114 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



people of Massachusetts and other New England States 

 put a stop to such practices, the better. 



It is a mistake to think that removing the fronds, even 

 in autumn, does no harm to the plants. Gathering the 

 fronds late in the year injures the plants less than at other 

 seasons, but it may be safely assumed that so long as the 

 fronds are green the plant has use for them. Here seems 

 to be a good opportunitj^ for the Plant Protection societ- 

 ies to do some missionary work. Any person willing to 

 exterminate our ferns at $2.50 a wagon load ought to be 

 converted. 



PLANT HAIRS. 



So great and numerous are the dangers that beset all 

 living plants that they have adopted special means — many 

 of them extremely -wonderful — whereby they are enabled 

 the more easil}' to ward off enemies and grow and propo- 

 gate in safety. Amongst the various natural contrivances 

 to bring about this end there is no doubt that the produc- 

 tion of hairy appendages or outgrowths on the different 

 plant organs certainly plays an important part. Nothing 

 is without its use in Nature, not even the smallest hair or 

 the smallest most tender, most humble plant, each has its 

 own specific duty to perform, its part to pla^- in some 

 definite vital labor. 



And so we find that there are special reasons why 

 hairs are produced on roots and stems, leaves and flowers, 

 fruits and seeds, whether the outgrowths are dense or 

 sparse, w^hether conspicuous to the human eye or other- 

 wise. The uses for which thej^ are created are indeed 

 numerous, varied, wonderful and extremely interesting. 



The presence of a hairy covering protects man^^ a deli- 

 cate leaf ot flower-bud from excessive damp or cold as it 

 does also man3' a matured organ ; whilst in other cases 

 or even in the same, it protects from the too excessive heat 

 of a burning sun by checking rapid evaporation of moist- 

 ure through the stomata or breathing pores thus prevent- 

 ing flagging or even death. The beautiful mountain Edel- 



