354 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OP 



MaJformed Red Clover. Mr. Thomas Meehan also pvosentcd 

 some s{)eciineiis of a malformed clover, Tri/olium p7'atetise, handed 

 to him by a fellow member, Mr. Isaac Hurk, with the request to 

 bring it to the notice of the Academy if of interest. 



The flowers, usually sessile, were in this case elevated on pedi- 

 cels about an inch long, and from these, what siiould normally be 

 the g3'ncium, was again developed into a short pedicel bearing a 

 calyx, one of the segments of which, usually little more than a 

 mere cilia, was developed into a complete leaflet. The case af- 

 forded no light on morphological law beyond what was already 

 known ; but tiie fact that the Red Clover grew in this way, had 

 not, he believed, been recorded. 



Mr. Gentry made the following remarks regarding tlie nest of 

 Tireo solitarius, Yieil. 



Audul)on,in describing the nestof Yireo solitarius, Yieil., affirms 

 it "is prettily constructed and fixed in a partially pensile manner 

 between two twigs of a low bush, on a branch running horizon- 

 tally from the main stem, and formed externally of gray lichens, 

 slightly put together, and lined with hair chiefly from the deer 

 and raccoon." My experience has been quite diflferent. Out of 

 the many nests which I have seen and examined, I cannot recall 

 a single specimen that will answer to the above description. I 

 have five nests of this species, four of wliich are perfectlv similar 

 in structure; the remaining one formed of the culms of a s^^ecies 

 of Aira, constituting an exceptional case, and the only one that 

 has ever fallen under my notice. Tliey are all shallow, loose in 

 texture, scarcely surviving the season for which they were de- 

 signed, and placed between two twigs of a cedar or a maple tree 

 at a considerable elevation from the ground, on a branch nearly 

 horizontal to the main axis. Tlioy are built entirely of clusters 

 of male flowers of Quercus jialusti-i.-<^ which, having performed 

 tiieir allotted function, don their brownish hue at the very period 

 when the}' can be utilized. 



Here is evidently' a change witiiin a moderately short period, 

 rendered necessary by external causes. This necessity may have 

 grown out of inability to procure the favorite materials, or a desire 

 for self-preservation. In the case of tiie si)ecies under conside- 

 ration, it cannot be denied that the utter inabilit}', without unne- 

 cessary phj'sical eflfort, to procure the hair of the afore-mentioned 

 animals, particularly in sections where (Jwij have been compelled 

 to retreat before the advance of man, may have been one of the 

 causes which have induced the change. 1 am satisfied, however, 

 that it has not been the leading one, but that self-preservation 

 hns operated in this case for individual and famil\' good. The 

 adaptation of the colors of the female bird to the tints of sur- 

 rounding objects, during the trying period of incubation, nnd the 

 cstablifiliment of certain resemblances to familiar exteiiial objects 

 are two of the ways in which it manifests itself. 



