Jane 26, 1866. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICDLTURE AND COTTAGE GAEDENKR. 



477 



monntable difficulties. Very rarely is the fructification suffi- 

 ciently well preserved for any characters to be drawn from it. 

 In the hundj-eds of specimens which I have examined, there 

 has not been one such. The student is forced back on the 

 form of the fronds, and the distribution of the nervules, both 

 for family, generic, and specific characters. For this reason, 

 there is scarcely another study in natural history so uncertain 

 and unsatisfactory. Different portions of the same plant often 

 belong to different sub-orders. 



The most strikingly beautiful of all impressions left on the 

 coal are those made by the Lepidodendra. These plants were 

 more closely allied to the Lycopodiaceie or Club Moss family, 

 than to any other living plants. The living representatives of 

 this family do not attain to above a few inches in height, 

 generally trailing on the ground ; but not so with the Lepido- 

 dendra of the coal age. The remains of their trunks are often 

 20, 30, and 40 or even more feet in length, indicating the im- 

 mense size to which they attained. They must have been a 

 very striking feature of that ancient flora, very probably form- 

 ing in some places groves themselves, in others mingling with 

 the Conifers and tree Ferns. 



All through the coal measures are found in abundance 

 sections of peculiar, long, cyhndrical stems. These are re- 

 markable for being articulated, with their joints very close 

 together, and surrounded by a sheath, mostly formed of acute, 

 closely-set teeth. Their surfaces are generally caniculate, the 

 channels or grooves often alternating at the joints. 



These fossUs are the Calamites of systematists. On account 

 of their external resemblance to the existent Equisitaces or 

 Horse-tail tribe, they have been considered as allied to them ; 

 but recent investigations have revealed more truly and com- 

 pletely their history. The microscopical examination of their 

 stems has shown that they were Conifers ; and the discovery 

 of their fructification has confirmed this curious revelation. A 

 peculiar form of vegetable rdiqua: has long been known to be 

 abundant in the coal measures, especially where the Calamites 

 appear to have flourished. They consist of minute stems or 

 branches most generally, but not always, simple, and beset at 

 short intervals with whorls of linear, single-nerved leaves. 

 These leaves resemble more nearly the awl-shaped foliage of 

 our Pines than that of any other existing plant. Now the per- 

 fected fructification of these plants has been discovered. It con- 

 sists of compressed, apparently monospermous nutlets, which 

 are generally more or less acute, often encircled by a narrow 

 wing, and always situated in the axils of the whorls. The male 

 flowers have also been found. They are terminal ear-like spikes, 

 of appressed scales, enclosed in a mass of united appressed leaf- 

 like bracts. These vegetable remains are the AsterophyUites 

 of Brongniart. Various theories have been advanced as to their 

 botanical relations, all founded on the premise that they were 

 distinct, perfect plants ; but these have all been disproved by 

 the recent discovery that they are nothing but the branches of 

 the Calamites. According to Professor Lesquereux, these Cal- 

 amites were probably annuals, or, at least, short-lived plants, 

 which grew up very rapidly. As they grew, they gave off con- 

 stantly towards their summits these branches. The individual 

 branches soon died, and were at all times easily detached from 

 the parent stem. In the more perfectly preserved Calamites 

 the little scars left by them can stiU be seen around the joints. 

 These stems probably grew in rich marshes, and very close to- 

 gether, forming, Uke the Bamboo of India, or our own southern 

 Cane, almost impenetrable brakes. The constantly shed branches 

 and decayiug faUing stems, covered the surface of the marsh in 

 which they grew, and furnished much carbon to the accumulat- 

 ing peat, "intermingled with the AsterophyUites are found vege- 

 table rcliqua, somewhat similar in appearance to them, but 

 which are still thought to be the remains of separate plants. 

 I refer to the Annularias and Sphneophyllums. These are 

 jointed branching stems, with verticillate leaves at the articula- 

 tions. 



The leaves are not so strictly linear as those of the Aster- 

 ophylUtes, and are very generally more or less wedge shaped. 

 A good deal of mystery still hangs about their botanical affini- 

 ties, but Professor Lesquereux considers that they were plants 

 living on the mud ; now partially immersed in the water, again 

 running over the surface, much as the existent Azollacaroliniana. 

