THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
Insect Control of Plant Distkl-jftion.— In discuss- 
thcdistribution of plants ue rarely take into consider- 
ation the fjict that among entonu)philous flowers, at 
least, insects are as important factors indetermininfj their 
ran«?e as is soil or perhaps temperature. It is clear that if 
all other conditions are rii^ht the absence of the insects 
which pollinate the fl(nvers of a certain species would, if 
the flowers were not self-fertile, present such species from 
Extermlnation of Galax.— Extermination of rhodo- 
dendrons sut,r<rests that thi; Gulnx /ip/7j7/.T of the Carolinas 
is apparently in a fair way to ])e exterminated. I was at 
Asheville, X. C, in 1885-7, and at that time many of the 
wooded hillsides were covered thickly with the plant. 
The leaves were used there for decoration but that draft 
on them had no perceptible effect. I brought some of the 
plants north with me. and some lived here for some time, 
but did not make seed. The longest-lived one lasted for 
about three years. I took some of the plants to an old 
Scotch florist in New York. It was new to him. After 
studying it up he reported to me that in colonial times 
galax plants had ])een exported to Great Britain, and had 
there been cultivated as ornamental plants, but it was 
unkn<nvn to our northern florists. Since then quite a 
trade in galax leaves has sprung up and they are offered 
by the thousand (v^l to $1.25 per 1000) in the florists' 
trade papers. They are used almost exclusively in funeral 
decorations, so much so that manv florists consider that 
the introduction of galax leaves into a floral piece, stamps 
it at once as a funeral design. Al^out two vears ago I 
askal a friend living in Asheville to get tor me a few of the 
plants. He rep(,rted the utmost difllcultv in hnding any 
at all. They sceni to have been practically exterminated 
flowered azaleas which used to brighten the woods'^in 
thai part of tiie country, but from the numbers that I 
h.'.Y.' seen on s:ile in the New York market I fear for their 
preservation Aho.-~Eb.vyTJ Wnlkr, Morri-town, X.J. 
