THE FUN OF SEEING THINGS 



287 



Serpentine Growth in Cauliflower. 



Norwood, Massachusetts. 

 To the Editor: 



Herewith is a photograph of cauli- 

 flower which was sent to me from Jeru- 

 salem by Assad Khadder, a dragoman 

 who led a camping party, of which I 

 was a member, through the Holy Land. 

 My interest in the wild flowers must 

 have made so deep an impression upon 

 him that he continues to send me in- 

 teresting specimens for my pleasure. 



The Closed Gentian. 



BY TIIR RKVKRRND MANT^EY B. TOWNS^ND, 

 NASHUA, NKW IIAMPSHIRr;. 



The Nashua River is lined with 

 closed or bottle gentians. I have ex- 

 amined the blossoms carefully for evi- 

 dence of bees forcing their way in, but 

 have not found a single instance. I 

 know they do this occasionally, but be- 

 lieve it to be wholly exceptional and 

 that the rule of the plant is self-fertili- 

 zation. 



SERPE.XTIXK GROWTH IN CAULIFLOWER. 



You will notice his comments upon the 

 reverse side of the picture. Perhaps 

 the readers of The Guide to Nature 

 may welcome the sight of the serpent 

 that was greatly "admired by the peo- 

 ple of Jerusalem." 



Sincerely yours. 



Francis O. Winslow. 



China is undertaking a geological sur- 

 vey, though at present on a rather small 

 scale. Its head will be Dr. J. G. An- 

 derson, formerly chief of the Swedish 

 Geological Survey. Two other Swedes 

 will accompany him and at least one 

 Chinese geologist. Coal deposits will 

 be studied especially. 



How Turtle Shells Grow. 



Does the shell of a common land or 

 mud turtle increase in size by growth, as 

 is the case with clams and oysters, or dQ 

 they moult at regular intervals for a larg- 

 er one? — B. D. Miller, Schenectady, New 

 York. 



The shell of all turtles steadily increases 

 in growth. They do not moult. Growth 

 takes place between the sutures, thus ex- 

 panding and enlarging the shell. — Ray- 

 mond L. Ditmars, New York. 



I regard it as the finest magazine of 

 its class. The section devoted to as- 

 tronomy is the best I know of in the 

 class. — S. L. Boothroyd, Seattle, Wash- 

 ington. 



