THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 23 



recent number of Torreya that this group of plants hereafter 

 be called Niohe. It seems that a botanist named Salisbury 

 suggested this latter name for the plants just 99 years ago, 

 while Funkia was not proposed until five years later. For 

 some unknown reason Funkia was adopted instead of Niohe 

 and one would naturally think that after using it for nearly a 

 century there could be no very great need of a change. In 

 Mythology, it will be remembered, Niobe was the daughter of 

 the unfortunate Tantalus who was doomed forever to forego 

 his most cherished desires. How appropriate it would be for 

 gardeners and botanists generally to turn our name-tinker 

 into a modern Tantalus be refusing absolutely to adopt his new 

 name! 



Government Seeds. — About this time of the year the 

 majority of voters have their attention called to the approach- 

 ing season for gardening by the appearance in their mail of 

 packets of common garden and flower seeds sent under the 

 frank of their congressman. This pleasant method of re- 

 minding voters that their representative is still in existence and 

 hopes for another election some time in the future, costs the 

 national government much money annually, and while the 

 average gardener prefers to buy good seeds from reliable seeds- 

 men, our congressmen would feel lost without this time hon- 

 ered sop to their constituents. In 1910 more than sixty mil- 

 lion packets of seeds were sent out, about eleven million being 

 flower seeds. Each senator and member of congress receives 

 twenty thousand packets of vegetable seeds and two thousand 

 packets of flower seeds. According to Plant World one mem- 

 ber of congress sent out seven times as many packets as there 

 were men, women and children in his district. The govern- 

 ment annually sends out many meritorious plants and seeds to 

 those who can use them, but these are not to be confused with 

 the seed distribution of congress. 



