252 “ BOTANY. 
a book zoologist. Work in the shop (which we hope he will un- 
dertake) will correct his views and give him a place among his 
friends, American zoologists. In the meantime let him look up 
the orthography of the words carnivorous and herbivorous. — 
E. D.C. 
BOTANY. 
CULTIVATION or CALIFORNIA Roots anp Bures. —In a climate 
like ours, clearly discriminated by a wet and long dry season, we 
find these bulbs located say`about six to ten inches deep ; the vital 
fibres, or true roots, shoot downwards ten inches to a foot below 
this point, in search of food and moisture: thus radiating from the 
leading germinal end of mostly oblong scaly bulbs — the respec- 
tively dormant fibres that have “ closed in” serving as stays, etc. 
Is it not evident, then, that such bulbs require a flower pot at least 
eighteen inches deep? Hence, ordinary pots must be utterly useless, 
cramping the plant, or inadequate to meet its primary natural in- 
dications. Let any one take an improvised five-gallon kerosene 
or alcohol tin can, or the like, which is good enough, not to say the 
best, cut out one end and nail narrow slats around the upper 
margin to add symmetry, avoid unsightly dents, and for conven- 
ience in handling ; and if one slat is dressed, paint the name, to 
avoid annoyance of displayed labels; paint rudely inside and out, 
to preserve ; punch say at least three large holes in the bottom; 
plant, as in nature, in any good soil well composted, and set your 
ean, keg or crock, in a shallow pan of water. You will soon have 
the pleasure of seeing a stout stem, of the size of your thumb, rising 
up and “rejoicing as a strong man to run a race,” and flowering 
gorgeously. Let it generally be observed here, once for all, that 
in California underground irrigation, or water supply from beneath, 
is the requisite rule or law to be observed, especially in their ad- 
vanced stage of growth. Many California plants are not only 
injured but killed outright by spraying beneath our California sun. 
To illustrate these principles, let us take a few other examples, to 
show that if a plant spends its vital force searching for requisite 
food or moisture; or, if the law of supply be reversed, efforts 
balked, or attained at too great an expenditure, little or nothing 
else can be accomplished. Abronia arenaria, as the specific name 
indicates, grows in sand. If found on deep sand-drifts of the bay 
shore of = rancisco, or inland, it shoots down a stout fusiform 
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