18 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



forms, such as are met with in the pig-weeds (Chenopodi- 

 aceae). Some few other plants have peltate scales, and others 

 have their leaves dotted with resin or oil. ' 



Flowers Pollinated by Snails. — There are a few 

 plants in the world that are regarded as being adapted to 

 being pollinated by slugs and snails. One would think that 

 such blossoms must be borne by the most deliberate of the 

 plant kingdom for snails are not considered among the hust- 

 lers in the insect world. In Malacophilous flowers, as these 

 blossoms are called, the flowers are small, flat and closely as- 

 sembled so that the snails may easily creep from one to 

 another. In order to keep their voracious pollinators from 

 devouring the blossoms the latter are found to be either 

 poisonous or possessed of a fluid irritating to snails. A few, 

 however, such as Rhodca Japonica seem to provide some 

 compensation for the service rendered and produce a fleshy, 

 edible perianth, with which the snails are satisfied. 



Orientation of Solomon's Seal. — Referring to our 

 recent note on this subject, the British Gardening World of- 

 fers what seems to be a reasonable explanation of the fact 

 that all the stalks of Solomon's seal (Polygonatum) bend in 

 practically one direction. Our contemporary suggests that 

 inasmuch as the leaves are arranged on the stem in two rows 

 and it being advantageous to present the upper surface of 

 each to the light, the stems will be found always to bend 

 in such a way as to expose the leaves to the maximum amount 

 of light. Now, the question arises, does this theory fit the 

 facts? We hope our readers will make an investigation of 

 the subject during the coming spring. If this theory is in- 

 correct, the same publication suggests that the bending may 

 be in agreement with the direction of growth in the root- 

 stocks. In this connection it may be observed that the crested 

 fern {Nephrodium crisfatuni) makes many changes in its leaf- 



