THE PLANT WORLD 75 



GENERAL ITEMS. 



Miss Bird in her " Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," has the following 

 interesting note on strawberries : " A day or two ago we had some fully 

 ripe strawberries of a pale pea-green color, with a strong odor and fla- 

 vor, not of strawberries, but of the Catawba grape." 



The announcement for the fourteenth season of the Marine Bio- 

 logical Laboratory at Woods Holl, Mass., is just received. The course 

 of instruction in botany extends from July 3d to August 14th, and fa- 

 cihties are offered for study in cryptogams, phanerogams, plant physi- 

 ology, plant cytology, etc. Additional information may be obtained of 

 Professor Bradley M. Davis, of the University of Chicago. 



" The water-nut {Hydrodlctyon), is a very common alga throughout 

 Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. It is to be found in shallow water, along 

 the banks of rivers and small streams, and in pools having a constant 

 supply of water kept warm by the sun, noticeably those in stone quar- 

 ries. It is quickly recognized by the large, angular meshes reaching 

 half a centimeter or more in diameter, seen best hj raising the plant 

 from the water. The old vesicular mother-cells, a centimeter or two 

 long, still containing the young nets, look much like dead and bleached 

 worms, as they lie undisturbed in the water." — Botanical Gazette. 



During the past year the Department of Agriculture established a 

 date garden in Arizona in conjunction with the Experiment Station of 

 that Territory. Mr. W. T. S^vingle made a special trip to Algeria for 

 the purpose of securing suckers of the best varieties of dates known in 

 the Mediterranean region, with the result that they now have about 500 

 plants growing successfully. It seems not at all improbable that we 

 shall soon be raising dates commercially in this country. In this con- 

 nection it may be of interest to call attention to the fact that Mr. Swin- 

 gle also secured, in Asia Minor, numbers of the fig-fertilizing insects, 

 which were successfully introduced into California. This seems likely 

 to revolutionize the fig industry in this country. 



