64 



THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



fronds are like the sterile, and the large sori are borne in a 

 double row near the midvein. It has a wide distribution, being 

 found from Canada southward to Tennessee, but it is often 

 absent where it might be expected and is never as common as 

 many of its kin. It takes kindly to cultivation and is a joy for- 

 ever wherever grown. 



Nczi' Hartford, X. Y. 



LABELS AND LABELLING 



IX the old days, the gardener, after sowing his seeds, set up 

 a small stick at the end of the row and placing the empty 

 seed packet upon it considered that his work was done. In 

 modern gardening, however, such careless methods are not to 

 be tolerated. In many cases, especially where seeds of several 

 varieties of a single species are planted, or where different 

 forms of one species are grown together, it is important that 

 a permanent and legible label be provided. 



A considerable variety of labels are oft'ered b}- dealers in 

 seeds and nursery stock but all are not equally valuable. For 

 temporary purposes such as marking the position of annuals, 

 that kind called a pot label is as good as any. Such labels range 

 in length from six to twenty inches and in width from half 

 an inch to an inch or more, and they may be painted or plain. 

 The objection to the smaller sizes of pot labels for permanent 

 marks is that they easity become splashed with mud and there- 

 fore illegible after the spring rains. By the use of taller labels 

 one avoids this trouble, but these latter labels are rather 

 expensive and also rather too conspicuous to be desirable. A 

 more satisfactory^ permanent marker may be made from a tree 

 label, such as many nurserymen use in labelling trees and 

 shrubs sent to customers, and a piece of number ten or twelve 

 galvanized iron wire about two feet long. One end of the 

 wire is bent into a small loop as shown in the illustration and 

 the tree label is fastened to the loop. The straight end of the 



