72 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



The wanderer, S. cacsia,, lives far from our other golden- 

 rods, in the deep, moist, deciduous woods. The prettiest 

 plants have simple stems, drooping- gracefully. One notices 

 at once the tiny clusters of flower heads in the axils of the up- 

 per leaves. Though the heads have few ray flowers, the co- 

 rollas are large and bright, the disk flowers are also few and 

 bright. Each species has its own shade of yellow while in 

 flower and when the gray days have come and the seeds fly 

 away under a fairy sail, each species retains enough individu- 

 ality to distinguish it from its neighbors. 



These sunny flowers make sunny hours — not alone when 

 blooming in the field. The result of their labor extends far 

 into the cold winter, when sunny thoughts make sunny hearts. 



Nezu Washington, Pa. 



THREE BIG PERENNIAL ROOTS. 



By Elmer Stearns. 



FIFTY miles south of Juarez, Mexico the Candelaria ranch, 

 owned by the Escobar Brothers of this Agricultural Col- 

 lege is located and this was recently the scene of a few days 

 pleasant work collecting plants for the College Herbarium and 

 for the Mexican Government. I was met at the train by Ca- 

 milo, the manager of the ranch, a typical, thin, wiry Mexican 

 of about 50 years of age, and ready ahvays to help me in any- 

 way possible. 



The ranch house is about 5 miles from the station. Upon 

 reaching it we indulged in a "regular fare" meal, which you 

 either eat or go hungry : — beans, tortillas, and coffee. They 

 make some cheese at this ranch so we had both milk and a white 

 curd cheese in addition. The floor of the dining room is packed 

 dirt, the chairs are benches, in one corner is the cheese press 

 another had a sitting hen, and besides her lay a big brown grey- 

 hound. Another corner was the fireplace where the Senora sat 

 baking our tortillas, while on the beams that supported the dirt 



