THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 3 



artificial \va3', 3^et quite likely' their behavior varied but 

 little from that of the wild plants. I suspect that thegeii' 

 tian is one of those wild flowers w^hich must have its ov^n 

 way, and that it will not readily become adapted to un- 

 congenial surroundings. 



Over three j^ears ago (Dec. 14, 1900) I made several 

 experimental sowings. The shallow boxes containing the 

 seeds were placed under glass w^here the temperature 

 usualh^ ranged from 40° Fahrenheit at night and 60° 

 Fahrenheit in the daytime. In four weeks germination 

 began, but verj' sparingly. Subsec[uent plantings made 

 nearer spring gave an abundance of plantlets when the 

 night temperature was increased. 



The growth of the young plants was extremely' slow. 

 At intervals of several weeks a small leaf would be added 

 to the cotyledons, which persisted until the time for trans- 

 planting in the open air. This last operation resulted in 

 killing nearly all of the seedlings. However, some few 

 survived, but made the merest perceptible growth. Mid- 

 summer found me with less than a half a dozen plants, 

 and these continued to drop off one by one. In spite of 

 adverse conditions one plant held on to life and by Sep- 

 tember had acquired seven small leaves. So low and de- 

 pauperate a specimen was it that it could really be hidden 

 under a twenty-five cent piece. As the cool October 

 weather advanced the outer edges of the leaves assumed a 

 reddish hue, a color commonly noticed in the leaves of 

 other winter resisting herbaceous plants. At this stage 

 the little gentian might have been likened to the small first 

 year's growth of some biennial cultivated pink. 



During the winter the large outer leaves died following 

 several severe freezings to which the plant was subjected. 

 The inner leaves, forming the center of the whorl, folded 

 over one another as in a bud and scarcely larger than a 

 very small pea remained alive. 



At the end of March, 1902, the little bud suddenly be- 

 came vividly green and began increasing in size. Early in 

 April one long tapering leaf thrust itself from the now 



