151 



somewhat severe in his strictures regarding the activity of tax- 

 onomists and the resulting multiplicity of synonyms, suggests 

 that I describe this form as a new species and call it T. paradoxa. 

 However it may be of interest to some to know that Taraxacum 

 taraxacwn (L.) Karst. {T. officinale Weber, T. dens-leonis Desv. 

 etc., etc.) does not always have a scape nor is its inflorescence 

 always a single head." 



The April Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club contains a 

 very interesting article by George E. Stone on the power of 

 growth of ostrich ferns {Onoclea Strutliiopteris Hoffm.). Young 

 fronds which forced their way through a concrete (rolled tar and 

 gravel) border, about three inches thick, and so hard that a 

 " heavy stroke from a sledge-hammer makes little or no impres- 

 sion upon it," mitiated some experiments to show the great force 

 exerted by the young ferns. A lever, weights, and a round 

 piece of wood " of the same dimensions as the undeveloped 

 cluster of fern fronds" constituted the apparatus. The pressure 

 required to break through the concrete in ten to fifteen days, the 

 time usually required by the ferns was 264 pounds in 10 days 

 and 189 pounds in 13 days, Mr. Stone estimates that the work 

 actually accomplished by the ferns is at least 35 atmospheres, 

 and refers to Pfeffer's corn root record of 24 atmospheres, and 

 Clark's squash experiment where a squash developed under a 

 weight of 5,000 pounds, but which, however, represented a cell 

 pressure of but 2—3 atmospheres. 



The report of the American Chemical Society, made by the 

 committee appointed to cooperate with the National Conservation 

 Committee, contains some facts of botanical interest, as shown by 

 the following extracts : " In forestry also, the influence of the 

 chemist is distinctly felt. The sprays, used for destroying noxious 

 insects, are chemical preparations. The manufacture of wood 

 alcohol is a chemical process, which may be either wasteful or 

 economical. Turpentine is now produced wastefully, but the 

 waste can be diminished by careful refining, and furthermore, the 

 chemist can aid in discovering substitutes for it. Substitutes for 



