THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 11 



of foliage. Even their embryos fore-shadow the later growth ; 

 they are mere twining caulicles, without cotyledons, even. 



Beginning its life in the ground, the dodder gropes about 

 till it reaches a desirable host or nourishing plant. In this re- 

 spect it exhibits natural preferences and many become very de- 

 structive, as with flax in certain parts of Europe. In the 

 United States I am not aware of its having done any great 

 damage though it is easy to see how it might when one ob- 

 serves its Lacoon coils seeming to throttle some neighbor. 

 Upon plants that we have most seen them, in New England, to 

 which our ol)servation are mostly confined, mid-summer dod- 

 ders resemble entanglements of brass or copper wire, and often 

 appear to smother neighboring herbage and shrubbery. 



It is interesting throughout nature to note how often or- 

 gans are retained as mere reminiscent traces, as it were, of 

 parts which have long since ceased to function. They often 

 throw light on the origin and development of certain parts of a 

 plant. They are records perhaps of an earlier time, laid away 

 for the savant to read. 



Proindencc, R. I. 



THE BOTANIST AND THE PUBLIC. 



IN no phase of science has there been a greater change of posi- 

 tion in the past few years than in botany. As formerly 

 taught in our schools and colleges, the science was chiefly a 

 course in the analysis of flowers with the end in view of enabl- 

 ing the student to name the flowering plants he might happen to 

 find. Such studies gave impetus to the plant collector and ex- 

 alted the loical flora and thus rather deserved the quip that 

 "botany is a study suited to the leisure hours of old maids and 

 elderly men." 



But the science can no longer be classed among the strictly 

 ornamental studies nor its devotees be regarded as harmless 

 cranks interested in gathering flowers and to be tolerated rather 



