BOTANY. 561 
Moths,” “ Catalogue of the Sphingide of North America,” “ Cata- 
logue of the Zygeenide of North America,” “ Conclusions drawn 
from a study of the Genera Hypena and Herminia.” The second 
number, which was received by us on Aug. 2d, contains two more 
plates of moths illustrating two papers by Mr. Grote entitled 
“Contributions to a Knowledge of North American Moths” and 
“A Study of North American Noctuide.” It also contains a 
paper of thirty-two pages of ‘Descriptions of New Species of 
Fungi,” by Chas. H. Peck. 
We congratulate the society on the very creditable appearance 
of these two parts of its first volume, and think that it will find 
this prompt publication of papers read before its meetings of far 
more value to the authors in the matter of priority than the docu- 
ments it has sent out regarding them. 
BOTANY. 
Tue FERTILIZATION or Grasses.— Prof. Hildebrand, a German 
botanist who has paid great attention to the subject of the fertil- 
ization of flowering plants, has recently made an important series 
of observations on the fertilization of grasses, and especially of 
cereals. The agent of fertilization in all grasses, except those few 
in which the flowers never open, is the wind, insects apparently 
playing no part in it. With this object the pollen grains are very 
fine and smooth, so that they are at once dispersed by a breath 
of air; the filaments are usually not stiff, but versatile, and the 
stigma is either feathery, or presents a large surface’ with nu- 
merous indentations in which the pollen is easily lodged. These 
contrivances render cross-fertilization inevitable; and, while self- 
fertilization is in most cases not absolutely prevented, it is gener- 
ally rendered very difficult. Many species, however, which are 
ordinarily cross-fertilized never open their flowers when the weath- 
eris cold and rainy, and are, in such circumstances, necessarily 
self-fertilized. In grasses with unisexual flowers, cross-fertiliza- 
tion must take place as a matter of course. In those with 
hermaphrodite flowers a few are protogynous, and hence also 
necessarily cross-fertilized. In the larger number of grasses, 
however, the male and female organs are developed at the same 
time, and special contrivances occur for ensuring cross-fertilization. 
In the rye the position of the organs is such that a part of the 
AMERICAN NATURALIST, VOL. VIL. 36 
