82 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



of such structure it is impossible for some plants ever to pro- 

 duce seeds. Those who have reported this plant as fruiting 

 freely have evidently discovered pistillate plants, while those 

 who could find no fruit have probably examined the staminate 

 form. 



Edible Lilies. — The lily family is commonly valued for 

 the beauty of its flowers rather than for its edible qualities, but 

 several of the species are cultivated for the table and must not 

 be forgotten. The succulent asparagus, the odoriferous leek 

 and onion and several others belong to this family, not to 

 speak of squills (Scilla), Sarsaparilla and Aloes which, if not 

 strictly edible, occasionally find their way into the human sto- 

 mach. None of these, however, are true lilies though they do 

 belong to the lily family, but there are edible lilies, and the 

 demand for them seems to be on the increase. According to 

 a note in Horticulture, Japan, last year exported edible lily 

 bulbs to the value of nearly $500,000. The species eaten are 

 chiefly Liliuin speciosuin and its variety viagniticum. 



Use of Wood Pulp. — It is hard to realize that this 

 countn,^ uses forty billion board feet of lumber each year. In 

 fact, we cannot realize it ; the amount is too great. Yet this 

 is only one of the many drains upon our forests. Let us take 

 a smaller item in the demand for wood which is not included 

 in the above estimates. The yellow journals, and the rest of 

 us, use about four million cords of pulp-wood annually. This 

 amount is easily realized. A hasty calculation will show that 

 it would make a pile of cord wood four feet high extending 

 clear across the United States and back again. And this 

 amount is used every year. The great metropolitan dailies are 

 not the only enemies of our forests, but they are by no means 

 insignificant elements in the movement that is sweeping this 

 planet bare of trees. 



