1886, } Botany. 65 
vested July 16 and threshed July 18, contained 27.02 per cent of 
water, of which there were lost by evaporation the following per- 
centages, viz: 
July 27 loss 13.80 per cent. ; Sept. 14 loss 20.33 per cent. 
ES Rs Chaiken aso? pa A M When S e356. dross 
“& Jo “ 18.59 e Oe « ag “ 19.54 & e 
ok 2 Cee ere TE nO T E FOE Ve ee ie pee a Se ee 
wit ere ree *'30,62 * 4 O, Ie Sissies a Ty IGAS OE 
TISI u 19.07 A ot -ANe ea 6024.06. oh 
In the second case samples were taken from the bin on Sep- 
tember 4, with the following results, viz : 
Sept. 14... loss 2.77 per cent. | Oct. 5 loss 1.57 per cent, 
pot PEE Se ee eee rn eee ee Bae Foe eee is Ce ee 
eB. coh ag a a Now, £2 a-Si? = 
In both cases the samples were exposed to the natural air of 
the laboratory until October 12, after that date, to November 22, 
the air was warmed by steam pipes. 
The amount of water in wheat in the bin taken at different dates, 
from the interior of a mass of several hundred bushels, was as 
follows, viz: 
September 22 11.96 per cent of water. 
Oc 13 a 16 57 “ce “é s 
“6 23 A62 © e “ec 
November I ab eeneest Ql? sé e “ 
(13 I2 Ta 8y “ éc ée 
Tue Srupy oF Prants IN WintTER.—The old-fashioned text- 
books tell us to begin the study of plants in the spring, and the 
custom still in most colleges is to confine the study to the spring 
and early autumn months. Winter usually stops all work except 
in the laboratories when “ pickled” specimens are dried and exam- 
ined microscopically, Perhaps in a few cases the green-house 
may supply unseasonable specimens for class or laboratory study ; 
ut this is not the study of plants in winter that we refer to. All 
our perennials have winter states which are full of interest to the 
Student. The writer of this note has taken classes of young peo- 
ple, who knew nothing of botany, and set them at work in mid- 
winter studying the out-of-door vegetation, with nothing but their 
eyes, pocket-knives, pencils and note-books in the way of appa- 
ratus and helps. The structure, position and functions of buds, 
the structure of twigs and branches, including wood, bark and 
Pith, the structure of the fruits and seeds, of various trees and 
shrubs, were taken up in succession, with constantly increasing 
No text-book was used, the pupil depending upon his — 
own resources entirely. By the time that spring came with its 
bursting buds, its leaves and its flowers, these trained young eyes 
were eager for their study. : 
Tue BOTANICAL VALUE oF A ALE That 
Many of the so-called agricultural experiments should have a 
` VOL. XX—no, 1, ; , 
