plants themselves; not even reading a full account of an experiment will take the place of doing it, however successful or unsuccessful that may be. The teacher can always rest upon one certainty, namely that the experiment always tell the truth. To be sure, it may not come out as we expect, but it comes out exactly as it should. Our business is to know what the conditions are and we find this out sometimes only by means of a so-called insuccessful experiment. The result of this kind of teaching cannot be over-estimated. An agricultural class made up of thoughtful farmers who are willing to experiment for themselves would mean a very great advance in mental development and in material prosperity. This is one of the great aims of agricultural education, namely to cultivate a critical and inquiring frame of mind. We hardly say too much when we declare that success in this direction will be a measure of the amount and the character of experimental work that is done in our schools. NEWS ITEMS. Robert A. Harper, Ph.D., now professor of botany in the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, is to become Torrey professor of botany at Columbia University; succeeding the late Lucien M. Under- wood. He was graduated from Oberlin College in 1886, received the degree of Ph.D. at Bonn in 1896, and after service in Gates College, and secondary schools, became in 1891 professor in Lake Forest University. In 1898 he went to the University of Wisconsion. Dr. John W. Harshberger, assistant professor of botany at the University of Pennsylvania, whose monumental work on the plant geography of North America has just appeared, has been advanced to professor of botany. 164 The announcement is out for the Bradley Bibliography of woody plants issued by the Arnold Arboretum. The work is a “guide to the literature of woody plants, including books and articles in the proceedings of learned sociéties, and in scientific and popular journals, published in all languages to the end of the nineteenth century.” The completed work is in five volumes, the first of which will appear in July, and the succeeding volumes as rapidly as possible. Professor W. R. Dudley of Leland Stanford University died June 4 at the age of 62. Professor Dudley was born at Guilford, Conn., studied at Cornell, Strasburg and Berlin, and was appointed professor of botany at Stanford in 1893. He was specially interested in the plants of central California in relation to dis- tribution and descent, and in the forests of California. Professor Fernald, of the Gray Herbarium, is the leader of a party consisting of Professor Wiegand, Messrs. E. B. Bartram, Bayard Long, and H. T. Darlington, which is to explore the northeast coast of Newfoundland. The party left Boston on June 30. The Gray Herbarium of Harvard University is to have a new two-story fireproof structure, sixty feet long and thirty wide, for laboratory work. The lower floor will be devoted to syste- matic and geographic botany and the upper floor will house the herbarium of the New England Botanical Club. The building, together with $10,000 for equipment, is the gift of Mr. G. R. White, of Boston. Casimir de Candolle has presented a bust, by Hugues Bovy, of his father, Alphonse de Candolle, in remem- brance of the friendship between his father and Asa Gray. The Torrey Botanical Club Contributors of accepted articles and reviews who wish six gratuitous copies of the number of TorReEyA in which their papers appear, will kindly notify the editor when submittmg manuscript. Reprints should be ordered, when galley proof is returned to the editor, from The New Era Printing Co., 41 North Queen Street, Lancaster, Pa., who have furnished the following rates : — 2pp App Spp 12pp 16pp 20pp 25 copies $ .75 $1.05 $1.30 $1.80 $2.20 $2.50 50 copies -90 1.20 1.70 2.20 2.50 2.85 100 copies 1.15 1.55 1.95 2.55 2.900 2.20 200 copies 1.70 2.35 2.90 3.75 4.35 4.70 Covers: 25 for 75 cents, additional covers 1 cent each. Plates for rep. ints, 40 cents each per 100. “The following Committees have been appointed for 1911 _ Finance Committee Field Committee J. I. Kane, Chairinan E, B. Souruwick, Chairman H, M. Ricuarps Wm. MANSFIELD N. TAyLor Budget Committee Program Committee H. H. Russy, Chairman Mrs. E. G. Brirron, Chairman J. Ho Barnuart | Miss JEAN BROADHURST N. L. Brirron Tracy E. Hazen EK. S. BurGess PF. J. SEAVER B. O. DopGE Die Puiriep DOwELL Local Flora Committee N. L. Brirron, Chairman Phanerogams: Cryptogams: E Py BICKNELE Mrs. E. G. Britton N. L. Britton PHiLie DOWELL E. S. BurGEssS Tracy E; Hazen CEO MCURTIS : M.A. Howe K. K, Mackenzie W. A. Murrite E. L. Morris > Delegate to the Council of the New York Academy of Sciences, WILLIAM MANSFIELD. OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB (1) BULLETIN A monthly journal devoted to general botany: estapliched 1870. Vol. 37 published in 1910, contained 630 pages of text and 36 full-page plates. Price $3.00 per annum. For Europe, 14 shillings. Dulau & Co., 37 Soho Square, London, are, agents for England. : Of former volumes, only 24—37 can be supplied entire ; cer- tain numbers of other volumes are available, but the entire stock of some numbers has been reserved for the completion of sets. ) Vols. 24-27 are furnished at the published price of two dollars each; Vols. 28-37 three dollars each. Sinele copies (30 cents) will be furnished only when not breaking complete volumes. (2) MEMOIRS The Memoirs, established 1889, are published at irregular intervals. Volumes 1-13 are now completed ; Nos. 1 and 2 of Vol. 14 have been issued. The subscription price is fixed at $3.00 per volume in advance. The numbers can also be pur- chased singly. A list of titles of the individual ‘papers and of prices will be furnished on application. | (3) The Preliminary Catalogue of Anthophete and Pteri- — dophyta reported as growing within one hundred miles of New York, 1888, Price, $1.00. Correspondence relating to the above publications should be addressed to MR. BERNARD O. DODGE q Columbia University New York City 4 Vol. 11 - August, IgiI . No. 8 TORREYA A Monruty Journat or Borantcat Notes anp News EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB eg BY *NORMAN TAYLOR JOHN TORREY, 1796-1873 CONTENTS Seed Weight in Staphylea and Cladrastis: J. ARTHUR HARRIS... .....2...0.00....0c000s 165 Local Flora Notes — 1X: NORMAN-TAVLOR... 