70 THE PLANT WORLD. 



The Garden for November 19th contains a colored plate and a 

 description of Lilimn I'ubelhim, a handsome and apparently hardy 

 new lily from Japan. In color it is a deep pink or clear deep rose, 

 with rich brownish-yellow anthers. 



Dr. C. Hart Merriam has published a bulletin on the " Life Zones 

 and Crop Zones of the United States " that is of interest to students 

 of ecology. He sayS: "It was early learned that North America is 

 divisible into seven transcontinental belts or life zones, and a much 

 larg-er number of smaller areas, each characterized by particular asso- 

 ciations of plants and animals. It was then suspected that these same 

 zones and areas, up to the northern limit of profitable agriculture, are 

 adapted to the needs of particular kinds or varieties of cultivated 

 crops, and this has since been fully established." The paper contains 

 a colored map showing the life zones, and also lists of cultivated 

 plants found adapted to each. 



The various varieties of Cineraria have long been known as satis- 

 factory green-house plants, furnishing a profusion of flowers from 

 December to April. From experiments conducted by Professor J. C. 

 Arthur in Lafayette, Indiana, last winter, it seems likely that with 

 proper management they may become popular in household decora- 

 tion. He promises an early bulletin on their handling under the con- 

 ditions obtaining in ordinary household growth. The Garden for 

 October 15, 1898, contains a handsome colored plate showing some 

 six or seven of the color varieties of Cineraria stellata. These are 

 among the newer creations and range in color from white through 

 light blue, pink and magenta to cobalt blue. 



The Russian thistle has been reported during the past season 

 from the following localities in New York : Rochester, Monroe county ; 

 LeRoy, Pembroke, Batavia and Bergen in Genesee county; and near 

 the salt works in Livingston county. It has been growing since 1894 

 at North Hector in Schuyler county. In all of these localities it has 

 been introduced along the railroads and has generally been left un- 

 touched by the section men, who destroy Canada thistle and ragweed 

 in compliance with the State weed law, but who have not recognized 

 this new introduction as a noxious weed. Statements have been re- 

 peatedly published in eastern newspapers and even in technical arti- 

 cles that the Russian thistle would never thrive in the east away from 

 the alkaline (?) plains. In spite of these statements, however, it does 

 grow to perfection in the best farming lands of New York, and devel- 

 ops a tumble-weed habit equal to its best anywhere. One correspond- 

 ent states that he saw one plant on the Lehigh Valley railroad "chase 

 the Black Diamond express train out of sight." — L. H. Dewey, U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture^ Washingtoji, D. C. 



