BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 99 



character in ciicli spofics of tree. They ;ire not merely almornuil (U^veloinnents o( tlie 

 hark, hiil arc coniiiosed of true woody fibre disposed in annual rings and surrounded 

 by bark, as tlioug'li they were so many separate centers of growth. Mr. Meelian sug- 

 gests the following e.\|)lanation of these excrescences. By experiment it is shown tliat 

 there is no ditfereuce in tiie Mrsi place in any i)art of the cambium layer or layer of 

 growth, although subsequently the inner i)art ])roduces wood cells. "The same cell 

 mayljecome permanent I issue or generating tissue, and from the generative tissue may 

 come before the season of growtli closes every form of structure known to anatomists, 

 from pure wood to the outermost cuticle of the bark. We know that cell-growth is not 

 always uniform in its operations. The law that changes ihc outermost series of newly 

 cells into libei- need not necessarily operate so exactly as to make them perfect to this 

 end — a few may be thrown off into the liber as generative tissue — and, granting this 

 possibilitj', we see how (he woody granules in the apple bark ai'c formed." In this 

 same way, Mr. Meehan Intel's, the largei- excrescences with rings of growth :uv formed. 

 In this case "the imperfectly formed liber cells, still ix'taining their generative power, 

 make a growth the next season^ forming a layer of wood and making its own cortical 

 layer, simultaneous with the noruTal wood growth of the tree, assimilating from the 

 same store of reserve material that the normal irrowth does."— J. M. C. 



W(n.vvi\.— ]V<ilffi(i in Gray's >[aiuial, page 480 (Ed. of 18()!)), is described as having 

 "//v/zr/.s /•w//^c'.'<.v, proliferous from a cleft oi- f■unnel-^haped opening at the l)ase, the oti"- 

 spring soon detached." Last summer I watched \Vt>/jp',i pi'etty closely and with much 

 interest. In plants from my locality the manner of its reproduction seems to be this. 

 I noticed plants that were nearly spheres, oliiers that were oblong, or prolate spln-roids, 

 and of these some had indentations about the middle, which varied in depth, until in 

 some of the plants the two ]iortions were merel}' in contact and these soon went apart, 

 making two perfecl plants.— Du. II. C. Beakdslke, P(iin€xrill(\ Ohio. 



Prof Theo. B. Comstock, of Cornell rniversily, pro[)o.se-^ to conduct an "A(iuatic 

 ^Summer School of Natural History." A steamer is to be chartered for four or six 

 weeks to cruise along the ".south and west shores of Lakes Erie, Huron and Superior, 

 thence along the north and east shores of the same waters." The route is certainly a 

 tempting one to botanists and the fee, !|12.'") including everything for 80 days, is so 

 moderate that we have no doubt many will be tem((ted to make api)lication to join the 

 expedition. 



We take pleasure in calling attention loa circular issued by H. Eggert of St. Louis, 

 Mo. It surely presents a rare chance to botanists t(j obtain sets of tlie tine and many 

 rare plants found in the neighl)orliood of St. Louis. We have received a set of Mr. 

 Eggerts' jilants and have found them to be exceedingly fine specimens and can cordi- 

 ally recomnumd them to our friends. Mr. Kggerfolfers for sale or exchange a selection 

 from a list of about ."iOO s)>ecies collected in the vicinity of St. Louis. He allows those 

 who wish to buy, the privilege of chosing from the list such i)lants as they desire to 

 obtain, at the rate of 6 cents i)er species for full iind complete sj)ecimens. Dr. George 

 Engclmann is given as reference. The list may be [)rocured by addressing H. Eggert, 

 918 Wash St., St. Louis, Mo. 



In a note from Prof. M. W. Harrington, written from ficipzig, Germany, the follow- 

 ing is of general interest. "The great German botanist. Prof Hofmeister, died a few 

 days ago. The two parts of his Ilmvlhiich iler rhi/slo.'(i(//.'<r/ir/i lintiniik, promised for 

 1876, were not prepared and the book must therefore remain untinished. To tliose who 

 have possessed the earlier parts — some already 10 years old — this must be a source of 

 gre'at regret. 



Ai.BrNis.M IN Pl.vxts. — In the Oct. No. of the Bulletin I see a notice of a white 

 Lohelid ayphUUica, L. In confirmation of this fact, I will state that I have found two 