26.5 Ai sccecsdglencsesvescacbeseaccescseecheces 170 Shorter Notes: A Second Species of Hernandia in Jamaica: N. L. BritTow......... 174 ‘8 Stangeria or Stangera and Stangerites or Strangerites: ARTHUR ET OULIGR srs ceteg do oais coe Bac Seen ace BS Re ABs es OS fe SEEN SS 174 U vise Some Recent University of California Publications: M. A. Howe...... 176 Notes and News Themis: 2.20 Sy aoa ees Sbalek Ae Bee NE Maree cis upd RA EROS OE eee Se 180 PUBLISHED FOR THE CLUB AT 41 Nortu Queen Street, LANCASTER, Pa. BY Tue New Era Printinc Company [Entéred at the Post Office at Lancaster, Pa., as second-claes matter. | THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB OFFICERS FOR. io11 President HENRY H. RUSBY, M.D. - Vice- Presidents EDWARD S, BURGESS, PH.D. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A.M.,M.D Secretary and Treasurer BERNARD O, DODGE, Ph:B. Columbia University, New York City ” Editor PHILIP DOWELL, PH-D Associate Editors JOHN H. BARNHART, A.M., M.D. TRACY ELLIOT HAZEN, Pu.D. JEAN BROADHURST, A.M. MARSHALL AVERY HOWE, Pu.D. ERNEST D. CLARK, PH.D. HERBERT M. RICHARDS, S.D,. ALEX. W. EVANS, M.D., PH.D. NORMAN TAYLOR Torreya is furnished to subscribers in the United States and Canada for one dollar per annum; single copies, fifteen cents. To ' subscribers elsewhere, five shillings, or the equivalent thereof. Postal or express money orders and drafts or personal checks on New York City banks are accepted in payment, but the rules of the New York Clearing House compel the request that ten cents be added to the amount of any other local checks that may be sent. Subscriptions are received only for full volumes, beginning with the January issue. Reprints will be furnished at cost prices. Subscriptions and remittances should be sent to TREASURER, TORREY BOTANICAL Cus, 41 North Queen St., Lan- caster, Pa., or Columbia University, New York City. ae Matter for publication should be addressed to NORMAN TAYLOR Central Museum, Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y. § 1911 sw YOR# TORREYA panes: GARDEN: August, IgII Vol. 11 No. 8 SEED WEIGHT IN STAPHYLEA AND CLADRASTIS By J. ArTHUR HARRIS In an interesting paper on light and heavy seeds in cereals Wal- dron* concludes that in oats, plants with shorter culms, shorter heads, and a smaller number of grains per head bear on the whole grains of greater weight. Waldron’s interest in the problem was that of the plant breeder, concerned in determining the results of selecting large or small seeds for planting, but they seem suggestive for the physiologist as well. The explanation which the physiologist would at once suggest is that the competition of an abnormally large number of seeds for the available plastic material has, as a necessary result, a limita- tion of the size of the individual seeds. While this seems a very reasonable interpretation, one who has had experience in the actual study of such phenomena will hesitate in accepting it without further evidence. The discrimination and measurement of the individual factors underlying such functions as fertility and seed weight is an exceedingly difficult problem. As an example, take the following case. If the seeds are smaller in the larger inflorescences of Waldron’s cereals because of the finer partition of the available plastic material, one would @ priori expect that there would generally be a negative corre- lation between the number of fruits per inflorescence and the number of seeds which these fruits produce. So far as obser- vations are available this is not the case. For a series of the climbing bitter sweet, Celastrus scandens,{ the correlations are: * Waldron, L.R. A Suggestion regarding Heavy and Light Seed Grain. Amer. Nat. 44: 48-56. 1910. 7 Ann. Rept. Mo. Bot. Gard. 20: 116-122. 1909. [No. 7, Vol. II, of TorrEyA, comprising pp. 145-164, was issued 19 July 1o11.] 165 166 Flowers formed per inflorescence and seeds developing per fruit, P= 022 23 (O08 Fruits maturing per inflorescence and seeds developing per fruit, p= = O17 23 Oe. For large series of Staphylea trifolia from the Missouri Botan- ical Garden the correlations have been determined both between number of fruits developing per inflorescence and number of seeds maturing per locule and between position of fruit on the inflorescence axis and number of seeds maturing per locule. The same relationships for the ovules per locule are available for comparison.* Table I. shows how slender the relationships are. ite ; TABLE | Character of Fruit Character of Inflorescence Seeds per Locule Ovules per Locule Number of fruits per inflorescence: General sample, 1906, 2,059 fruits. . —.0474 +.0086 +.0391 =.0086 General sample, 1908, 4,033 fruits. . —.0494 =.0061 +.0633 =.0061 General sample, 1909, 2,082 fruits. . +.0626 +.0085 —.0539 +.0085 Mean for 20 individual shrubs of TO OOISEHIESHS sept awth-a baa cae neR ees ase —.0399 +.0080 +.0192 =.0185 Position of fruit on inflorescence: General sample, 1906, 2,059 fruits. . —.0148 +.0086 — .050I =.0086 General sample, 1908, 4,033 fruits. . —.0077 =.0061 —.0519 +.0061 General sample, 1909, 2,083 fruits. . +.0128 =.0085 —.0895 =.0085 Mean for 20 individual shrubs of TOOO SCLES egos sect cree Costeunranles —.0310 +.0088 —.0733 +.0177 A comparison of these results shows how great caution should be used in discussing the factors underlying seed development, and how urgently further quantitative data are needed. The accumulation of such data necessarily proceeds slowly and the cooperation of many workers is desirable. The purpose of this * The data upon which all these constants are based, with discussions of their significance, are to be found in three papers by the writer of this note: Further Observations on the Selective Elimination of Ovaries in Staphylea. Zeitschrift f. Ind. Abst- u. Vererbungslehre 5: 173-188. 