THE AiMERICAN BOTANIST 15 



the odor of buckwheat honey with a hint of cloves. From this 

 it might he inferred to approach in flavor the mangosteen 

 (Garcinia Mangostana) which is said to include in its pulp 

 the flavor of all other fruits and to be the fruit with which 

 tb.c Serpent tempted Eve. 



Feijoa comes from the Argentine and is likely to find a 

 welcome wherever it can be grown. It is said to be popular 

 in Southern France. It is a medium-sized tree with small, 

 oblong entire leaves white beneath. The fruits are produced 

 singly along the twigs and at their tips. We are indebted to 

 Mrs. Jay C. Jenks, of Halcyon, California for the fruiting 

 specimen here figured. 



VALUE OF PRACTICAL BOTANY 



A SHORT time ago the writer attended a farmers' field day 

 that was in charge of the county agent. The county 

 agent was a well trained man, a college graduate, as was evi- 

 denced by the ease and accuracy with which he answered ques- 

 tion after question. Finally a farmer aproached with a speci- 

 men of one of the common weeds growing in the pasture and 

 recjuested that the plant be identified. For the first time that 

 afternoon ';he county agent fell down on the job. 



A specimen of plant was received from a county agent last 

 summer with the e.xplanation that it occured abundantly in 

 alfalfa fields in his county and threatened to become a serious 

 alfalfa weed. Upon examination the plant in ([uestion turned 

 out to be a dwarfed specimen of common alfalfa. 



These incidents are cited because they illustrate a genera! 

 condition among trained agriculturists, a lack of knowledge 

 of many of the common plants that grow on our farms. Many 

 men who are well trained in other phases of agriculture, ex- 



