24 :i6otan)5 



United States sends out word that tlieliairs, plentiful 

 on the calyx of this beautiful trefoil, are often dan- 

 gerous to cattle, as they form balls in the intestines. 

 If we close our January botanical ramble in a 

 greenhouse, we are still met by fresh examples of 

 vegetables hairs. Here is the stem of an elephant 

 ear, hirsute as the face of a Russian sledge driver ; 

 and here is a palm, with stem wrapped and twisted 

 with long interlaced hairs until it looks like a rav- 

 elled door mat. Such hairs secure an equalized 

 temperature, keep out wet when the plants grow in 

 their native state in lands with rainy seasons, and 

 serve in dry seasons to hinder the evaporation of the 

 moisture of the plant. This study of plant hairs will 

 come up again. 