1911. Observations on the Physi- ology of Seed Development in Staphylea. Beihefte z. Bot. Centralbl. In press. The Influence of the Seed upon the Size of the Fruit in Staphylea. Bot. Gaz. In press. 167 note is to put on record the results of a couple of series of weigh- ings which seem of interest in this connection. The pods of the American bladder nut, Staphylea trifolia, are characterized by the production of few seeds. In a large series of countings it will be found that the great majority of fruits produce one or two seeds only; those with more than six are very rare. This is shown in Table II. for 4,024 fruits collected TABLE II Wer) Seeds Pen Number of Fruits Total Seeds per Fruit Number of Fruits (0) 4 8 16 I 1,585 9 9 2 1,240 10 5 3 637 oT 2 4 310 12 I 5 125 13 as 6 59 14 = Hk 30 15 I from eleven shrubs in the North American Tract of the Missouri Botanical Garden in the fall of 1905. The polygon is very skew, the pronounced mode being a single seed while the frequencies fall off rapidly as the number of seeds become larger. In the collections from individual shrubs the empirical mode is some- times on two instead of one, but the conspicuous skewness is a feature of all of the several series of Staphylea fruits hitherto examined. The same skewness is observed in Table III. for number of seeds per locule (of which there are three per fruit). TABLE III Seeds per Locule | Number of Locules Seeds per Locule Number of Locules Co) 5,084 4 72 I 4,593 5 19 2 1,387 6 4 3 313 I have been able to study fruits from only a single tree of the yellow wood, Cladrastis tinctoria, in the Arboretum of the Mis- souri Botanical Garden. Possibly because of its isolation, the fruiting of this individual is not typical of the species, but in 168 the 2,128 pods examined to determine the number of seeds developing (Table IV.) one notes a skewness of distribution similar to that in Staphylea. TABLE IV Seeds per Pod Number of Pods Seeds per Pod | Number ot Pods I 1,423 4 | 25 2 560 5 4 3 I16 Now it seems of interest to determine whether (in fruits which produce on an average so few seeds and among which those producing several are very rare) the weight of the individual seeds is in any degree dependent upon the number formed in the fruit. The seeds of Staphylea are particularly suited to work of this kind. They are hard, smooth and clean; seeds which have an imperfect development—so far as can be ascertained by external examination—are exceedingly rare. Cladrastis seeds are not so suitable for weighing. Here as in many Leguminosae ovules which have failed to mature completely are sometimes found. All apparently blighted seeds were picked out before the weigh- ings were made and we are consequently dealing with a sample of apparently sound seeds. The discarding of these should not vitiate the results. TABLE V Total Seeds Number of 4 Total Seeds Number of b per Fruit | Seeds Weighed Mean Weight per Fruit Seeds Weighed | Mean Weight I 150 -05978 5 150 -05265 2 150 .059088 6 150 -05145 2 150 -05662 7 100 .05377 Al 150 -05353 8g 50 .04680 Table V. shows the average weight of seeds of Staphylea from pods with different numbers of seeds per pod. The material is that of the fall of 1905. The results here seem to show very clearly that the difference between the weight of seeds produced in pods maturing one and two seeds is not very great, but when more than this number are developed the weight of the seed materially decreases. oe 169 In Cladrastis the seeds were classified not merely according to the number produced in the pod, but according to their position in the pod, the positions being numbered from the proximal to the distal end. Table VI. gives the results. seed is produced the mean weight is higher than when the pod contains two or more. There is no essential difference between 2- and 3-seeded pods. Within a pod containing 2-4 seeds the mean weight decreases from the proximal towards the distal When only one position. TABLE VI Seeds per Position of Seed in Pod Pod ra = I 2 3 4 All I (N =500) (N =500) -03385 -03385 2 (N =500) (N =500) (N =1000) .03267 -03134 .03201 2 (N =100) (N =100) (N =100) (N =300) .03257 .03183 . .03 163 .03201 4 (N =22) (N =22) CN =22) (N =22) (N =88) .03209 .03086 .03013 -029045 .03064 The weights could not be determined for the seeds individually to allow of obtaining the probable errors which are much needed where differences so slight as those given here are involved. They were weighed in groups of 25, and when these individual samples from different kinds of pods or positions are compared, the results emphasize the general trustworthiness of the con- clusions drawn above. The exact degree of interdependence between number of seeds per pod or position of the seed in the pod and seed weight cannot be determined from this series of data since the variability in seed weight is unknown.