750 BOTANY. 
growing wild in Virginia and southward. The generic namé 
Yucca is supposed to be of Indian origin; its signification is not 
known. The specific name filamentosa is expressive of the thread- 
like filaments found on the edges of the leaves. The popular 
names of this plant are Spanish bayonet, Adam’s needle and bear 
grass. The name first mentioned was probably suggested by the 
form of the leaves. In the backwoods of West Tennessee this 
yucca is called “ bar grass,” ‘* bar” probably being the rural for 
bear; the tough leaves are used there for suspending meat in the 
smoke-house. The peculiar perfume of the flowers of this plant 
is not perceptible in the daytime. I have known floriculturists 
-who have had the plants in their gardens for years without dis- 
covering that they possessed fragrance. In this latitude, Jack- 
sonville, Ill., the perfume begins to exhale about 7 o’clock, P. M. 
It is sufficiently like that given off from a wasp when disturbed, 
to make nervous persons uneasy if unacquainted with its origin. 
It is worthy of note that the Yucca moth makes its appearagee on 
the plant soon after its perfume becomes perceptible. This sum- 
mer, having a blooming plant of the F. filamentosa in my garden, 
I determined to see what I could of its wonders for myself; my 
tools were a simple hand microscope and a number of little 
tarlatan bags with draw strings. With the latter, four experi- 
ments were tried. The first one was to test the ability of the 
- flower to pollenize itself. Four large buds on different branches 
and almost ready to open, were selected, a-bag was drawn over 
each of these and fastened by the draw string to the stem bey ond 
the flower. With the view of throwing as much strength as poe 
sible into the flowers operated on, all the other flowers on these 
branches were removed. The buds expanded in their gauzy Cov" 
ering as perfectly as their unveiled sisters, but like nuns of an- 
other order they drooped and died, leaving no progeny beh 
them. The second experiment was to pollenize the flower, by 
itself, artificially. The buds were gently opened and some pollen 
scraped from their anthers with a small penknife and placed in the 
entrance to the stigmatic tube. The buds were then enveloped n S 
bags and the branches stripped off the other flowers and buds as 18 
the former case. These also failed to develop seeds. The third 
experiment was. to pollenize artificially from another plant. 
operation was conducted like the above, and like the she 
failed to produce seeds. The fourth experiment was to pollenize — 
The a 
