RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



75 



ing dimensions and shows all the distinguish- 

 ing characteristics of a freely-developed 

 tree. The beech deserves far more atten- 

 tion as a shade tree than it has yet received. 

 It grows freely, has a very deep shade, is 

 neat and clean throughout, being notably 

 free from insects or blight. The " purple " 

 beech is a beautiful "sport" from Ger- 

 man}'. The fern-leaved beech is also a 

 European sport and one of the most grace- 

 ful trees grown. Altogether the beech is a 

 noble tree. 



Wild Flowers of Warwick. — III. 



The middle of August brings a number 

 of flowers peculiar to that season. Among 

 these, one of the prettiest is the, "grass of 

 Parnassus." of popular language, or the 

 Parnassia of science. This plant which 

 belongs to the Saxifrage family, grows in 

 swamp3' places inland or even near the shore. 

 It has a number of smooth, radical leaves, 

 from among which rise several one-leaved 

 stems, bearing a solitar}-, large, white 

 flower. The five petals are beautifully 

 veined with green, and at their base there 

 are curious forked appendages resembling 

 filaments. It is guessed that the}' may 

 have something to do with the protection of 

 the nectaries againstsmall, intrusive insects. 

 In appearance, the flowers suggest some of 

 the anemones. They are always great favor- 

 ites. With them, one finds the cotton 

 sedges, which are such excellent substitutes 

 for birds' plumage in the liats of ladies. 

 We wish our earnest plea would lead fash- 

 ion from a cruel to an innocent custom. 

 But we must correct our own women folk 

 before we criticise the general public. 

 "• Aye, there's the rub ! " Another curious 

 marsh plant is the Xyris flexuosa. Seek- 

 ers will know it when they find a rather tall, 

 grass-like stem, of a brown color, support- 

 ing a brown head of scales. From this 

 protrudes a cuiious, yellow, three-parted 

 flower. Polygala sanguinea grows in sim- 

 ilar places, with reddish or purple clover- 

 looking heads, and roots smelling of winter- 

 green. Bartonia tenella is a plant of the 

 gentian famih', greenish and insignificant, 

 of the same association. Certain plants 

 have this habit of congregating together. 

 Given one, we can decide upon the probable 



presence of the others. Where we find the 

 cardinal we also look for the monkey-flower, 

 the spearmint, the purple and white thor- 

 oughworts and the turtle-head. All of these 

 are now in blossom. 



It is the time for the Gcrardias, of which 

 we have many species — either yellow or 

 purple. Many of them are known as wild 

 fox-gloves, a rather good name, although 

 the true fox-glove (Digitalis) is not a native. 

 The common purple gerardia grows by wa}-- 

 sides, the flowers too easily deciduous. A 

 similar one loves the sea beach. The large, 

 handsome yellow ones frequent the woods 

 as partial parasites, by their roots it is im- 

 possible to cultivate them. Notice how 

 their leaves blacken in dying. This is part 

 of the diagnosis of a parasite. While speak- 

 ing of such thieving plants, we should men- 

 tion the dodder (Cuscuta), growing over 

 bushes and resembling coils of copper wire. 

 Immediately after germinating the plant 

 cuts oflT connection with the earth and lays 

 hold of some neighboring herb or shrub 

 which thereafter is made to do its work. 

 Hence the dodder has no leaves of its own. 

 It possesses small white flowers in clusters. 

 As if to foreshadow the habit of the plant, 

 its embryo is a mere coiled radicle, without 

 seed leaves. 



Frequently as we stroll to the station 

 across the meadows we pick up in the grass 

 that dainty orchid, the Spiranthes gracilis, 

 with pure white flowers twisted in a spiral 

 around the summit of a green stem. Later 

 there is another species with larger flowers, 

 the Cernua, which is exquisitely fragrant. 

 The moon-wert ferns, orBotrychia, are also 

 just appearing in the meadows. As the 

 groundnut, Apios tuberosa, has repeatedly 

 been sent us for a name in the last few days, 

 we should speak of it here. This is the pea- 

 vine everywhere seen in copses, with close, 

 rather globular bunches of peculiar purplish 

 or even flesh-colored flowers, with the 

 powerful odor of violets. It has large, 

 edible tubers. The wild balsams, or jewel- 

 weeds, or hunter's horns, everybody knows, 

 the Impatieus fulva of the books. Touch- 

 me-not is a name for the garden species. 

 The names fairl}' indicate the quick, impul- 

 sive way in which the pods bursts and scat- 

 ters the seeds. Most of the Geraniaceaj 

 have some such trick, and all the genera, 

 nearly, a different one. Readers should 



