February 14, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



69 



sweeter, more sugar-like that is, than the Tangerine, but 

 lacks its rich flavor. Because of this flavor, and because 

 of greater juiciness, the market price of the Tangerine is 

 generally ten per cent, above that of the Mandarin. The 

 Mandarin and Tangerine trees may be described as dwarf, 

 while the Satsuma tree, although larger than either of the 

 others, would be called semi-dwarf, since it rarely reaches 

 the size of the ordinary Orange-tree. The lanceolate leaves 

 of the Mandarin tree give it very much the appearance of 

 an ordinary Willow. The foliage of the Tangerine more 

 closely resembles that of the common Orange, though the 

 leaves are smaller. The Satsuma is described as thornless, 

 the Mandarin nearly so, while the Tangerine has more 

 thorns than either of the others. — Ed.] 



The Relation of Forestry to the State. 



To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — A highly interesting address was given by Dr. J. T. 

 Rothrock, of the Pennsylvania Forestry Commission, on this 

 subject, before the State Board of Agriculture, in Harrisburg, 

 on January 24th. 



Interest in forestry legislation is plainly growing here, and 

 Dr. Rothrock, who has engagements to speak in nearly all the 

 counties of the state, is unable to comply with the many re- 

 quests now coming in. The lecture, fully illustrated by lan- 

 tern-slides of views taken by the lecturer, was a forcible pre- 

 sentment of facts relating to the present condition of land in 

 Pennsylvania, and it was followed by a prolonged discussion 

 of minor points suggested, although over the main facts no 

 controversy was possible. 



After reading the law and amendments as they now appear 

 on the statute-books in regard to timber bounties and tax re- 

 bates, of which, singularly enough, most of the audience knew 

 little, Dr. Rothrock went on to speak of denuded, swamp, 

 inundated and burned-over lands. The pictures needed 

 almost no explanation, and were only too clear in giving re- 

 newed evidence of the sad facts familiar to every one in the 

 audience, where utter desolation had followed the criminal 

 extravagance and ignorant misuse of woodlands. The first 

 illustration was a view of a hill-side farm, a barren, almost re- 

 pulsive, spot, obviously unfit for agriculture. Yet of these 

 so-called farm-lands there are in Pennsylvania not less than 

 3,000 square miles in supposed cultivation. Swamps, barren 

 hill-sides, and the bottom-lands of the Juniata, once producing 

 good crops, but now in many places ruined by floods, were 

 shown. The most hopeless feature, however, was the devas- 

 tation caused by fire. Optimists might consider some of the 

 statements exaggerated for effect, but the silent slides carried 

 conviction to all. 



The Forestry Commission of Pennsylvania differs from that 

 of several other states in covering not a section, but the entire 

 state ; so that two years, the time appointed in which to make 

 examinations, surveys and reports, is none too long. 



H-n'risburg, Pa. M. L. D. 



Recent Publications. 



The fourth volume of the Contributions from the United 

 Stales National Herbarium is devoted to an account of the bot- 

 any of the Death Valley Expedition, sent out in 1889 by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture to make a geological 

 survey of Death Valley, California, written by Frederick 

 Vernon Coville, botanist of the expedition, and the present 

 head of the Division of Botany of the Department of Agri- 

 culture. This is a most important contribution to our 

 knowledge of the flora of an interesting region, and con- 

 tains a vast amount of information on the distribution of 

 the plants of our south-western states and territories. The 

 first part of the report is devoted to the author's itinerary, 

 which consists of a record of Mr. Coville's location on each 

 day that he was in the field, with references to such promi- 

 nent features on the route as were of particular botanical 

 interest. This is followed by an essay on the conditions 

 influencing plant-distribution, with an analysis of the flora 

 of south-eastern California into its smaller component 

 floras, and a consideration of the relation of these to each 

 other and to the floras of adjacent parts of the country, with 

 remarks on the characteristics and adaptations of the desert 



flora and a discussion of its modifications under existing 

 environmental conditions. 



