THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 53 



An Ambitious Sundew.— In a recent letter to the edi- 

 tor, Prof. W. W. Bailey' reported finding a sundew {Dro- 

 sera rotundifolia) that had captured a fair sized dragon 

 fly. It required four leaves to hold the prey ! 



Profuse Blooming. — Certain cultivated trees have 

 this 3'ear bloomed in profusion. Thus it has been with 

 horse-chestnut, but notably with the ^-ellow-wood (Clad- 

 rastis tinctoria). The latter has been glorious and when 

 finally the white petals fell, the grass and gutters looked 

 as if filled with snow. — W. W. Bailey. 



Mushroom Culture. — Growers of mushrooms have, 

 until recently, been content to plant the so-called mush- 

 room spawn, or mycelia of the plant, and l^e thankful for 

 the mushrooms that have appeared. Now, by various 

 improvements in the culture of mushroom spawn, it is 

 possible to select the mushrooms to breed from, and this 

 will doubtless result in soon increasing the size and other- 

 wise improving the plants. A most interesting feature of 

 the work is found in "tissue-cultures." By this method 

 young well-flavored mushrooms are selected, and from the 

 stems are removed small pieces of tissue. These are plant- 

 ed in sterilized compost and soon put forth new mycelia. 



The Ceriman. — Those who have visited almost any 

 greenhouse where plants are grown for decorative pur- 

 poses, have probably noticed among the palms and other 

 ornamentals a large vine-like plant with thick leaves a 

 foot or more in extent remarkable for having large holes 

 here and there in the blade as if the substance of the leaf 

 was not sufficient to fill in the spaces between the veins. 

 This plant is the ceriman {Monstera deliciosa) a member 

 of the Arum family very common in collections. It has 

 an inflorescence somewhat like that of the wild calla but 

 the spathe is pale yellow, ten inches or more long and 

 nearly as wide. This half-encloses a long and very thick 

 spadix that is edible when ripe. Although as yet practi- 

 cally unknown in the markets, it is nov^ being raised for its 

 fruit in southern Florida and may ultimately find its way 

 to the fruit stores of northern cities. 



