184 
POPULAR SCIEN-OE NEWS. 
[December, 1891. 
From the barberry's standpoint, however, there 
are visitors and visitors. If they have wings the)' 
are heartily welcome; but if they are mere 
crawlers or walliers, quite incapable of doing any 
plant a good turn, they are sure to receive the 
plainest kind of hints that their company is not 
wanted. Should, for example, a calf or other 
young browser not yet acquainted with barberrian 
preferences, attempt a bite at the dainty leaf 
rosettes, he will tind that just where his nose 
comes there lies in wait a cluster of sharp spines — 
and his stay is short. He may, however, have the 
consolation of the fox with the grapes, for the 
leaves are truly sour, and would hardly be good 
for him anyway. This sourness may be one 
reason why the barberry's foliage is not more 
infested by caterpillars. On the older shoots the 
bitterness of the inner bark is doubtless a protec- 
tion against the borers which often make such 
havoc with the stems of our mild-tasting woody 
plants. 
But a means of protection, perhaps even more 
efficient against insect foes than either the sour- 
ness or the bitterness, are the ants, hornets, and 
others of their tribe which frequent the leaves. 
To all of these a caterpillar is a delectable tid-bit, 
and they are all such good searchers that in the 
day time at least scarcely a caterpillar Is safe 
where they may come. It is not apparent, how- 
ever, why flesh-eating insects should want to be 
around the barberry so much. We cannot suppose 
that a plant having so little to recommend It in 
the way of flavor would be likely to harbor many 
caterpillars; nor does the bush itself, so far as 
one can see, produce anj'thing which flesh-eating 
insects would like. The most probable explana- 
tion of their frequent visits seems to be as 
follows : It is well known that ants and their rela- 
tives are very fond of sweets, and although the 
barberry does not secrete nectar on its leaves, 
as some of our common plants do, still it tolerates 
as guests certain creatures which do yield a 
sugary liquid quite as attractive to the barberry's 
insect friends. Of these honey-yielding boarders, 
one sort is the, tiny aphides, or plant lice, (which 
have received the significant name of "ant- 
cows''), while the other sort is a fungus, known 
as " cluster-cups." The aphides form little colo- 
nies on the under side of the leaves, into which 
they thrust their slender beaks and suck out 
liquid food. If one of them be touched lightly, as 
with a hair, a drop of "honey-dew " will be given 
out from each of a pair of delicate tubes on the 
back. The ants, knowing this, stroke the aphides 
with theu- feelers, and drink with evident satisfac- 
tion the product of their docile "cows." Any 
intrusion on their pasture ground is resented 
furiously. Surelj', no one who has tried their 
metal can doubt that these doughty little warriors 
are efficient protectors. The " cluster-cups " 
form the familiar orange-colored spots which on 
the under side of the leaves give rise to a number 
of pretty urn-shaped spore-cases, while on the up- 
per side there appear, earlier in the season, 
several minute black specks, which are the open- 
ings of tiny cavities. From these cavities is 
exuded for some time a small quantity of sugar. 
Thus they serve as a sort of nectary on the upper 
side of the leaves, complementary to that of the 
aphides, which confine themselves mostly to the 
lower surface. This supply of sweets is visited 
not only by ants, but by wasps, hornets, and 
ichneumon flies, which are still more deadly foes 
to caterpillars. We can hardly say that either 
the aphides or the "cluster-cups" are invited 
gucsts_in the barberry's household ; as before inti- 
mated, they are rather to be considered as sum- 
mer boarders that come without asking, and will 
not be put off'. But they repay their host by 
helping indirectly to repel visitors that would 
be much more destructive than they. 
Towards its winged friends, the birds, bees, 
flies, and butterflies, which serve it by carrying 
about seeds and pollen, the barberry extends a 
gracious hospitality, none the less genuine be- 
cause of a quaint streak of economy which runs 
through it all. Few of our June flowering shrubs 
hang out such a tempting profusion of blossoms, 
and few exhale a perfume so alluringly suggestive 
of honey. Nor is the barberry one to disappoint 
reasonable expectations. At the bottom of each 
flower cup are six little reservoirs, brimful and 
running over with nectar. But although there is 
thus plenty for all comers, the barberry abhors 
greediness, and lets its visitors know that one sip 
from a flower is all they are expected to take. A 
little experimenting and watching will show just 
what happens. As Is well known, the barberry 
stamens are sensitive to the slightest touch. Who 
has not read Lowell's allusion to these flowers : 
Whose shrinking hearts the school gals love to try 
With pins,— they'll worry yourn so, boya, biraeby ! 
