this curious sistole mid dyastole was repeat¬ 
ed with great rapidity 'Now it was clear 
that, as the cushions rested on the hinge I 
have described, one before and one behind 
the fulcrum, these alternate contractions 
and expansions must, throw the jaw up and 
down. I repeated the experiment on an im- 
injured flower with perfect, success ; the jaw 
opened and shut, wit h quick, strung snaps, 
and when the current was increased the 
whole flower was singularly convulsed, pre¬ 
senting a grotesque resemblance to a smail 
writhing face. Unfortunately 1 carried these 
experiments tor) far, and destroyed tllevital- 
tality of this second flower ; no, having but 
one perfect, flower left," I was constrained to 
postpone further investigation. 
It will be seen that the two cushions I have 
spoken of are a true erectic tissue. Under 
the microscope they show a spongy mass of 
APOCYNUM CARNiEUM.” 
CARELESSNESS IN HANDLING TREES, 
Mr. TV. Mkrcikr, Doylestown, Bucks C'o., 
Pa., communicates the following to the New 
York World. It seems to be written in good 
faith and wo offer no apology to our readers 
for its length. He says Rather more than 
a year ago I received from my esteemed 
friend and correspondent, Dr. Fraysainet, 
Secretary of the Societe d’ Acclimatisation, 
at Paris, a small parcel of seeds which had 
been sent him by the lamented Curne, too 
early lost to science. These seeds were all 
of known genera of plants (though some 
unquestionably of new species), and had 
been collected by that traveler in his journey 
to Laos and Mekong. To them all Dr. Frayssi- 
net had attached labels, copied from Cftrtia’s, 
except to one small packet containing three 
seeds, to which he said he could find no label. 
They were of a dark coffeo color, oval flat¬ 
tened, slightly compressed at the edges, with 
longitudinal black ridges converging at the 
apex. As there were so few I did not exam¬ 
ine their internal structure. 
I planted them in a very light sandy soil 
in a well-warmed conservatory about the end 
of April, 1873, but it was not until October 
that I perceived any signs of germination, 
when a pale green sprout made its appear¬ 
ance, with twojseed-lcaves, showing that the 
plant was a dicotyledon. On my examining 
the two Other seeds I found that they had 
rotted. The plant grew but slowly, but An¬ 
ally developed a few leaves very like those of 
ptissiflora, with the difference, however, that 
each lobe terminated in a small green hook 
or abortive tendril, formed by a prolongation 
of t he midrib. Like paasiflora it had a small 
cup-shaped gland near the base of each leaf, 
secreting a limpid fluid. 
The growth of the plant was so slow and its 
whole appearance so sickly that, remember¬ 
ing that its habitat was probably the hot, 
seething swamps of Mekong, I determined 
to increase the heat, and moisture, which 
resulted iu a very marked improvement. 
With the details of its growth I need not 
trouble you ; I finally placed it in a closed 
case, gave it more heat than any of my 
tropical plants would hear, made for it a 
highly nitrogenized soil of decomposed vege¬ 
table and animal matter—what, I might 
almost call a putrid soil—and allowed the 
suulight to which it was exposed to pass 
through violet glass, The plant was thus at 
all times surrounded with a warm mist. 
The result was quite satisfactory. The leaves 
assumed a dark green, small, rough patches 
like warts began to stud their upper surface, 
and the hooks at, the ends of the leaf-lobes 
lengthened into tendrils like those of the 
chematto. The plant grew so rapidly that I 
had to add a second story to the ease. A 
ring of filaments or rather processes made its 
appearance around the stalk about five inch¬ 
es from the ground, grew in from two to 
three days to about an inch in length, and 
then dropped off, leaving a zone of triangular 
sears. But in the meantime another similar 
ring had been forming just above, which in 
its turn fell oil, so that this curious ruff or 
fringe kept advancing up the stem. A sim¬ 
ilar phenomenon on a smaller scale 
At this season, or as the old almanacs used 
to say, “about, this time,” look out for the 
causes of so many dead trees to be seen later 
in the summer, Of course the nurserymen 
usually get all the blame if a tree dies, no 
matter how carefully it may have been dug 
or packed or delivered to the purchaser’s 
door. VVe will not say that the nurseryman 
is never at fault ; but nine times out of ten 
he performs his part of the contract well, for 
it is for his interest to do so ; and although 
mistakes may occur in selecting varieties, 
still the trees are handled in a manner that 
should insure life, until they pass out, of his 
hands. 
