OPEN LETTERS. 35 



"Botany of the Bay Begioa" as common in fields along 

 tlie eastern base of the Mt. Diablo Range, has been discovered 

 by Mr. L. Jared not far from San Luis Obispo. 



Salsola Kali, var. Tragus, L. This is the much dreaded 

 Russian thistle already reported in California from Antelope 

 Valley, Kern County. In June, 1895^1 found a single plant 

 along the railroad - track between Lathrop and the San 

 Joaquin bridge. It is to be expected along all our railroads and 

 ought to be destroyed as soon as discovered. — a. e. 



SPHiEEOPLEA ANNULINA IN CALIFORNIA. — Wolle in his 



" Fresh-Water -Alg«3 of the Uuiteti States" (p. 104, 1887) 

 says of this infrequently occurring alga: "It is reported from 

 California but without certain knowledge as to locality." 

 Wille, also, in Engler and Prantl's "Die Natuerliche Pfian-. 

 zenfamilieii" (I Th., 2 Abth., p. 122, 1890) refers doubtfully 

 to North America in the list of localities. The record of which 

 Messrs. Wolle and Wille had such an indefinite idea is to be 

 found in the Botanical Gazette for May, 1883, (vol. 8, p. 225) 

 where Farlow says that this plant was collected near San Ber- 

 nardino, California, by Mrs. Austin. In March, 1895, Miss 

 Sarah P. Monks, of the Los Angeles State Normal School, 

 discovered Sphoiroplea annuUna in considerable abundance 

 and in all stages of development in the Los Angeles River, and 

 it was collected again in the same locality January 4, 1896, by 

 Miss Monks and the writer. It has also been found in Minne- 

 sota by MacMillan and MacDougal. (Bot. Gaz., 19; 246-247, 

 1894.)— W. A. Setchell. 



OPEN LETTERS. 



Calamagrostis scopulorum, Jones. * 



Mr. T. H. Kearney, Jr., in the I'orrey Bulletin for 

 December; makes a number of false statements which I 

 desire to correct. He says that last winter I submitted to 



