H. HORTICULTURE AND BOTANY. 311 



the least possible expense of time and- labor. Monthly Rep. 

 Dep. Agriculture, April, 1871. 



DISTRIBUTION OF SEA-GRASSES. 



A valuable paper by Dr. Ascherson has recently appeared 

 in Petermann's Mittheilungen upon the geographical distri- 

 bution of what he calls the sea-grasses, or the phanerogamous 

 sea-plants, as distinct from the sea-mosses, or algae. From 

 this essay we learn that on the Atlantic coast of the United 

 States we have of this group only the Zostera marina, or the 

 well-known eel-grass, which is found so abundantly in shal- 

 low bays and elsewhere, and which, while a great impedi- 

 ment to boating, serves as the harbor and home of our young 

 fish and marine invertebrates. Some other genera and spe- 

 cies occur on the western coast of North America, and others 

 again in the West Indies. 17 C,July, 1871, 7. 



FLOWERING OF PLANTS IN EUROPE AND AMERICA. 



According to Carl Fritsch, the lines of simultaneous flow- 

 ering of plants lie from five to ten degrees farther south in 

 North America than in Europe, elevation above the sea level 

 seeming to have comparatively little influence. 12 A, April 

 13,1871,479. 



OLDEST HERBARIUM IN EUROPE. 



Dr. Kessler claims to have discovered lately in Cassel the 

 oldest herbarium known, some of the plants having been pre- 

 pared in 1556. It contains 614 plants, properly fastened down 

 and labeled, and was formed by Caspar Katzenberger. 1 C, 

 L, 1871,16. 



EUCALYPTUS . TREE. 



Much success seems to have been experienced in the in- 

 troduction of several species of Eucalyptus from Australia 

 into various parts of Europe and California, and it is prob- 

 able that in this plant we may have a very important addi- 

 tion to our material resources. Its great merit consists pri- 

 marily in its adaptability to regions otherwise unsuitable for 

 the growth of forest vegetation, in the extreme rapidity of 

 its growth, and in the great value of the wood for econom- 

 ical purposes. When planted in marshy land, it has a very 