Well, the effect of this peculiarity is that as 
soon as a bee puts its tongue into the place where 
the nectar is, it touches a stamen, and immedi- 
ately this springs forward and gives it a tap on 
the head, as much as to say, "There, you've had 
enough ; go ! " Of course any insect of fine feel- 
ings leaves at once, but only to go to another 
flower on the same or some neighboring barberry 
bush. The bumble-bee, however, when it comes 
along drains every cup, apparently quite oblivious 
of all the barberry's prods to propriety. Still, 
anyone who knows bumble-bees would expect 
nothing better from these clumsiest of good- 
natured creatures. They are famous for bungling 
into fiowers where they are not wanted and up- 
setting the best laid plans. See what he does in 
this case. When the stamen springs forward at 
his touch, it places some pollen dust on that side 
of his head (or tongue) which is away from the 
stigma; and as he dips his tongue into one after 
another of the remaining five nectar pits, he 
brings the pollen against the flower's own stigma, 
which is exactly what the barberry has been at 
the greatest pains to avoid. Other insect visitors, 
(the majority, fortunately), by flying oft' as soon 
as touched and going to another barberry flower, 
transfer the pollen where it will do the most good 
and insure the production of better seeds and 
hardier ofl'spring than would be otherwise pos- 
sible. 
As soon as the work of seed-forming begins, 
the bright colored and perfumed parts of the 
flower fall off', leaving the pistil green and in- 
conspicuous. There being no further use for 
pollen-bearers, their visits are no longer courted. 
When the seeds are I'ipe the barberry once more 
needs the good services of carrying agents. 
Nothing could serve better in this capacity than 
birds, and the barberry does well to make friends 
with them. Not only will they carry its seeds as 
far as the wind could, but as they keep mostly to 
regions of sunshine and verdure, they will not cast 
so many of them upon bare rocks or arid soil, 
only to perish. The barberry has but to make 
sure that when the berries are eaten the seeds 
shall not be injured while the pulp is being 
digested. All danger of this is provided against 
by a hard seed-coat. It is true tha^ barberries can 
hardly be expected to receive much attention 
from birds so long as the latter can get their fill 
of grapes, blackberries, and other such luscious 
food; and, as a matter of fact, our plant's sour 
fruits, for all their atti-active redness, remain for 
the most part untouched through the fall. Never- 
theless, our confidence in the barberry's shrewd- 
ness need not be shaken by this. There comes a 
time when its rivals' sweets are exhausted and 
other kinds of food are scarce. Then its berries 
are in demand, and before the winter is out most 
of them will have been eaten. 
[Original in POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS.] 
FOLK-LORE AND SUPERSTITIONS OF SOME 
AMERICAN INDIANS. 
BV M. J. GORTON. 
That the aboriginal, unsubdued spirit of sav- 
agery exists among the tribes of those Indians 
living on their reservations within the Territory 
may be gathered from their folk-lore and many 
superstitions. The principal tribes, and those 
that have made the greatest advance toward civi- 
lization, are the Choctaws, Creeks, Cherokees, 
Kickapoos, Quapas, Senecas, and Osages. 
The ownership of land is merged in the tribe 
and is held in common. If a member cultivate a 
field, that is his absolutely, so long as he tills 
it, and his rights extend a quarter of a mile be- 
youd his enclosure on all sides. So the fences of 
the two neighbors must be a quarter of a mile 
apart at the point of nearest approach. Should 
an Individual wish to sell his improvements he 
can do so, but if he desert his laud it falls back to 
the tribe. 
Many of the superstitions, premonitions, and 
folk-lore treasures are crude in the extreme, but 
are received as the very highest wisdom, and ar« 
