FIELD AND FORES']'. 



53 



MISCELLANY. 



FIELD RECORD. 



Central Flowers of Daucus Carota. 



— I have observed Daucus carota, the 

 wild carrot, this season with some care 

 and find that there is considerable differ- 

 ence in the central flower of the umbels. 

 In some it is wanting entirely and in 

 others it is only rudimentary. In one 

 place I found it raised to some distance 

 above the umbel on an elongated pedicel ; 

 this pedicel bore a sort of involucre below 

 the base of the flower which was united 

 into one piece at its base and appressed to 

 the pedicel. The bright purple flower in 

 these cases seemed to be perfect, dissection 

 revealing five plump stamens full of healthy 

 pollen grains, two styles, and a two-celled 

 ovary, each cell containing an ovule 

 [iiiericarp.) — Lester F. Ward. 



The Snail. — I noticed in last week's 

 issue an article illustrative of the text, 

 "As a snail which melteth away,"' &c, 

 which brought to mind an experiment I 

 once saw performed upon a snail. 



If any one can brin j himself to try it, 

 he will be satisfied by the result that the 

 physical organization ot the creature is 

 susceptible of a more rapid decomposition 

 than the writer alluded to made apparent. 

 The snail in the case I refer to was taken 

 from the damp cellar wall, along which it 

 was dragging itself. It was laid upon the 

 kitchen hearth by the ruthless boys (who 

 proposed to test the truth of what they had 

 heard of its strange nature) and covered 

 with common salt. Immediately it be- 

 gan to melt or dissolve, and became, m a 

 short space, a shapless, gelatinous, and of 

 course lifeless ma.sS, which caused the 

 youngsters to take to their heels in sheer 

 disgust. — A. W. in N. Y. Observer. 



Pinus pungens in the District 

 of Columbia. — The discovery of Abies 

 Canadensis at Great Falls was thought 

 quite remarkable by some, but that Finns 

 pungens, the table mountain pine, should 

 be found within the District of Columbia 

 is doubtless more than would have been 

 believed by the veteran botanist of Wash- 

 ington. In a fine wood which skirts 

 Rock Creek above Blagden's Mill stand 

 some dozen trees of this species. They are 

 from 12 to 1 8 inches in diameter, and 

 grow tall and handsome. They are sur- 

 rounded by trees of the yellow pine, P. 

 mitis, with which they contrast plainly in 

 general habit, in the scaly bark, in foliage, 

 &c, but particularly in their many times 

 larger cones which render them conspicu- 

 ous objects from a distance. The persis- 

 tent basis of numerous decayed limbs at 

 all distances from the ground is a notice- 

 able peculiarity in the general habit of 

 these trees, and one of which I gladly 

 availed myself in climbing one of them in 

 order to secure fine specimens of new 

 cones just formed. There is room for 

 speculation as to how these few moiui- 

 taineers have condescended to mingle 

 with the humbler growths that make up 

 the Flora Columbiana. — Lester F. 

 Ward. 



Insect Longevity. — I take the liberty 

 of sending an item in regard to insect 

 longevity, which I think fully as remark- 

 able as the one given in your March num- 

 ber. About a week since, as Mr. R. J. 

 Clark, of this town, was "hanging" tobac- 

 co, one of the laths on which the "weed" 

 was hung broke in two, and as it appeared 

 to be hollow, his curiosity was excited, 

 and he made an examination of the lath. 

 It was eaten out from side to side by some 



