THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 59 



ted. The lemon -yellow flowers oi pallida have only a few 

 dark specks. 



There is not so much poetry connected with these 

 plants as with the violet or a daisA^ but that is not their 

 fault; it arises from alack of poets. To be sure they have 

 no fragrance which is perhaps a draw-back. Still, thej^ 

 have as much as the daisy does. 



Some expert hybridizer should try his hand on the 

 jewel weeds. Once started on a career of variation, white, 

 crimson, tiger spotted, and other sorts of flowers of manj^ 

 sizes and forms might bs ours. Who will undertake it ? 



Arkport, N. Y. 



i 



Note gifigL ©oFF^pjsjeMt. 



Wanted. — Short notes of interest to the general bot- 

 anist are always in demand for this department. Our 

 readers are invited to make this the place of publication 

 for their botanical items. 



A Natural Chewing-gum.— The spruce and the sweet 

 gum are not the onh^ plants that afford a natural chew- 

 ing-gum. On the western prairies the rosin- weed (Sil- 

 phium laciniatum) exudes a resinous substance that after 

 it hardens may be used for chewing. Country boys are 

 wont to pull the flower-heads from the plant and to re- 

 turn later for the hardened juice. This same Silphium is 

 familiar to many by the name of compass-plant and it is 

 probabl^^the species to which Longfellow refers in "Evan- 

 geline." Its leaves are as large as the largest leaves of the 

 burdock, but cut something like an oak leaf. These great 

 leaves are always held aloft with their edges, instead of 

 their sides, turned toward the sun. Those who believe 

 plants possess consciousness might fancy this indicated 

 the plant's desire not to be overlooked. At any rate it 

 seldom is. Wood sa3^s this plant produces columns of 

 smoke in the burning prairies by its copious resin, but 

 such sights are not as common as they were in his day. 



