16 THK AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



Vitality of Tree Seeds. — Few gardeners have any 

 experience in seed sowing and do not know how short- 

 lived the seeds and nuts of many trees are when kept in a 

 dry state Hke garden, vegetable and flower seeds. Even 

 the pips of apples and pears keep but a short time and 

 when allowed to become dry may never pluinp up again 

 nor germinate. The secret is that seeds and nuts fall to 

 the ground in autumn and winter and being covered by 

 grass or fallen leaves are kept moist till spring, when they 

 commence to sprout soon after the temperature has risen 

 sufficiently to wake them into fresh life. — Gardening 

 World. 



Violet Species. — Mr. Ezra Brainerd, of Middlebury 

 College has been studying the NewEngkmd violets and in 

 his notes on New England violets published inthe JanuarA- 

 Rhodora does not agree w-ith those who have split violets 

 into almost as many species as there are individuals. It 

 will surprise manj^ to learn that the early petaliferous 

 flowers are nearly all fertile ; they are usually thought to 

 rarely set seed. Nor are the cleistogamous flowers the 

 earth-loving structures that some have considered them. 

 The mature capsules are all aerial. Mr. Brainerd asserts 

 that the differences in the shape, size and color of the cap- 

 sules of cleistogamous flowers, and in the form of their 

 sepals prove to be excellent characters for distinguishing 

 the species. He recognizes but ten New England species of 

 the stemless blue violets, thereby placing a large number 

 of others in the ranks oi "extinct species," Even some of 

 the species recognized by the author are so close together 

 that he seems in some doubt as to whether to call them 

 species or sub-species. For instance V. sororia, V.palmata 

 and V. septemloha are chiefly distinguished b}' the lobing 

 of the leaves and pubescence, features that are inconstant 

 and productive of many intergrades. The author observes 

 that some of the marks of distinction are "elusive, if not 

 illusory," and concludes that "more than one of the many 

 new species recently proposed, based on plants from a 

 single station, seen only in petaliferous flower, may prove 

 on more extended observation to be hybrids." 



