36 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



tion, and such plants as lack a hairy covering will be found to 

 have placed their dependence upon a thick epidermis or a dense 

 coating of wax or "bloom." Turning to the water plants we 

 find a complete absense of these protective devices, an addi- 

 tional proof of the soundness of our theory. 



The roots of our sand plants extend for long distances 

 under ground, often going straight down for many feet. It 

 is one thing to admire the handsome plants of the barrens, and 

 quite another to dig them up for transplanting. A few trials 

 even in soft sand will convince the botanizer eager to culti- 

 vate these plants, that it is far better to try to secure plants 

 from seeds than to dig them up. It is likely that even a sand 

 barren is never as dry as it looks. Not so very far beneath the 

 surface there is a moist layer, and this is slow to evaporate be- 

 caue the soft sand at the surface acts as a mulch and breaks 

 the chain of capillary moisture that would otherwise rise. 

 Some of these sand-plants, then, are not so much plants that 

 can live without water, as they are plants that liave learned to 

 go deep for their supply. Shallow-rooted plants cannot hope 

 to compete with them. 



Not the least of the charms of sand plants coniv 

 blossoms. Plants with insignficant flowers are the exception. 

 Whether it is due to the habitat, or to the necessity of bidding 

 high for the visits of insects, certain it is that showy flowers 

 most abound where conditions are most unfavorable — on 

 mountain tops, in the desert, in arctic regions and the like. As 

 with men, it seems to require a certain amount of trial to de- 

 velop their best points. Added to this the generally lessened 

 leaf surface and the under populated soil, makes each blooming 

 plant stands out like a bouquei. One has but to call to mind 

 that magnificent plant the butterfly-weed, or the bracted 

 baptisia, or the lupine or bird-foot violet to understand what is 

 meant. The barrens are probably always more floriferous 



