BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 71 



soou after tlie}^ begin to secrete the clear liquid in the tubes before the orifice 

 of the hoodt; are <)i)eii, and n.) trace of any insects in the liquid for them to feed 

 on. If tlies, or small Ijiis of Iresh meat be placed in the tubes having closed 

 hoods, the larva' will iuimcdiatel}' begin feeding on tiieni, and if the pieces are no 

 larger than grains of wheat nothing will remain after forty-eight hours 



In February, 187,"), 1 made an exauiiuatiou of the larv^te when the thermometer 

 was a little below zero, and the liquid in the tubes was frozen down to the insect mass. 

 I found them nunu-rous and active. I selected four tubes of average size and took 

 them home for tlie purpose of numbering the larvie. In the first was 59; second 82; 

 third 1(58, and fourth 3il(>.— 11. M. Austin, Cresce/d MUls, Culiforida. 



Lkttkk Fuo.M Dix.. Louis W.vtson, Ellis, K.vxsas. — We are permitted to j)lace the 

 following interesting letter before our readers through the courtesy of Mr. Sereno Wat- 

 son : 



"The princii»al matter I wished to mention tt) you in relation to Botany, is the 

 great inequality of the abundance of certain i)iants upon these i)lains, in dilleient years. 

 In 1872 or 3, Mdlca strum coccineum. was very abundant, so much so in comparison with 

 previous years, as (o be remarked upon b}' some of the residents as a new plant here. 

 This was a mistake of course, for every yeiir since it has been common, but not so 

 abundant. In 1874 Aue/no/w CaroUiuann covered acres of ground, large patches being 

 purple iu color (or blue as I called it), and otlier large [)atches white. I met with one 

 small patch of 25 or iJO plants which were piWi'. In '75 and '70 they were only com- 

 mon, and iu '77, rare or very few. In '74 also Alllam (ruticiddtum?) was abundant in 

 patches of a few square rods, conspicuous as red or pinkish patches. Also similar but 

 less abundant patches of a white flowered AUiam. During the subsequent years, 

 though common, very much less abundant. The same year there were large patches 

 of a yellow flowered cruciferous plant, (I forget what), in bloom after the Anemones. 

 I have seen no siniilar patches since, except Nartttrtvum sumatmn in damp i>ond-like 

 places. In 1876 Grindeiin ts'inarnxa covered the whole countiy, but in '77 I did not see 

 luO s])ecimens. Enphorbin i/ntrf/uiKfa was rather rare, and most abundant where the 

 sod had been disturbed, or the land broken, yet iu 187G, some of the distant hills. were 

 whitened by its abundance. In 1877 only as usual Where the sod is turned, for fire- 

 guartls for instance, no matter in what out of the way region on the divides, these tiiree 

 plants invariably appear, viz: Euphorbid HKtrgiimUi, SoIuhiuh rostratain and Mdrtyiiid 

 'prubutscklen. In the 3-ear following the grasshoppers, an annual, soon perishing grass, 

 was very abundant and was called a new grass to the country. There has been little of 

 it since. I never nu't with I'l/ropappus f/ru/ulijiont.s until in 1877, and then only two 

 s])eciinens, until I found (piitc; a iiumber (75 or so) at the edge of the village on an acre 

 or so of light soil which had been ])lowed only in 1871. It is my impression that out 

 here I have not seen Aryeinone Mejricana except on disturbed ground, always the white 

 variety. 



What is the origin of the "fairy rings" so frequent on the i)lains? Sometimes they 

 are simply more or less perfect eirdcs of greener gj-ass, of a width of from inches to 

 a foot and of a diameter fnnn 2 or 3 feel to 12 or 14 feet. I have seen some of which the 

 principal vegetation was Lqndiuin Virginkwiii, but as a general thing they are only 

 fresher looking "biillalo grass" of the plains. Itarely there are fungi, as an imperfect 

 row of puff balls at the outer edge of the belt." 



Feriss of Trinidad. — Mr. Augustus Fendler, who began his botanical work as a 

 collector thirty years ago, when he first explored the region of Santa Fe, New Mexico, 

 and made an admirable and well known collection, and who afterwards made still 

 larger collections in Venezuela, is now resident in tlie Island of Trinidad. He pro- 

 poses to collect all the species of Ferns and fern-like plants of that rich tropical island, 



