226 KOTAMCAL. GAZETTE. 



GENERAL NOTES. 



Fern Distribution in the U. S. — Mr. Geo. Davenport has read before 

 the Am. Phil. Soc. a paper containing some comparative tables showing the dis- 

 tribution of ferns in the United States. This is in anticipation of the publica- 

 tion of a Text Book and Manual of the Ferns of North America, for which 

 these tables were prepared. Some notes upon them will be of interest to all. 

 Up to the date of publication (Feb. 2, 1883), the entire fern flora of the U. 

 S. contained 162 or 164 known species. Of the States, New York leads with 52 

 species, followed by California with 48, Horida and Michigan with 47 each, 

 Arizona with a probable 47, and Vermont with 45. Mr. Davenport thinks that 

 owing to the contiguous unexplored Mexican territory, Arizona will lead all 

 the other States in the wealth of her fern flora. The only other States contain- 

 ing 40 or more species are, Pennsylvania (42), Kentucky (41), Arkansas (41), 

 and Connecticut (40). Pteris aquilina, Adiantum pedatum, Cystopteris frdgilis, and 

 Asplenium Triehomanes are probably the most cosmopolitan, and Polypodium ml- 

 gweh&s almost as great a range. Florida is distinguishedin monopolizing all the 

 species we have in six genera; these,of course,being tropical. The only other State 

 which has the monopoly of a genus is New Jersey with its very local Schizcea, 

 Only recently the discovery of Scolopendrium in Tennessee divided the honor of 

 its presence with New York. — J. M. C. 



Castor Oil Wood. — Soon after the completion of the University plant 

 houses last spring, there were planted in the large central bed of the palm- 

 house, for want of something more desirable, a number of different kinds of 

 Ricinus. These were allowed to grow for seven months, when they were cut 

 down to make room for other plants. At this time all of the twelve kinds were 

 above fifteen feet in height, while the largest, the seeds of which had been re- 

 ceived under the name of Rid mix Africanus, was eighteen feet in height, with a 

 trunk fully ten inches in circumference at the base. Noticing the woody char- 

 acter of these trunks, which, for the first two or three lower joints, were unex- 

 pectedly solid and firm, with scarcely a trace of pith, some of them were 

 seasoned, and have since been worked up. The wood is of light color, closely 

 resembling basswood in appearance, but without any trace of concentric rings 

 indicating periodic growth. Under the microscope the wood-cells are found to 

 be of large size, with very numerous dotted ducts intermixed, while the medul- 

 lary system is unusually well developed. To determine the character of the 

 wood, some comparisons with other kinds have been made. Weight of a cubic 

 inch of completely dried wood in grams: Red oak, 8.82; butternut, 7.12; 

 sugar-maple, 11.21 ; white pine, 6.22; Ricinus, 4.53. Weight in grams of water 

 absorbed by each block w r hen immersed for several days: Red oak, 8.77 ; but- 

 ternut, 7.78 ; sugar-maple, 8.22 ; white pine, 6.43 ; Ricinus, 14.44. Percentage of 

 ash: Red oak, 0.26 ; butternut, 0.51; sugar-maple, 0.46; white pine, 0.11 : 

 Ricinus, 2.20. Specific gravity: Red oak, 0.5385; butternut, 0.4347; sugar- 

 maple, 0.6843 ; white pine, 0.3797 ; Ricinus, 0.2766. In Forestry Bulletin, No. 22, 



