122 BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 



except just about the eutrance, wht'ic ;i perfefl forest of them renders escape into the 

 pi'eceding chamber impossible, ami moreover about the tloral organs an abundance of 

 nectar supplies them with food. There is a line stumbling-block in the way of the- 

 believer in the laws > f cross lertilizatit)n. As Trofessor (!ray would say, this plant 

 seems to be formed on the plan of 'how not to do it.' Skeptics have poiateil trium- 

 pliantly to the Arisfo/or/u'd as a iilant whieli, with the utmost ingenuity, has jji'ovided 

 for insuring self orelose fertilization. They had oj^cned tiowers in full bloom, found 

 tiie anthers pouring forth pollen, and the im[)risoned insects skipping about the inner 

 chamber completely dusting themselves and its walls with the yellow grains. The 

 stigmatic surface, loo, had long been fertilized, its lobes had closed, and having per- 

 formed its office the j)istil was withering away. The fact of self-fertilization in this 

 plant seemed proved. Nature, however, does not disclose all her secrets on the first in- 

 spection, ami a more careful study of this flower in all its stages will show that its 

 wonderful machinery is contrived s )lely for secu)"ing cross-fertilization through Ihe 

 agency of insects, and that it cannot fertilize itself In fact liie anthers and stigma in 

 any flower (ii-e never open at the name time. The mystery is explained wlien we examine 

 llie flowers that have blossomed and are witliering: tlie trap /,s ope,! und the inserts nil 

 floicn. Each of the three constrictions, which were at first so narrow as only to admit 

 of a small insect jiushing its way between the hairs, is now gaping widely open, and 

 all the bristles so wilted and flaccid as to otfer no impediment to their escape. Now 

 turning to a bud just bursting into flower, we find the bristles rigid and the ti'ap set.. 

 The stigma is now widely open and ready to receive pollen, but the anthers tightly 

 closed and their pollen (piite green. Each flower has then a double duty to perform; 

 first, to catch insects which have been litierated by some flower i)revi(nis|y in bloom, 

 and to effect its fertilization with the pollen which they bring; second, to feed and hold 

 them there until its stigma has closed and its anthers burst. And, finally, it opens its 

 trap and sends them forth with unimpaired vigor and a fresh load of pollen for the next 

 flower that blooms." — Amkkican Nati'uat.tst, Mni/. 



Botanical Nojiknclatcrk. — There are two (piestions sometimes agitated with 

 respect to the naming of plants. One is, as to the manner of writing s[)eciflc names, 

 the other, as to the kind of names to be given. The writer would heartily endorse the 

 general custom of botanists with regard to the first (juestion, and would deprecate their 

 custom with regard to the second. Some botanists, after the manner of zoologists, make 

 all their specific names begin with a small letter. Whether a species is named for a man, 

 country, or any thing else with a proper name it must begin with a small letter , thus 

 destroying every remnant of resemblance it might have borne t > the original name. Oui 

 what grounds such a rule was made, it w>iuld be hard lo say. The rules of language 

 are very plain on such a point and they should not be violated for trivial reasons. It is. 

 to the credit of botanists in general that they have not yet adopted this innovation! 

 which makes .science ungrammatical. But in I'egard to the second point. Can we not 

 havea little relief from the jUMper luunesthat in most unstinted lavishness are applied to 

 species V . What is the use of them, oi' what do they mean ? If a country is to be honored 

 by a botanical name, let it b(' honored once and then let it retire, but the endless pj'o- 

 cessions oi' Canfidensis, Cnroliniaini, Virf/ini/inn. etc., are a lift. e monotonous, to say the 

 least of it, especially when the names are not always suitable. Suih names may com- 

 memorate the]daee from whence the fir-t specimens were obtained for description, but 

 what peculiar appropriateness have they after further discovery. This is the very diffi- 

 culty of naming a species from any localily. AVhile such a nanu' may be suitable for 

 a time, further discoveries ma\- pro\i' Ihc plant to be of very wide range and may often 

 find it in greater abundance than at the first publi>licd locality. iJut the names of persons 

 are used just as lavishly. It is extremely suitable to dedicate one species or two to diligent 



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