32 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



The possibilities of motile trees is quite attractive but it is 

 probably fortunate, that plants have not gone further and like 

 the animals, developed a voice. One might be ravished in 

 spring by the sweet voices of the trailing arbutus and hepa- 

 tica, but think of the discords that might rise from a lawn 

 covered with dandelions or a field of toad-flax! 



The Wastefui, Cottonwood. — The behavior of the 

 Cottonwood or Carolina poplar at each recurrent autumn never 

 ceases to be a mystery. When other plants merely cast their 

 leaves, the cottonwood rather overdoes the matter by casting 

 many of its branches, also. This wholesale destruction of 

 wood made at considerable expense to the parent tree does not 

 consist merely of the young twigs Of the season, but ofter 

 includes branches six or more years old. In a large major- 

 ity of cases the buds on these twigs contain flower clusters 

 so nearly complete that their outlines may be easily made out 

 in a longitudinal section of the bud. 



Western Plant Names. — Regarding the names of 

 plants of western distribution tliat you have included in parts 

 2 and 3 of "American Plant Names," Calypso bidbosa is often 

 referred to as "Venus' slipper," Solanuum triflorum is very 

 commonly called "wild tomato" by ranchers and others and 

 ' Symphoricarpos occidcntalis is known variously, and often 

 incorrectly of course, as "stag-berry," "quail-berry," "June- 

 berry" and "partridge-berry." The name "buck brush" or 

 bush is applied to several low intricately branched shrubs the 

 name varying in application in different localities. Have you 

 omitted the name kinghead from the list of appellations of 

 Ambrosia trifida? I have seen this used a great deal in agri- 

 cultural literature. Now as to the species of Artemisia. I 

 do not believe any of them are ever called "wormwood" by 

 westerners, all of them are "sage." Artemisia frigida is 



