“ They occur most abundantly on the sand adjacent to the clumps of grass upon which they doubtless feed, though so far no individuals have been observed actually feeding on grass leaves, but one was observed eating a fragment of apple cast up in drift materials on the beach. When disturbed they invariably alight on the sand, upon which they become at once invisible. ”

“ Cedar Point offers a number of rather peculiar features for study, and the fauna of the locality presents a very attractive field. On the one hand there is an extensive beach some six or seven miles in length, from which the sand dune formation extends backwards and merges into a swampy area bordering the waters of Sandusky Bay. On the beach after every storm will be found a large mass of drift material, including numerous fishes that have been thrown ashore. ”

“ So that if a statoblast is found the sponge from which it came can be determined, and on the other hand it is frequently very difficult to determine the species of a sponge if it has not yet formed its statoblast. The statoblast is a globular or disc-shaped, nitroginous cell with a chimney-like opening where the protoplasm escapes in the spring. The adult sponge is non-sexual but the statoblasts give rise to ova and spermatozoa which unite and produce a new sponge. The statoblast is considered as the sexual generation. ”

“ To this end table room is granted free of charge to qualified investigators, and any one wishing to undertake investigation of biological problems will be given all possible opportunity. Courses of study have been designed especially for high school teachers and for advanced university students, the former devoting themselves to methods of field work and preservation of material for laboratory use, and acquiring methods of laboratory work in connection with study of typical forms. ”

“ The species of insects which feed on these grasses are best taken by searching about the roots, or by lifting up the stems and scrutinizing them closely. Many new or rare species of Hemiptera have been procured in numbers in this way.
He exhibited many photographs and drawings which revealed the picturesqueness of the country, something of the flora, and the difficulties railroad companies experience in getting a track across the mountains, and left with many present a desire to see the remarkable scenery for themselves. ”

“ Ohio Hybrid Oaks.—The Ohio Oaks have received as yet no critical study, though notes as to their variation have occasionally and indirectly got into print. It is often suggested that there may be numerous hybrid forms, though mere guesses are scarcely of any significance. Lea’s Oak, which is now known to occur in Ohio at four stations, namely, Cincinnati (the original locality reported) , Brownsville in Licking County (tree since cut down) , Columbus (one specimen) , and Cedar Point in Erie County, has been known for years. ”

“ Toad tracks are numerous and quite conspicuous and consist of four slight imprints in the sand, these occurring with regularity in length corresponding with the length of the leap and the tracks, with the distance between them, corresponding with the size of the individual. These are shown in Figure 2, between the points marked X. The abundant grasshopper, described more fully in another paragraph, produces when walking a continuous series of fine imprints in two or three more or less distinct lines on either side, midway between which is a narrow groove formed by the dragging of the abdomen. ”

“ By no means the least interesting vegetation on Cedar Point are the dune plants, many species of arenophilous species, and efficient soil binders. Some idea of the appearance of a few of such plants may be gained from the cut (Fig. 2) , which shows one of the sand hills held exclusively by the roots of the Red Cedar. Other similar hillocks are held by one of the wild grape vines, Vitis vulpina, and many other plants. ”

“ It is needless to say that the opportunities for field observation, collecting, and the laboratory study of representative forms are most favorable. For special advanced courses in embryology, and particularly those pertaining to microscopical technique, the more elaborate equipment of the university is of course preferable.
NOTES ON THE FLORA OF SANDUSKY.
W. A. Kellerman. The visitor or student at the Lake Laboratory will find in the neighborhood of Sandusky a flora in many respects peculiar and richer in species perhaps than in any other region of similar area in the state of Ohio. ”

“ When there is infection by this smut, usually every grain in the panicle is smutted according to repeated observations in various localities. The field in question was very thickly planted to sorghum, the crop evidently being intended for stock feed. The only other locality reported in Ohio for this smut, so far as at present recalled, is Columbus, where however it has occurred only upon artificial infection. Broom corn also was here successfully infected. Sorghum is often cultivated, but not in large quantities in Ohio; a large acreage of broom corn is however annually planted. ”

“ Ant Lion.—Still another very characteristic member of the dune fauna is the ant lion, the larvae of which construct their characteristic pitfalls in slightly protected places near bushes or trees, sometimes in great numbers, indicating a very numerous colony of these curious creatures. ”

“ Many birds common in most localities are conspicuous by their absence. The blue jay, crow, thrushes, most of the birds of prey, and the woodpeckers, and many of the sparrows, especially the ubiquitous English sparrow, were not observed at all. But the species occurring are present in great numbers, so that the region may be said to be monotonous in its bird life as well as in its other ecological relations. ”

“ The body is nearly always protected by a cyst from which the anterior end of the animal projects when undisturbed and into which it can be retracted. There is a larval form resembling that of the worms and several other invertebrate groups, and a marked metamorphosis to the adult form. The statoblasts as in the sponges are of value in identification, and are formed on a strand of tissue connecting the base of the animal to its cyst. The individuals or Polyps increase in number by budding.
Two species are quite common at Sandusky. ”

“ Species of burrowing Hymenoptera are conspicuous and upon the sand dunes the grasshopper (Trimeroptropis maritima) is especially abundant. A millipede (Fontaria indianae) is also very abundant crawling over the sand, and turtles from the lake pass up the beach and over the dunes to deposit their eggs at favorable points.
Fig. 1.—A Bit of Cedar Point Beach. ”

