1907] Meeting of Botanical Branch. 165 



MEETING OF BOTANICAL BRANCH. 



The first meeting of the Botanical Branch of the Field 

 Naturalists' Club for the season 1907-8, was held Thursday, 

 December 5th, at the house of Rev. G. Eifrig. There were present : 

 Messrs. Attwood, Blackaciar, Campbell, Whyte, Dr. Fletcher, and 

 the undersigned. 



The chairman exhibited mounted specimens of some of ovir 

 rarer plants, as Calypso borealis, found June 12th, 1907, plenti- 

 fully near High Falls, Que.; Gentiana criniia, of a darker blue 

 than most years; Spiranthes cenma, very luxuriant this vear 

 at the only locality where these two species are found in the 

 \-icinity of Ottawa ; Lycopoditim inundatum, Habenaria ob- 

 tiisata. Lobelia Dortmanna, these three from Algonquin Park, 

 but the last found by Dr. Fletcher also, at Meech Lake, near 

 Ottawa. Habenaria blephariglottis from Mer Bleue, Lonicera 

 hirsuta, etc. Of the last named it M'as remarked that it is very 

 rare in the Ottawa district. It was found many vears ago near 

 South March, Carleton County. It is, however, abundant at 

 Nepigon, north of Lake Superior, and succeeds well under 

 cultivation. It is difficult to propagate except from seed or 

 from offsets from the roots. 



The illustrated work on farm weeds by Clark, Fletcher and 

 Criddle, recently issued by the seed commissioner's ofiice, was 

 examined and discussed. A copy had been kindly furnished 

 to each member of the section by seed commissioner Clark, and 

 all expressed unstinted praise and admiration of the way this 

 highly practical, useful and at the same time beautiful work 

 had been conceived and executed. The colored plates of the 

 weeds and seeds are a revelation in their life-likeness and exact- 

 ness. It is a work of which the Department of Agriculture 

 may well be proud. All expressed their gratitude to Mr. Clark 

 for his kindness. 



Dr. Fletcher exhibited a specimen of the large and remark- 

 able sclerotium of the Polyporus tuberaster. This brought to 

 light a bit of nice original investigation successfully conducted 

 by the Doctor. From time to time these black, hard balls, 

 rubberlike in appearance and heavy, had been sent to the 

 Experimental Farm from the West, with the question: What is 

 it? They were always found several inches under ground, 

 mostly adhering to or in the neighborhood of some roots of 

 willows, poplars, etc. No satisfactory answer could for a long 

 time be given, till it occurred to Dr. Fletcher to in.sert a notice 

 in some western papers, asking that these things be sent to him 

 in a fresh state. This was done and he planted several of them 



