44 BOTANICAL BULLETIN. 



acute; teeth sometimes spinous. Tlieir stamens are usually less numerous, the 

 scales of their cup membranaceous, the inner surface of their nut always tomentose ; 

 the fruit generally matures in the second year." 



Then follow some notes upon our 19 species, including their range and syn- 

 onomy. The pamphlet closes witli the consideration of -'Hybrid Oaks." The 

 author says that White-oaks and Black-oaks are too distinct to hybridize Avith 

 one another, and that thus far no hybrids have been discovered among the 

 former, while among the Black-oaks he tinds six forms. Four of these hybrids 

 have been found in the Mississippi Valley and two in Soutli Carolina. The four 

 western hybrids all claim Q. imbricavki as one of the parents and Q. coccinea, Q. 

 nibra, Q. palustris, Q. nigra as belonging in turn to each hybrid as the other pa- 

 rent. The two southeastei-n hybrids claim Q. cinerea as one parent and Q, Cates- 

 bcei or Q. falcata as the other. — Ed. 



Notes on Agave. By Geo. Engelmann, M. D.— The plants of this genus are 

 so difficult of preservation that very scanty and unsatisfactory material has been 

 furnished botanists for study. Within the last few years, however, a quantity of 

 new material has been placed in the hands of Dr. Engelmann and the result is a 

 monograph on the genus Agave. The author states that the native country of the 

 Agaves is America, and especially Mexico. He then proceeds to an enumeration 

 of the species of the territory of the United States. The genus is divided into three 

 sections, Singuliflorx. Geininiflnrce, and Paniculatce, the last being the typical Aga- 

 ves. The section Singuliflorce contains 3 species, ^l.macw/ostt, Hook.,^. Virginica, L., 

 the only representative of the genus known in the old United States, and A.variegu- 

 ta, Jaeobi. The section Geminijlorce contains 5 species, A. fulcata, Engelm., A. 

 Schottii, Engelm., A. parviflora, Torr., A. heteracantha, Zucc, and A. Mathensis, 

 Engelm. The section Panmdatce contains 8 species, A. Neivberryi, Engelra., A. 

 deserti, Engelm., A. Parnji, Engelm., A. Antillarum, Descourt, A. Shmoii, Engelm., 

 A. rigida, Mill., A. Falmeri, Engelm., and A. Wislizeni, Engelm. Accompanying 

 the monograph are three photographic views of A. ShcnvH. — Ed. 



Magnolia acu.aiinata, L. (Cucumbek-tkee.) — This beautiful species is found 

 growing within two miles of Hanover, and is one of the handsomest trees in the 

 county. It is of very rare occurrence here, but where it has started seems to grow 

 in clumps of considerable size. The trees are not as large as those reported from 

 farther south, but they are of most perfect shape. The farmer who reported them 

 growing on his farm, described them to me as being almost perfectly "egg-shaped." 

 He afterwards brought me a large number of the branches with the fruit on them. 

 The leaves are a beautiful ovate and not much acuminate, five to ten inches long, 

 green above, whitish pubescent beneath. I was surprised at the size and shape of 

 the fruit. All descriptions to which I have access gave me the idea of a small cone 

 of fruit, two or three inches long. The fruit I have is nothing of the sort. I can 

 not see a cone in all of it, or anything approaching cone-shape. No two specimens 

 are alike. They assume all sorts of fanciful shapes and seem to vie with eacli 

 other in irregularity. Tliere are boots and crescents and clubs and knotted cud- 

 gels and nameless s' apes. These shapes are controlled by the ripening of the 

 seeds. Certain seeds will outstrip the others in growth and the consequence is a 

 swelling on their side of the fruit. The boot-shape seems the most common and 

 is always brought about by the ripening of two seeds, one in the apex and one in 

 the base of the cone, and these parts enlarging excessively, and the other parts 

 remaining in statu quo, form the toe and heel of the boot. All the fruits are lumpy 

 and every lump contains a ripening seed. In my specimens I have never found 

 more than 5 or 6 seeds ripening. The fruits, instead of being only 2 — 3 inches 

 long, are 2 — 5 inches long, the largest always being found at the top of the tree. 

 Wnen they have turned a dark led, split open, and the seeds hangout on long 

 threads, the trees present a strange and beautiful api^earance. In drying, the red 

 fruit becomes perfectly black. — Ed. 



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