“ The Head-smut of Sorghum, Ustilago reiliana, should also be reported if observed.
Notes on some Rusts.—M. A. Carleton, of the United States Department of Agriculture, has published some observations and experiments on a few rusts that are of special interest, and may well 99be noted here. He has shown that the common and abundant Spurge Rust, occurring on very many species of Euphorbia (twelve of which are listed in the Ohio Flora) is able to propagate itself constantly through the germinating seed of its host, and therefore becomes in that way practically a perennial species. ”

“ It may be noted, however, that the flora of the locality has been very thoroughly collected by Professor Moseley, of the Sandusky High School, and his publication on the “Sandusky Flora” furnishes an admirable guide to the location of the various species of plants, and an excellent basis for additional investigation. The laboratory will at present accommodate twenty-five or thirty students, 80and its capacity will doubtless be increased as necessity requires. ”

“ We may perhaps venture to suggest that the evidence for its hybridity between the two species named—one an annual-fruited and the other a biennial-fruited species—is suspiciously slender, and it is hoped that mature fruit and further inspection may put the case beyond doubt.
Asparagus Rust Abundant on Young Plants.—An inspection of the two patches of Asparagus on the University farm unexpectedly showed a more general infection of the plants which were but one year old. The older plants grow in the narrow flood plain of a little stream that flows through the farm to the Olentangy ”

“ Other nests occur on Kelly’s Island, and we made a trip to that locality for the purpose of noting them and taking photographs, which, however, on account of the day being unfavorable, are not very clear, and cannot be reproduced to advantage. They are about a mile and a half eastward from the steamboat landing, one occurring in a Maple tree about seventy-five feet in height, and the nest at a height of about sixty-five feet, being at least six feet in height, fitting the somewhat acute crotch, and at least five or six feet across the top. ”

“ Of these there are, judging by the larvae, two quite distinct species common to the Point, but these have not as yet been reared. Aside from the pitfalls these ant lions make a peculiar track in the sand when they are moving from one point to another. These movements apparently occur only during short periods, as is shown when an area which has been entirely free from such tracks will be noticed after an hour or two to be completely netted with their devious furrows, which could only be formed by a number of larvae. ”

“ He mentioned many of the poisons to which the poisonous properties of various plants are due. Many cases of poisoning are caused by poisonous fungi gathered with edible mushrooms, and greens gathered by persons unacquainted with poisonous herbs. Stramonium has been known to cause cases of poisoning by being gathered in greens. The distribution of poisonous plants through the various botanical orders was discussed, and the fact was revealed that a large percentage of the orders contain such species. ”

“ About the only way to capture them is to throw a net down on a spot where one has been seen to alight, and then it not infrequently happens that two or even three will be caught though their presence has not been suspected. ”

“ At Marblehead and Catawba the flora is equally rich in local and interesting plants. Huge Buckeyes occur, one of which measures nine feet and two inches in circumference. The Red Oaks are numerous and remarkably variable in their fruits. There occurs Zygadena elegans and Kœleria cristata, Meibomia illonoensis, Solanum rostratum, and Picradenia acaulis—all western species. ”

“ Epiaeschna heros and Æschna verticalis and constricta may occasionally be seen, especially about the time the sun sets, catching small insects for food. Anax junius is the most conspicuous species in the locality from May to September.
Macromia illinoiensis is a very common species. At certain times the males and females of this species may be found in numbers in quiet places among bushes, where they come to rest on the under side of branches, their bodies being at an angle of about thirty degrees with the branch. ”

“ The speaker dwelt at some length on the opportunities given investigators, the methods of work, equipment in laboratories and library, and the cordiality of the staff in charge, and expressed the hope that many of the students in his hearing might at some future time enjoy the privileges of a sojourn at the station. ”

“ The meeting of these two gives the flora a very peculiar aspect. 92Except at its tip Cedar Point has never been inhabited. It is still in very nearly its primitive condition. With a view to seeing how these and other factors peculiar to the region have influenced its bird life, these notes have been assembled. No pretentions to systematic completeness are made; the present purpose is more to determine the general character of the avifauna than to give a complete list including many accidental or occasional species which would overshadow the more characteristic residents. ”

“ Mr. S. E. Horlacher, of Dayton, Ohio, writes that all the specimens in his herbarium agree with the Flora in having sessile involucral leaves. There may be several forms of Syndesmon distinct enough to designate as varieties; there is at least a large amount of variation.
J. H. Schaffner.
Ohio State University
Six distinct and independent Colleges, each with a Dean and Faculty of its own. ”

“ F. H. Burglehaus, Toledo, Ohio, concerning the involucral leaves of Syndesmon thalictroides Hoffmg., as stated in No. 5 of the Ohio Naturalist, I also confirm the contradiction in the habitus of plants growing in Auglaize County with the description in Britton & Brown’s Flora. ”

“ That the furrows are formed by these larvae is proven by the fact that if the pitfalls at their ends be dug into they will be found to contain larvae. The movements of the larvae, forcibly produced, 89make lines like those observed. Pitfalls and furrows are illustrated in the accompanying plates, the furrows being quite indistinct, as they are not deep enough to produce distinct shade, and consequently do not show conspicuously in the photograph. Furrows are to be noted, however, in the figure (No. 3) above the points marked X. ”