THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



71 



. most other garden crops are mature. Only sea kale, asparagus 

 and rhubarb compete with it. 



The Duck Potato. — Botanists perfectly familiar with 

 the various species of arrow-head ( Sagitfaria) may perhaps 

 fail to recognize the species under the vernacular name of duck 

 potato, but to hunters and trappers the name carries more sig- 

 nificance. The plant that usuall}- goes by the name is a com- 

 mon species of the ^Mississippi delta, but it also occurs from 

 Texas to Alabama and northward almost to the Great Lakes, 

 The potatoes, from which the plant gets its common name, are 

 produced on runners from the base of the plant. They are 

 globular in shape and mav become an inch in diameter. Wild 

 ducks are very fond of them. The gullet of one canvasback 

 examined contained twenty-four entire tubers and the remains 

 of several more. Two other species of Sagittaria— 5^. lafi folia 

 and vS. arifoHa — produce similar tubers though few botanists 

 appear to be familiar with them. These latter species are dis- 

 tributed nearly throughout the United States and being more 

 Avidely known have acquired a variety of common names. 

 Among these may be mentioned wapato, Chinese onion, water 

 nut, and swan-, duck-, muskrat-, and swamp-potato. The 

 tubers of Sagitfaria latifolia may become two inches long and 

 more than an inch in diameter. From six to nine are often 

 found on a plant. A bulletin from the United States Bureau 

 of Biological Survey calls attention to the value of these plants 

 in attracting and providing food for waterfowl. The plants 

 are easily established in regions where they do not naturally 

 grow, either by means of seeds or tubers, though the latter are 

 said to give the more satisfactory results. 



Death of Dr. \\'. Bailey. — Dr. \A^illiam Wliitman 

 Bailey, well and favorably known to all readers of this maga- 

 zine through his frecjuent contributions to its pages, died at his 

 residence in Providence, R. L, February 20, 1914:, at the age 

 of 71. Dr. Bailey was the son of Prof. Jacob Bailey, and was 



