water it had never been found in the United States further north 

 or west than Southern Florida. I found but a single specimen, 

 but the locality was one that is not easily accessible either by 

 wading or by boat, so I could not explore extensively. It is 

 possible that it may yet be found in greater abundance. The spot 

 where my specimen was collected is about 500 feet east of the 

 street car landing at West End. The plant was in good condition 

 and while it is possible that it has floated from Florida to these 

 shores, its location and appearance are strongly against the sup- 

 position that it is adventive. 



In the boggy ground back of the levees on both sides of the 

 Mississippi a species of Marsilia is very abundant. It forms dense 

 mats on boggy shores, from which it also sends floating stems out 

 into the water. It is much like a patch of white clover in ap- 

 pearance, but even at a distance it is to be distinguished from 

 clover by the livelier green of its fronds. I have set it down as 

 M. uncinata, although the sporocarps are necessary to make sure, 

 and these I have not yet found. Many plants were searched for 

 them in vain. From what Mr. Julien Reverchon writes me from 

 Dallas, Texas, I surmise that I was too late this year for the 

 fruit. I hope to look for it again in the spring or early summer. 

 He who finds a Marsilia in this part of the world does well to 

 consider it Af. vestita unless it is in fruit. My reasons for be- 

 lieving my plants to be ancinata, is that they are not pubescent, 

 and they that are rather larger than those of M. vestita usually 

 grow. Professor Underwood tells me that fruiting plants of M. 

 uncinate have been sent him from this city, but whether they were 

 collected here does not seem to be known at present. At any 

 rate, this seems to be the first published record of the plant so 

 far east. The sixth edition of "Our Native Ferns" credits it to 

 Western Louisiana upon the authority of a botanist long since 

 passed away. The books on the fernworts bear evidences that 

 some species have not received sufficient study in the field. For 

 instance, the Marsilias here mentioned have their height given, 

 which is really only the length of the stipes, while not a word is 

 said about the length of the plant, although it is a creeping 

 species. It is not difficult to find stems more than a yard long 

 with frequent branches. 



It has never been my good fortune to see Azolla Carolinana 

 growing, until I came upon it at Southport, in the suburbs of 

 New Orleans. I was still at some distance from the pool in 



