1*76 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



purptirasce7is I observed from one to five seed-pods on a plant stalk. 

 But it was the exception to notice a plant of Asclepias tuberosa which 

 bore any fruit at all, and perhaps only one on half a dozen flowering 

 stems given off by a single root. The scarcity of silk pods on this 

 species was indeed very noticeable. Plants of Asclepias cornuti are not 

 very well covered with fruit. I examined a large number of plants late 

 in October, 1891, and found only from one to four seed foUicles on large 

 plants. The flowers of this species of Milk-weed are drooping from the 

 axils of very large leaves, and are more or less hidden by the latter. 



Asclepias phytolaccoides, or Poke Milk-weed, another fragrant species 

 with long-peduncled umbels of greenish-white and purplish colour, grows 

 in most woods. Its nodding umbels and dependent flowers are of 

 disadvantage to the visits of the larger diurnals. The plant is less abun- 

 dant than other species referred to. It prefers dense copses and is visited 

 more perhaps by nocturnals than diurnals. Height from 3-5 feet. 



Asclepias qtiadrifolia, or four-leaved Milk-weed, known by its 

 whorls of leaves, is met with in dry woods overlying limestone rock. It 

 also has loose-flowered and long-stalked umbels, and is fragrant. Flowers, 

 pale pink with a white crown. Height of plant 1-2 feet, our smallest 

 species. In colour and the shape of its flower-heads, also drooping, it 

 much resembles A. cor7iuti, our tallest of the Milk-weeds found on the 

 roadside. 



Asclepias curassavica, or Bastard Ipecac and Blood-weed, is a 

 prominent landmark of the West Indian Islands. It is the gayest and 

 commonest weed of Trinidad, and found also in So. Florida. Jamaican 

 negroes call it Redhead. It has a scarlet corolla and yellow appendages ; 

 flowers borne erect on umbels ; grows about three feet high. Nymphalids 

 and Danaids, as well as Lycsenids, frequent its flowers. Inasmuch as all 

 these Milk-weeds can be classified under bee-food, they are much visited 

 by insects. 



Dr. J. E. Taylor, of Ipswich Museum, England, thinks that mostly 

 all the white or light-yellow flowers are cross-fertilized by night flying 

 moths. Not only can they be distinguished at a greater distance on 

 account of their luminosity than those of more brilliant hues, but their 

 sweet-smelling properties Avill be a guide to moths. A larger proportion 

 of white flowers emit fragrance than that of any other colour. And he 

 tries to substantiate his conclusions by the following statement : " If we 

 could take a census of British wild flowers, we should probably find that 

 the most numerous colours are in proportion to their lu?ninosiiy, or the 



