THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 47 
of the witch hazel fall early, and its blossoms are seen on bare 
branches. ''It is curious to notice this tough, angular, ugly skele- 
ton of a shrub, studded with yellow-green flowers, whose petals 
are like ribbons and shine against the sun as golden stars," Thor- 
eau says that while the tall hazels are bare of foliage, he foiuid 
leaves on the low bushes as full of color as the blossoms, some 
clear lemon yellow inside the bush and a richer hue outside, while 
others were crimson, or green veined with gold. 
The yellow disks of the dandelion may be found all the winter 
long in sheltered places, cuddled close and flat against the bosom 
of Mother Earth like a timid child. It does this to retain warmth 
as the winter honeysuckle covers its buds with close-fitting scale? 
and the early hepatica swathes its nurslings in woolly or fuzzy 
wrappers. 
Lynchburg, Va. 
NOTE AND COMMENT. 
Wanted. — Short notes of interest to the general botanist are 
always in demand for this department. Our readers are invited 
to make this the place of publication for their botanical items. 
A Few Beets.-- A pile of beets 15 feet deep, 120 feet wide and 
a quarter of a mile long was to be seen at a Colorado sugar fac- 
tory recently. This beats the beet record for the season. 
Staghorn Sumac— The common name of Rhus typhina is us- 
ually supposed to have been given in reference to the soft velvety 
covering of the young branches like the budding horns of a deer. 
In this issue another origin for the name is suggested, which is 
equally appropriate. 
Irregular Occurrences of Gentian. -The beautiful fring- 
ed gentian (crinitai) is very abundant in my locality; but blos- 
soms are comparatively few on alternate years. Is it so else- 
where? /. A. Bates So. Roydston, Mass. [The plant seems 
to vary its behavior with the locality. We have yet to find out 
why it is not so common in some years as in others.~E,D.] 
A Seed DEFiNED.—Most of us know a seed when w^e see it, but 
to give a definition that will exactly describe a seed is not easy . 
Here is one taken from the September Botanical Ga-zette. ''A seed 
