Seasonal Notes. — September 2 1 7 



seed of the yew is a growth from the base of the seed itself, 

 which would otherwise remain naked ; alike unprotected and 

 unattractive. It is the growth of this beautiful cup which 

 may now be watched with interest by any one who has a 

 female yew-tree near at hand. It does not begin until the 

 seed itself is fully formed ; and the first indications of it are 

 seen at the base of the seed. The yew has no seed-vessel (in 

 botanic language, no pericarp). It has bracts around the base 

 of its fruit, such as those which form the husk of the hazel-nut 

 and the cup of the acorn, but these have no share in the 

 formation of its waxy cup. So, if we may indulge in metaphor, 

 we may say that the seed having attained its growth would 

 appear to take pity on itself and proceeds to construct its own 

 clothing. It begins at its foot and gradually projecting its 

 crimson garment forward finally covers its head. Botanists 

 will tell us that the cup is, after all, only an arillus, but it is 

 one of the most curious as well as most beautiful of natural 

 objects. It is comparable, with differences, to the "mace" 

 which encloses a nutmeg. 



Very Large Oak Leaves. 



Our vivarium has recently possessed an oak shoot bearing 

 unusually large leaves. One leaf measured y\ in., one 8J in., 

 and another reached 8| in. The secret of their giantism is 

 that they have fed in excess. In the first place the shoot grew 

 from a stool left by the felling of a small tree, and in the 

 second it had its end cut away in early spring. Thus it could 

 draw from the roots of the tree and the sap sent up for the 

 growth of the whole shoot had, by its decapitation, been, as it 

 were, impounded in the part which remained. It was in this 

 part that the leaves in question were grown. 



A note in the Museum Journal records the following : — 

 "On September 28, 1902, we gathered oak leaves 8-| in. 



