i68 THE PLANT WORLD. 



In addition to the above, trials were made tinder outdoor condi- 

 tions. Radishes and beans were planted in three plats in the open 

 gound ; one plat was watered with ice water, one with hydrant water, 

 and one not watered at all. Those watered with ice water yielded 

 the most and those not watered at all the least, although the rainfall 

 during the season was regarded as nearly or quite sufficient for the 

 development of crops well cared for. 



From the results of these and numerous other trials the conclu- 

 sion appears fully warrantable that the growth of ordinary field and 

 garden crops is not affected by the temperature of any water or- 

 dinarily available for irrigation purposes. 



It is concluded from the results of the out-door work that no harm 

 can result from using for irrigation purposes water from the coldest 

 springs or wells, for * * * the temperature of the water from 

 these sources will not be less than 40° in any case when taken from 

 the well or spring, and by the means ordinarily employed in irrigation 

 would be raised many degrees above this point before reaching the 

 roots of the plants. 



It is concluded from the results of the greenhouse work that for 

 vegetable and flowering plants commonly grown under glass, well 

 or spring water may be freely used at any time of the year without 

 warming. 



U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bulletin No. 92. 



PLANTS AND THEIR LITERATURE. 



By C. F. Saunders. 



TO THE student of plant-life there comes a special pleasure when 

 he has so far mastered the mysteries of a manual of botany as 

 to be able to work out for himself the name of a plant new to 

 his hands. The fact is sometimes overlooked, however, even 

 by the experienced, that the knowledge of botanical names is a long 

 way from what the goal of the student's researches should be. The 

 name, indeed, far from being regarded as an end in itself, should be 

 recognized simply as a means to an end — a door of entrance to the 

 House Beautiful of the plant's life -history ; and having once acquired 

 this pre-requisite to an acquaintance with the literature of the plant 

 and with what other people have to tell about it, the student loses 

 much who fails to press on to the knowledge that lies beyond the 

 name. 



In one of the writer's summer rambles on the outskirts of the 

 city, his attention was once drawn to a number of tall, slim plants 



