84 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



the stems under zvater. Remove flowers as they fade, give 

 plenty of clear water, changed daily and conform to the other 

 conditions mentioned and your flowers will outlast any that 

 have been scalded or dosed. Finally, it should be remembered 

 that all flowers have a natural period of bloom and will not 

 stay open longer under any treatment. Therefore select young 

 flowers. 



Sassafras and Other Teas. — We were a little amused 

 by the statement in a recent number, that sassafras tea was 

 used during the Civil War by the people of the South. So 

 it was, but it was used from choice and a taste long culti- 

 vated. Long before the war, both whites and Indians made 

 sassafras tea during the spring when the sap of the sugar 

 maples was running. They boiled the sap awhile then added 

 the sassafras roots and boiled them a while longer and the tea 

 was finished and a drink fit for the gods was the result. Was 

 this fact alone not the cause of drinking sassafras tea in the 

 spring of the year? The most common substitute for tea 

 during the war was the leaves of Ilex opaca. It makes a very 

 good tea. — Dr. E. L. Lee, Bridgeport, Ala. 



The Boulder Fern and Water. — Most ferns are so ad- 

 justed to moisture and shade that they soon wither when 

 gathered for decorations, but the boulder fern (Dicksonia pil- 

 osiusciila) which delights in sunny hillside pastures is not 

 one of the number. Although at first glance its finely dis- 

 sected and delicate fronds would seem but poorly adapted to 

 withstand drying, it will be found upon experiment that no 

 ferns in our flora are better able to do so. The thick-skinned 

 polypody and the Christmas fern are no match for it. At 

 present florists make great use of the spinulose wood fern 

 {Nephrodiuin spimtlosiim) for bouquets, but this fern wilts 

 very rapidly. They could apparently gain much by changing 

 to the boulder fern, which has beauty, fragrance, abundance 

 and lasting qualities to recommend it. — Fern Bulletin. 



