344 



THE GARDENER'S MONTJU. )' 



[November f 



has exceptions. I remember some twenty-seven 

 or twenty-eight years ago a Beech tree standing 

 in a wood just back of my fatlier's residence, 

 near the village of lilountsville, not far from the 

 iiortli-cast corner of Ilonry county. Ind., was 

 >tru(k by the electric Iluid. According to my 

 present recollection, the tree wjvs struck some 

 twentj-five feet from the ground, and a piece 

 three or four inches wide, and one and a-half 

 inches deep wa.s torn out from that to the roots. 

 This is the onl}' case of this tree being struck 

 with lightning that ever came under my obser- 

 vation, although it was a common occurrence for 

 other species of timber to be destroyed by this 

 cause. The Beech makes an excellent shade 

 tree, and is probably as free from danger from 

 lightning as any that can be used for stock shel- 

 ter in pastures, or for lawn shade trees. 



RDITORIAL NOTES. 



ABSTRACT OF PAPER "ON HYBRIDS IN 

 NATURE. " 



BY THOMAS MEEHAN, GERMANTOW^N, PHILA. 



Read before the American Association for the Advancement of 

 Science, at St. Louis, August 1S7«. 



The author shows that hyln-id plants must be 

 rare in nature, for the following reasons, which 

 with the experiments and observations on which 

 they are founded, were given in detail : 



1st. Intermediate forms are thought to be hy- 

 brids, because they are intermediate ; but actual 

 experiment rarely results in intermediate forms. 



2nd. Hybrids, when fertile, rarely reproduce 

 their exact forms from seed. 



3rd. Hybrids could not therefore spread them- 

 selves over large districts and preserve their 

 identity. 



4th. The same two parent species rarely pro- 

 duce the same hybrid form though the tiowers 

 be from the same two plants, and though the act 

 of crossing be performed at the same time; there- 

 fore identical forms in distant places if of hybrid 

 parentage, could scarcely have spread from one 

 original, if at all. 



5th. The Avide distribution of some supposed 

 hybrids, must therefore impl}' a remote origin 

 in geological time, not well harmonizing with 

 their supposed beginning between modern spe- 

 cies. 



6th. The facts connected with supposed hy- 

 brids in nature are more consistent with the 

 theory of innate and sudden evolution of forms, 

 as propounded by the author in former papers 

 before the association. 



Native place of the Miononette. — It i& 

 now stated in the Garilcncr''s Chrum'cle that nO' 

 one ha.s gathered the Mignonette truly indigen- 

 ous anywhere. 



Wheat and Chess again.— The agricultural 

 editor of the Chicago Tribune has seen, at last, a 

 head of Wheat in which grew something which 

 "in color, size and outward appearance was 

 Chess." He then goes on to say: 



"The head of Wheat was taken to Prof. Bur- 

 rill, of the Industrial University, for his examin- 

 ation. Prof. Burrill is of the opinion that the 

 grains shown are Chess, but does not say 

 positively that they grew in the head of Wheat. 

 We are of the opinion that they did grow there, 

 and we doubt not that Mr. B. would say the 

 same, where he not perhaps afraid that a posi- 

 tive assertion might subject him to ridicule." 



It strikes us that this paragraph does great in- 

 justice to Prof. Burrill, whose reputation as a 

 careful botanist is well known. Prof. Burrill is 

 no doubt perfectly justified in withholding his 

 positive assertion as a man of science, without 

 any "fear of ridicule." Prof. B. would not long 

 withhold his opinion if the facts could be proved- 



The English Sparrow, and Seeds anD' 

 Fruits. — "Maryland" asks: "Can you tell me 

 positively whether the English spaiTow will eat 

 seeds and fruit?" 



[Positively they will eat seeds. We have no- 

 knowledge of their eating fruits. There is na 

 particular reason why they should not, for the 

 robin is an insectivorous bird, but yet keeps a 

 longing eye on our Cherry trees. It is likely 

 these birds are all of one stripe, — a mixture of 

 good and evil. — Ed. G. M.] 



What ls a Weed. — A writer quotes Ralph 

 Waldo Emerson as defining a weed to be "a plant 

 whose use has not been discovered." If this be 

 Mr. Emerson's, he had better try again, for a. 

 weed is not a plant the use of which has not been 

 discovered. Numberless weeds, and vile weeds- 

 too, have very good uses. 



Clematis. — A correspondent of the Gardener's 

 Chronicle, is puzzled over the pronunciation of 

 this word. He has heard it pronounced "Cle- 

 mattis," "Clemaitis," and "Clemawtis," and 

 does not know "which is which." It is very 

 singular that he does not seem to have heard of 

 Clemma-tis which is the correct pronunciation. 



