782 



SCIENCE 



[N. «. Vol. XXVII. No. 698. 



scope, with special reference to the Brennan mono- 

 rail car." 



O. E. Glenn : " Studies in the theory of degen- 

 erate algebraic curves." 



The Chicago Section of the society met at 

 Chicago on April 17-18. The summer meet- 

 ing of the society will be held at the Univer- 

 sity of Illinois on September 10-11. 



F. N. Cole, 

 Secretary 



THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB 



The meeting for March 10, 1908, was called 

 to order at the American Museum of Natural 

 History at 8 :30 p.m. by the chairman of the 

 program committee. There were twenty-five 

 persons present. The scientific program con- 

 sisted of an illustrated lecture entitled " On 

 Horseback through Hayti," by Mr. George V. 

 Nash, and was listened to with great interest 

 by all present. Tracy E. Hazen, 



Secretary pro tern. 



The meeting of March 25, 1908, was held 

 at the museum of the New York Botanical 

 Garden, with Dr. John Hendley Bamhart in 

 the chair. The minutes of the meetings of 

 February 26 and March 10 were read and 

 approved. A special committee of the club, 

 appointed on February 11, reported as follows : 



" At a regular meeting of the Torrey Botan- 

 ical Club held at the American Museum of 

 Natural History, February 11, 1908, a com- 

 mittee was appointed to draft resolutions con- 

 cerning the death of the late Morris K. Jesup. 



" Be it therefore Resolved, That the secre- 

 tary be instructed to enter in the proceedings 

 of the Torrey Botanical Club, and transmit 

 to the board of trustees of the American 

 Museum of Natural History, this record of 

 our sincere regret at the loss of one who 

 always manifested such a broad and deep 

 interest in all matters pertaining to natural 

 science." 



The report of this special committee was 

 unanimously accepted and adopted. The sci- 

 entific program was then taken up and two 

 papers were read, of which the following ab- 

 stracts have been furnished by the authors: 



Botanical Experiences in Western South 

 Carolina: Homer D. House. 

 The richness of the flora of the southern 



Allegheny Mountains was commented upon, 

 special attention being called to the beauty 

 of the mountains in early June, when several 

 si)ecie3 of Azalea and Rhododendron are in 

 bloom. Two trips into the mountains were 

 described, one to Jocassee Valley for Sher- 

 woodia (commonly known as Shortia) and to 

 Tomassee Knob and Tomassee Falls. At the 

 latter place several northern plants were col- 

 lected, among others Viola canadensis, Tril- 

 lium grandiflorum, Filix hulhifera and Dry- 

 opteris Goldiana. The second trip was to 

 Rabun Bald in Georgia during early June. 

 The top of this mountain is covered with 

 Rhododendron catawhiense, which was at that 

 time in fuU bloom. In the thickets around 

 the coves on the eastern slope of the mountain 

 a new species of bindweed. Convolvulus seri- 

 catus, was found. Viola rotundifolia also 

 was found here, as well as in adjacent South 

 Carolina, thus considerably extending its 

 known range. The speaker exhibited a large 

 number of specimens, several of them new to 

 South Carolina, and commented upon their 

 distribution. 



Observations on the Nutrition of Sarracenia: 



Winifred J. Robinson. 



Plants of Sarracenia purpurea, the common 

 northern pitcher-plant, were exhibited and 

 several colored illustrations of the plant in 

 flower were shown. 



The present series of experiments was 

 undertaken under the direction of Professor 

 William J. Gies at the New York Botanical 

 Garden in the summer and autumn of 1907 

 to determine the digestive power of Sarracenia 

 purpurea on carbohydrates, fats and proteids. 

 Solutions of great difference in concentration 

 were introduced into the pitchers and it was 

 found that they resisted distilled water and 

 33J per cent, sugar solution equally well. 

 Acid and alkaline solutions of a very low 

 concentration had no apparent eflfect upon the 

 pitchers, but a 0.5 per cent, solution of acetic 

 acid and a 1 per cent, solution of potassium 

 nitrate both proved injurious. Sachs's nu- 

 trient solution caused the pitchers to decay 

 within a few days. Liebig's meat extract was 

 used as a test of the effect of a stimulant. 



