Norres anp NrEws | 121 
In another letter Dr. Barratt records with enthusiasm 
his first sight of ‘that rare and beautiful fern, Hydro- 
glossum [now Lygodium] palmatum.’?’ He makes the 
interesting observation that the stems appear to twine 
both ways. Has anyone noticed this since? 
By the will of the late John T. Morris, of Phila- 
delphia, his beautiful estate at Chestnut Hill will be- 
come, in due time, the site of a botanic garden, a museum 
of natural science ‘with special emphasis upon botany,” 
and a school of practical horticulture. The garden is 
to be not merely a show place, but is to provide training 
for the students of the school, and the museum is also 
to contribute to that end. Students are to receive 
tuition, clothing and living expenses during a course 
of at least three years. The residue of Mr. Morris’s 
estate, after other bequests are paid, is left as an endow- 
ment fund for the institution; and the provisions of the 
will become effective at the death of his surviving 
sister. 
The special interest of all this for the fern-lover lies 
in the fact that Mr. Morris had a fine collection of ferns, 
both hardy and hot-house species, and that the per- 
manence and development of this collection are now 
assured. 
CAN FERNS BE IDENTIFIED BY TASTE?—At the Colum- 
bus meeting of the American Association for the Ad- 
vancement of Science, Prof. E. T. Reichert discussed 
before a botanical meeting “The specificity of proteins 
and carbohydrates in relation to genera, species, and 
varieties,”* or in other words, the chemical differences 
between different kinds of plants. He reported the 
existence of recognizable differences, even in the case 
For ss sichabel account of the — see Am. Jour. Bot. 3: 91-98. 
March 1916; also Carnegie Bulletin, | 