* It is evident, however, that in the absolute size of seed only very slight (although definite) dif- ferences are referable to characteristics of the pod. I think that a priort physiologists would have expected greater differences. COLD SPRING HARBOR, L. I., July 14, Tort. s * Data for another species in which this point has been determined are now in hand. 170 LOCAL Mae Oh A INO iE Sexe By NORMAN TAYLOR Species Specimens wanted from ROSACEAE Spiraea tomentosa L. S. salicifolia L. S. alba Du Roi. S. corymbosa Raf. Aruncus allegheniensis Rydb. Porteranthus trifoliatus (L.) Britton. Potentilla pumila Poir. P. simplex Michx. Comarum palustre L. Fragaria canadensis Michx. F. americana (Porter) Britton. Sibbaldiopsis tridentata (So- land.) Rydb. Dasiphora fruticosa (L.) Rydb. Drymocallis agrimontoides (Pursh) Rydb. Sangutsorba canadensis L. Rubi Dalibarda repens L. Anywhere on the coastal plain. Anywhere in the range.* Anywhere in the range. Known in New Jersey? Mountains of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania and central New Jersey. Anywhere above 1,000 ft. The region northwest of the “fall-line.” | Anywhere in the range. Mountains of Pennsylvania. New Jersey. Below 1,000 ft. elevation. The Catskills or northern New Jersey. Northern New Jersey. North of the “fall-line.”’ The Catskills and northern Pennsylvania. Below 1,000 ft. elevation. * The local flora range as prescribed by the Club’s Preliminary Catalogue of 1888 is as follows: All of the state of Connecticut; Long Island; in New York the counties bordering the Hudson River up to and including Columbia and Greene, also Sullivan and Delaware counties; all of New Jersey; and Pike, Wayne, Monroe, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon, Bucks, Berks, Schuylkill, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Delaware and Chester counties in Pennsylvania. 7 In the genus Rubus material is also needed from throughout the range to aid in determining, not only the perplexed question of hybridity, but also to ascertain if possible endemisms in this difficult group, are not rather common. 171 Species Specimens wanted from Waldsteinia fragarioides Orange, Sullivan and Delaware (Michx.) Tratt. counties, N. Y. Agrimonia pumila Muhl. Chester Co., Pa. A. Brittoniana Bicknell. Below 1,000 ft. elevation. A. parviflora Soland. Anywhere in the mountains. Rosa blanda Ait. The south shore of L. I. and from N. J. R. cantina L. Anywhere in the range. How extensively naturalized ? R. humilis Marsh. See footnote.* POMACEAE Sorbus americana Marsh. Below 1,000 ft. elevation. Pyrus communis L. Is it anywhere an established escape? Malus coronaria (L.) Mill. From the Hudson and Dela- ware valleys. M. angustifolia (Ait.) Michx. Anywhere in the range. M. Malus (L.) Britton. Is the apple an established escape? Aronia nigra (Willd.) Britton. |The coastal plain region. A. atropurpurea Britton. See footnote.t Amelanchier sanguinea (Pursh) Northern New Jersey and the Lindl. (A. rotundifolia). mountains of Pennsylvania. Crataegi Species from the limestone re- gions of New York and New Jersey. Also from the ser- pentines of Pennsylvania. * A form of Rosa humilis obviously not the variety villosa merits attention from local flora enthusiasts. It has very much larger flowers than the typical form, and its petals are extremely fugacious. Specimens have been collected near Farming- dale, N. J., and recently from near Spring Valley, N. Y. Otherwise the plant is unknown, at least in herbaria. + A somewhat critical species, said to differ from our common A. ‘arbutifolia in having oval to globose, purple-black fruits rather than short-pyriform, bright red ones. The difficulty ot distinguishing such characters in dried specimens is obvious. Material is needed, particularly with accurate notes on color and form of fruit, from anywhere in the range. 172 Species Specimens wanted from DRUPACEAE Padus (Prunus) virginiana (L.) The coastal plain. Roem. Prunus americana Marsh. Northern New Jersey. P. cuneata Raf. Westchester Co., N. Y. Prunus maritima Wang. See footnote.* P. Gravesi Small. Long Island, Staten Island or the coastal region of N. J. P. angustifolia Marsh. North of Salem Co., N. J. P. alleghaniensis Porter. Between New Jersey and Con- necticut. P. pennsylvanica L. f. Below 1,000 ft. elevation in INS Ma Oe INS Te P. pumila Le Long Island or Staten Island. CAESALPINACEAE Cercis canadensis L. Anywhere in the range as a true wild plant. Cassia marylandica L. Northern Naje, Ne Ye andsear C. Chamaecrista L. North of the coastal Xlain. C. nicticans L. The Catskills or the mountains of Pennsylvania. PAPILIONACEAE Meibomia ochroleuca (M. A. North of Salem Co., N. J. Curtis) Kuntze. M. glabella (Michx.) Kuntze. Passaic, Sussex, or Warren counties, N. J. M. sessilifolia (Torr.) Kuntze. Long Island or New Jersey. * The beach plum, often almost a tree along the coast, becomes a mere straggling shrub inland. It is known from near New Egypt, Ocean Co., N. J., from West Point, N. Y., and from near Bordentown on the Delaware. Special interest attaches to the occurrence of this maritime plant inland, and any specimens from inland localities, together with notes as to its proximity to streams, will be welcome. It is known from a number of stations in the pine-barrens, which are perhaps ex- plainable by the peculiar geological history of that region. Species M. stricta (Pursh) Kuntze. M. laevigata (Nutt.) Kuntze. M. obtusa (Muhl.) Vail. Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link. Trifolium carolintianum Michx. Amorpha fruticosa L. Astragallus carolinianus L. (A. canadensis). Stylosanthes biflora (L.) B.S.P. Lespedeza Brittoni Bicknell. L. simulata Mackensie & Bush. Lespedeza angustifolia (Pursh) Ell. Vicia americana Muhl. V. caroliniana Walt. Lathyrus palustris L. L. venosus Muhl. L. maritimus (L.) Bigel. Bradburya virginiana (L.) Kuntze. 1Very rarely becoming thoroughly naturalized in our range. Specimens wanted from Middlesex or Mercer counties, Nees: Somerset or Warren Counties, ih ee North of the coastal plain. From anywhere in the range.! Near Philadelphia, Trenton or Bordentown. Luzerne or Schuylkill counties, Pa., as a wild plant. Northern New York or New Jersey. Northern shore of Long Island. Anywhere in the range. See footnote’. Long Island or Staten Island. Anywhere in the range. In the Hudson Valley. Anywhere in the range. * Central and northern N. J. Anywhere away from the coast. 