1883.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



53 



is always found on it when older. When a branch 

 dies, these protecting devices soon fall into decay, 

 and the water, so carefully guarded by the living 

 parts of the plant, is wasted by evaporation." 



If the Tribune had read the (iARUENKRs' 

 Monthly, it might have given that news to its 

 readers long, long ago. 



DouBLF. Trop.eoll.m, Hkrmink Grosshoff. — 

 Mr. Henry A. Dreer sends us specimens of a new 

 double Tropjeolum of which we give the following 

 illustration. The old double " Nasturtium " or 

 Tropaeolum, was of a light red color ; this is border- 

 ing on the crimson. Besides its great value as an 

 ornamental plant, it is one of those interesting va- 

 riations from a normal type which lovers of natu- 

 ral historv love to studv. As ever\ one knows the 



Double Tropaeolum Hermine Groshoff. 



common "Nasturtium " has a long spur projecting 

 from the calyx. The scarlet or zonale geranium is 

 very nearly a Tropaeolum, and has a spur like it, 

 but it is united wnth the flower stalk, and can only 

 be well detected by cutting the stalk across. In 

 the case of this Tropaeolum the spur has disap- 

 peared with the doubling of* the tlower. The same 

 thing occurs in the doubling of Aquilegias or 

 Columbines. 



Defenck IN Birds' Nests. — "T.," Wilmington, 

 Delaw^are, says : "Noticing your remarks on the 

 nest of the wood pewee, I would ask if you have 

 seen that of the great green-crested fly-catcher ? 

 The former decorates with lichens, the latter inva- 



riably with a snake's skin. I have seen hundreds 

 of the nests, and have never seen one without the 

 snake's skin. The lichens serve to, conceal the 

 nest of the pewee, as they do that of the humming- 

 bird, which always uses them and conceals its nest 

 eftectually, but why does the fly-catcher use the 

 snake-skin? Is it to terrify robber birds? It 

 builds in a hole in a tree, often not far from the 

 ground. The skin is woven in around the margin 

 of the nest, and is made very conspicuous." 



American Habits of Earth-Worms. — At a 

 recent meeting of the Academy of Natural Sci- 

 ences of Philadelphia, Mr. Meehan commented 

 upon a collection of leaves inserted by earth-worms 

 in their burrows in the manner described by Dar- 

 win, who, it \\\\\ be remembered, states that such 

 leaves are drawn in by the worms either by the 

 ape.x or petiole, as may present the least resistance. 

 The collection had been made by Mr. Edward 

 Potts, from his own grounds, and consisted of wil- 

 low leaves, although peach leaves were sometimes 

 employed in the same way. These leaves being 

 lanceolate, or as much tapering at the one end as 

 the other, were inserted indifferently at the petiole 

 or at the apex. It was supposed that their use is to 

 line the burrows, and thus protect the worms from 

 the cold and moisture of the earth, although por- 

 tions of the leaves are evidently softened by the 

 secretions of the worms and used as food. A wil- 

 low leaf will l^e drawn entirely into a burrow in the 

 course of three days. The habits of earth worms 

 as illustrated by the specimens exhibited were 

 commented on by Messrs. Heilprin, Potts and 

 Leidy. 



XERANTiii:Mr.\i annltm slperbissiml'm. — Re- 

 ferring to Acroclinium in our last, it was noted that 

 in a composite or aster-like flower, there were many 

 methods by which the flower became, in popular 

 language, "double." We give here a case where 

 another of the " immortelles " has become double, 



Xeranthemum annuum superbissimum. 



but in this case by the tubular florets in the center, 

 taking on a broadly ovate form, as in some dahlias. 

 Besides the instructive lesson it affords, it is a 



