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THE AMERICAN BOTANIST, 



Plants wanted.— Mr, Charles H. Coe, Lang-don^ D. 

 C, desires living plants of our native lady's slippers 

 (Cyprlpedium) except acaule and offers in exchange the 

 latter or other plants of his- vicinity. 



Fossil Flowers,— The plant remains, with which the 

 students of fossil botany have to deal^ consist almost en- 

 tirely of leaves and the woody parts. In the ease of the 

 cycads, however, some specimens have been found so well 

 preserved, that the flowers can be studied almost as well 

 as in the living plants. Even the pollen grains maybe ob- 

 served. 



Seed Dispersal in the Crocus,— The crocus that 

 puts up its flowers in early March is careful to have its 

 seed producing parts at, or beneath, the surface of the 

 earth. What many people consider the stalk to the flower 

 is in reality only the elongated corolla tube. The seeds 

 ripen close to the earth, but if the capsules opened in such 

 a position they would not fall at any distance from the 

 parent plant. Just as the seeds are ripe, therefore, the 

 stalk that bears them, having remained dormant for quite 

 three months, suddenly elongates, carrying the capsules 

 to a height of several inches above the earth where the 

 wind gradually shakes out the round seeds. 



Protective Plant Secretions. — Some experiments 

 that have recently been made in England seem to indicate 

 that plants are protected from certain enemies by the sub- 

 stances in their tissues as w^ell as by external secretions. 

 Tannin has been found to be unpalatable to slugs and 

 snails. These creatures are very fond of carrots, but when 

 the latter are treated with a one per cent, solution of tan- 

 nin, they will not touch them. The leaves of water plants 

 containing tannin were found to be distasteful to water 

 snails but if the tannin was extracted the leaves would be 

 eaten. Acid sap, bitter secretions and essential oils have 

 similar effects. It should be noted, however, that while 

 snails and slugs may avoid plants possessing these pro- 

 perties, there seem to be plenty of insects that are not so 

 easily defeated. 