4 North of Ocean Co., N. J. A large mass of it, apparently persisting for many years, was recently discovered growing luxu- riantly in the grounds of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 2 A plant only recently known as from the range. In the Connecticut Botani- cal Club’s list of the plants of that state it is reported from Groton and Southing- ton. Mr. kK. K. Mackenzie has also collected it at Haworth, Bergen Co., N. J. The plant is otherwise unknown from the area. 3 Apparently isolated, so far as our specimens show, at a single station in New Jersey. It is supposed to be in New York but no records are extant. The New Jersey specimen is peculiar as it was taken from an “‘island ’”’ of shrubs and trees completely surrounded by salt marsh. 4The farthest inland record of this sea-beach plant is White Plains, West- chester Co., N. Y. Any further inland extension of the range would be interesting. 174 Species Specumens wanted from Clitoria Mariana L. Middlesex Co., N. J. Galactia volubilis (L.) Britt. New Jersey. BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN. SHORTER NOTES A SECOND SPECIES OF HERNANDIA IN JAMAICA.—The discovery of a species of Hernandia in the western part of the island of Jamaica, some years ago,* the existence of the genus in that island having been in doubt for many years, was of much interest, and the more recent finding of a second species in the mountainous parts of the eastern end of the island is of no less. This tree may be described as follows: Hernandia catalpifolia Britton & Harris sp. nov. A tree, up to 16 meters high, the trunk straight, rather widely branched above the middle. Leaves broadly ovate, chartaceous, puberulent when young, becoming glabrous, strongly 5-nerved from the rounded or subtruncate base, short-acuminate at the apex, 2 dm. long or less, not at all peltate, the stout petiole nearly as long as the blade; panicles ample, convex, often broader than long, their branches divaricate-ascending, slender, puberulent; involucral bracts oblong, obtusish; sepals white, oblong, obtuse, 5 mm. long; fruit subglobose, 2 cm. long. ° Mountain woodlands, Parish of St. Thomas, Jamaica (Harris _and Britton 10.588, type; 10.560; 10.085; Britton 4061). This is probably the tree referred from Jamaica by previous authors to H. Sonora L., of Porto Rico and the Lesser Antilles, which has peltate leaves, somewhat larger flowers and larger fruit. N. L. Britton. STANGERIA OR STANGERA, AND STANGERITES OR STRANGERITES? Two QUESTIONS OF NOMENCLATURE.—In T. Moore’s “List of Mr. Plant’s Natal Ferns’”’ (Hook. Journ. Bot. and Kew Gard. * Bull. Torrey Club 35: 338. 1908. 175 Miscellany 5: 225-229. 1853), on page 228, may be found a description of a new genus, Stangeria, named in honor of Dr. Stanger.* Subsequently Stevens altered the spelling of the name to Stanggeria (Proc. Linn. Soc. 2: 340. 1854) and, later still, A. Voss changed it to Stangera (‘‘Vilmorin’s Blumengartnerei”’ ed. I. 3: 1244. 1896). Stevens’ name, Sfanggeria has, of course, no standing in nomenclature and need not be further considered; but the ques- tion may possibly be raised whether Stangera Voss should be substituted for Stangeria Moore? A somewhat similar question also arises in connection with the fossil genus Strangerites Borneman (‘‘Ueber Organische Reste der Lettenkohlengruppe Thiiringens’’ 59. 1856), which he founded to include certain hitherto supposed fossil ferns, with the expressed intention of indicating, in the name, their probable relationship to the genus Stangeria. The spelling of his new generic name was so obviously due either to carelessness or to a typographical error that, apparently, all subsequent writers ignored it, beginning with Oldham and Morris (“‘Paleont. Indica, Foss. Fl. Rajmahal Ser.’”’ 32. 1862), who wrote it Stangerites, but credited it, in the amended form, to Borneman. The question is, therefore, whether Stangerites Oldham and Morris should be substituted for Strangerites Borneman, or whether the latter name should be regarded as representing a typographical error and be corrected to Stangerites Borneman? ARTHUR HOLLICK. * One species, paradoxa, was included in the genus, and this specific name, also, has an interesting history. The species was known to other botanists previous to the date of Moore’s publication and was generally regarded as a fern, the fructifica- tion not having been found and the nervation of the leaves (pinnately arranged and forking) strongly suggesting a fern rather than a cycad. G. Kunze (Linnaea I0: 506. 1836) referred it to Lomaria coriacea Schrad., but later (Ibid. 13: 152. 1839) described it as a new species under the name L. eriopus. Moore appears to have been the first to suspect that it might be a cycad and says (loc. cit.) that it “would seem to be either a fern-like Zamia or a zamia-like fern,’’ and renamed it Stangeria paradoxa. Subsequent discovery of the fructification proved that Moore’s suspicions were well founded and that it was a cycad and not a Lomaria. Kunze’s specific name, however, having priority over that of Moore, required that the latter be dropped and the binomial Stangeria eriopus be adopted (Nash, Journ. WN. Y. Bot. Gard. 9: 202. 1908; 10: 164. 1909). 