142 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



remain on for several years before falling away and the young 

 trees have a much greater circumference than the old ones. 

 In South Florida the young leaf-bud is dug out of the top of 

 the palmetto and cooked much the same as cabbage. It is 

 ivory-white and very tender with a delicious nutty flavor. 

 No picnic was complete without a pot of "cabbage"' cooked on 

 the spot in an iron pot brought for the purpose, especially when 

 it was a Thanksgiving picnic and a brace of squirrels was 

 added to the pot. If there is anything anywhere that tastes 

 any better, I should like to find it. 



THE ARBORESCENT FLORA OF MIDWEST 



FARMSTEADS 



By T. J. FiTZ PATRICK 



WHILE making a canvass of Buffalo county, Nebraska, 

 during August 1922, for the purpose of eradicating 

 the common barberry, the writer became interested in trees 

 and shrubs usually planted in rural dooryards. Buffalo 

 county is situated on the north bank of the Platte river, near 

 south central Nebraska, in the semiarid region. The rainfall 

 is about 25 inches per year as an average, with years of much 

 less as was the year 1922 when the amount was about 19 

 inches. 



The arborescent flora about or in the dooryards is a 

 planted one ; the purpose is to secure shade and ornamentation. 

 The results obtained depend enterely upon selection, location, 

 and care, as well as skill in planting. Many dooryards were 

 seen that were absolutely without trees or shrubs of any kind. 

 A little buffalo grass or other native grasses, a few ruderals 

 or native plants of the nearby prairie made up the vegetation 

 of the yard. In other words the dwelling had been erected 



