The meeting of the American Association last year at Minneapolis
attracted a larger attendance of botanists than usual. Without much
consultation, a meeting of those interested in botany was called,
a president and a secretary were chosen, and discussions, short
communications, and papers upon botanical subjects listened to. The
Botanical Club was thus inaugurated; and before the close of the
session it was decided to do what was possible to secure a larger
attendance of botanists at the next gathering in Philadelphia.
Although during the interim the prospect of a good attendance at the
Philadelphia meeting had been fair, the most sanguine were surprised
to find that, as early as Monday preceding the opening, a number of
botanists had arrived in the city; and by the following day a larger
gathering could have been assembled than the total attendance at
Minneapolis.
The first meeting of the club, of which several were held between
Friday and Wednesday, was responded to by an attendance of about
thirty--a little below the average attendance for the subsequent
meetings. Prof. W. J. Beal, of Lansing, Mich., the president,
took the chair; and Prof. J. C. Arthur, of Geneva, N. Y., was
appointed secretary to fill the vacancy caused by the absence of
Professor Coulter. A paper by Dr. N. L. Britton, of New York, on the
composition and distribution of the flora of New Jersey, was read.
The surface-features of the State were given, and the corresponding
vegetation described. The work of cataloguing the plants is being done
under the supervision of the State geological survey. The list at
present has reached the very large total of nearly fifty-five hundred.
Prof. C. R. Barnes, of La Fayette, Ind., spoke of the course of the
fibro-vascular bundles in the leaf-branches of Pinus sylvestris. The
two needle-leaves at the end of each short lateral axis contain each
a paired bundle. The question at issue was whether this structure
represented one or a pair of bundles, or whether it might not be a
segment of the fibro-vascular ring of the stem. A study of the early
stages shows that the first change in the stem is to divide the
fibro-vascular ring into halves at right angles to the plane of the
leaves; and subsequently these divide again, sending one branch of each
to each leaf. The paper led to much discussion by Professors Buckhout,
Macloskie, and others.
Dr. Bessey, of Ames, Ia., described the opening of the flowers of
Desmodium sessilifolium. They expand partially in the usual manner,
then remain stationary till a particular sensitive spot at the base of
the vexillum is touched by an insect, when the wings and keel descend
with a jerk, the stamens are released, and the insect dusted with
pollen.
Professor Mackloskie, of Princeton, N. J., described the method of
cross-fertilization of Geranium maculatum by bumblebees. Professor
Dudley, of Ithaca, N. Y., spoke of the torsion of stems of Eleocharis
rostellata, and also on the protogynous character of some species of
Myriophyllum. Mr. William H. Seaman, of Washington, D. C., advocated
the use of rather thick oblique sections in studying the structure of
the fibro-vascular bundle--a method that called forth a very strong
protest.
Professor W. J. Beal gave a paper concerning the manner in which
certain seeds bury themselves beneath the soil, which was discussed
by Professors Bessey, Rothrock, and others. A paper by Prof. W. R.
Lazenby, of Columbus, O., on the prolificacy of certain weedy plants,
embraced careful estimates of the average number of seeds produced by
individual plants among various kinds of weeds. Dr. J. T. Rothrock, of
Philadelphia, addressed the club on some phases of microscopic work,
alluding particularly to microscopic work, alluding particularly to
micro-photography, its importance to the investigator, and the ease of
execution.
Dr. Asa Gray called attention to the interesting discovery of Mr.
Meehan regarding the mode of exposing the pollen in the common
sunflower. He had found that, contrary to the teachings of the text
books, the pistil and stamens develop together until reaching full
length, when the filaments rapidly shorten, and the anther tube is
retracted, exposing the style covered with pollen, the further changes
being the same as usually stated. This Mr. Meehan construed to be a
device for self-fertilization; while Dr. Gray showed that, although
bees carried pollen from one flower to another of the same head, they
also carried it from head to head, which constituted crossing in the
fullest sense. An interesting discussion followed, in which Professor
Beal suggested that an excellent experiment would be to cover up the
heads and ascertain if any fertile seeds were produced. Dr. Gray
thought it very likely there would; for, when cross-fertilization is
not effected, self-fertilization often takes place. Mrs. Wolcott had
proved this to be so; for, in covering up the flowers to keep birds
away, she found that plenty of seeds were formed.
