Jas. S. Hine, Secretary.
NEWS AND NOTES.
The Summer Field Meeting of the Ohio State Academy of Science will be held at Wooster, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday, May 31 and June 1, 1901, under the auspices of the University of Wooster, the Ohio Experiment Station and the Wooster Field Naturalist’s Club. The plan includes Friday about the small lakes southwest of Wooster, and an evening meeting in Wooster; Saturday morning at the Experiment Station, to be followed by an excursion to North Lawrence with its mines and Fox Lake with its tamarack bog.
Prof. Charles S. Prosser in an article in the Am. Jour. of Sci. 11:191–199, 1901, discusses the names applied to the formations of the Ohio Coal measures. The following names are proposed.
| Present Names. | Proposed Names. |
|---|---|
| Upper Barren Coal Measures | Dunkard formation |
| Upper Productive Coal Measures | Monongahela formation |
| Lower Barren Coal Measures | Conemaugh formation |
| Lower Productive Coal Measures | Allegheny formation |
The Philadelphia Fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus L.) is one of our interesting spring plants and will repay careful study. The leaves of the stem in most individuals have a decided polarity and for the most part are twisted so as to stand in a single plane. In this respect the plant is as striking as any of the so-called compass plants, although the plane in which the leaves lie may be in any direction. Another interesting adaptation is the drooping of the top of the young plant. The entire inflorescence nods at first and finally the individual heads, but one by one these assume the upright position as the flowers begin to open.
J. H. S.
Winter Adaptation of Opuntia.—The Ohio species of cactus, Opuntia humifusa Raf., has an interesting habit which seems to be a protective measure against cold. At the approach of Winter the flattened stems lose their upright position and press themselves closely to the surface of the ground.
The stems lose considerable of their moisture at the same time, becoming wrinkled but not at all flaccid. By the end of April they are again upright and distended.
F. J. T.