41 



If the peristome is in a normal condition, it will be found to be 

 extremely sensitive to changes in moisture, responding perhaps 

 to the ordinary breathing of the observer or at least to a gentle 

 blowing. As in mosses in general, the teeth draw inward and 

 close together on absorbing moisture and execute the reverse 

 movements on drying. The equilibrium of a capsule balanced 

 in the manner described is unstable at best, but it can be easily 

 rendered stable and permanent by the use of various adhesives. 

 Professor Francis E. Lloyd suggested to the writer the use of 

 paraffin for this purpose and this has proved a convenient 

 medium. A very small quantity of paraffin is melted on a glass 

 slide and the capsule is placed in contact with it and held in posi- 

 tion, mouth upward, until the paraffin hardens. Preparations 

 made in this way may be laid aside for future use. The matured 

 capsule, peristome, annulus, etc., may of course be subjected to 

 further study in the usual manner, not neglecting the important 

 fact of the presence of stomata, which may be found near the 

 base of the capsule. 



Formalin-preserved material of Funaria with young sporo- 

 phytes is valuable, among other things, for demonstrating the 

 structural independence of gametophyte and sporophyte. With 

 the right kind of a pull, the young sporophyte may .often be 

 separated from the gametophyte in such a way that a micro- 

 scopical examination of its foot will show that the act was 

 accompanied by no rupture of cells. But for this special purpose 

 Funaria is perhaps no better than many other mosses. 



SHORTER NOTES 



A new Hawkweed from Florida. — Contained in an interest- 

 ing collection of plants made in the vicinity of Tallahassee, Florida, 

 by Mr. N. K. Berg, and received from him several years ago by 

 Dr. Small, is a single well-preserved specimen of a hawkweed 

 which differs widely from any species known to me, and I can 

 find no plant described which answers to its peculiar characters. 

 In a genus of so many species, and these so very widely dis- 

 tributed there is chance that this plant may have been recorded 



