enough, in the beginning, so as to avoid the possibility of the roots being still connected with the earth below.

In the first box inspected, it was found that there was no hope of following the roots intelligibly. Two of the plants were rather poor and thin above earth, and the roots showed why. The third plant had secured the lead in the springtime and occupied the ground upon which they were compelled to draw for sustenance. Hence they were crowded out and literally starving. The other plant was nothing like an excellent sample of its kind because it had these other two to contend with.

Another thing which quickly developed with further experiments was the fact that there was no possibility of tracing any root to that last place where it takes from the soil the lime, sodium, nitrogen, and the like, of which the body of the plant is formed. With a microscope the investigator followed the roots as far as they reached in the case, but there he found that, fine and infinitesimal as they were-threads as lights as gossamer, almost-they did not naturally end. They had been broken off or dissolved at that point by the warm water, and so the part where the root eventually united with the soil could not be seen. The threads at the point where they ended, however, were analyzed, and it was found that even at this early stage of the progress upward, the great chemical work had been done. In these gossamer threads were traces of those chief chemical constituents of which the plant was composed, already united in that form in which a little later they were stored in the body of the plant. Somewhere, a little farther on in the soil which had been washed away, the work had been done. Somewhere farther on, possibly no more than an inch, that frail thread which the water had dissolved had met lime, sodium, nitrogen in solution, and gathered it up. In that unseen part there was a friendly union between the life of the plant and the life of the earth, and the latter had given some of itself to course up the hair-like root and become a part of the plant. It is the discovery of this process which the investigator would give almost his life to make.

Naturally, the investigations so far have concerned the plants most valuable to man-wheat, corn, potatoes, beans and the like. One of the earliest examined was corn, and this may be taken as an illustration of the primary and general facts discovered by every such investigation. All the roots of corn tended to keep near the surface so long as they could get moisture that way and were not crowded. They would not even try to

penetrate the harder and more gummy earth which lay just below the part loosened by the plough. They seemed to shun work and preferred the looser soil near the air, sun, and rain. But whenever the dry season came, when the soil became harder and the sun too hot, these roots would strike directly downward, boring through the earth that previously seemed too hard, in order to gain moisture and coolness. This characteristic was found to be true not only of corn, but of every other plant whose roots tended in the first place to keep near the surface.

An interesting and valuable result of this investigation centers in the fact that now science can determine which of the plants are deep feeding, and, hence, which are most suitable to dry, insufficiently watered soils. For instance, a species of wheat which had the power to dig down six feet in its search for food and moisture, would be better adapted to the dry regions of the West than one that could dig but four. There are certain species of wheat that do splendidly in naturally soft, sandy soils, but whose roots are too weak to dig through heavy soils. This cannot be told by pulling up a stalk. It requires such an investigation as this which the Government has inaugurated.

Another thing which has been proved by this investigation is why land laid down to grass is made better. It has long been known that when the wild prairie is first broken, the soil is mellow, moist, and rich, producing abundant crops. After a few years of continuous cultivation, the physical condition of the soil changes. The soil grains become finer, which is bad; the soil becomes more compact and heavier to handle; it dries out more quickly than it used to; it "balks" worse and often turns over in hard clods when ploughed. This compact texture makes it difficult for the young roots of plants to develop properly. It also causes an insufficient supply of air in the soil and makes it sticky when wet, dusty when dry, so what when loosened by the plough it is easily blown away. This is because it lacks roots of the right kind-stout, hardy, deep reaching

roots.

As a sort of appendix to this interesting passage, we are able to add an excerpt which amateur rose growers will be delighted to possess, and which well exemplifies the advantages of what may well be called scientific gardening, seeing that it is based on an accurate knowledge of plant habit: A Hedge of Roses......

......Washington (D. C.) Star The mistress of the flower garden was a rose enthusiast. Moreover, she had wide experience. in growing flowers, so when she planned a rose

hedge that was to border the south walk, and said it was to be a success, her friends expected it to be. But even "the lady of roses," as someone called her, was astonished at the magnificent display that this same rose hedge made, when once well established. Travelers would check their horses and gaze at it, riotous in large blooms, white, pink, rose, crimson, and maroon, such a sight as they had never seen before.

