THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 17 



Sparrows and Mistletoe.— According to Win. L. 

 Moore, the English sparrow is responsible for the rapid 

 increase of mistletoe in some of the Southern cities. The 

 pulp covering the seeds is extremely sticky, and often 

 adhere to the bird's beak, and in cleaning its beak by rub- 

 bing it against a twig, the seeds are left in the proper 

 position for growth. 



Uses of the Blue Gum.— The Australian gums are 

 exceedingl}' useful trees and almost justif3^ some of the 

 wonderful stories in circulation about them. In the milder 

 parts of the United States they grow well and are planted 

 in increasing numlDcrs both for fuel and lumber. From 

 Forestry and Irrigation we learn that in California there 

 are about 2,800 acres planted to the blue gum {Eucalyp- 

 tus globulus) and it is now the principal fuel. An acre of 

 these trees will produce 500 cubic feet of new wood each 

 year. The wood ot this species is difficult to split on 

 account of the twisted grain and when dry is difficult to 

 work. It is, however, nearly as serviceable as ash and 

 used for wagons, plow-beams and similar articles. 



Variation in British Ferns.— In Great Britain there 

 are less than fift}- different species of ferns. British fern 

 collectors, however, have not bt*en discouraged by the 

 paucity of species, but have turned their attention to cul- 

 tivating the varieties of the common forms. With a con- 

 siderable number ot people on the lookout for abnormal 

 ferns, they have l>een reported in increasing numbers until 

 the record has reached the astounding number of more 

 than two thousand different varieties. Of these our com- 

 mon lady fern (Athyrium iilix foeniina) has furnished no 

 less than 313, but this is quite put into the shade by the 

 harts-tongue's record of 450 varieties. Polystichuw an- 

 gulare,a relative of our Christmas fern (P. acrostichoides) 

 is credited with 384- varieties, while five other species have 

 each more than fifty. These aberrant forms often throw 

 an instructive light upon the origin of species, but one 

 might be pardoned for thinking a collection of 450 harts- 

 tongues a trifle monotonous. 



