76 
THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
Birds as Botanists. — A British paper has recently 
commented upon the fact that in that countr>' certain species 
of trees are Hkely to harbor pecuHar kinds of birds. The 
oak is said to be the favorite with rooks and jays, and the 
beech with woodpeckers. In America many similar asso- 
ciations may be noted as the oriole and elm, the cat-bird 
and hawthorn, the yellow warbler and willow, the crow and 
the pine, etc. Such associations do not hold for all regions, 
unless the range of bird and tree are co-extensive, but it is 
conspicuous enough to be noticeable. In most cases this 
association is concerned with nest building, but it is difficult 
in some cases lo understand why one tree is not as good as 
another for such purposes. 
Propagaiixo Shrubs.— Shrubs arc best propagated 
from seeds. The seeds are slow to germinate, but if one 
has an out-of-the-way corner in the garden where the seeds 
may be planted as fast as one hapi>ens to collect them it 
will not be long before the corner yields annually a good 
numl3er of choice seedlings. Such plants as send up new 
shoots from adventitinus buds on the roots are easily mul- 
tiplied in this way, while many others can be layered like 
grape-vines by bending down a branch, making a slanting 
cut half through it on the under side and covering the cut 
section v;ith eanh. allowing the tip of the branch to project 
above the surface. By autumn the branch will usually have 
produced n\>ts from the edges of the cut and may now be 
severed from the parent plant and planted by itself. 
The Bioxomist.— The United States Bureau of Plant 
Industry has a new official, or rather an old official, under 
-new title, this title being the Bionomist. It may puzzle 
- y.jur.ger readers to define just what a bionomist is. and 
• \ili iK't be much help to hy>k in the dictionaries, for the 
.■•rd !5 too rare to appear in many of them. Bionomy, how - 
