The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-04-28
BOTAN|STS INTERESTED,
Peculiar Species of Plant Life
Grown at the State
University.
MICROSCOPY rs PRACTIcED.
j. Burtt Davy Takes Part In the
Work of the Department In
Berkeley.

The department of botany of the Cali
fornia State University possesses about
live acres of the spacious grounds at Berke-
ley, which are devoted to the formation of
its botanic garden
In this garden is grown material for use
in the various botanical classes, including
particular species peculiarly adapted to
illustrate various points in plant anatomy,
such as the spider-wort (Trades-cantia
Vlrglnlca), the stamens of which are COW
cred with long hairs, each cell appearing
when examined under a microscopes
though it were alive and had a regular
circulation of blue blood, for as one
watches 1t he may see the minute grains
OF protoplasm moving about in streams
from end to end and then back again,
never still for moment. This is known
as the circulation of protoplasm, and is
perhaps better illustrated in this plant than
any other. Leaves of the shrub Lepar-
gyraa Canadensis are used extensively in
botanical classes to illustrate the peculiar
modification of hairs which in this plant
are flattened out at the top into broad star
shaped scales; and the singing nettle is
grown to show the remarkable structure of
its hollow hairs with little sacs of poison
at the bottom of each. Plants of barley
grown in fower-pots will afford admirable
| illustrations of the exact growing point"
of the rootlets, with the "root caps" which
protect them from injury as they push
| their way through the soil.
! j. Burt Davy, who is connected with the
| botanical garden of tie University, is much
| interested in the work that it is doing.
| Speaking of this matter yesterday, he said:
I'm addition to the things grown to illus
| trate special points, an attempt is being
made to cultivate representatives OF all the
orders of plants which will bear our
climate, for dissection and comparison in
the classes in systematic botany; a great
| deal of material is needed for this work as
these classes have grown from sixty to
seventy students and meet three times
week.
eve are also trying our best to get
| together representative collection of all
| the Towering plants of the State. With
| fora SO diversified as is that of California
and having so many species peculiarly
| restricted in their distribution, it is abso-
| lutely essential for the thorough working
! out of our systematic botany that we
| should have-as far as possible-the whole
| of the flora represented in one area where
members of the same genus from all parts
| of the State-the moist climate of the
| northwestern portion, the high Sierras
| and the hot arid desert regions of the
| south-can be studied side by side 1t is
| very important also that we grow side by
side for several years those peculiar forms
and varieties of one species sometimes
| known "a Geographical variations, because
| their peculiarities appear to be due to diff
| ferences in soil and climate, in order to
| determine accurately whether they will
maintain their peculiaritles when grown
| under uniform conditions.
.'From careful and protracted studies in
this direction it may be that much light
viii be thrown on the various unanswered
questions of evolution and plant variation,
and it is in this particular branch of study
that am especially interested.
HThis collection and cultivation of Cali
fornia native plalcs should prove of con-
siderable importance TO the commerce of
the State There is no reason why Cali
fornia with its beautiful climate and rich
soil, should not become the source of the
worlds seed supply. Already we ship
onion and sweet pea seed by the ton to the
Eastern and European markets, and in
spite of long distances and high freight
rates it yields a profit, because larger
percentage OF the seed in each pod will
reach maturity here than under cloudier
skies, and California seed produces stronger
and healthier plants than that grown else
where. Now, why should we not supply
the world with the seed of some of our
beautiful wild flowers? That there is
large market for them any one can see
who knows the Englishman's pride in his
flower-garden and his keen desire to OBJ
tain new kinds of plants which other peo-
pie have not yet got.
1.-THE well-known firm of nurserymen,
James Veitch & Son of London, recently
sent member of the firm on a six months
tour in Burmah, Korea, Japan, Australia |
and New Zealand to collect seeds of novel |
ties which they will raise and propagate in |
their nurseries and sell at high prices |
Other English firms regularly employ |
salaried collectors to travel in the tropics |
and send home seeds and plants of things |
worth cultivating. If they find it pays to |
DO so, surely there is room for us to step |
into the market and send out the rich |
products furnished to hand free of cost by |
nature.
Not only ought we to grow and ship
seeds ofour own native products, but our |
climatic advantages will enable us to pro-
pagate with profit many of the handsome |
and rare plants of South Africa, Australia, |
New Zealand, Japan and China, and for |
these good market would be found in the |
Eastern States and England.
The university botanic garden is already |
able, and will be better able in a year or /
two, to provide samples of seeds of several |
handsome native plants not now known in |
the outside horticultural world. MANY |
plants are being raised also from seed re- |
ceived from Natal and Cape Colony in |
South Africa, and from Japan, Victoria |
and Queensland
'Not only have we a foreign market |
awaiting our entry, but at home we shall |
find that as our State grows older the taste |
for fiower-gardens will increase, and we |
shall get tired of growing nothing but tea |
roses and chrysanthemums, callas and |
geraniums, beautiful though they be; we
shall wish to grow something that our |
next-door neighbor has not got in order |
that our garden may look different from
his, and so demand for new garden |
plants viii arise, and indeed the need for
them is felt already.
1.-THE botanic garden at Berkeley has |
another use. 1t will become ere lone-if |
the present plan and policy are permitted |
to be carried out unhindered, one of the |
most attractive features of the beautiful |
grounds of the university. The garden |
has many visitors, especially on Sundays, |
who manifest great interest in the curious |
and beautiful plants always to be found in
blossom.
1.-The garden was started by Professor /
Greene about three years ago with few
seeds and roots collected on his botanical |
trips. From small beginning it has grown |
steadily until about 1000 SDecies are repre- l