NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. 101 



such as Torenia and Mhnulus^ihe, bilobed flattened stigmas closed 

 when touched, as did the leaf of Dionata muscipula. He had re- 

 centl}' noticed that the divided pistil of Tecoma jasminoides had 

 the same power. Wlien touclied Avith its own pollen it closed at 

 once, and remained closed ; but if touched with any foreign sub- 

 stance it opened again after the lapse of a short time. The Big- 

 noniacea? were closel,y allied to Scrophulariacese at any rate, and 

 the plants of each might be expected to possess this power. 



He also said that, as was Avell known, the violet and the balsam 

 (Impatiens) produced two distinct forms of flowers one with a 

 corolla and the other without the former producing them under- 

 ground. It was remarkable that these secretly produced (cleisto- 

 genous) flowers, in which there was no opportunit}^ for anything 

 but self-fertilization, sliould be more fertile than those which had 

 the most abundant opportunities of aitl from wind, insects, and 

 other favoring influences. The Catalonian jasmine of our green- 

 houses was another illustration of this phenomenon. He had ob- 

 served, and no doubt others had often done the same, for many 

 years past, that there Avas a great tendency to a supposed abor- 

 tion of the flowers in this plant. But this year he had some plants 

 which failed to produce a single perfect flower. To his astonish- 

 ment these plants were covered with developing seed-vessels, while 

 in tlie plants producing perfect flowers there was no sign of any 

 such tendency. On examining these imperfect flowers he found a 

 miniatui'e corolla was formed, but so closely twisted together that 

 it could not open, and always remained inside the calyx-segments. 

 The pistils in these flowers were diflferently formed from those in 

 the pc'fect ones. The last have the two segments of the bilobed 

 pistil coiled in a spiral manner ; tlie former has no appearance of 

 any division, but seem united into a small cone. In many cases 

 the style was somewhat flattened, and there appeared to be a stig- 

 matic surface along eacli edge. It appeared from liis examination 

 that there was very little pollen in the anthers of these flowers, 

 and the apex of the pistil was pushed beyond them, and the idea 

 occurred to him. that possibly fertilization might occur by the way 

 of the stigmatic edge before referred to. 



Mr. Thomas G. Gentry called the attention of the Academy to 

 what he considered to be an interesting case of a change of habits 

 which had recently' occurred in tlie life of an ordinar3' chickaree, 

 the Sciniis /;r/f/ouiu.s of Pallas. During the early part of last 

 autumn, his attention was called to the fact that the birds in 

 a certain designated localit}'' of Mount Airy, during the hours 

 of the night, were undergoing a system of wliolesale destruction, 

 the work of small animals which were supposed to belong to some 

 species of Carnivore. Laboring under this impression, and being 

 desirous of securing a specimen or tw^o, he started for tiie scene 

 of slaughter, bent upon discovering the name and character 



