24 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST, 



here ! It is only the under sides of these leaves that are 

 hoary. 



Willows are so numerous that if it were possible to 

 gro-w them all together, a specimen of each, the3' would 

 alone form a forest, the individuals showing" marked pecu- 

 liarities of height, habit and foliage. Some high mountain 

 species are very small, and spread out flat, hugging the 

 rocks. Again, a willow may be a large and handsome 

 tree. The limit of range, then maj^ be, from a few inches 

 to sixty or more feet. They are north temperate plants 

 more particularly. One is said to grow nearer the North 

 Pole than any other wood}' plant. The willows of Scrip- 

 ture some consider to be the oleander, which, of course, is 

 not a willow^ at all. Either there have been faults in 

 translation, or one term covers quite diverse objects. 



Willow bark is stringy and tough, and has a bitter 

 taste imparted by the alkaloid salicin. The wood is soft, 

 smooth and light, and used for many purposes. Some 

 species are employed in basket making, and in Lapland 

 and Norway' the leaves are even cured and used forfodder, 

 ThcA' are smoked, too, at times, as a very poor substitute 

 for tobacco. Salicin has been employed in ague to replace 

 quinine. It is also used in rheumatism. All the species 

 contain it, a good thing to know, perhaps, in malarial re- 

 gions. Thecommon name of Sallow, better known abroad, 

 is a corruption of the hat'm Salix. The poplars, including 

 the cotton-wood and Balm-o'-Gilead, are near relatives of 

 the willows. 



Brown University, Providence, R. I. 



BOTANY FOR BEGINNERS— X. 



LEAVES. 



The leaves of plants are so familiar that it would be 

 useless to describe them. It may be said in passing, how- 

 ever, that they are the most useful organs the plant pos- 

 sesses for they are both lungs and stomach to it. While 

 the plant gets water by means of its roots, the great bulk 

 of its food is obtained by the leaves Irom the gases of the 