The next part of the work consists of a catalogue of the 

 species collected, with bibliographical references and geo- 

 graphical notes. This catalogue is followed by a catalogue 

 of specimens collected by the expedition, arranged by 

 numbers, and by a bibliography of works referred to in the 

 report, which is, moreover, illustrated by seventeen plates 

 lithographed on stone and by an excellent route map. 



Forty-two undescribed species and varieties were brought 

 to light by the expedition. This is certainly not a very large 

 number in view of the extensive area traversed and of the 

 imperfect character of our previous knowledge of its flora. 

 Two new genera are proposed — Orochsenactis, based on a 

 plant previously referred to Chaenactis, and Phyllogonum, 

 an annual plant allied to Eriogonum. Twelve hundred and 

 sixty-one species and varieties are enumerated, of which 

 rather less than half were found in the desert region of Cali- 

 fornia, the remainder having been collected on the Sierra 

 Nevada and its southern continuations and in the Tulare 

 plains. 



Among the numerous changes of nomenclature we notice 

 that Fremontodendron replaces Fremontia for the beautiful 

 yellow-flowered tree so common on the foot-hills of south- 

 ern California, Fremontia having been used by Dr. Torrey 

 for a plant now known as Sarcobatus vermiculatus before 

 he used it for this tree, so that under the rules now in force 

 among American botanists Fremontia must be forever del- 

 egated to our fast-growing collection of synonyms. Larrea 

 Mexicana, the common Creosote-plant of the desert, now 

 becomes Larrea tridentata, which Dr. Coville tells us is "the 

 most important zonal plant of the lower Sonora zone, grow- 

 ing with great uniformity over nearly the whole area of the 

 desert region." 



The first number of Bulletin No. 9 of the Geological and 

 Natural History Survey of Minnesota, to be devoted to bo- 

 tanical studies, has reached us. This is a new botanical publi- 

 cation, provided for by the Legislature of Minnesota and in- 

 tended to contain papers whose immediate publication, in 

 advance of the regular reports of the Board of Regents of 

 the Geological and Natural History Survey of the state, is 

 considered important. The first issue contains papers on 

 the occurrence of Sphagnum atolls in central Minnesota, 

 by the editor, Professor MacMillan ; on some extensions of 

 plant ranges, by E. P. Sheldon, who also contributes a paper 

 on the nomenclature of some North American species of 

 Astragalus; a list of fresh-water Alga-, collected in Minne- 

 sota during 1893 by Josephine E. Tilden ; and on the poi- 

 sonous influence of Cypripedium spectabile, and of Cypri- 

 pedium pubescens, by D. T MacDougal. On the last topic 

 the author says : 



An examination of these plants reveals the presence of 

 two forms of hairs in great abundance ; one is a curved 

 pointed septate hair, the apical cell of which has hard brit- 

 tle walls, and is easily detachable from the basal portion of 

 the organ ; the other form is a septate glandular-tipped hair. 

 The glandular cell is filled with a light brown substance of 

 which the chemical nature remains unknown. The contents 

 of both hairs show a decided acid reaction, but were not ob- 

 served to exert any harmful influence on infusoria placed 

 under the cover-glass with them. The poisonous effects may 

 be due to the piercing of the skin by the pointed hair and the 

 consequent action of the acid contents, or to the surface irrita- 

 tion by the contents of the glandular hairs, or it is remotely 

 possible that they are due in some way to the presence of a 

 fungus. 



Mr. MacDougal considers that the poisonous effect of 

 Cypripedium spectabile is conclusive, and argues that as 

 Cypripedium pubescens is furnished with a similar appa- 

 ratus, there is every reason to believe that it is equally inju- 

 rious. He suspects, however, that both plants "may be 

 handled by the majority without danger — yet it is easily 

 apparent that these species, as well as others of the 

 genus, are protected in a manner that renders them un- 

 pleasant to grazing animals, as it has been repeatedly 



