800 NOTES ON THE BOTANY OF MANITOBA. 
and another of a collie that had its hair close-cropped, and was 
found to be covered with sores. Quite a number of butchers with 
orme: h h 
spears that it would certainly have died had he not killed it. Most 
of my informants were agreed that, although sheep flourished well 
on the prairies, they would suffer from the spears, unless such 
precautions were taken as folding them during the time the seeds 
were ripe or cutting down the flower-stalks before th developed 
when I discontinued the experiment. The power of the seeds of 
mas 5 seta to penetrate skins of animals can therefore no longer 
lenied. 
___ Stipa comata Trin, I also experimented with some awns of this 
species, which I gathered on the 14th of October last at Beaver 
Creek, near Fort Ellice, Manitoba. This species is by no means 
abundant in the country, and appears to be restricted to the most 
and-hills, which are of such 
pure sand that they are almost bare, even of grass. The awns are 
te. 
grass. The following figures show the result of immersing 
four awns in wat 
seemed 
¥ . * to be 
rapidity that I was taken by surprise, and fear that I did not record 
Occasions of observing, has a tendency to 
_ number of revolutions. In recoiling D made no move- 
hadk Snte ‘zy. being taken out of the water, hig upon 
gp: 7% ox mto a dry piece of cork it completed a revolution in 
84 minutes, as shown in the table :— 
