96 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



its close of kin the larkspur-violet ( VI delpldm 'folia, Nutt.), and the 

 Indian turnip (Arascema triphyllum, Low.), sometimes better known 

 as " Jack-in-tbe-pulpit." The writer will never forget his first intro- 

 duction to the tuberous root-stock, or " turnip," of the last-named 

 plant. The mean face of the full-grown man who prepared a slice of 

 the "turnip" for me (then only an inexperienced child) has never 

 faded from my memory. My directions were to chew it and swallow 

 all quickly. Only those who have tasted of the conn know how in- 

 tensely acrid its substance can be. 



For the balance of the month, and in the order here given, the fol- 

 lowing plants came into bloom : The bur-oak ( Quercus macrocarpa, 

 Michx.) 3 wild plum [Primus Americana, Marsh) ; white-oak ( Quer- 

 cus alba, L.) ; butternut (Juglans cinerea, L.) ; spike-rush (Eiiocharis 

 obtusa, Sch.) ; columbine {Aquilegia Canadensis, L.) ; hard maple 

 (Acer saccharinum, var. nigrum, Gr.) ; meadow-rue (Thalictrum clioi- 

 cum, L.); blue cohosh ( Caulophyllum thalictroides, Michx.); wild black 

 currant (Ribes floridum, L.) ; wild gooseberry (Ribes cynosbati, L.) ; 

 and the lousewort (Pedicularis Canadensis, L.). This dozen species 

 includes five trees, four of which are of great economic value, the hard 

 maple and the white-oak taking the first places. Among the herbs, 

 the columbine, or the "honeysuckle" of childhood, is the most showy. 

 Boys as well as bees know that sweet is found at the base of each long 

 spur-petal. 



It will be seen that fifty-six species bloomed here (Ames, Iowa) 

 during the month of April, or an average of about two and a half per 

 day from April 6th, when the first blossoms of the hepatica were dis- 

 covered, until the close of the month. The species recorded for May 

 number seventy-seven and for June one hundred and thirty-one. The 

 average for May is the same as for April, but for June it rises to four 

 and one third per day. In July, it is five and a quarter new plants 

 per day, Sundays not excluded. The season of 1886 has been an 

 exceptional one. The spring opened early as the large number of 

 species blooming in April substantially proves. During two months 

 in midsummer there was only a quarter of an inch of rain instead of 

 nine, which is the average. This drought pushed many species for- 

 ward out of their natural places, and has doubtless much influenced 

 the record. 



The flora of the State of Iowa is not very large in numbers. Professor 

 Arthur's catalogue made in 1876 gives nine hundred and seventy-nine 

 species, including well marked varieties. Since 1876 one hundred and 

 ninety-seven additions have been made to the list of flowering plants, 

 thus increasing the total number to eleven hundred and seventy-six. 

 A preliminary list for this county (Story), in which six hundred and 

 nine species % and varieties are recorded, has been made the present 

 season by a graduate student, Mr. A. L. Hitchcock, and to whom the 

 writer is indebted for a full and careful record of the time of bloom- 



