1 897-] Botanical Notes. 37 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 



With the breaking up of the winter many eyes are turned 

 to the coming of the birds, the opening of the buds and the 

 advance of spring generally, but too tew record their observa- 

 tions. On account of this lack of making a record scarcely any 

 two observers agree as to the lateness or earliness of any par- 

 ticular spring, and the writer asks that any botanical notes con- 

 sidered worthy of insertion should be sent to one of the editors 

 of the Naturalist, who will see that they are published, if 

 deemed worthy of publication. 



Two causes have power to produce an early spring with us. 

 The chief one is a light snow fall, which requires only a few 

 comparatively warm days to take it all off the ground. The 

 second is the absence of severe cold at night which checks the 

 expansion of the buds and retards the melting of the snow and 

 the heating of the soil. Both these causes have worked together 

 the past month and the result is an early spring without any 

 warm days. 



In noting the first appearance of flowers in the early days 

 of spring we have always selected the same tree and for 

 Hepaticas the same bank, so that although others may have 

 noted things earlier our observations refer to absolute heat. Up 

 to the present time of writing the following flowers have been 

 seen : — 



Hepatica triloba (May flower), April 7, 1897 ; April 14, 1896 ; 



Acer dasycarpum (Silver maple), April 8, 1897 ; April 16, 1896 ; 



Alnus incana (Common alder), April 11, 1897 ; April 18, 1896 ; 



Acer rubrum (Red Maple), April 23, delayed by cool weather ; 



Ulmus americana (American elm), April 23, delayed by cool 



weather ; Salix Candida (Hoary willow), April 26 ; Populus 



tremuloides (American aspen), April 26 ; Populus grandidentata 



(Large-toothed aspen), April 26 ; Negundo aceroides (Box elder), 



April 27. 



John Macoun. 



