THE AMI KK AX lU»r.\Xisr 15.1 



"work". narlii\i;t(»ii. in his "AnuTicaii Weeds ami IVetiil 

 I^lants" sa\ s that this species was used as late as the time of 

 I lenry \'Ill oi l-*.nj;lanil to clarity ami flaxor the ale. An in- 

 fusion ot the plant with ale was km>wn as "ale-ijiH". Such 

 are some ^A the perplexities that confront the in\ estijjator 

 when he atlempl^ to unraxel the meanini^s in the \ ernacular 

 names ot plants. 



SELECTING SUPERIOR VARIETIES 



By F. W. \oxOven 



/^ UR knowledge of the great outdoors. Nature's arboretum. 

 ^^ is not complete until the botanist can tell us oi all the 

 kinds and varieties and where to find them. To ascertain the 

 members oi the indigenous flora of any community is quite a 

 problem in itself and the repotting oi such matters is a prac- 

 tical scientific outlet for those hot;tnists who scoin* their ter- 

 ritories from year to year. In these journeys they are bound 

 {o notice special trees or other plants note\\orth\- for tlieir 

 foliage, colc^r, shape, vigor, age or size. 



Hawthorn trees and their hybrids may be investigated 

 as to the ornamental value oi their foliage or >hape. the earli- 

 ness oi their flowers or fruits, >ize oi fruits, single and double- 

 ness oi flowers, and other features which determine the su- 

 periority of one tree over another. The planting of a thousand 

 acorns or a thousand seeds of elms will never bring a simi- 

 lar number of trees with the vigor, foliage, shape, and other 

 characters of the parent species. There is great variation in 

 the seedlings and only the best should be selected. 



