34 
THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
our garden being stripped of its fruit in the mild open weather of 
late autumn. The missel thrush also likes yew and rowan (moun- 
tain ash) berries. Black birds sink with outstretched wings upon 
bushes too slender for comfortable perching and devour the black 
berries of the bay and hard unfleshy laurustinus berries. The 
rose hips as soon as soft, hang sucked flat by the birds. In autumn 
too, I was surprised to see a robin eating myrtle berries.'' Anoth- 
er correspondent mentions wood pigeons eating the berries of the 
ivy. 
What is the Jackson ViNE?~In the Southern United States 
the make up of the Christmas decorations differs in several par- 
ticulars from those farther North. The holly takes the place of 
spruce and pine, and the club-mosses or running pines (Lycopo- 
dium) are seldom seen. For festoons, a vine called Jackson vine 
is used. It has lanceolate, evergreen leaves and seems a very 
good substitute for the running pine. The botanical name for 
the vine is apparently not very well known. In appear- 
ance the plant is much like a Smilax. Britton and Brown credit 
the matrimony vine (Lycium vulgare) with the name of Jackson 
vine, but this is not the Southern plant of that name. Can some 
of our readers throw more light on the subject? 
Rosette Plants and Protection From Cold. — Rosette 
plants exhibit some interesting adaptations for protection from 
cold, such as the geotropic curvature of the leaves and the develop- 
ment of red color. If a leaf of a rosette of smooth mullein 
{Verbascurn hlattcria) or of the common teasel (Dipsacus sylves- 
tris) be examined late in October, it will be seen that it is pressed 
tightly against the surface of the ground and if the entire plant 
is dug up and placed in a collecting case for a few hours the leaves 
will be found turned downward so far that they are parallel with 
the tap root and form a cup around it. During the same season 
of the year the leaves of many rosette plants are quite red or 
purple. This is due to a substance known as anthocyan. It is 
the same red coloring matter that is present in the unfolding 
leaves and twigs of red maple {Acer ruhrimv) and soft maple 
{Acer saccharinum) . Anthocyan changes some of the rays of 
light, which pass through it into heat, and of much importance in 
