THE FIELD HORSETAIL, 



By C. F. Saunders. 



IN late March, in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, the Field 

 Horsetail {Equisetum arvense) puts up its first modest spikes. 

 Like most of us, it seems to have a fondness for watching 

 the cars go by," and is 

 never better suited than in 

 the loose soil of railroad cuts 

 and embankments, or in the 

 cinders of some old siding. 

 Wild flowers are not so abun- 

 dant these early spring days 

 that we need begrudge our 

 unobtrusive little friend a 

 few moments' attention. 



The stalks that appear in 

 March are the spore-bear- 

 ing ones and are without 

 branches. They are of a 

 warm flesh color, banded at 

 intervals of an inch or so 

 with brown-tipped, jagged 

 sheathes of white. The 

 stems are very succulent and 

 translucent, so that if we 

 gently stretch one length- 

 wise, the bubbles of air in- 

 side may be seen running 

 briskly up and down after 

 the liquid, like the bubble in 

 a spirit-level. If the stem 

 be stretched to the breaking 

 point, the watery fluid spurts 

 out. Surmounting the stems 

 are the cone-shaped spikes 

 which hold the spores. While 

 young these spikes are a 

 beautiful sage-green color, Equisetum arvense L., collected near 



which as the snores rinen Philadelphia, April 17, i8q8. a. Fertile 

 wmcn, as me spores ripen, stem and mature spike £ Young ster- 



becomes suffused with ile stem with budding branches, c- Re- 

 j _ ' mains of dead stem of previous vear. 

 orange-yellow, and finally d. Portion of perennial rootstock. 



