30 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



species of the same plant, and with a pecnhar, heavy, terebin- 

 thine odor which is not unpleasant if you happen to like the 

 smell of furniture polish. More agreeable to most olfactories 

 is the minty aroma of its cousin, Monardella lanceolata, which 

 grows in similar situations, and bears neat little heads of rosy 

 purple flowers. The fragrances of the plants of arid regions 

 make a study in themselves, and lend a special poetic touch, 

 I think, to a tramp through the wild places. Only a few are 

 positively disagreeable to everybody ; most are pleasant, and 

 some are delicious. The leaves of the California Sage {Ar- 

 temisia Calif ornica), which comes into bloom in the fall, give 

 out a particularly exquisite aroma when crushed. As its 

 spicy incense arises from beneath my feet or carriage wheels, 

 my spirit joins with that of the ancient Hebrews who gave 

 thanks to God, that among other blessings. He had sent them 

 sweet perfumes. 



Pasadena, California. 



SOME AFRICAN FLOWERS. 



BY DR. W. W. BAILEY. 



DELIGHTFUL as it must be to see new countries and to 

 study different peoples, travel, itself, is often deterrent. 

 Given even those coupons upon which utter freedom of action 

 is dependent, there are many annoyances incident to journeying 

 which make one quite content to stay at home. Apart from 

 mosquitos, flies, tarantulas, scorpions and creatures of larger 

 and more determined mien, there is that miserable survival, the 

 custom house in some countries, the passport in others. If 

 not confronted by imperative officers obdurate to the blandish- 

 ments of a cigar, a paternal government receives them on their 

 return as hardened malefactors. Hence one concludes that it 

 is pleasanter to travel by paragraph than by passage; by lines 

 of print than by lines of railway. By this means, or by steamer, 

 one escapes all sorts of aggravations and dangers, short of 