The tree peddlers who pass through the 
country selling their ware, should not, as a 
class, lie placed in the same list as respecta¬ 
ble nurserymen ; and if people will patronize 
these men and get swindled, they have no 
one to blame but themselves. But we have 
a word to say to purchasers of trees and 
plants, believing, and in fact knowing, that 
they are often derelict of duty in taking prop¬ 
er care of such articles after receiving the 
same in good order. We have known men 
to purchase a load of trees, being very care¬ 
ful to have the roots preserved almost com¬ 
plete when dug, exhibiting the greatest so¬ 
licitude in regard to the perfect form and 
health of each specimen, and then drive home 
and leave the trees upon the wagon in an 
open barn or Bhod until the ground was got 
in readiness for their reception, which might 
require a day or a we«k. Now all this work, 
even to the digging of the holes for the trees, 
should have been done in advance of purchase 
instead of afterwards. Not a week since, we 
overheard a gentleman give an order for 800 
evergreens, to be planted in a hedge, request¬ 
ing that they be delivered early in the morn¬ 
ing of a specified day. The nurseryman prom¬ 
ised that the order should be filled as desired, 
but said lie, “ Have the trench dug in which 
the trees are to be planted, so that there 
shall be no danger of a tree dying, or any 
perceptible check in growth in consequence 
of transplanting." The purchaser promised 
that all the necessary preparations should bo 
made as directed. There were s > many fair 
promises made on both sides t hat we ware a 
little curious to know if there would be any 
broken ones on either ; consequently, we 
have taken some pains I ofind out, and chanc¬ 
ing to meet, the man to-day who took the 
trees t,o the gentleman, wo inquired if they 
were delivered at Lhe time specified, and 
learned that they were. But said we, “ Was 
the trench ready for their reception ?” “ No,” 
said the man ; “not a spadeful of dirt had 
been dug out, and not a man on the [dace 
who knew how to plant a tree.” If these 
trees die the nurseryman will be blamed. 
A year or two since we saw a large box of 
trees from a Rochester nursery dumped out 
upon the ground, where they remained near¬ 
ly a week before planting. Most of the trees 
died, as might have been expected, and we 
believe the purchaser refused to pay for them 
iu consequence, the nurseryman obtaining a 
settlement by taking about one-half of the 
original bill. We have not the least doubt 
but what the purchaser honestly believed ho 
was entitled to the reduction made in the 
bill, it never entering his brains that the loss 
of life was directly and wholly owing to his 
own carelessness. 
Then, again, we have many and many a 
time seen trees unpacked and scattered over 
the grounds where they were to bo planted, 
after which men were set to work digging 
the holes for their reception, and all the 
while this work wa.8 going on the wind and 
sun scorched and shriveled the roots, no 
attempts being made to prevent it. 
We have not overdrawn this picture ; in 
fact, it is scarcely up to the truth of every¬ 
day instances which may easily be found in 
every neighborhood during the planting sea¬ 
son. When the opposite of all this shall be¬ 
come the rale, then we will hear less com¬ 
plaints of trees dying or making a miserably 
LILIU JVI SZOV1TZIANUM. 