176 REVIEWS Some Recent University of California Publications* The first ten numbers of volume 4 of the ‘‘ University of Cali- fornia Publications in Botany”’ represent a considerable variety as to subject matter, with, however, a decided preponderance, so far as the titles are concerned, of papers relating to the marine algae of the Pacific Coast. Dr. H. M. Hall’s ‘Studies in ornamental trees and shrubs” includes descriptions and illustrations of some of the more com- mon and desirable of the cultivated ornamental trees and shrubs of California. There is probably no state in the Union in which cultivated, largely exotic, trees and shrubs are relatively so conspicuous to the casual visitor, at least, as in California, and any paper that assists in their identification will be welcomed by many. The species treated are largely of Australian and New Zealand origin and many are of the genera Pittosporum, Hakea, Callistemon, and Melaleuca. The species of Eucalyptus, of which about 100 are said to be cultivated in California, are omitted, whether because they are not considered sufficiently ornamental or because they are held to be adequately treated elsewhere * Hall, H. M. Studies in ornamental trees and shrubs. Univ. California Publ. Bot. 4: 1-74. pl. 1-11 +f. 1-15. 19 Mr toto. Wilson, H. L. Gracilariophila, a new parasite on Gracilaria confervoides. Loc. cit. 4: 75-84. pl. 12, 13. 26 My Toto. Brandegee, T. S. Plantae Mexicanae Purpusianae, II. Loc. cit. 4: 85-95. 26 My roto. Gardner, N.L. Leuvenia, a new genus of flagellates. @Loc. cit. 4: 97-106. pl. fr4. 26 My toto. Setchell, W. A. The genus Sphaerosoma. Loc. cit. 4: 107-120. pl. 15. 26 My IQIO. Gardner, N. L. Variations in nuclear extrusion among the Fucaceae. Loc. cit. 4: 121-136. pl. 16, 77. 26 Au Igto. McFadden, A. S. The nature of the carpostomes in the cystocarp of Ahnfeldtia gigartinoides. Loc. cit. 4: 137-142. pl. 18. 25 F Io1t. McFadden, M. E. On a Colacodasya from southern California. Loc. cit. 4: 143- 150. pl. 19. 25 F Iogttl. Hoffman, E. J. Fructification of Macrocystis. Loc. cit. 4: I51-158. pl. 20. 25 F 1oft. Twiss, W.C. Erythrophyllum delesserioides J. Ag. Loc. cit. 4: 159-176. pl. 21-24. 8 Mr IogIt. = ALT seems not to be definitely stated by the author. Presumably, however, the implication of incompleteness in the modest title is a sufficient explanation of the absence of the eucalyptus and certain others. Harriet L. Wilson’s paper on “‘Gracilariophila, a new parasite on Gracilaria confervoides’’ describes the structure and develop- ment of a small red alga that is parasitic on a larger red alga to which it appears to be closely related. The parasite forms on the surface of the Gracilaria colorless tubercles resembling adherent particles of sand or small grains of rice. Three sorts of tubercles, antheridial, cystocarpic, and tetrasporic, distin- guishable from each other only under the microscope, occur. Rhizoidal processes penetrate the host plant and evidently serve not only for attachment but for drawing nourishment from the host. The parasite is described as Gracilariophila oryzoides Setchell & Wilson, new genus and species, and is referred to the same suborder to which its host belongs. In ‘‘Plantae Mexicanae Purpusianae, II,’’ Mr. T.S. Brandegee describes twenty-two new species of spermatophytes, nearly all collected by Dr. C. A. Purpus in the state of Puebla, near the boundary line of Oaxaca, Mexico. One of the species repre- sents a new genus, Amphorella, of the Asclepiadaceae. Dr. N. L. Gardner, in his paper on “‘ Leuvenia, a new genus of flagellates,’ describes and figures in much detail the structure and development of a curious microscopic fresh-water organism, the affinities of which are uncertain. Specimens of the organism had been distributed in the Phycotheca Boreali-Americana under the name Osterhoutia natans, but, learning that the name Oster- houtia had been previously given to a genus of spermatophytes, Dr. Gardner avails himself of another one of Professor W. J. Van Leuven Osterhout’s names in coining the substitute generic name Leuvenia. Professor Setchell, as would appear from his paper on ‘‘The > genus Sphaerosoma,’ was led by a study of a Californian as- comycetous fungus, at first supposed to be an undescribed species of Sphaerosoma, to a critical review of the pertinent literature and the available specimens referred to this genus. Among his 178 results are the restriction of the generic name Sphaerosoma to two (or three?) already published European and American species and the description of the Californian plant as Ruhlandiella hesperia sp. nov. Dr. N. L. Gardner’s paper on “‘ Variations in nuclear extrusion among the Fucaceae’”’ sets forth the results of a study of the formation of the odspheres in the commoner Californian repre- sentatives of the rockweed family. Decaisne and Thuret, in a paper published in 1845, were pioneers in a comparative study of .the number of odspheres to an odgonium in the Fucaceae, and as one of the results of their researches defined four genera having their respective numbers of odspheres in a beautiful geometrical series: Cymaduse (= Bifurcaria) with one odsphere to the odgonium, Pelvetia with two, Ozothallia (= Ascophyllum) with four, and Fucus with eight. Gardner finds that some of the Californian Fucaceae do not fit into this scheme very well. In the plant that has been known as Fucus Harveyanus eight nuclei are formed by divisions of the original odgonium nucleus, but only two odspheres are developed; these are of very unequal size, the larger containing a single large nucleus and the smaller seven small nuclei. It is presumed that only the larger odsphere is capable of fertilization. Chiefly on these grounds, Fucus Harveyanus is considered the type of a new genus Hesperophycus Setchell & Gardner. In a somewhat similar way, while the typical Pelvetia fastigiata of California agrees essentially with the European Pelvetia canaliculata in forming two practically equal odspheres to an odgonium, the plant that has been known as Pelvetia fastigiata forma limitata Setchell produces two very un- equal