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ground. On examination of the buds one sees at once 

 that the portion which gave me so much trouble was 

 blasted in the bud. It is not like the healthy fruiting 

 portion either in size, shape, or color. It does not seem 

 to have any chlorophyll in it, and it looks just the same 

 in the bud as it does on the stipe at the end of the season. 

 I think that the number of years for a plant to be fruit- 

 ful, or to be found sterile, varies. They may be found 

 fruiting one year, and resting another. I examined four 

 buds which I found sterile this season (1905) in late Oc- 

 tober. Three of them contained healthy fruiting portions, 

 but one of the buds had the blasted or abortive portion 

 and would be found sterile again in 1906. Out of seven 

 fine fertile plants of 1905, three would have been sterile 

 in 1906, the other four showing the green, large, healthy 

 fruiting portions in the buds. The buds which I have 

 are so large, that the opening on the stipe at the base 

 shows quite well. I do not know whether or not one 

 could view the parts of the plant in the buds which I 

 collected and be able to say after using a magnifier what 

 the plant would do two years hence, but a plant which 

 was fertile in 1905 and shows a fertile portion in its bud 

 for 1906, might indicate what its condition would be in 

 1907. I have some fine buds of this year (1905) in a 

 bottle. I used an oil instead of alcohol so as to' preserve 

 the color of the abortive portion as well as the beautiful 

 green in the buds, I do not like alcohol as well because it 

 changes the color. The buds are from 1 inch to inch 

 in length, if not more in large plants. The abortive por- 

 tion is about l| inch in length, but the normal fruiting 

 portion of the plant is as long as the sterile lamina, and 

 the same color, green, and bent all together. 



In 1903, four fertile plants were removed to my little 

 fern garden, they were fertile this year (1905), and I 

 took a plant up this fall to see what would be the condi- 

 tion of the bud, and it showed a fertile portion. Botry- 

 chiums apparently do not rest alternate years, regularly; 

 they vary. I did not find this abortive portion on the stipe 



