87 



(i) That branch movements occur in certain trees, due to 

 temperature changes below the freezing point of water, and 

 that in certain other trees no movement whatever has been 

 observed. (2) That the movements amount to as much as 3 or 

 4 ft. differences in the distance from the ground to the ends of 

 certain curved branches which are in length of the order of 20 ft., 

 these changes occurring through a. range of 30 degrees below 

 freezing. (3) That little, if any, movement takes place above 

 freezing point of water, and that the movements begin soon 

 after the temperature remains at this point for several hours. 



(4) That there is a considerable lag in the movement of the 

 branches behind the temperature changes, although a difference 

 in the rate of change of temperature is followed at once by a 

 difference in the rate of change of the position of the branches. 



(5) That the movements are practically of equal magnitude in 



December, January and February, that is, the seasonal change 



is not a ruling factor in this movement. 



Meeting adjourned. B. O. Dodge, 



Secretary 



NEWS ITEMS 



From the Pasadena Star we learn of the return to civilization 

 of Paul E. Popenoe after a nine months' expedition to the region 

 near the head of the Persian Gulf, in search of different strains 

 of the date palm. He is now en route to California with 

 14,000 date palms. These plants are expected to yield valuable 

 information in regard to the availability of the date in California. 

 They will supplement the collections of Dr. David Fairchild, of 

 the Bureau of Plant Industry, from the same part of Arabia and 

 Persia. 



Dr. Edward W. Berry, associate in paleobotany at the Johns 

 Hopkins University, has been elected a member of the Geological 

 Society of France. 



On March 25, 1914, Professor A. Engler, of the Royal Uni- 

 versity of Berlin and director of the Royal Botanical Garden and 

 Museum at Berlin, will celebrate his seventieth birthday. A 