odspheres, which had led to assigning it to a new genus Pelvetiopsis Gardner. These results suggest to the reviewer the possibility that similar accurate investigations of the number and character of the odspheres of the remaining Fucaceae of the world might lead to discovery of grounds for several other similar generic segregations and that a large number of genera thus based might prove rather impracticable and unnatural. But there is scarcely more ground for disputing about genera than about tastes and it would certainly be premature to venture any 179 very positive judgment in the matter until the facts in the case are all known. The title of Ada Sara McFadden’s paper ‘‘The nature of the carpostomes in the cystocarp of Ahnfeldtia gigartinoides”’ gives a fair idea of the subject matter of her brief dissertation. The peculiar openings of the cystocarp of this marine red alga are said to average as many as forty-two to a cystocarp. They are possibly formed by decomposition. Incidentally, the author sets forth the ample grounds for considering the Pacific American Ahnfeldiia gigartinoides specifically distinct from Ahnfeldtia con- cinna, originally described from Hawaii. In continuation of the notable studies of parasitic red algae being made at the University of California, Mabel Effie McFad- den publishes as her thesis for the degree of master of science a paper ‘‘On a Colacodasya from southern California.”” The paper is devoted to describing and figuring Colacodasya verrucaeformis W. A. Setchell and M. E. McFadden, sp. nov., parasiti¢ on Mychodea episcopalis J. Ag. This parasite was first detected by Professor W. G. Farlow, but the description is based on abundant material collected later at San Pedro by Dr. N. L. Gardner. Edna Juanita Hoffman, in her account of the “ Fructification of Macrocystis,” describes the character of the fertile leaves and the nature of the sori of Californian and Peruvian specimens of the Great Kelp—Macrocystis pyrifera. In Californian plants the sporangia occur on basal leaves differing from the upper leaves in the absence of bladders or in the possession of a branching blade. In Peruvian specimens collected by D. G. Fairchild in 1899, sori are found on leaves of about the ordinary type. In neither do the reproductive bodies occur in ‘‘furrows,”’ as de- scribed in 1895 by Misses Smith and Whitting. The main results of the study of “ Erythrophyllum delesserioides J. Ag.” by Mr. Wilfred Charles Twiss is that the plant belongs among the Gigartinaceae, where originally placed by J. Agardh, instead of among the Dumontiaceae to which it was doubtfully referred by Schmitz in “Die nattirlichen Pflanzenfamilien”’ of Engler and Prantl. Mr. Twiss thus confirms the opinion ex- SOT pressed by Professor Setchell in 1899 in distributing mature specimens of Erythrophyllum in the Phycotheca Boreali-America. It appears that E. delesserioides J. Ag. (1871) was based upon a fragment of a young sterile plant, while the later Polyneura californica J. Ag. (1899) was described from older, mostly fertile, representatives of the same species. MARSHALL A. HOWE. NEWS ITEMS Professor W. Johannsen of the University of Copenhagen is to give in October and November a course of lectures and seminar conferences on ‘‘ Modern Conceptions of Heredity,’ at Columbia University. These will be under the joint auspices of the de- partments of botany and zodlogy, and will consist of four public lectures on October 13, 20, 27, and November 3. Eight seminars of a more technical nature will be open to a limited group of investigators. The latter will be more fully announced later. Dr. F. J. Collins has resigned as assistant professor of botany at Brown University to accept a position in the Bureau of Plant Industry as forest pathologist. Miss Jean Broadhurst of Teachers College, and manager of the department “ Of Interest to Teachers’ in TORREYA, is spend- ing the summer in England. Dr. Philip Dowell, editor of the BULLETIN, is at the United States National Herbarium. At the New York Botanical Garden the following lectures will complete the summer course: August 12, ‘The Paris Botanical Garden,” by W. A. Murrill; August 19, “ A Visit to the Panama Canal Zone,” by M. A. Howe; August 26, “ Evergreens: Their Uses in the Landscape,’ by G. V. Nash. : The Brooklyn Institute Museum herbarium has recently un- earthed from storage several thousand sheets of material dating all the way from 1818 to 1876. These specimens are now mounted and will soon be incorporated in the regular series of the herbarium. It is worthy of note that some of this was col- lected by Torrey, Cooper, and L. C. Beck. Dr. N. L. Britton, director of the New York Botanical Garden, sailed for Europe on August 9, to continue studies on the West Indian flora. The Torrey Botanical Club Contributors of accepted articles and reviews who wish six gratuitous copies of the number of Torreyain which their papers appear, will kindly notify. the editor when submitting manuscript. Reprints should be ordered, when galley proof is returned to the editor, from The New Era Printing Co., 41 North Queen Street, Lancaster, Pa., who have furnished the following rates : 2pp App 8pp 12pp 1opp 20pp 25 copies $ .75 + $1.05 $1.30 $1.80 $2.20 $2.50 50 copies .90 1.20 1.70 2.20 2.50 2.85 100 copies 1.15 1.55 1.95 PAS 2.90 2.20 200 copies 1.70 2.35 2.90 3.75 4.35 4.70 Covers ; 25 for 75 cents, additional covers 1 cent each. Plates for rep: ints, 40 cents each per 100. The following Committees have been appointed for 1911 Finance Committee Field Committee J. I. Kane, Chatrinan E. B. SoutHwick, Chairman H. M. Ricuarbs Ww. MANSFIELD N. TAyLor Budget Committee Program Committee H. H. Russy, Chairman Mrs. E. G. Britton, Chairman J. H. Barnuart Miss JEAN BROADHURST N. L. Britton Tracy E. Hazen E..S. BuRGESS PF, J. SEAVER B. O. DoncE PuHitie DowkELi Local Flora Committee — N. L. Brirron, Chairuian - ‘Phanerogams: Cryptogams: E.’ P. BICKNELL < Mrs. E. G..Britfon N. L. Brirron Puitiep DOWELL ES Burerss Tracy E. Hazen CC CORTIS M. A. HowE K. K. MACKENZIE W. A. Mourribu E. L.. Morris ae to the Council of the New York Academy of Sciences, WILLIAM MANSFIELD OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB (1) BULLETIN A monthly journal devoted to general botany, established 1870. Vol. 37 published in 1910, contained 630 pages of text and 36 full-page plates.” Price $3.00 per annum. For Europe, 14 shillings. Dulau & Co., 37 Soho pe London, are, - .agents for England. Of former volumes, only 24~37 can be supplied entire ; cer- tain numbers of other-volumes are available, but the entire ‘stock of some numbers has been reserved for the completion of sets. Vols. 24~27 are furnished at the published price of two dollars. o each; Vols.’ 28-37 three dollars each. | Biicie copies (30 cents), will be furnished only when not. breaking complete volumes. _ POs ey (2) MEMOIRS The. Memoirs, established 1880, are published at irregular intervals, Volumes I-13 are now completed ; Nos. 1 and 2 of Vol. 14 have been issued. The subscription price is fixed at $3.00 per volume in advance. The numbers.can also be pur- | chased singly. A list of titles of the individual papers and of prices, will be furnished on application. j (3) The Preliminary Catalogue of Anthophyta and Pteri- dophyta reported as growing within one hundred miles of New . York, 1888. Price; $1.00. Correspondence relating to the above publications should be addressed to : MR. BERNARD O. DODGE, Columbia University New York City aw OU TE September, IQII No. g A. MonTHLY JouRNAL oF BoTANICAL Notes AND News y EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB yes BY NORMAN TAYLOR JOHN TORREY, 1796-1873 _ CONTENTS Getidation of Cat-Tail Seeds; FE. L. eee: tees eer, Meco PER Lie ah eee 181 The Fertilization of the. Be Gish gp rdae a: TAN See SE Nae Gene 184 Local. Flora Notes —X: NORMAN: PAWLORS 20a. blce Gh bess soi ug uOGe aha te) 186_ Reviews: ‘Harshberger’s Phytogeographic ee of North America.................. 190 Notes and News REGIS 52 cnn steawearatdae tn sanuesan iniede ccseries du anser ofa teu geasdtdecapee-+he 200 PUBLISHED FOR THE CLUB “At 4x Nortu QuzEN STREET, LANCASTER, PA. BY Tue New Era Printing Company | [Entered at the Post Office at Lancaster, Pa., as, second-class matter. | THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB OFFICERS FOR 1o11 | President HENRY H. RUSBY, M.D. Vice: ‘Presidents EDWARD S. BURGESS, PH. D. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, A. M.,M.D Secretary and Treasurer BERNARD O. DODGE, Ph.B. Columbia University, New York City Editor PHILIP DOWELL, PH.D Associate E aitors JOHN H. BARNHART, A.M., M.D. TRACY ELLIOT HAZEN, ‘Pu.D. JEAN BROADHURST, AM. MARSHALL AVERY HOWE, PH.D. ERNEST D. CLARK, Pxu.D- HERBERT M. RICHARDS, S.D: ALEX. W. EVANS, M.D., PH.D. NORMAN TAYLOR Torreya is furnished to subscribers in the United States and ‘Canada for one dollar per annum; single copies, fifteen cents. To — subscribers elsewhere, five shillings, or the equivalent thereof. Postal or. express money orders and drafts or personal checks on New York City © banks are accepted in payment, but the rules of the New York Clearing — House compel the request that ten cents be added to the amount of any other local checks that may be sent. Subscriptions are received only for full volumes, beginning with the January issue. Reprints will be : furnished at cost prices. Subscriptions and remittances should be sent to TREASURER, TORREY BOTANICAL Cius, 41 North Queen St., Lan-’ caster, Pa., or Columbia University, New York.City. Matter for publication should be addressed to NORMAN TAYLOR Central Museum, Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, N.Y: See eo eet TORREYA September, IgII Vol. 11 No.9 CERMIUNATION “OF (CAT-TAIL SEEDS By E. L. Morris Those who roam afield in the fall, especially along marshes, have often seen the masses of down and seeds which so freely scatter from the cat-tail heads at any shock. Nature’s com- monest way of scattering these seeds, of course, is the force of the wind, either in actually blowing the seeds from the head or so shaking the plants that the seeds are lost out. The point of this paragraph is, however, the sprouting of the seeds while still in position in the cat-tail head. About the time of seed ripening this particular head must have been broken off until it just touched the ground, and, in the unusually dry spring of this year, the seeds failed to germinate. The early summer rains raised the water level of the marsh sufficiently to keep the fruiting head entirely moistened and, with the direct sun pouring down, the conditions became proper for the seeds to sprout. As shown in the illustration, they sprouted from the surface of the head then uppermost. Looking closely, one sees that the axis of each seed- ling is bent into the characteristic elbow for protrusion from the seed coat. At the time of taking, a few of the elbows had straightened out and the primary root had begun to grow through the mass of bristles into the wet soil on which the head lay. At this time, each of the seedlings was probably only a day or two old, as is indicated by the nearly uniform size of all the seedlings, none seeming to have had an advantage over the others, and the fact that the most of them were still in the ‘‘elbow stage.”’ This specimen was collected in a swamp beside the track a few rods west of the Valley Stream station of the Long Island Rail- road. The measurements of these seedlings at the time of taking were 8-IO mm. (No. 8, Vol. 11, of ToRREYA, comprising pp. 165-180, was issued 14 August t1o1t.] 181 rm iPr