1916] Goodspeed-Brandi : Notes on Trillium 13 



also, were made between plants of different flower color and many- 

 attempts were made in which pollen of ovatum was used on sessile. 

 Pollen of sessile will give a fairly high percentage of germination in 

 tap water. Still it seemed possible that the erect, open flower of sessile 

 borne on a plant which usually grows in open thickets might be 

 subjected to too excessive moisture conditions at pollination and thus 

 flowers in the field and in the garden cultures were protected in 

 various ways during and for a time after pollination. The lack of 

 any positive results following these efforts seems to indicate that 

 moisture conditions are not the determining factors in this connection. 

 It seemed possible that in the rapid growth of the vegetative portions 

 of the shoot the food reserves of the rootstock were depleted 

 sufficiently to make it impossible for the final stages in the maturing 

 of the sex cells to take place normally. With this possibility in mind 

 we cut off one, two, or all three of the leaves when still undeveloped. 

 This treatment was of no value in increasing the amount of normally 

 matured reproductive tissue but, on the other hand, did not appear 

 to interfere with the growth of the stem or the increase in size of 

 the flower bud. The rootstock was, in other cases, cut away from 

 its growing apex at different stages of development of the floAver 

 shoot, with the thought that such shock might provide a stimulus to 

 more normal fruiting. In such cases over two-thirds of the rootstock 

 was removed and the plant consisted of nothing but the aerial shoot 

 rising from a small disc of tlie rootstock. The desired effect was not 

 produced by this treatment but, on the other hand, in only a few 

 cases did the parts of the plant above ground show any effects of 

 the mutilation of parts below ground. Etherization experiments with 

 rootstocks were attempted during the dormant season with the thought 

 that an enforced re.st period at this stage might result in the pro- 

 duction of more highly fertile flowers. The spores are being 

 matured throughout the dry season when available moisture is at 

 a minimum and it seemed possible that the maturation of the sex 

 cells might be more successfully carried through if the buds in the 

 rootstock crowns were forced to remain inactive until the opening 

 of the wet season. On the other hand, there is, after etherization, 

 often a stimulation to abnormally rapid growth and early develop- 

 ment of flowers. A considerable number of rootstocks were treated 

 but no apparent effect in either direction was noted. 



As mentioned below, a rootstock may be divided many times and 



