BOTANY. 683 
note plants with prostrate leaves or branches, which in spring will 
have them of a sharp, upright angle. The Verbascums at the 
present time, especially V. blattaria, had their root leaves so 
firmly pressed against the ground, that on lifting they would fall 
back with a spring; as soon as the central axis grew, the leaves 
from that would be almost upright. In some respects, erection 
or prostration became almost specific characters. The Rubus 
villosus usually grew erect even from infancy, and the Rubus Cana- 
densis generally trailed; yet the last named would sometimes 
throw up strong erect stems, which could scarcely be distinguished 
in that stage from R. villosus. Again, the same species of tree 
would often produce individuals quite erect, and at other times 
very pendent, and hence we had in horticulture the class of weep- - 
ing trees. All trees seemed to have this power of producing pen- 
dent individuals. The oaks, ashes, poplars, elms, all furnished 
familiar examples. 
It was usual with botanists to pass these things over as “ weak- 
nesses.” But the term weakness explained nothing. To say 
that these plants had lost the power of erection was simply re- 
stating the primary fact. Moreover, some of these prostrate forms 
had apparently more vigor than the erect ones. Rubus Canadensis 
was weaker than R. villosus, truly ; but, on the other hand, some 
of the Russian trailing junipers were far more vigorous than any 
of the upright forms. ‘The weeping beech also was in appearance 
more vigorous than the ordinary forms. All beeches had their 
young growth pendent. As the growth matured, the branches 
became erect ; but in the weeping form erection did not come with 
maturity, and hence it remained pendent. In the ashes, however, 
there was no pendency in the young growth; but thé ‘* weep- 
ing ash” was one of the most decided of all drooping trees. In 
such cases as these, the law which governed the angles of diver- 
gence must either be different in each case, or operate at different 
Stages of the development of the branches. 
In his late travels in the Rocky Mountains, he came on a tract 
Covered profusely with one of the small creeping Euphorbias, 
Probably Æ. cordata, in which a large quantity grew perfectly 
erect. Sometimes only a portion of the plant exhibited this 
character, at other times all the plant was upright. The speci- 
mens he exhibited were of the erect class. In all these cases the 
_ Plant was attacked by a small fungus, Æcidium euphorbiæ, the Æ. 
