4-0 



THE PLANT WORLD. 



number of flowers in each 

 cluster mature fruit — and 

 this not sufficiently devel- 

 oped to germinate. The con- 

 spicuous form and color of 

 the blossoms indicate that 

 it is especially adapted to in- 

 sect fertilization ; yet in re- 

 peated observations I have 

 never seen it visited by them, 

 nor can I see that the long 

 stamens and pistil of either 

 the same or contiguous flow- 

 ers ever come in contact. 

 Humming-birds visit it free- 

 ly, but always approach from 

 below, never, so far as I can 

 detect, touching either sta- 

 mens or pistil. The fact that 

 the anthers do not open as 

 soon as the corolla, precludes 

 the possibility of fertilization 

 in bud. I found the pistil 

 short in one or two flowers 

 that opened in the house in 

 mid- winter; but the dwarfed appearance of the blossoms leads me to 

 think this merely a deficiency and not an illustration of dimorphism. 

 The most probable supposition is that some nocturnal visitor is 

 the agent; yet the peculiar form of the flower suggests special adapta- 

 tions. Will not some one familiar with its growth in southern climes 

 and under the most favorable circumstances elucidate the matter. 



FIG. 



NATIONAL FORESTS AND THEIR PRESERVATION. 



IN February, 1896, the Hon. Hoke Smith, then Secretary of the 

 Interior, called upon the president of the National Academy of 

 Sciences for an expression of opinion from that body regarding 

 the inauguration of a forestry policy for the forested lands of the 

 United States. A committee was immediately appointed, consisting 

 of seven members, who spent many months in investigating the 

 questions in the field, and their report has just been published by the 

 Government Printing Oflice. 