 On the other hand, their fructification has been discovered, and 

 Eo much resembles that of the AsterophyUites as to suggest im- 

 mediately that they, hke the latter, were, merely the branches 

 of some huge coniferous plants. 



No plants of higher organisation than the Conifers have as 

 yet been found in the coal measures. 



yVPrLYING SULPHUR TO ^TXES AND OTHER 

 PLANTS. 

 I sEsn you a rough sketch of my beUows. Any moderately 

 ingenious man can make one. I know this, for I made my 

 own ! The nozzle is flattened at the end, presenting a wide, 

 narrow opening, as shown in figs. 2 and 3. The only dif- 



ference between this and the common beUows, is the small 

 valve marked a, the flattened nozzle, and the receptacle b for the 

 sulphur and lime. Sulphur alone is Uable to clog ; mixed with 

 the lime, it is blown in a fine cloud to the distance of several 

 feet, and thoroughly distributed among the foUage of the 

 Vines. The lime also adds apparently to the good effects of 

 sulphur, and if used early, and as often as symptoms of mildew 

 appear, is nearest a specific for the disease of anything I have 

 found. — Geo. W. Campbell, BUiomington Nurseries, Chicago 

 (in Prairie Fanner). 



KEW BOOK. 



A Manual of Weathercasts and Storm Prognostics, or the Signs 

 whereby to Judge of Coming Weather. CompUed by AsDKEW 

 Steixmeiz. London : G. Eoutledge & Sons. 



A GOOD compilation is far more valuable than a bad original 

 — by a bad original we mean a book of which the contents are 

 a Uttle novelty diluted with a large quantity of verbiage. This 

 manual is a good compilation, and though there is little in it 

 that cannot be found in Fitzroy and Forster's works, yet the 

 coUected information is weU condensed and weU arranged. 

 We can afford space for but one extract. 



"When rain is coming ravens caw. swallows cbatter, cats "wash 

 their faces," small birds pninc themselves and make a show of wash- 

 ing, crows make a great noise in the evening, geese cackle more than 

 nsnal. The reason is, becanse these creatnres love wet weather, and 

 rejoice at the approach of it. Sheep hnddle together at the approach 

 of had weather, and turn their tails towards its direction. B^ore a 

 storm at sea the cat scampers about the deck with its tail sticking out 

 like that of certain heraldic lions. Rooks are observed to make a sort 

 of gliding motion, called " playing at footbaU," before stormy weather. 

 When pigs carry straw to their styes bad weather may be expected. 

 ■RTien leeches kept in water remain low down, settled weather may be 

 relied on ; but if they rise to the surface, expect wind or rain. Dogs 

 and cats feel lazy and drowsy at the approach of rain. The reason is, 

 becanse the air is deficient in oiygen, and the damp depresses the 

 nervous svstem. Horses neigh, cattle low, and sheep bleat against 

 rain, for the same reason as above — difficulty of breathing, &c. ; and 

 human beings yawn and gape in like manner. 



" At the approach of rain cats turn their backs to the fire and rub 

 their ears, and some nervous people scratch and rub their heads. 

 This is owing either to the incipient humidity getting between the hair, 

 or the air being surcharged with electricity, both which causes produce 

 the sensation of itching. It is as though we were covered with cob- 

 webs, a feeUng which all of us know more or less, but which the cat 

 experiences intensely, its hair being very electrical, which may bo 

 easily proved in some cases by rubbing it with the hand, when it 

 " crackles." Of course, the cat being a tidy creature, merely rubs its 

 hair to keep it down and smooth, for in this state the hair always tends 

 to get mflled and erect. 



" When birds of long flight, rooks, swallows, and others, hang about 

 the homestead, and fly up and down low, then rain and wind may bo 

 expected. The reason is, because the insects which they pursne have 

 taken refuge from the cold upper regions of the air. where the change 

 is beginning, in the warmer air near the earth. They fly low because 

 their food is low. . 



" In spring time, when magpies fly abroad singly, the weather either 

 is or will soon be stormy ; but when both birds are seen together the 

 weather must be mild or will soon become so. Honco it is considered 

 unlnck-v for anglers to see a single magpie in spring, because it fore- 

 bodes bad weather for fishing. We need scarcely state, that when only 



