360 BOTANY. 
Ascent or SAP IN THE Bark or TreEs.— M. Faivre has recently 
performed a series of experiments on the mulberry, hazel-nut and 
cherry-laurel, which he considers go far to prove the fact that i 
‘the substances which supply the food of plants have’an ascending 
motion in the bark. For this purpose he made perfect or imper- 
fect annular incisions through the bark, or detached pieces of the 
bark to which buds were attached, or removed entire cylinders of 
bark from the trunk. The result of the experiments was that the 
buds always continued their development when the communica- aa 
tion remained uninterrupted with the lower portion of the trunk, 
while, when this communication was completely destroyed, the 
buds invariably withered away. If the bud was separated by a 
perfect annular incision, it withered the more slowly the greater 
its distance from the incision; and in these cases the starch disap- 
peared completely from the portions of the wood above the incision 
between it and the bud. When entire cylinders of bark with buds 
on them were removed, the buds continued to develop, and even 
produced branches bearing leaves.— A. W. B. 
BOTRYCHIUM LUNARIA Swarrz, 1x Micaican.— Last summer 
(August 14, 1873), I found this rare fern on one of the small 
rocky islands which lie off the southwest end of Isle Royale, 
Michigan (Lake Superior), which, from its general outline, o 
have named Triangle Island, it being unnamed hitherto on any of i 
the maps. i 
This is an important addition to the flora of Michigan; and 
though I am aware that the plant had already been discovered on 
Lake Superior, I am assured that this is the first time of its being 
found within the limits of the United States. 
The plants, of which I collected between thirty and forty, gre™ 
on the exposed sand-rock, among matted tufts of dwarfed Poten- 
tilla tridentata Ait., grass, and other plants. They are remark- 
ably fine, well developed specimens, and quite characteristic. br 
island is not wooded.— Henry Gititman, Detroit, Michigan. 
_ ABsorpTion or ÅMMONIA BY THE AERIAL Parts OF Braw : 
A point of considerable practical importance to agriculturists m 
been recently investigated in Germany, by M. Adolf Mayer g a 
Wiesbaden, viz., whether the aërial parts of plants have the pow” 
of absorbing ammonia or not. He carried out a series of pied ie 
ments on plants growing in such a manner that access of anm 
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