THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION 



381 



placed on cards and kept in card cata- 

 logue system. 



One of our members reported that 

 his mother found three eggs in one, 

 the inner one having a soft shell. 

 Others reported having seen robins and 

 other birds not commonly observed in 

 winter. 



It is our plan to spend some time in 

 the field after the weather gets warmer. 



We received the charter and have it 

 framed and placed in the Science room 

 of the college. We are all glad to be 

 members of the world-wide Agassiz 

 Association. 



Fred A. Loew. 



Negative Geotropism. 



BY FRED A. LOEW, CENTRAL COLLEGE, 

 HUNTINGTON, INDIANA. 



Negative geotropism is the tendency 

 of the roots of plants to grow down- 

 ward with the force of gravity. The 

 roots of plants are normally positively 

 geotropic. If the roots should grow 

 upward against the force of gravity 

 that tendency would be called negative 

 geotropism. 



During the summer of 1910 at the 

 Michigan Biological station while mak- 



THE WILLOW ROOT SYSTEM WITH A NEGA- 

 TIVE GEOTROPIC ROOT— INDICATED 

 BY ARROWS. 



ing a study of the root system of Salix 

 rostrata, a common willow growing on 

 the sand plains in Cheboygan county 

 Michigan I dug out a part of the root 

 system of a good many willow bushes 



digging sometimes to a depth of six 

 feet. In one case I followed a small 

 root about an inch in diameter to a 

 depth of three feet, at which point it 

 turned at right angles and grew hori- 

 zontally for about two feet ; where it 

 turned again at nearly right angles 

 this time growing directly upwards a 

 distance of three feet, where it came 

 to the surface of the ground ; here it 

 turned at right angles again and grew 

 on the surface of the ground under the 

 leaves for three feet more. The soil 

 in which this root grew was sand with 

 plenty of moisture. 



Experiences With Friendly Chickadees. 



BY HAROLD E. JONES, NEW CANAAN, CONN. 



During the past few months my na- 

 ture work afield has been interrupted 

 somewhat by other duties. I have 

 found time, however, to make occa- 

 sional trips to the woods, and even in 

 walking from home to the railroad sta- 

 tion there have been opportunities for 

 interesting observation. January 4, I 

 saw and postively identified a phoebe. 

 which was eating ampelopsis berries 

 from the vines on my home. He was 

 quite chipper and active, but he must 

 have missed the insect food which 

 forms almost the whole diet of phoebes 

 in summer. The only other winter re- 

 cord of the species, which I can find 

 for this latitude, was reported from 

 New Haven in the February "Bird 

 Lore," three or four years ago. On 

 January 20 I was fortunate enough to 

 see a small flock of vesper sparrows. 

 North of New Jersey this species, is 

 supposed to be only a summer resident, 

 and is quite rare after November 1st, 

 especially for localities not on the 

 coast. 



The latter part of November, 1910, 

 T commenced to tie up suet in the 

 shrubs and saplings along an old woods 

 lane about half a mile from my home. 

 The birds soon discovered these feed- 

 ing stations, but I didn't happen to see 

 them actually eating until my fifth 

 visit. Quoting from the notes on my 

 seventh visit, December 13: "At the 

 'Elm Feeding Station' a bluejay was 

 eating; when I approached he flew 



