162 



A^ IE RICAX FORI ■- S' 1' R Y 



in the matter of fertilization and cross-fertilization. An 

 accurate diary should be kept of all such obser\'ations, 

 especially the names of the species and the dates. In 

 certain small receptacles different kinds of seeds may be 

 planted, and their modes of germination carefully studied 

 and recorded. Indeed, there are hundreds of experiments 



A WELL-KNOWN HARBINGER OF SPRING 



Fig. I. — Rue Anemone (AjiemoiieUa Ihaticlroides) is one of the earliest fowers 

 to bloom in the spring, and it belongs to the Crowfoot family iRamtncutccca), 

 in which group we also find such well-known plants as Clematis, Buttercups, 

 Meadow Rue, Marsh Marigold, Columbine, and others. Rue Anem.one has no 

 petals, while there are four or five, often as many as ten, white, or sometimes 

 pinkish, oval sepals. The roots are tuberous and small, and from them arises 

 the wiry, slender, black stem. Leaves compound, 2 - 3 - ternately, the leaflets 

 being roundish, moderately three-lohed at the extremity, and heart-shaped 

 (cordate). Flowers arranged in a sort of cluster, the fiower-stem seemingly all 

 springing from the same point on the upper end of the main stem. This common 

 little flower occurs in the woods from southern New Hampshire, westward to 

 Minnesota, southward to Kansas, and northwest to Florida. 



to be made upon no end of plants in the region in which 

 the observer has his or her home; and if systemat- 

 ically and intelligently conducted, no one may say in 

 advance what important results some of the experiments 

 may lead to in time. In this work do not forget the 

 aquatic plants, but be sure to make provision for studying 

 them through supplying the proper receptacles in which 

 to grow them. As a matter of fact, many other lines of 

 research and investigation will occur to you as the work 

 goes merrily on. 



You should visit the woods, fields, and other parts of 

 the country just so soon as the first breath of the coming 

 spring is felt. Go well equipped for collecting, and be 

 sure you do not forget your botanical tin-can that comes 

 for that very purpose. If the season opens up unusually 

 warm, some of the very earliest flowers may make their 

 appearance during the first week in April in the Aliddle 

 Atlantic States. The best localities for these are bright, 

 sunny places, in woods where the soil is rich, and the trees 

 old and standing well apart, and you will not have gone 

 very far before you discover that the anemones have 

 started to come up; if you chance to be in a region where 



they arc more or less abundant, you will come upon 

 them almost at once. They arc very prone to appear 

 near the roots of some large tree or other. The specimens 

 shown in Figure 1 were growing within a foot of 

 a big tuHp tree, where they had sprung up amidst 

 the dead leaves and other debris of the vegetation of the 

 previous year. 



This Rue Anemone possesses curious-looking, tuberous 

 liule roots, grouped in a small bimch; and if you aim to 

 take the plant home for study, dig up the entire speci- 



TIIE ROSY KING OF THE .MARSHES 



Fig. 2. — -The Swamp Rose Mallow (.Hibiscus moscheulos) , one of the most 

 conspicuous marsh flowers of the summer months, and one of the most beautiful. 

 It belongs to the rather small Mallow family (Malvacea), which contains several 

 genera of Mallows. It is a tall perennial that grows from a yard to seven feet 

 in height. Its late summer seed-pods are shown in Figure 3. The toothed 

 leaves are ovate and pointed, and the stem may be finely hairy above. Often 

 the upper leaves are three-lobed, and inclined to be downy both above and below. 

 The form of the rose pink petals of the flower is well shown here, as well as the 

 shape of the two seed-capsules below it. As to locality and range. Gray 

 states: "River-banks and fresh or brackish marshes near the coast, east Mas- 

 sachusetts and southward: also lake-shores and swamps (especially near salt 

 springs) westward to Ontario and Missouri. July — September." 



men, roots and all, packing it properly so it can be carried 

 without injury — otherwise the delicate thing will wilt 

 within the next half-hour. Very frequently you will find 

 the Wood Anemone or Wind Flow-er {Anemone qmnque- 

 Jolia) growing close to the rue anemone; but the two are 

 easily distinguished, as the former bears only a single 

 flower, while the latter bears two, three, or maybe four 



