•^ NOTE and COMMENT fe* 



Eastdr Lilies from Seeds. — Those who grow lilies us- 

 ually depend upon the importers of bulbs for their specimens, 

 but it appears that some sorts may be easily grown from 

 seeds in this country. In China and Japan, where lily bulbs 

 are used for food instead of for ornamental planting, it is 

 quite likely that they may be grown in this way. Experi- 

 ments in raising the bulbs of lilies from seeds have been carried 

 on by the United States Department of Agriculture for the 

 past six years and it is now stated that flowering bulbs may 

 be easily produced in America by this method. The seed is 

 sown late in autumn for spring germination. It is not stat- 

 ed how long it requires to produce bulbs of flowering size, 

 nor what species is meant by Easter lily though it is probable 

 that Liliimi candidum is meant. The Department Weekly 

 Neivs-Letter from which this information is abstracted, fails 

 to be explicit on this point. Such vagueness characterizes 

 much of the information about plants sent out from Washing- 

 ton and gives point to the old jibe about "Washington Sci- 

 ence." 



Akeea-berry. — The akela-berry (Rubtts Macraei) is an 

 unfamiliar name among tropical fruits but it has long been 

 known to botanists, having been discovered by the United 

 States Exploring Expedition to the Pacific and named by Asa 

 Gray. The plant grows wild in the elevated parts of the 

 Hawaiian islands, the vines sometimes reaching a length of 



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