NOTE AND COMMENT 



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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. It should be noted that the magazine is is- 

 sued as soon as possible after the fifteenth of each month. 



Verjuice. — The civilized palate craves not only food, but 

 various condiments which of themselves have little if any food 

 value. Mixed with the food thev give it a certain relish. 

 Some of the well known condiments are pepper and other 

 spices, vanilla, vinegar and red pepper. A condiment much 

 prized in earlier times was called verjuice. This was made by 

 expressing the juice from green apples, crab-apples, unripe 

 grapes and other unripe fruit. Verjuice was intensely sour 

 and used like vinegar or lemon juice is at present. It is said 

 to still be used to a limited extent. 



Violet Hybrids. — Dr. Ezra Brainerd has been growing 

 Fome of the reputed species of blue violets from seed and 

 1 he results have shown what all of us have felt morally sure 

 <<i, namely, that many of the recently named species of blue 

 ■V iolets are simply hybrids. Dr. Brainerd says that the seed- 

 1 ings of the pure violet species resemble one another very close- 

 1 Y, but the hybrid offspring are not only unlike each other but 



(■'ften unlike their parents. In cases like the latter we would 

 le incHned to inquire whether the reputed pure parent species 

 were not themselves hybrids. At present, the genus Viola in 

 the Eastern States is regarded by radical botanists as being 

 composed of a considerable number of closely allied species 

 Ihat freely interbreed, but we ask, why are these radical bot- 



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