compressed hexagonal cells mingled with 
spiral vessels, and it is evident that the sud¬ 
den ingestion of some fluid into one, and its 
simultaneous withdrawal from the other, 
produced the mechanical action, it, is worth 
notice that these singular organs are imme¬ 
diately connected with the organs of repro¬ 
duction—the tentacles with the stamens and 
the erectic cushions with the pistil; so that 
there seems to be ill this flower only a modi 
fI cation and exaltation (favored by a more 
highly organized mechanical apparatus) of 
the phenomena observed in the barberry and 
other plants where the period of fructifica¬ 
tion is accompanied with the development of 
ucw and almost, animal powers. My sur¬ 
mise at present is that, since the viscidity of 
the pollen and the elevation of the pistil 
render t he flower like that of the orchids, 
incapable of self fertilization, it, like the 
orchids, has t.o avail itself of the services of 
Insects to accomplish this function. But the 
insect, even if attached to this flower, cannot- 
enter the closed mouth. So by the appar¬ 
atus we have seen the flower catches the 
insect, and imprisons it until in its efforts to 
escape it lias carried the pollen upon the 
stigma. Whether the death of the insect 
invariably follows, and if so whether it is 
due to any poisonous qualities of the pollen 
or to the nettle like hairs of the corolla 1 
cannot now say. T trust that if the buds 
which the plant now has develop I shall be 
able to place seeds in the hands of several 
distinguished botanists, and that next year 
we shall have a full account of this singular 
plant. 
It is with diffidence that I attempt to fix 
the place of this plant in the vegetable king¬ 
dom ; my opinion ia that it belongs to the 
family of apocynaceie, and most, nearly re¬ 
sembles the genua vahea. Should it prove 
to bo, as l think, a new genus, I trust that 
the leaders of science will commemorate in 
it the name of Carne. 
t hem white as the upper side remained rigid 
the filament was thrown into a sudden spiral 
thus grasping whatever it touched. YVhen 
this act had been repeated several times the 
motion grew weaker and slower, and I was 
jiIjIg to <1intinj^uisli minute corpUSC Iijh niovintr 
about with great rapidity in the spiral vessels 
like those, seen in the sting of the nettle. 
The mode in which the tentacle sprang up 
from its base 1 could not, discover Toget, at, 
their basis 1 had to remove the labelluin, or 
jaw, to which they were attached, and this 
operation seemed to pa ralyze thorn. The cor¬ 
olla proper, or vtxllluni, contained seven 
stamens grouped around a pistil, which stood 
a little above them on an ovary, A t the base 
of each stamen sprang a tentacle and passed 
down over the labelluin, to which Lhnv were 
examined is curious. It depends from the 
proper corolla by a fine, thin elastic mem¬ 
brane. It is strengthened and kept in shape 
by a structure somewhat resembling that of 
the “keel” of papilionaceous flowers (*uohas 
the pea), except that this stiffening rib is 
bifurcated, imagine the clavicles (or “mer¬ 
rythought”) of a chicken to be curved up 
much more than they are, and tapering 
towards the points into fine t.li reads, and it 
wifi give some idea of this contrivance which 
supports and gives shape to the under and 
front surface of the jaw, At the point of 
bifurcation is a little vertical plate resembling 
that, at the end of the merrythought, except 
that it ia quite flat above and cut into a deep 
notch below. The articulation is effected in 
this way : —From near the base of each side 
of the proper corolla runs a strong, tense 
fiber, crossing to the basis of the other side, 
t lie two being united at the poiut of decussa¬ 
tion, making a sort of bridge, like this;W. 
The notch that i have described in the frame 
of the labollum fits over the oentor of this 
bridge, so us to allow free motion upwards 
and downwards to the law, to which it serves 
as a hinge. From the base of the pistil, and 
just above this, springs a firm toobh-like 
process, projecting over this hinge ; and c>n 
tho under surface of this* process aro two 
prominences, like tiny brown cushions, rest¬ 
ing on the hinge, one before the fulcrum and 
one behind. 
