248 Notes on (Enotlicra. [zoe 



six of three and one of two. This practically closes the book for 

 the year. It must be borne in mind, however, that the foregoing is 

 given only to show the unusual size of the clutches and not as an 

 actual representation of all the nests that came under my observa- 

 tion. The mesas and desert lands of Arizona are better than the 

 macadamized road of the Eastern States for good driving, and, as 

 they are generally level and everywhere accessible to a team, a 

 large area of ground can be covered in one day. This fact par- 

 tially accounts for the richness of the foregoing result for 18S9. 



NOTES ON SOME SPECIES OF THE GENUS 

 CENOTHERA. 



BY ALICE EASTWOOD. 



CEnothera biennis L. The flowers of this common species ex- 

 pand about sunrise, not all at once as if they were opened by 

 electricity, but one here, another there, and so on until all the fully 

 developed buds are out. The style is shorter than the filaments, 

 and fertilization takes place in the bud. On a cloudy morning they 

 remain bright and fresh, but when the sun beats down with intense 

 and undimmed rays, the petals are wilted long before noon. The 

 var. grandiflora Lindl. has much larger flowers and stems less 

 leafy. The style is larger than the filaments and before the bud 

 opens is protruded from the expanding corolla, so fertilization in 

 the bud is impossible. I have not observed insects flying around 

 the open flowers or crawling wathin the corollas. 



Oenothera pinnatifida Nutt. In the spring two classes of plants 

 can be found; those that have evidently lived through the previous 

 season and small plants that appear to be seedlings. The former 

 soon become large with spreading habit, often forming a mat more 

 than a foot in diameter. I have counted sixty-five large white blos- 

 soms on a single plant. They die when the seed ripens, unless 

 growing near where the supply of water is permanent, when they ap- 

 pear to become perennial. They bloom in April and May, often 

 lingering on through June and even occasionally into August. 

 When there are rains in August, as there almost always are, a new 

 crop of seedlings comes up which form simple-stemmed plants with 

 a few flowers that remain until the frost. These plants are, in my 

 opinion, the originals of the many stemmed plants of the next spring, 



