THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 35 
the economy of the plant during the cold days of autumn and 
spring. — Ohio Naturalist. 
The Flowers of Cryptogams. -One of the popular distinc- 
tions between the flowering plants and the higher crytogams, is 
that the latter have no flowers. In the recently issued ''Organ- 
ography," however, Goebel extends the term flower to cover tuch 
structures as the fruiting spikes of Equisitiim, Lycopodium, Sel- 
aginella and others, a flower being defined as ''a shoot beset with 
sporophylls." 
Color not Always of Use. -It is generally conceded that the 
colors of flowers have been developed as an aid to cross-pollena- 
tion, being so many advertisements for the bee—and in like man- 
ner the colors and juicy pulp of berries have been construed as 
aids to the dispersal of the seeds, by being attractive to birds and 
mammals, there are, however, numerous berries, both juicy 
and of brilliant color, that seem never to appeal to 
the folk in fur or feather. Such are the berries of twisted 
stalk (Sfrepfopiis roseas) , Clintonia and many others belonging 
tothe lily family. These hangs on their stems ungathered until 
wind and weather sow them in the surrounding soil. 
Formation of Leaves in Water— ^lany water plants bear 
two sorts of leaves, those under water being usually thinner and 
much more divided than those produced in air. Xo doubt many 
have wondered as to the cause of this, for it will not do to say 
simply that the one sort dift'ers from the other because produced 
under water. We must know the reason why. It has been fre- 
quently suggested that the shape of the sub-aqueous leaves is due 
to a lack of light, but according to the Botanical Gazette an ela- 
borate series of experiments made by B. ]\IcCallum upon the 
mermaid weed (Proserpinacca palustris), has shown that aside 
from retarding the growth of all parts of the plant, a lack of light 
has no effect. No matter under what conditions grown the aerial 
leaves were broad and nearly entire, while those under water were 
always of the well-known dissected form. It was found possible 
to change the leaves from one form to the other in four inter- 
nodes of growth, and to produce stems with se^'eral zones of each 
form alternating. Further experiments proved that the change 
