1877.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



151 



HoLLYBERRiES. — In reference to the suggestion 

 made to us by a correspondent lately in regard 

 to Mr. Darwin's views on the relation of insects 

 to the scarcity of Hollyberries, it is but right to 

 note that Mr. Darwin himself, has since written 

 a letter to say, that on farther reflection, he 

 thinks he was wrong. 



Seeding of the Horse Radish. — If any one 

 finds seed on the Horse Radish, some specimens 

 would be thankfully received by the Editor. 



Poisoning by Ampelopsis Yirginica. — The fol- 

 lowing paragraph is going the rounds of the 

 papers, and we give it here in order to express 

 an opinion that it is a case of mistaken identity. 

 In our own country the Rhus radicans — poi- 

 son vine — is often taken for the Ampelopsis — 

 Virginia creeper, — and it may be so abroad. The 

 Ampelopsis belongs to the grape vine family, 

 and closely allied to the grape, and it is scarcely 

 probable it should be poisonous : — 



" Ttie details of two cases of poisoning by the 

 well known Virginian creeper or American ivy 

 (Ampelopsis hederacea) have been communi- 

 cated to the medical papers by Mr. Bernays, of 

 Chatham, England. The sufferers were two 

 children, aged respectively two and a half and 

 five years, who had chewed some leaves of the 

 plant, swallowing only the juice. They were 

 quickly seized with violent vomiting and purg- 

 ing, with considerable tenesmus, then collapse, 

 sweating, and faint pulse, followed by deep sleep 

 for two hours, from which they were aroused by 

 a retiu'n of the vomiting and purging. Milk, 

 with some rum mixed in it, was freely adminis- 

 tered, under which treatment the children soon 

 recovered ; but four hours after the commence- 

 ment of the attack there was considerable dila- 

 tion of the pupil." 



Double-headed Calla. — Mr. Fiitton sends us 

 a very pretty Calla, with two spathes. We have 

 occasionally seen these double-headed forms, but 

 never so perfect as this. The first or lowest 

 " flower " is very fine, 6 inches long by 5 wide. 

 Then instead of the ordinary spadix (the orange- 

 colored column) there is a stem of two inches 

 and then a perfect, but smaller flower. 



Such specimens are very interesting to the 

 students of morphology, as illuetrating by exam- 

 ple what is usually taught by theory. The solid 

 stem or flower stalk of a Calla, is formed of a 

 mass of leaves rolled up, and united together 

 into a round stalk, and the usual white spathe is 

 merely the leaf blade verv much reduced. The 



spadix is formed of other leaf blades, but so com- 

 pletely united together and transformed that no 

 mere observer would suspect it. In the case before 

 us, the apex of a leaf got free from the consoli- 

 dating power before the proper time, as the two 

 inches of flower stalk above shows ; and the same 

 power that thus favored the leafy character of 

 the plant in this way enabled it to form another 

 spathe. How near the lower spathe came to be- 

 ing a perfect leaf blade is shown by the green tip. 

 Since the above was written we have a photo- 

 graph of one, exactly the same, from Mr. Valen- 

 tine Burgeoin, Kingston, N. Y. 



GiLiA Parry^. — A correspondent of the Rural 

 Press, taking this plant as a text, is exasperated 

 that botanists should name plants after individ- 

 uals. He says : — 



" The point I wish to set forth is this : That 

 the interest of the people, and full as much of 

 science, would be better served by bestowing 

 upon new plants (and upon many old ones)» 

 names derived from some peculiarity in form, 

 color or habit of the plant. Take, for instance, 

 theDidiscus ccerulea ; one who has had any ac- 

 quaintance with Latin at once imagines a blue 

 flower." 



But why should eccndea mean blue flotver, 

 any more than Virgilia lutea which means yellow 

 wood. But supposing a botanist should follow 

 this gentleman's advice, and give the name of 

 coerulea to the first blue flower of a genus that 

 he finds, what is he to do when he finds more 

 blue species? People often complain of bot- 

 anists and botanical language, as if the object of 

 a botanist were to make the study as difficult as 

 possible, when it is just the reverse. Only for 

 their care it would be impossible to study the 

 science. People who complain about these 

 things know nothing about the subject. If their 

 correspondence were in the shape of inquiries, 

 instead of complaints, there would be more rea- 

 son in it. In this very instance, the correspon- 

 dent would be surprised to learn, that a specific 

 name which means nothing, is less likely to mis- 

 lead than one which means something; and it is 

 no doubt the perception of this that leads to the 

 growing practice of naming plants after persons 

 associated with their discovery. Such names 

 have the advantage of historic value at least. — 

 [Ed. G. M.] 



Echinocactus Simpsoni. — Magazine work is 

 not like book-making, and in the necessary haste 

 involved, mistakes are more likely to occur ; and 

 when they do occur, are more excusable. W© 



