RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



97 



Canal near the Mineral Spring Pike and in 

 CunliffsPond. 



131. Planoruis (Planorbella) Campanu- 



LATUS, Say. 

 Syns. : 



Planorbis belUis Lea. 



" bicarinatus, Sowb. 



Planorbella campanulata, Chemn. 



Helix angiilata, Shep. 



This and one other species, found in 

 Mexico, constitute the sub-genus, Planor- 

 bella of Haldeman, characterized thus: 

 " whorls few, aperture canipanulate or bell 

 shaped, prominent." 



This species is widely spread from Nova 

 Scotia and New England through the 

 northern tier of states to Minnesota. It is 

 not abundant anywhere except in certain 

 local spots. It was first found by Mr. 

 Augustus Jessup in Cayuga Lake, New 

 York, and described by Say in 1821 in Journ. 

 Acad. Nat. /Sci. Phila., II., 164. Shell dis- 

 coidal, sinistral, brownish green in color, 

 lighter at the sides ; the right side exhibits 

 a little more than two volutions, which are 

 elevated to an obtuse ridge, and forms an 

 umbilicus which nearly perforates the shell ; 

 the left side shows four volutions, and 

 forms a shallow cup ; the whorls are ver}' 

 regular and symmetrical up to the last 

 portion of the bod}' whorl, where it is sud- 

 denlj- distorted and enlarged, forming a bell- 

 shaped throat ; the aperture is dilated and 

 angulatedon the left side ; lip brown within; 

 diameter one-half inch. Dead shells are 

 found plentifully on the banks of the Black- 

 stone River, at Pawtucket in the spring, 

 among the debris left by freshets, but Valley 

 Falls Pond is the place where they are 

 found alive, also in Sneach Pond in Cumber- 

 land. 



Hazel - Copses. 



We often think that the loveliest things 

 in the woods are not the flowers, but the 

 green buds, the leaves, and fruits. At pres- 

 ent our attention is called to this fact by 

 the grace and elegance of the hazel -copses. 

 On each branch hangs a group of nuts, and 

 each nut is inclosed in a superb casket with 

 crimped and scalloped edges. The vessel 

 itself fits closely to the nut, and its lower 

 or bod3' part often assumes shades of deli- 

 cate brown, otherwise the whole object is of 



tender green. The rough leaves of hazel, 

 too, with their doubly serrated edges, are 

 things of beauty. Already the shrub bears 

 the young tassels of next year. So in 

 nature, do youth and age walk hand in 

 hand. 



In these days, when all sorts of objects 

 are glorified by the art-lover, has the iiazel 

 ever received its need of attention? In 

 Rhode Island we have another species, not 

 so common, the so-called beaked hazel. It 

 is not so handsome as its relative. Do squir- 

 rels or boys hereabouts eat these nuts? 

 All of a sudden they disappear. That fil- 

 berts are good, every dessert service shows. 

 Often an animal is the first to indicate the 

 the value of a vegetable. Rarely does an 

 insect mistake its food plant. Cattle have, 

 ere now, discriminated ditferences which 

 the botanist only half surmised. So are 

 we linked with chains invisible, but binding, 

 to the lower forms of creation, w. w. b. 



The Dispersion of Seeds. 



Geographical botany or the distribution 

 of plants over the earth has deservedly re- 

 ceived the attention of the profoundest stu- 

 dents. Humboldt, Decaudolle, Grisdad, 

 Hooker, and our own beloved Gray, have all 

 taken up the subject at one time or another. 

 It presents many problems to exercise ihe 

 most philosophical minds. Plants are so 

 afl'ected by environment and conditions that 

 one must know something of kindred scien- 

 ces, such as geology ami physical geogra- 

 phy, and even meteorology, to approach it 

 und'-rstandingl!/. But among the most fas- 

 cinating chapters of modern botany are 

 those which treat of vegetable dispersion. 

 Let the reader to substantiate our words, 

 consult the admirable lecture on Sequoia 

 (the giant tree of California), in Gray's 

 "Darwinians," or the wonderful Introduc- 

 tion to the Flora of Australia, by Sir Joseph 

 Hooker, or the same author's preparatory 

 remarks in the Flora of Neio Zealand. 



It is a smaller and lighter side of the sub- 

 ject to which we now desire to direct atten- 

 tion, viz., to some of the ways in which seeds 

 or fruits are disseminated. In popular lan- 

 guage the two are often confused, and no 

 wonder, as they frequently resemble each 

 other. Suflfice it here to say that a seed 

 proper is a definite and restricted body 



