176 THE PLANT WOKLD 



GENERAL ITEMS. 



Tlie Journal of the New York Botanical Garden for August con- 

 tains a very interesting and instructive article on tlie nature and uses 

 of the peanut. Tliis was delivered as a lecture at the Garden last May^ 

 but the author is not stated. A full account of the peculiar method by 

 which the plant rii)ens its seeds is given, followed by a discussion of 

 the food value of peanuts and their other economic uses. 



In nearly every old-fashioned garden in the north of Europe, a 

 plant of wormwood is regarded as essential. The leaves dried, reduced 

 to powder, mixed with bread into a pill, is an infallible remedy as a 

 vermifuge. It is also called ''old man/' but why is not on record. 

 Singularly, on the Pacific, Artemisia Galifornica is also called " old 

 man." The Indians believe they can fortell the weather. If before the 

 rainy season comes, the roots are not more than six inches long, there 

 will be plenty of rain — if over a foot, there will be a dry season. It is 

 supposed that the plant knows beforehand that there will be little rain, 

 and so sends its roots deep, in order to prepare for the drought at the 

 surface. — Meehans' Monthly for August. 



The John Day Basin, in which I spent practically the entire month 

 of July just passed, is situated in north-central Oregon, where it occu- 

 pies a position between the north and south ranges of the Blue Moun- 

 tains. It is drained by the John Day river and its numerous branches 

 and tributaries, and is from one to two hundred miles from the Colum- 

 bia river. The cultivation of the region is confined to very narrow 

 strips along the river bottoms, and is dependent entirely on irrigation. 

 The principal crop is alfalfa. I was struck by the number and home- 

 like appearance of certain common weeds. Tlius the mullein ( Verhas- 

 ciim Tliapsiis) covered every hillside, the stalks often eight feet in 

 height. Sweet clover is there regarded as a pernicious weed. It lines 

 every irrigation ditch, and as it seeds freely, is distributed over all the 

 ground reached by the water. YaiTow is also an abundant weed. — F. 

 H. K. 



