23 
eleared before, nor any other near by. Here is the 
list: Hazardia squarrosa; Thelypodium lasiophyllum ; 
Lupinus hirsutissimus ; Solanum umbelliferum; Verbena 
prostrata; Stachys Calif omica; Zygadenus Fremontii; 
Scutellaria tuberosa; Pterostegia. drymarioides ; Gnaph- 
alium purpureum; Oenothera mi crantha ; Antirrhinum 
strictum; Gilia achillaeif olia ; Orobanche fasciculata; 
and one or two more I can’t recall. At this elevation 
at another place I found Euphorbia serpyllifolia, sup- 
posed to be confined to creek beds and low grounds. 
Soil is slightly sandy. The nearest water to the sur- 
face has been found at 80 ft. I think the above is a 
pretty good record for a new piece of ground. — C. A. 
Reed, Nov. 16, 1919. 
Migratory or dormant seeds.- — The above letter from 
our correspondent is a renewal of an old query. The 
prompt appearance of such plants in clearings and on 
4 ‘burns’ ’ has always been baffling to botanists. Un- 
doubtedly in many cases the seeds are blown in from 
neighboring areas, or sometimes they are brought in 
by birds or by water. In some instances, too, plants 
occur in a dwarfed inconspicuous state in the chaparral 
and are not noticed until the changed conditions trans- 
form them; then with fattened surroundings they are 
excessively prominent. Yet again seeds lie dormant in 
the soil for many years, and germinate readily only 
with a radical change of conditions. — W. L. Jepson. 
Effects of brush fires. — Generally speaking where 
a fire has passed over a section all vegetable growth 
is stimulated, often wonderfully. The spread of many 
species from seed is greatly increased, some species 
appear which were rare or unknown before, and the 
size and beauty of all flowers is increased sometimes 
300 to 500 per cent. Always for the finest bulbous 
plants and especially lilies seek the path of a brush 
or forest fire of one to two years previous. To just 
what action of the fire these results are due I do not 
know. Perhaps to several things. Of course there 
is a deposit of potash which we know is beneficial, yet 
spreading hardwood ashes over well tilled soil does 
not have the stimulating effect that burning brush over 
it would have. In brushy or wooded lands fungous 
growths are undoubtedly killed and I have long noted 
that lily bulbs which were much rotted before a fire 
would be perfectly bright and fresh afterwards. Open- 
ing out to the light by burning brush or small trees 
has its part in the result and soils are always loosened 
by a fire. Sometimes this loosening amounts to a 
fairly good surface cultivation. — Oarl Purdy, Intern. 
Gard. Club, 3:224. 
