100 



officinalis of the Melanthaceae, a native of tropical America. 

 The poisonous principle is sabadillic acid, found in the seeds, and 

 it is of interest that this substance is so dangerous that its use 

 as medicine was abandoned by civilized practitioners, long ago. 



Dr. Frederick H. Blodgett began his duties as plant pathologist 

 in the extension service of the Agricultural and Mechanical 

 College of Texas, January i. Very little field work has been 

 done on plant diseases in the state, and the increasing volume of 

 inquiries from farmers and others made the full time services of 

 a pathologist imperative. 



A. S. Marsh, who held a studentship in botany in Caius Col- 

 lege, Cambridge, and had made valuable contributions to plant 

 ecology, has been killed in the war. 



In an article on Shakespeare and gardens, appearing in a 

 recent number of a periodical issued by a well-known botanic 

 garden there is a long and interesting list of the plants mentioned 

 by Shakespeare, with the botanical equivalent for the old 

 English names, and citations to the plays in which the plants are 

 mentioned. While "the list is believed to be as accurate as 

 anything of the kind that could be prepared," a few of the items 

 are as follows:* 



Play 

 Coriolanus, IV, 5. 

 Measure for Measure, I, 4. 

 Merry Wives of Windsor, 11,3- 

 Romeo and Juliet, I, 4. 

 As You Like It, II, 7. 

 Merchant of Venice, I, i. 

 Romeo and Juliet, V, 3. 

 "Angels and ministers of grace defend us!" Hamlet I, 4. 



A trip to Virginia Beach and Dismal Swamp, under the 



auspices of the Ecological Society of America, will be conducted 



by Prof. J. W. Harshberger on April 23 to 26. The party will 



* The first five are North American plants described by Linnaeus over 130 

 years after Shakespeare died. Wheat is Triticum vulgare and the yew is a Taxus\ 



Shakespeare's name Botanical name 



Ash 



Fraxinus americana 



Birch 



Betula nigra 



Elder 



Samhucus canadensis 



Hazel 



Hamamelis virginiana 



Holly 



Ilex opaca 



Wheat 



Hordeum vulgare 



Yew 



Buxus sempervirens 



