. .NOTES f\m NEV5. . . 



T/ie Fern Bulletin for April contains a number of interesting 

 articles and notes, among them "Wyoming Pteridophytes," by Elias 

 Nelson; " The Field Horsetail," by C. F. Saunders; " A new species 

 of Selaginella," by A. A. Eaton; "Tubers of Nephrolipis," by J. 

 Birkenhead, and an "Extension of Range for Aspleninni viride." 



Mr. J. S. Diller records, in Science for May 5th, the finding of 

 several large pieces of natural charcoal near the base of Mt. St. 

 Helens in Oregon. This charcoal, which appears to have been made 

 from wood of the Douglass Spruce {Pscudotsuga inucronata), was 

 formed by volcanic action at the time the mountain was being built 

 up. This would seem to prove beyond a question that volcanic activ- 

 ity has only recently ceased on this portion of the Pacific coast. 



I want to urge all collectors of mosses to use more care in giving 

 complete habitat data on their labels. Prof. Macoun, of the Cana- 

 dian Geological Survey, gives us a good example. To illustrate, I 

 will say that I have found Lcersia contorta (Wolf) Lindb., and Myviella 

 Careyana SulL, on pretty nearly every limestone outcrop that I have 

 visited, and in no case on other kinds of soil. But from the labels of 

 other collectors I cannot tell whether this is always so or not. — A. J. 

 Grout. 



This spring, I have seen a peculiar freak in the skunk cabbage, 

 which consisted of one spathe within the other, the second being 

 opposite the first, in such a way as to completely shut the flower head 

 in. It is interesting to note, in digging this plant up, that several 

 flowers are produced on the same plant, and spring from the axils of 

 the outer sheathing bracts. The thick scape makes no impression 

 upon the bract which subtends it, but leaves a deep groove in the 

 back of the next inner one. The gradation from bracts to leaves is 

 very complete in this plant. — Willard N. Cliite, New York. 



The Colorado Legislature, just adjourned, has passed a lawmaking 

 the Rocky Mountain Blue Columbine [Aqiiilegia ccerulea James), the 

 State flower. Arbor Day, 1891, the above flower was adopted as 

 the State flower by a vote of the school children. On Arbor Day, 

 1892, the Colorado Blue Spruce {Picea Parryana {P. piingejis) Sudw.) 

 was selected by the school children as the State tree. The Legisla- 

 ture passed stringent laws to prevent the spread and growth of the 

 Russian Thistle {Salsola tragus). It has already obtained a strong 

 foot-hold in the state. It occurs to me that a query box would be a 

 valuable and interesting feature for your paper. — E. Bethel^ Denver ^ 

 Colorado. 