This was the way this successful flower hedge was made. A strip of ground fifty feet long and two-and-a-half wide was prepared. The first step was to have this strip spaded deeply and thoroughly. It was done as soon as the ground was well enough dried out in the spring to pulverize nicely when worked. The spading made the entire strip a crumbled yellow mass, clear down to the under stratum of clay beneath. This clay subsoil in itself is exactly to a rose's liking. The friable earth above gave every opportunity for the roots to make rapid growth, and find their way downward to the deep clay anchorage that their whole being delighted in. The next step was to enrich this spaded strip. Barnyard manure that had been piled in a heap six months or more to rot, and had become a soft, dark substance that pulverized at the touch of the spade or rake, was spread along the plot. It was put on thickly, a layer at least six inches deep. Then the soot that had been saved from the spring stove-pipe cleaning was added to the manure, and earth, manure and soot mixed thoroughly. Fine-blooded roses are hearty eaters. Rotted manure is rich in the very elements of plant food, and wood soot has the property of increasing the intensity of a rose's coloring. In a mellow bed made rich by these aids all roses will grow as by magic. As a high-blooded rose grows it blooms, and its profusion of bloom is in direct ratio with the rapidity and luxuriance of its growth.

The mistress of the garden chose for her hedge upright-growing Hybrid Perpetuals and Hybrid Teas. These have stiff, straight-growing canes, and are the only roses suitable for hedges. Tea roses are too weak-stemmed, and Bourbon and China roses too dwarf-growing to be available. Moreover, the Hybrid Perpetuals and Hybrid Teas are hardy with slight protection, while the others are not. A hedge once made of hardy kinds is good for a lifetime, and improves year by year, if steadily well cared for. These hybrid roses have the largest and most grandly perfect blossoms of any of the rose family. Their blossoms have great substance also, and are particularly rich in deep rose, crimson and blackish maroon shades. Their one fault is that many of

the varieties are perpetual in name only, blooming but once in the season. The two dozen rose plants that went to the making up of the hedge were carefully chosen one by one from those sorts that do bloom freely throughout the season -and really there is no lack of such varieties. The list embraced twenty sorts of roses, one of a kind, and two each of that royal white rose, Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, and of those rich red beauties, General Jacqueminot, Madame Charles Wood, and American Beauty. The full list embraced besides these, the following: Margaret Dickson and Ball of Snow, both pure white and of the most perfect shape; Belle Seibrecht, La France, Mrs. John Laing, Madame Schwaller, Madame Testout, Paul Neyron, Queen of Queens and Madame Masson, each a remarkably fine flower, and each a shade of fine clear pink; Souvenir de Wootton, Dinsmore and Meteor, all of which are dark glowing red shades, incontestably the richest colors found in roses; in addition were Viscountess Folkstone, a glossy, satiny flesh; Gloire Lyonaise, chamois yellow white, unlike any other rose, and Prince Camille de Rohan, velvety purplish black. These odd-colored varieties are not all perpetual bloomers, but their rare gifts of color made an exception in their favor. This list is given because it has proved a good and reliable one, but it might be varied somewhat to suit individual taste. Two things, however, must be kept in mind to secure a pleasing hedge: Continuous blooming sorts must be largely chosen, and there should be a goodly proportion of white and deep red roses, as these are the most valued for cutting.

For this particular hedge, two-year old bushes were planted. The cost was about twice that of smaller rose plants, but the advantage was that they were of sufficient size to bloom at once. It is not advisable to allow young bushes of hybrid roses to bloom much the first year. Some of our best sorts bloom themselves to death if this is allowed. It is better to pay a little more and reap immediate advantage of the outlay of the money. Last of all, a mulching of fine, pulverized manure was spread all over the surface of the bed, after the roses were planted. This kept the weeds down, and the rose roots cool through the hot summer days, for this hedge faced the sun, as all plantings of roses should. Roses were freely cut with long stems, to encourage a new growth, and no rose was allowed to go to seed. Each spring the entire hedge was trimmed severely back, for hybrid roses bear on the new wood.

Turning from the pleasures of the garden to those of observation in the field, it is worth while to

notice carefully the following condensed passage. It contains an idea which might well be carried further-that of making models of flowers. This would be peculiarly interesting in the case of some of the plants that depend upon insects for their fertilization, especially if the models were made on an enlarged scale, so as to exhibit the mechanism. Some of the orchids and the milkweeds would astonish the lover of flowers not familiar with the intricacies of their structure:

Plants That Lure Insects and Eat Them........St. Paul Pioneer Press

Nearly everybody has read or heard of the of Venus' fly-trap-the Dionaea muscipula scientific botany-and of the extraordinary sensitiveness of its leaves, which are constructed so delicately that when a fly or other insect lights upon one, the leaf closes upon itself and so imprisons the unhappy victim, killing and actually eating it. That the insect really nourishes the plant has been clearly shown, and when deprived of its insect food it always fails to attain its best development. This species is only one of several insectivorous plants which are illustrated practically in one of the most interesting cases of glass flowers in the Ware collection of Harvard University. This collection is intended to represent the relations of the various flowering plants of North America, and a quarter of a large case is devoted to a typical exhibit of insectivorous plants.

