BOTANICAL BULLETIN. 51 



per on "The Stnicture and Movement? of the Leaves of Diova;n mtiscipnla,^'' by 

 Casimir De Candolle, is reviewed b,y Dr. Gra)-. M. De Candolle, from a series of 

 experiments, comes to the conclusion that animal matter is not necessary to the 

 growth and strength of Dioncea. He fui'tlier infers that the animal matter of the 

 insects caught is not directl}' utilized by the leaves, a conclusion which Dr. Gray 

 does not consider necessary. A new intoxicating grass from Mongolia is noticed. 

 '•It proves to be a new species of Slipa, brought from the Alachan mountains by a 

 Roman Catholic Missionary, whose horses were disabled by its inebriating proper- 

 ties. The wandering Mongols of the region are familiar with this grass, and use 

 vinegar as an antidote." M. Alpli. De Candolle has caused a series of observations 

 to be made in two old botanical gardens, in Paris and Pisa, to learn whether the 

 age of a tree influences its time of leafing. The results do not show that there is 

 any difterence in this respect due to age. 



American Nahiralist, September. The doubtful species, Schoenolirion albtcin 

 Durand, referred to in the July number, has been rediscovered in Plumas Countj'. 

 California. Sedtaii rejlexum, L., is reported to have established itself at Pigeon 

 Cove, Essex County, Mass. A new Rocky Mountain fir is described by Lester F. 

 Ward under the name of Abies suhalpina, a provisional name given to the species 

 by Dr. Engelmann as the "fir which occupies the highest woode<l regions up to 

 the limits of vegetation in the Rocky Mountains, from Colorado noj'thward and 

 westward to Oregon." 



Bulletin of the'Torrey Botanical Club, July and August. A large part of this 

 double number is devoted to the notice and ])rief review of recent publications. 

 An interesting letter from Mr. Hall, of Beirut, is given. Quite a number of ad- 

 ditions and corrections are made to the Botanical Directory, Supplement, 187t). 



Hume and School, John P. Morton, Louisville, Ky., September. Mr. John Wil- 

 liamson presents his tliird paper upon "Studies in Nature and Art." Mr. W. has 

 commenced operations in a new and very interesting field. He is both botanist 

 and artist, and studying the beautiful forms suggested by flowers, works them 

 into ornamental designs. In each paper he has presented a single species, gives a 

 minute and popular description of it, accompanied by a wood cut, and then gives 

 in another plate some idea of the ornamentations to be derived from it. In the 

 August number he took up Jeffersonia diphylla, and in the present number Hepatica 

 triloba. Mr. W. was kind enough to furnish us with an advanced sheet of the cut 

 to be used in the October number. It is a very accurate drawing of that rare and 

 beautiful fern Trichomanes radicans, made from growing specimens. 



Field and Forest, Washington, D. C, September. The botanical articles are 

 "Field Notes in New England," by J. W. Chickering, Jr., "Flora Columbiana," 

 taking us to Gentianacece, and a note on the "Catalpa, or Cigar Tree," by S. S. 

 Rathvon. This sprightly journal has recently doubled its size to sixteen pages 

 and is well worth the subscription price, one dollar. Address Editor Field and 

 Forest, P. O. Box 273, Washing on, D. C. 



Some River Bank Flowers. — One of the best botanical grounds in this region 

 at the present season is the bank of the Ohio River. Every year the river over- 

 flows its banks and deposits not only a coating of rich alluvium, but also seeds 

 brought from fai'ther up stream and new to our flora. Nearly every season reveals 

 something new, and although it is, of course, not equal to the ballast grounds of 

 sea-port towns it is interesting in somewhat the same way. Through September 

 the bank is very ranklj^ overgrown and it is with great difficulty that, one can 

 force his way through the jungles of herbs that have assumed forest like propor- 

 tions in this rich soil. It might be interesting to mention some few of the more 

 striking plants noted in an afternoon's walk. To get to the river bank necessitates 

 passing through a jungle of Ambrosia trijida, not eighteen feet, as noticed once be- 

 fore, but in some instances tiventij-two feet in height. On coming to tlie beach we 

 find it one continuous carpet of Eragrostis, principally E, poceoides, var. megastachya 



