ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



315 



BOTANICAL MISCELLANY. 



Al a meeliug of the Philadclpliia Awidemy of 

 Sciences, Mr. Thoiiia.s Meehaii said tliat "no 

 one wlio examined the prevailing theories con- 

 ceiMiing tlie formation of baric and wood with 

 numerous living specimens before him, could be 

 satisfied that these theories were in all respects 

 correct. He had made numerous observations 

 during the past year, which satisfied him that at 

 any rate wc had much to learn. Ho hoped to 

 present these observations to the members at 

 some future time, but at present wished only to 

 direct their attention to a portion of a trunk 

 of Yucca almfoUa, which he exhibited, the 

 structure of which, he suggested, could not be 

 accounted for on any theory generally known. 

 The general idea was that the sap of plants as- 

 cended through the sy.stem, and was elaborated 

 in the leaves, where the woody matter was 

 formed, and afterwards descended — in exogen- 

 ous plants forming a regular concentric layer 

 over the last year's wood, and in endogenous 

 structures returning by the interior, pushing 

 these descending columns of wood through the 

 mass of cellular matter without order or system. 

 It would be seen that in this endogenous i mcc« 

 the Avoody matter, if it ever descended at all, as 

 our present belief demanded it should do, had 

 descended in a very regular and beautiful man- 

 ner; quite as systematic, in fact, as most exogens 

 would do. The wood was arranged in annual 

 rings, not entirely concentric, but some tropi- 

 cal exogens did not have the woody annual 

 layers always forming an entire circle any more 

 than in this. In this case the annual layers of 

 wood extended about two-thirds of the distance 

 round the axis, and such layer was about the 

 eighth of an inch thick. These annual layers 

 were made visible by the bundles of fibres being 

 packed more closely together towards the end 

 of the season's growth, just as they are in exo- 

 gens, from which, indeed, there was very little 

 to distinguish this structure on a cursory exam- 

 ination but the absenceof the so-called medullary 

 rays." 



The active botanists of New York city have 

 organized a botanical club, which they designate 

 the Torrey Botanical Club, in honor of the dis- 

 tinguished New York botanist. Dr. John Torrey. 

 The club publishes a monthly HuUetin, the ob- 

 ject of which is " to form a medium of com- 

 munication for all those interested iu the flora 

 of this vicinity, and thus to bring together and 

 fan into a flame the sparks of botanical enthusi- 

 asm at present too much isolated." We hail the 

 advent of every such society as an indication of 



a growing interest in Natural Science, and as a 

 means of increasing the number of learners and 

 observers, and of thus directing into worthy 

 channels much otherwise misemployed time and 

 talent. AVe select from the Bulletin a, tew items 

 which we presume will be of interest to our 

 readers. 



Aristolochia serpentnria, L. — Mr. "Wm. Bower 

 has in his garden, in Newark, a plant of this 

 spccips, which, beside the regular flower, sends 

 u|i a nmiibor of small buds with flowers that do 

 licit (ipi'ii, <(iinewhnt in the maiiwer of Speriiktn'a 

 /icr/n/iii/d. inMibably for self-fertilization. The 

 s;iiiic kind iif flowers may be observed in the 

 case of many well-grown wild plants of this 

 species. These flowers, however, form perfect 

 seed-pods. It would be interesting to examine 

 whether Asarum Canadense has also two sorts 

 of flowers. Mr. Bower was the first to call my 

 attention to this peculiarity, and I cannot learn 

 that it has ever been noticed before. Judging 

 from the plants I have seen, it would appear 

 that seeds iu greater abundance, and perhaps 

 more perfect, are produced by these hermaiihru- 

 dite flowers. In the similar case o( Amphicarptea 

 monoica, Nutt, I have found sometimes quite a 

 number of i)ods with apparently well-formed 

 seed. On the other hand Apios tuherosa, Mcunch, 

 seems to compensate by its tubers for the very 

 frequent abortion of its pods. These plants, 

 with others, Specularia for example, afl'ord an 

 interesting subject for investigation on this 

 point. W. II. L. 



Floweiuncj ov the Dahlingtonia.— Dr. Tor- 

 rey kindly gave me, early last winter, one of 

 the several specimens oi' Darlingtonia, which he 

 received from a correspondent in California. 

 An empty aquarium tank was converted into a 

 small conservatory for it, and it was planted in 

 a mixture of swamp mud and sphagnum, the . 

 top of the tank being covered with a glass plate. 

 The plant was kept in a cold room, where the 

 moss was slightly frozen several times during 

 the winter. The plant flowered early in Ayiril, 

 and the specimen was placed in the hands of 

 Dr. Torrey, to allow him to confirm his original 

 observations, made upon dry materials, and he 

 will probably add what may be necessary to com- 

 plete the history of this interesting plant. G. T. 



We learn from a correspondent (Mr. John 

 Williamson) that New Albany, Indiana, has a 

 Society of Natural History which has about 200 

 members that pay their dues and are interested 

 in its welfare. Geology, Entomology, Conch- 

 ology, Botany, etc., are represented by gentle- 

 men well posted in those various branches. W^e 

 believe some gentlemen of Louisville, Ky., also 

 intend organizing a society. Dr. E. 8. Crozier, 

 of that city, edits a column of Popular iScience 

 in the Louisville Commercial. 



Errata.— Page 288, column 2, line 12, for 

 ' Fraximus'' read "Fraxinu-s;" same column, 

 line 22, for "apetatous" read "apetalous;"' same 

 column, line -Jo, for ••Acu" read ••Acer." 



