192 BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 



pronounced it the residence of a mind of strong powers. He requested 

 to see my drawings, anxious to see the plants I had introduced besides 

 the birds I had drawn. Finding a strange plant among my drawings he 

 denied its authenticity; but on my assuring him that it grew in the 

 neighborhood, he insisted on going off instanter to see it. When I point- 

 ed it out the naturalist lost all command over his feelings and behaved 

 like a maniac in expressing his delight. He plucked the plants one after 

 another, danced, hugged me in his arms, and exultingly told me he had 

 got, not merely a new species, but anew genus. After a day's pursuit 

 of natural history studies, the stranger was accommodated with a bed- 

 room. We had all retired to rest; every person I imagined was in deep 

 slumber save myself, when of a sudden I heard a great uproar in the. 

 naturalist's room. I got up and reached the place in a few moments 

 and opened the door; when, to my astonishment, I saw my guest run- 

 ning naked, holding the handle of my favorite violin, the body of which 



he had battered against the Avails in attempting to kill the bats which 

 had entered by the open window, probably attracted by the insects flying 

 around his candle. I stood amazed, but he continued running round 

 and round, until he was fairly exhausted, when he begged me to procure 

 one of the animals for him, as he felt convinced that they belonged to a 

 ■'new species". Although I was convinced to the contrary, I took up the 

 bow of my demolished Cremona, and administering a smart tap to each of 

 the bats as it came/up, soon got specimens enough. The war ended, I 

 again bade him good night, but could not help observing the state of the 

 room. It was strewed with plants, which had been previously arranged 

 with care. He saw my regret for the havoc that had been created, but 

 added that he would soon put his plants to right— after he had secured 

 his new bats." M. S. B. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Prof. E. J. Hill, of Englevvood, 111., gave a lecture on the "Means of 

 Plant Dispersion" before the Chicago Microscopical .Society at their Jan- 

 uary meeting. 



Mr. William R. Dudley, in the Torrey Bulletin for January, de- 

 scribes, with the help of a plate, some interesting cases of adnation oc- 

 curring between the berries and leaves of Mitchelld repens. 



L. Just has found that green plants cannot assimilate carbonic ox- 

 ide but that it does them no harm except when its proportion in the at- 

 mosphere exceeds 10 per cent. It then prevents the formation of chlo- 

 rophyll and hinders assimilation and growth. 



Dr. Maxwell T. Masters has described in the Jarwnal of Botany 

 for February some new Passiflorece, all from South America, Anew 

 genus, Mitostemma, is represented by two species, one from South Brazil 

 and the other from British Guiana. The genus Passiflora receives five, 

 new species. 



Mr. Joseph F. .James publishes a paper on "Pitcher Plants" in the 

 March Naturalist, in which he advances the idea that in S. purpurea 



