78 



THE MUSEUM. 



cinale, Weber); Seaside Golden Rod 

 (Solidago sempervirens, L. ) The 

 Golden Rod I found as late as Decem- 

 ber 22. at Revere Beach, Mass , in fine 

 fresh flower, though with blackened 

 and shrivelled leaves. 



The record for the next two months, 

 January and February, though meagre, 

 does not lack its representatives In 

 January there have been found in flower 

 the Hepatica, E. H. Hitchings; Knawel 

 (Scleranthus annuus, L.); Groundsel 

 (Senecio vulgaris, L ), Bradford Tor 

 rey; Chickweed {Stellaria media, Cy 

 rill); and the Dandelion. On the 1 8th 

 of this month in 1899 the Dandelion 

 appeared in full bloom on a grassy 

 bank at Chelsea, Mass , in such num- 

 bers as to attract public attention 



In February my list records the 

 Hepatica, E. H. Hitchings; Chick- 

 weed, concerning which Thoreau re- 

 marks "apparently it never resis;" 

 Skunk Cabbage {Symplocarpus foetid- 

 us, Salisb.), Frank Bolles; Dandelion; 

 Mayflower (Epigaea repens, L), a 

 small bunch of which I received from 

 Orleans, Mass., that was collected in 

 full flower February 12, 1899, and on 

 the same day my informant adds that 

 some Strawberry plants in his garden 

 were in bloom. The Dandelion, it 

 may be said, has been found in flower 

 ever} month of the year. Willows in 

 staminate flower are occasionally met 

 with in January and February, but 

 owing to the difficulty of identifying 

 the species they are not included in the 

 lists. 



I have confidence that the scant 

 record for these two months can be 

 increased as future opportunities offer 

 for more extended observations, and 

 doubtless some of the readers of Rho- 

 dora may be able to add to the num- 

 ber. 



March, though sometimes in New 

 England one of the severest of the 

 winter months, offers so many plants 

 in flower, especially toward the latter 

 part, that a list of them would not be 

 of especial inteiest. 



There is other and more important 



work, however, in winter botanizing, 

 than the mere enumeration of such 

 chance flowers as a mild season may 

 offer as a reward for the botanist's con- 

 stant attention. Many fruits of trees 

 and shrubs can now be collected and 

 studied with better advantage than was 

 possible earlier in the season. A hith- 

 erto much neglected subject foi study 

 is that of the winter sta'e of our trees 

 and shrubs, one to which increasing 

 attention is now b^ing given. It is 

 surprising how few cf them can be 

 readily recognized by even the most 

 competent botanist, and the collection 

 and study of specimens of bark, twigs, 

 and buds in their winter state will be 

 found full of interest. The complete 

 herbarium must show specimens of 

 these in addition to leaves and flowers. 



Another subject for study in winter 

 botanizing is the observation of the 

 radical leaves and basal shoots of herbs, 

 some of which differ so much at this 

 stage from those which we are accus- 

 tomed to associate with the plant as to 

 be very puzzling, and furnish material 

 for collecting on many a winter walk. 



While engaged in his occasional 

 winter outings, in these and other kin- 

 dred occupations, the botanist will 

 soon have his attention attracted to 

 other objects of most fascinating in 

 terest. On the lowlands, as he passes 

 along on a sunshiny day in late Feb- 

 ruary and March he will suddenly see, 

 in the gleaming olive of a row of Wil- 

 low shrubs and in the brilliant red of 

 the Blueberry bushes, on a rocky hill- 

 side, signs that will remind him of the 

 approach of another season, and as he 

 stands upon the threshold of a new 

 springtime, before he becomes engulf- 

 ed in its rising tide of life, he would 

 linger yet a little longer in the enjoy- 

 ment <>f the winter's offerings. 



An Alaskan Indian Relic. 



A totemic column from southern 

 Alaska has been presented to the muse- 

 um of the University of Michigan by 

 Leon J. Cole, assistant in zoology, who 



