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fours, and orchids often in twos. In increasing the number, we 

 assume hypertrophy to be the cause, just as atrophy probably ac- 

 counts for the decrease. — The Garden. 



WHY DEAD NETTLE. 

 One of the commonest plants in English hedgerows is the 

 stinging nettle, and pedestrians are constantly striking their 

 hands against the irritating weed to their cost. Anent this fact, 

 I received while in England last summer a lesson in the origin of 

 common plant names. A country boy with whom I was one day 

 in company, was asked the name of a certain plant in the hedge. 

 It looked like a nettle, and a nettle he replied. Being told to 

 touch it and see, he very naturally declined, but on further urging, 

 he finally fingered the leaves, at first very gingerly and then 

 more firmly, and to his surprise received no hurt. Then it was ex- 

 plained that this plant was not a nettle, but quite a different weed 

 (Lamium album ) which looks almost exactly like it and grows 

 frequently side by side with it, but because this has no stings, the 

 name of dead nettle has been given it. — C. F. Saunders. 



THE COLUMBINE VISITORS. 

 In the Botanical Gazette for October, J. Schneck has the fol- 

 lowing regarding the insect visitors of our common wild colum- 

 bine (Aquilegia Canadensis) and the garden species most fre- 

 quent in cultivation : "The form and distribution of the spurs 

 is quite different in the two species. In .1. Canadensis the spurs 

 are straight, while in A. vulgaris the outer end is curved inward 

 until it is again bent back on itself, forming an entire ring or 

 circle. In A. Canadensis the spurs are longer and more slender 

 and the tissues more tender. In both the nectary is located in the 

 outer end of the spur, where it is represented by a hard nodule or 

 gland. The common ruby-throated humming bird (Trochilus 

 colubris) the tobacco and tomato sphinx moths (Macrosila Caro- 

 lina and M. 5-maculata) are common visitors to A. Canadensis, 



