April 4—In a little corner of Jessfield Park, [where white magnolia and pink cherry are now bloom. and the grass is bright with the brilliant light which the daffodils have borrow. fed from the sun, there is also a queer looking [shrub whose unusual blooms have just faded. This shrub has not yet any leaves and it flowers very early with clusters of waxy-looking white and yellow. blossoms: the vall-highest of the PWD, SAC. told me its name was Daphne fand 1 am wondering if it is the Daphne pontiac fof Eastern Europe or some far eastern variety Which T cannot trace. But all this is apart from the point I wish to record. Passing these shrubs almost daily, I have always noted that many of the outer branches or twigs are ted. in knots....and, so artifcisl do these knots look. I concluded they were tied by Chinese gardeners or passers-by as a result of some queer superstition: but on Sunday morning last walking in the rain in a most secluded spot, Teame across a Daphne bush which Tam sure gardener ever touches, and a number of its twigs were tied in knots! Since then I have been looking into the matter (also examining the shrubs again) and I am sure this is the answer: botanists refer to the movements of plants as "tropisms." the simplest of which Is geotropism, that Is to say the root grows down to the centre of gravity of the earth and the shoots "grow straight to the Tights phototropism means Gireetion of the strongest light: chen is due to attraction by a chemical substance—Rydretropism, due to water—haptotropism, due to contact (e.g. twining plants) and $0 on; and so now this is what T want some botanist to explain to me: what sort of tropisms does this comic shrub safer from which cause it to tie Nself in knots? That beats me. There is the solid fact for anyone to see, believe it....oF knot. Sorry, but Tm getting all mixed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.