«4 'fHE AMERICAN BOTANIST 
tnongh, of couise, practically stemless. Having found the aris- 
tocratic and highly decorative variety, A. macrorhiza variegafa 
gTo\ving in the midst of a clump of the green ''parent" species, it 
looks like a case of caught-in-the-act sporting; at best I can never 
be more than civil to variegata hereafter. 
Speaking of ornamentals, let me record the achievement of a 
Crimirii amahile, in our grounds. It had been starving on 
an unmixed diet of red clay until a few months ago when I began 
a scries of menus which have "gone right to the spot," as it were. 
The bulb weighs, I judge over 30 pounds and is some 2 feet long; 
it now has two 4 foot peduncles bearing 29 and 32 flowers respec- 
tively ; th«e leaves are 6 to 7 inches wide and about 4 feet long. The 
perianth tube is 5 inches in length and the petal-like segments are 
7 inches ; this means the open flower is a foot or more across and 
its size together with the exquisite coloring, which ranges from 
pure white to deep purplish red, render it a thing of rare beauty- 
a sight to remember. Thirty is stated to be the maximum num- 
ber of flowers per peduncle; two peduncles at once is a very rare 
event; therefore, I respectfully challenge any reader of the Am- 
ERCiAN Botanist to beat the above record. 
Mayagiiez, Porto Rico. 
PLANTS IN WINTER. 
By Prof. W. W. Bailey. 
We are apt to think of all plants as lying dormant in winter. 
As a matter of fact many of them are very much alive. If we cut 
open a crocus bulb or that of a tulip, we find the fully formed 
flower-buds within, and most beautiful objects they are. Still, 
every one knows that the crocuses planted in November wall not 
appear above ground at the earliest till sometime in February. 
If they are all ready to develop—as they seem to be, why do they 
not at once come up? A very natural reply is, that the weather is 
too cold. The answer is not satisfactory; it is often just as in- 
clement or even more so when they finally do appear. The height 
of the thermometer then has not been the sole factor. No; our 
bulbs have been doing good earnest work under ground. At- 
tempts to force the snow-drops by mere increment of heat have 
