1895.] Notes from my Herbarium. 151 
and roots, I made a good herbarium specimen. It took the 
rootstock some weeks to dry. It flattened gradually in the 
press, and is now three-sixteenths of an inch thick. It repre- 
sents the original as well as a herbarium specimen can. 
To illustrate the roots more fully, I made a specimen of 
rootstock and roots only, with the exception of an immersed 
he roots are about one-eighth of an inch wide at the 
base, and taper gradually. They are clothed with fine hairs, 
and average two feet in length. The immersed leaf was on 
a petiole five and one-half inches long, and, so, was nearly 
three feet under water. It was fully developed, dark brown 
on both sides, and generally round in outline, but with a very 
broad sinus, differing in this respect very much from the float- 
ing leaves. 
Not the least interesting part of the plant is the fruit, while 
the manner of fruiting shows a wonderful adaptation of means 
to an end. The peculiar coiling of the stem, and the con- 
sequent drawing of the flower under water is an old story to 
tell, but the search and discovery of the fruit is ever a fresh 
one, for it is not always easy to find. On October 9, 1886, 
I was again in Concord, visiting the late Mr. Edw. S. Hoar, 
a good botanist, and an old friend of Henry D. Thoreau, 
with whom every spot in Concord is identified. We rowed 
on the river in search of the fruit of the water-lily. The air 
was still, the water perfectly clear for several feet in depth, 
and, as we moved slowly along over the places where in July 
the surface of the stream was white with the blossoms, I 
gazed down into the water searching for fruit. It is very 
strange what had become of the thousands of flowers. I 
found only two good fruits, and one almost eaten up by some 
Water robber. Perhaps this last fact will partly explain their 
scarcity. 
The fruits were from one to two feet under water, and one 
must know what to look for or he will certainly not be suc- 
cessful, even if the fruit is plentiful. The sepals and petals 
are still 2 s7tu, and the appearance is exactly that of a bud, 
for the pressure of the water keeps'the sepals closed tight. 
The season of the year will determine whether it is a bud or 
fruit. The petals do not drop off, but slowly macerate. I 
found the fruit more easily in 1888, in Grassy Pond, Acton, 
Mass., but it was by no means abundant, although I know it 
1s sometimes easily found. 
If the surface of the water is ruffled, or the water itself is 
turbid, it can readily be seen how difficult the securing of the 
fruit must be. The stem coils in the middle or lower half 
