4 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



lovers of that kind of offering. Pycnamthemum I would 

 recommend to the leatherworkers' guild as a floral symbol, for 

 to me its odor immediately recalls new leather, rather pleasant 

 than otherwise, I think. The last flower in this division is the 

 most wonderful in either, but I am dubious about its right even 

 here, for, savoring strongly of beans cooking it could hardly 

 gratify the most ardent of its worshippers. It is a source of 

 great wonder to me how so very beautiful a flower could have 

 such an unpleasant peculiarity. It is like someone trying to 

 please both good and bad, entirely succeeding in the latter but 

 only partly succeeding in the first. But we can forgive many 

 things to Passiflora incarnata. 



And now for the sweets. In point of blooming time, 

 Noth.oscordium striatum is an example of the last being first 

 and the first being last, for under favorable conditions (mois- 

 ture and not too cold), it has been found in all seasons of the 

 year. Very sweet when first picked, it loses its fragrance in a 

 short time, sometimes regaining it when placed in water. 



Salvia farinosa grows in abundance on the chalky prairies. 

 Large beds of it are remarkably beautiful in the twilight, its 

 exquisite blue seeming to glow in the half light. With more 

 rain it would undoubtedly be a perpetual bloomer, for every 

 little rain starts it flowering afresh. It is even more fragrant 

 after it is picked and placed in water than before, as is also 

 Centaur ea Americana. The aroma from a bouquet of the sage 

 is fresh and stimulating but that of the Centaur ca is almost 

 cloying. 



We have three fragrant trees, Mclia azederach, Fagara 

 clavaharcuHs, and Sophora aHiuis. The heavy exotic sweet- 

 ness of the china-berry on a warm spring night makes the most 

 obtuse mortal exclaim in delight as he becomes aware of this 

 breath from the Far East. Standing under a Sophora, one 

 begins to look around for oranges, the pink and white flowers 

 subtly recalling them. Vitis cordifolia climbs high in the oaks 



