THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 119 



it about the worst specimen imaginable for a State flower. We 

 have a suspicion that some New Englander suggested it origi- 

 nally. There is reason enough for applying such names as 

 sunflower, palmetto and pine tree to certain of the States and 

 reason enough for these States adopting the particular species 

 named as their floral emblems, but for others to choose the 

 rose, violet, buttercup, golden-rod and the like is sheer non- 

 sense. Even when the selection is appropriate, it is not always 

 safe to assume that it will be adopted. We do' not anticipate 

 that the nutmeg flower will ever be adopted by one of our 

 commonwealths as the State flower. Perhaps, however, it is 

 just as well to let the lawmakers amuse themselves with botan- 

 ical legislation. It will keep them out of other mischief 

 meanwhile. 



BOOKS AND WRITERS 



The Lorquin Natural History Club of Los Angeles, Cali- 

 fornia, has issued the first number of a monthly publication to 

 be known as Lorquinia. Notes on local natural history fill the 

 pages of the first issue. A magazine of this kind ought to do 

 much to advance an interest in nature in the region which 

 it serves. 



A 40-page publication entitled "Flowers for the Hardy 

 Garden," really the catalog of the Twin Larches Nursery, West 

 Chester, Pa., is one of the few things in this line that appeals 

 sufficiently to the reviewer to' get a notice here. It reads as if 

 it was written by a man who really understood and loved his 

 specimens. Moreover, it is the first catalog we have seen that 

 gives sufficient information about the individual species to 

 enable one to form a definite idea of their appearance and 

 where and how they should be planted in the border. This 

 catalog is going on the special shelf where we keep a few good 

 ones that we consult every little while. Probably our flower 