Insectivorous plants are interesting as an illustration of the scientific fact that between the animal and vegetable kingdoms there is really more in common than is generally supposed. Their insect food, although the fact for a long time was unrecognized, is known to be a necessary part of their life. The bladderwort, of which a model is shown at Harvard, is familiar to frequenters of ponds and slow streams from Newfoundland to Texas, and is known to use the small bladders, from which it derives its name, for another purpose than that of floating itself to the surface of the water in which it lives. The little bladders of the common inland bladderwort and the purple bladderwort-which last is found generally near the coast and is recognized by its solitary purple flower-are also traps for insects, in principle not unlike the common form of mouse-trap. Each has an opening large enough to admit the small insects that inhabit the water, but the victim, once entered, finds it impossible to return. The interior of the bladder absorbs the body of the insect, when decomposed, much as a human stomach absorbs food, although the action is slower, and the plant is more nearly comparable to a tiny boa constrictor slowly digesting the meal that he has swallowed at a gulp. To be

exact, however, the digestion of the plant is even slower than that of a serpent, and a single fly will keep a Venus flytrap busy nearly a month at a time. In the case of Venus' fly-trap an acid fluid is secreted that aids the decomposition of its victim. A satiated leaf on opening is found to have lost its treacherous sensitiveness, which, however, soon returns; but if the leaf is induced to close over some object that cannot nourish the plant, such as a particle of dirt placed on it for experiment, it remains closed no longer than twenty-four hours, and upon opening is still sensitive and ready for its delayed meal.

The Sarracenia purpurea, found often in June in peat bogs, from New England to Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and southward east of the Aileghanies, is known commonly as the sidesaddle flower, the pitcher plant, or the hunter's cup. The latter names are more descriptive of its appearance, and it is difficult indeed to see any resemblance in its purple flower and pitchershaped green leaves to anything nearer a sidesaddle than the pillion of our ancestors. By whatever name it is called it is a notable example of the carnivorous plants and is represented by a striking model in the Harvard Collection. It carries on its operations, however, on a larger scale than most, deriving a portion of its nourishment from the larger flying as well as creeping insects. The model shows a curious leaf stalk formation which furnishes the trap, often in natural specimens found half full of water and dead insects. snare is more subtle than the bladderwort's in that the entrance to the trap is larger, the exit apparently unimpeded, and the plant secretes a sweet liquid which serves as a bait. The victim flies or crawls downward into a large tunnel, then, turning, finds it impossible to escape, for the inner surface which he has just traversed so easily is covered with minute hairs pointing downward, and either to walk or fly against them is impossible.

The

To the above-mentioned American insectivorous plants may be added the Sundews, found in bogs in many parts of the Eastern United States, and, above all, the Darlingtonia, the sidesaddle flower, or pitcher plant, of California, which is perhaps one of the strangest of these flesh-eating members of the vegetable world. America is peculiarly rich in this curious field, having not only the carnivorous plans already named, but a Heliamphora in Guiana, a Pinguicula in the northern United States, and a Penstemon common everywhere and which is very suspiciously viscid. Perhaps, however, the most remarkable genus of insectivorous plants is that of Nepenthes, of which there are some twenty species, natives of the Malay Archipelago, south-eastern Asia, Ceylon, and Madagascar. One of these has a pitcher twelve inches in length and six in diameter.

The Great Adventurer

Over the mountains

And over the waves,

Under the fountains

And under the graves;

Under floods that are deepest,

Which Neptune obey;

Over rocks that are steepest
Love will find out the way.

Where there is no place
For the glow-worm to lie;
Where there is no space
For receipt of a fly;

..Early English

Where the midge dare not venture
Lest herself fast she lay;

If love come, he will enter
And soon find out his way.

You may esteem him

A child for his might;
Or you may deem him

A coward from his flight;

But if she whom love doth honor

Be concealed from the day,

Set a thousand guards upon her,

Love will find out the way.

Some think to lose him
By having him confined;
And some do suppose him,
Poor thing, to be blind;

But if ne'er so close ye wall him,
Do the best that you may,

Blind love, if so ye call him,
Will find out his way.

