NOTE and COMMENT 



Delayed Flowering in the Witch-hazel. — ^The 

 witch-hazel is weU known as a late bloomer, but last year I 

 found a few plants in which some of the flowers appeared 

 unusually late. December 29, 1913, at Glencoe, 111., I found 

 a number of plants on which appeared many flowers in all 

 stages of development from unopened buds to withering petals, 

 while other flowers on the same plant had bloomed at the 

 usual time, at least a month previous, only the persistent calyx 

 being in evidence. The plants were observed about noon, when 

 the temperature registered 33°, or very little above the freez- 

 ing point, yet many buds could be seen opening. Brought into 

 the house most of the buds fully opened within two da3^s, some 

 within one. The flowers were normal except that the petals 

 were somewhat shorter than ordinary. All the plants were 

 badh' infested with galls. The cause of the late flowering was 

 no doubt due to lack of nutrition earlier in the year owing to 

 the presence of the galls, only the flowers more favorably situ- 

 ated opening at the usual time. The specimens before me show 

 that on the badly infested twigs all the flowers are the later 

 ones, while on slightly infested twigs the later flowers are only 

 those nearest the galls, or they may be absent. It would seem 

 that the later flowers were only able to open after the death of 

 the galls, which had heretofore used up the available food, 

 when some nutrition could be obtained by the unopened buds 

 during a slight resumption of activity at an increase of tem- 

 perature to above the freezing point. Granting that some of 

 these unopened buds survived the winter, it is quite conceivable 



