May 9, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



in 



late August and early September, were observed 

 during late September and early October, 

 after prolonged rains, to be putting out new 

 branches wliicli came into flower. Some of 

 the stems of those which were dead formed 

 distinct and strong rosettes from the root 

 stock as lateral branches. If these survive the 

 winter the rosettes will probably form stems 

 and the plants will come into flower a second 

 season, that is, the third season from the 

 rosette stage. It would then be a perennial 

 with the habit of a perennial root stock and 

 annual flowering shoot. Several of the in- 

 dividuals which were putting out new branches 

 in late September and early October were 

 potted in early November and removed to the 

 greenhouse where they have continued to pro- 

 duce new shoots, often slender and crowded, 

 sometimes suggesting " witches' brooms." 

 These branches arise from the old brown stalk 

 which to all external appearance one would 

 consider dead but on cutting the stem chloro- 

 phyllaceous tissue is seen. The very dark sky 

 during December and January has been un- 

 favorable for growth or flowering, and per- 

 haps accounts to some extent for the spindling 

 growth and lack of flowers during this period. 

 On some of these plants the new growth oc- 

 casionally wilts down, indicating perhaps that 

 the old stems are somewhat deficient in con- 

 duction. After reading Mr. Gates's article 

 (Jan. 24, 1913) I stepped into the greenhouse 

 to see my perennial (Enotheras and lo, there 

 was one flower. 



This plant (of (Enothera nutans) continued 

 to flower in the greenhouse until the middle of 

 April when it was transplanted into the gar- 

 den. The cold weather following proved to be 

 too great a change from the warm air of the 

 greenhouse and the stems died to the ground, 

 but a small rosette which had formed from the 

 root stock remains alive to this day (May 2). 

 Three of those individuals which formed ro- 

 settes during the autumn and were kept over 

 in the garden or in a cold frame have been 

 transplanted to the garden. They are doing 

 well and will probably produce stems and flow- 

 ers this summer. These individuals, therefore, 

 of (Enothera nutans have taken on a peren- 

 nial habit. 



These two species. No. 2, (Enothera nutans 

 Atkinson and Bartlett, and No. 1, (Enothera 

 pycnocarpa Atkinson and Bartlett are de- 

 scribed in the May number of Rhodora, 1913. 



Geo. F. Atkinson 



Department of Botany, 

 Cornell University 



THE LOWER CALIFORNIA PRONGHORN ANTELOPK 



The Pronghorn of Lower California has re- 

 cently been separated by Mr. E. W. Nelson as 

 a sub-specific race. (Proc. Biol. 8oc. of 

 Wash., Vol. 25, page 107.) The characters 

 given have to do mostly with color and color 

 pattern, while the horns are mentioned as 

 shorter, rougher, more upright and less di- 

 verging than in either of the other forms, 

 americana and mexicana. No mention is made 

 of skull characters. 



A fine series of six adult males and several 

 females were recently sent to me from Cal- 

 mali, L. C, the type locality of the new form. 

 One of these males is now in the collection of 

 the Biological Survey at Washington; the 

 others are in the Museum of Comparative 

 Zoology. 



I have not compared the skins of these 

 specimens, but careful measurements of the 

 six skulls do show a real divergence when 

 compared with five large male specimens from 

 the Laramie Plains, southeastern Wyoming, 

 in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. They 

 are on an average longer in the face, and con- 

 siderably narrower. The most significant 

 measurements are : length of nasals, length of 

 anterior nares, and smallest width between or- 

 bits. The nasal length of the California ani- 

 mals runs from 101 to 110 mm., while the 

 Wyoming specimens show from 84 to 97 mm. 

 Likewise the width between orbits scarcely 

 overlaps in the two series. An arbitrary in- 

 dex of nasal length plus length of anterior 

 nares, divided by width between orbits, gives 

 for the peninsularis series 1.73, and for the 

 americana series 1.51. 



The occipito-nasal length is very much more 

 uniform in the series of peninsularis than in 

 that of americana, and is somewhat greater. 



