112 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



its leaves to the light. As in most plants it can move the whole 

 leaf, and in addition the single leaflets may vary their position. 

 It is well known that these latter close at night, and may even 

 do so in the presence of too much heat. Within the substance 

 of the leaf two other adjustments may also take place. In one 

 the chlorophyll grains are able to change their position in the 

 cell. When light becomes too intense they migrate to positions 

 close to the cell wall where they are in a measure protected 

 by it. Should this not afford suitable protection the chloro- 

 phyll grains or chloroplasts change their shape and thus avoid 

 the light rays. According to Sachs, if the oxalis plant with 

 folded leaflets is covered at night, so that no light can penetrate 

 to it, it will nevertheless spread its leaves the next morning 

 whether the cover is removed or not. This seems a rather 

 improbable statement and some of our readers who hail from 

 Missouri might investigate for themselves. The oxalis is a 

 weed nearly everywhere. 



Decorative Saltbushes. — About the time the World's 

 Fair was held in Chicago, plantsmen began the introduction 

 from Europe of a trim little plant of the goose-foot family 

 under the name of standing cypress (Kochia scoparia). This 

 was used in some of the plantings at the fair and in conse- 

 quence is frequently known as the World's Fair plant. The 

 plant is much like a small cypress in appearance and as it turns 

 bright red in autumn it is often used for hedges though it is 

 an annual that must be replanted yearly. According to a 

 government bulletin received recently we do not need to go to 

 Europe for plants of this kind. In the semi-arid west there are 

 several members of the same family though of a different 

 genus (Atriplex) that are extremely useful for hedges and 

 they have the additional qualification of being able to grow in 

 alkali soils. This last feature gives them their common name of 

 salt bushes. In Santa Barbara and other cities on the Pacific 

 Coast their use for hedges has become general. The speciey 



