320 General Notes. [April, 



GENERAL NOTES. 



BOTANY. 1 



Motility in the Flowers of Draba verna. — As is well 

 known this plant flowers during any open time in spring, say 

 from February to June, with us. In the early part of the season 

 the petals expand about 9 a. m. and close about 2 p. m. Sur- 

 prised that I had not noticed this opening and closing years 

 before, I was led to observe it from day to day, and many times 

 a day. If there was the least cloudiness," no matter how 

 great the volume of light, the petals would not expand. During 

 nearly a week of cloudiness no flowers expanded. On the least 

 burst of sunlight, however, the flowers opened, provided always, 

 it was before 2 p. M. I felt little hesitation in deciding that 

 sunlight was the immediate agency in expansion. One day we 

 had a heavy thunder shower. The next day -was wholly cloudy, 

 but strange to say they expanded during this warm moist cloudy 

 day, as well as under the previous sunlight ! They seem to ex- 

 pand every day since, sunlight or not, through all these variations, 

 however, up to. to-day they close regularly about two o'clock. To 

 my mind it leaves the cause of motion more obscure than ever. 

 It is evidently not light alone, and it is a gain is know what it is 

 not. Yet if we had reflected we might have learned this lesson 

 before, for there are some flowers opening at every hour of the 

 twenty-four. Under the same light when one expands another 

 may be closing; what is one man's meat is another one's poison. 

 It is not the food, but the internal arrangements, it is not the light, 

 but the ability to make use of it.— T. Meelian, May yth, 188 J. 



New Work on the Fungi.— Prof. Saccardo writes me that the 

 first part of his Sylloge Fungorum Omnium is now in press and 

 will soon be ready, embracing the Erysiphece, Perisporiacece and 

 Capnodia. This will be followed by the Sphceriacece ; so that it is 

 expected all of the Pyrenomycetes will be finished this year. 



It will be recollected that the Sylloge is to include diagnoses 

 of all the species of fungi published up to the present time, thus 

 doing to some extent for the fungi, what De Candolle's Prodromus 

 is doing for the Phanerogams. 



The importance of such a publication will at once be evident, 

 bringing together and rendering accessible the disjecta membra 

 of mycological literature, which, lying as it now does scattered 

 through various publications and in the transactions of the scientific 

 societies in different parts of the world, is to the ordinary student 

 for the most part inaccessible. 



The work can be obtained by addressing Professor P. A. 

 Saccardo, Padova, Italy. The expense will be from eight to ten 

 dollars per year, and the work will require probably four years 

 for completion.— J. B. Ellis, Nezvfield, N. J. 



^Edited by Prof. C. E. Bessey, Ames, Iowa. 