You may train the eagle

To stoop to your fist

Or you may inveigle

The phoenix of the east;

The lioness, ye may move her

To give o'er her prey;

But you'll ne'er stop a lover:
He will find out his way.

Mighty, luminous, and calm
Is the country of the palm,
Crowned with sunset and sunrise,
Under blue, unbroken skies,
Waving from green zone to zone,
Over wonders of its own;
Trackless, untraversed, unknown,
Changeless through the centuries.
Who can say what thing it bears?

Blazing bird and blooming flower, Dwelling there for years and years, Hold the enchanted secret theirs: Life and death and dream have made Mysteries in many a shade,

Hollow haunt and hidden bower
Closed alike to sun and shower.

*Printed by request.

William, who high upon the yard

Rock'd with the billows to and fro,

Soon as her well known voice he heard

He sigh'd, and cast his eyes below;

The cord slides swiftly through his glowing hands, And quick as lightning on the deck he stands.

So the sweet lark, high poised in air,
Shuts close his pinions to his breast
If chance his mate's shrill call he hear,
And drops at once into her nest;
The noblest captain in the British fleet
Might envy William's lips those kisses sweet.

"O Susan, Susan, lovely dear,

My vows shall ever true remain. Let me kiss off that falling tear;

We only part to meet again.

Change as ye list, ye winds: my heart shall be The faithful compass that still points to thee.

"Believe not what the landmen say

Who tempt with doubts thy constant mind: They'll tell thee, sailors, when away,

In every port a mistress find:

Yes, yes, believe them when they tell thee so, For thou are present wheresoe'er I go.

"If to fair India's coast we sail,

Thy eyes are seen in diamonds bright,
Thy breath in Africa's spicy gale,
Thy skin in ivory so white.

Thus every beauteous object that I view

Wakes in my soul some charm of lovely Sue.

"Though battle call me from thy arms

Let not my pretty Susan mourn;
Though cannons roar, yet safe from harms
William shall to his dear return.

Love turns aside the balls that round me fly
Lest precious tears should drop from Susan's eye."

The boatswain gave the dreadful word,

The sails their swelling bosoms spread;

No longer must she stay aboard;

They kiss'd, she sigh'd, he hung his head. Her lessening boat unwilling rows to land; "Adieu!" she cries; and waved her lily hand.

I sometimes have thoughts, in my loneliest hours,
That lie on my heart like the dew on the flowers,
Of a ramble I took one bright afternoon
Whe my heart was as light as a blossom in June;
The green earth was moist with the late fallen
showers,

The breeze fluttered down and blew open the flowers,

While a single white cloud, to its haven of rest
On the white wing of Peace, floated off in the
West.

As I threw back my tresses to catch the cool breeze

That scattered the rain-drops and dimpled the seas,
Far up the blue sky a fair rainbow unrolled
Its soft-tinted pinions of purple and gold.
'Twas born in a moment, yet, quick as its birth,
It had stretched to the uttermost ends of the earth,
And fair as an angel, it floated as free,

With a wing on the earth and a wing on the sea.

How calm was the ocean! how gentle its swell! Like a woman's soft bosom it rose and it fell While its light sparkling waves, stealing laughingly o'er,

When they saw the far rainbow, knelt down on the shore.

No sweet hymn ascended, no murmur of prayer,
Yet I felt that the spirit of worship was there,
And bent my young head, in devotion and love,
'Neath the form of the angel that floated above.

How wide was the sween of his beautiful wings!
How boundless its circle, how radiant its rings!
If I looked on the sky 'twas suspended in air;
If I looked on the ocean, the rainbow was there;
Thus forming a girdle, as brilliant and whole
As the thoughts of the rainbow, that circled my soul:
Like the wing of the Deity, calmly unfurled,
It bent from the cloud and encircled the world.
There are moments, I think, when the spirit receives
Whole volumes of thought on its unwritten leaves,
When the folds of the heart in a moment unclose
Like the innermost leaves from the heart of the

rose.

And thus, when the rainbow had passed from the sky,

The thoughts it awoke were too deep to pass by;
It left my full soul, like the wing of a dove,
All fluttering with pleasure and fluttering with love.

I know that each moment of rapture or pain
But shortens the links in life's mystical chain;

I know that my form, like that bow from the wave,
Must pass from the earth, and lie cold in the grave;
Yet oh! when Death's shadows my bosom encloud,
When I shrink at the thought of the coffin and
shroud,

May Hope, like the rainbow, my spirit enfold
In her beautiful pinions of purple and gold.