Dr. George Vasey, of Washington, gave some notes on the vegetation of
the arid plains, which was followed by observations on the curvature of
stems of conifers by Dr. Bessey, in which he noted the bending of stems
one, two, and even three years old.
Mr. THOMAS MEEHAN discussed the relationship of Helianthus annuns and
H. lenticularis; showing that there was a constant difference in the
form of the corollas, the former being campanulate, and the latter
tubular. The two are treated as one species in Gray's Synoptic Flora of
North America; the one being considered a cultivated form of the other,
a view from which the speaker dissented. Mr. Meehan then spoke upon
the fertilization of composites; concluding that the arrangements were
such as to favor self-fertilization, which is opposed to the generally
accepted view.
Prof. L. M. Underwood, of Syracuse, N. Y., gave some statistics
concerning the North-American Hepaticae. Of the two hundred and
thirty-one species found north of Mexico, a hundred and twenty are
pecular to America; fully one-half the latter are not represented in
any public or private herbarium in this country.
In a paper on the nature of gumming, or gummosis, in fruit-trees, Prof.
J. C. Arthur detailed experiments from which the conclusion had been
reached that it was due to a deorganization of the cell-walls of the
tree through the influence of some fungus, but not necessarily of a
specific one.
It had been produced experimentally by the bacteria of pear-blight
and by Monilia fructigenum, the fruit-rot fungus; although the most
common cause is doubtless the Coryneum, first described by Oudemans in
Hedwigia.
At the final meeting the Committee on Postal Matters then gave its
report. This committee was appointed at Minneapolis to inquire into
the various obstructions which the postal authorities throw in the way
of exchanging specimens of dried plants. The efforts of the committee
had been directed toward securing the passage of specimens bearing
the customary written label at fourth-class rates of postage. The
Decision of the Postmaster-General was read, stating that the present
law could not be construed to permit the passage of specimens with
written labels except at letter-rates, but expressing a willingness to
bring the matter, at the proper time, to the attention of Congress,
the Canadian authorities, and the congress of the Universal Postal
Union. Some discussion followed; and a motion was carried to continue
the committee, and also instructing the president and secretary of the
club to draft resolutions to be presented to the section of biology, in
order to still further promote the objects in view.
These resolutions were acted upon by the biological section on the
following day. Dr. Bessey was chosen president, and Professor Arthur
secretary, for the next year.
Besides the reading of papers, the club took several excursions. On
Saturday they went to the pine-barrens of New Jersey, about fifty
participating. On Monday a party visited the ballast-grounds during
the morning, and upon their return inspected the library and herbarium
of Mr. I. C. Martindale, of Camden, N. J. In the evening of the same
day the Botanical section of the Philadelphia Academy of Science
entertained the club, the Torrey Botanical Club of New-York City, and
other invited guests, at the rooms of the Academy. About three hundred
were present, and a thoroughly enjoyable time experienced. On the
afternoon of Tuesday the club and its friends, in all about eighty,
made an excursion to the Bartram Gardens, one of the most interesting
historical spots to botanists in this country; and the club then
adjourned.
In reviewing the attendance of botanists in Philadelphia, and the work
of the Botanical Club, there is much reason for congratulation. About a
hundred entered their names on the register of the club as botanists,
or about eight per cent. of the total attendance, one-half of whom
are widely known for their attainments in the science. There was no
lack of interesting papers and free discussion. Besides the important
measures already referred to, the club was instrumental in securing the
appointment of a permanent committee of the Association to encourage
researches on the health and diseases of plants. But, above all, the
augmented facilities for intercourse and acquaintanceship, and the
impulse imparted to individual workers, through the influence of the
club, are a sufficient _raison d'étre,_ and a promise of usefulness of
the future.--_Science_.