Having mastered the simple mechanism of 
the arrangement so l'ar, 1 became convinced 
that in these two cushions must lie the mov¬ 
ing power ; but my removal of the lip seemed 
to have paralyzed the flower, and I could 
not stimulate them to any activity until I 
bethought myself of electricity. On direct¬ 
ing a very slight current to "the stigma of 
was 
presented by the larger branches, of which 
there were three. The leaves, I must men¬ 
tion showed a marked affinity for the sun¬ 
light, always maintaining themselves in a 
position as nearly as possible at right angles 
to the Holar rays, drooping when the sun was 
clouded even for a few minutes, and almost 
immediately after sunset closing by folding 
themselves up along the midrib of the central 
lobe, bo that the opposed lateral lobes re¬ 
sembled the fingers of two hands placed palm 
Is von may suppose I waited with curios¬ 
ity for its flowering, but this function it 
seemed to accomplish with great difficulty 
owing, I surmise, to the want of sufficient 
sunlight. However, after several buds bad 
partly developed and then dropped off, it 
succeeded in producing, last month, three 
perfect flowers. These were of what is called 
the personate type, of which the common 
snap-dragon is a familiar example ; though 
they did not very closely resemble the St.up- 
dmgo,., and I could only g.vc a correct idea 
or It by ft drawing, ft, had the mask-like 
lorni from which the name of the type is 
d< rived ; but the upper part was longer in 
proportion, more elongated backwards, and 
more like a grotesque head ; and the lubel- 
,°t Jaw, was protruding, but firmly 
closed. l he general color is green fish-ycllow- 
witli small, brown, fiat warts, something like 
those on the stem. The mouth, or rather the 
margin of closure, is set with sharp white 
processes that interlock. The labcllum, or 
jaw, does not spring separately from the 
caiyx nor does it merge into the rest, of !the 
corolla; it is attached to the corolla proper 
as a sort or appendage, in a way which I 
shall presently explain, 9 
LILIUM SZOVITZIANUM 
This lily is highly spoken of in Thompson’s 
English Flower Garden. The. figure accom¬ 
panying this is inadequate to express its 
beauty and value. 
Iu the case of strong bulbs the Btem reaches 
the liight of from three to four feet, and 
yields from six to ten drooping flowers dis¬ 
posed iu a scattered raceme. Ln the fully- 
developed blossom the petals are more revo- 
lute than in the figure. The color ia a bril¬ 
liant citrou yellow, speckled internally with 
purple-crimson, and stained at the base ex¬ 
ternally with dull purple. 
The flowers exhale the most delicious and 
powerful fragrance, perceptible at some dis¬ 
tance, and it is, in fact, a question whether 
any other of the numerous species of this 
genus exceeds it in the sweetness or diffusive¬ 
ness of its perfume. 
The foliage is scattered, broadly lanceolate, 
smooth above, but paler and somewhat hairy 
on the under surface and on the margins. 
Bulb rather large, with yellowish scales. By 
the best authorities this plant is regarded as 
but a variety of L. monade.lphium, from 
which it is distinguished by its stamens not 
being united at the base, by the red color of 
its pollen, by its longer style, a- well as by 
some other minute characters. I .ike most of 
the species it is quite hardy against cold, and 
will succeed hi any good, substantial garden 
soil as well as in peat, but is liable to suffer 
irom excessive wet, and precautions should 
be taken to insure thorough drainage. 
feeble growth for the Qrst two or three years 
after transplanting. 
A Curious Peach Trek.— The Rural Sun 
says :—John Coufman, living near the Nar¬ 
rows of Harpeth, Cheatham Co., Tcnn., has 
a most singular peach tree. It bears three 
different kinds of peaches—soft, plum and 
intermediate. This tree has never been 
grafted, but was procured from Ohio several 
years ago. I t is a curiosity in its way, and 
we can give no reason for its singularity'. 
The tree, when set out, was a mere switch, 
and is now a large, thrifty tree, every limb 
of which bears the three kinds. We are as¬ 
sured by many gentlemen that the facts as 
stated are true, 
