MAY. 125 



C. I found on most of them, in the very bottom of the 

 corolla, some little black beetles, with a red thorax. (Tele- 

 phones ?) 



F. The leaf buds of the Larch or Tamarack (Pinus 

 Pendula) are bursting ; a deciduous member of an evergreen 

 family. 



C. The tops of the elms are quite yellow : is this co- 

 lour caused by the opening of the leaf-buds ? 



F. No : the elm has not yet begun to leaf; but it has 

 been in full flower about a week. The blossoms are yellow 

 and very small ; from some trees they have already begun to 

 fall, and are thickly strewn on the ground beneath. The 

 seeds ripen and are shed in June, at which time they may be 

 collected ; and as the elm, if properly treated, would make 

 an excellent hedge, it would be worth while for our farmers 

 to plant the seeds for that purpose. It grows rapidly, and 

 makes a strong shoot the first season. 



C. In standing water, I observed many masses of clear 

 jelly-like substance, containing a number of small black 

 globules. 



.F. They are the eggs of frogs ; they are all deposited at 

 once, enveloped in this mass of jelly, which both serves as a 

 protection to them, and keeps them from being washed away. 

 When near the time of hatching, the young tadpole may be 

 distinctly seen with a microscope in one of these eggs ; but 

 I suspect they are not yet sufficiently matured. The frog 

 deposits its ova almost immediately after it revives from 

 torpidity : we may always see these masses a very few days 

 after we first hear their croaking. 



C. I found a shrub very numerous in the woods, co- 

 vered with yellow flowers, very small, with thick downy 

 envelopes. I have a twig of it ; I was obliged to cut it off ; 

 for, small as it is, the bark was so tough that I could not 

 tear it. 



