6& THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



this shrub and use it in the manufacture of the varnish for their 

 celebrated lacquered work. A nearly related species furnishes 

 the Wourali poison made by the natives of Guiana. 



This genus also possesses another poisonous member in 

 the common poison ivy, R. Toxicodendron. This plant loves 

 to scramble over old walls and by means of rootlets which it 

 sends out along the stem is sometimes able to climb to a con- 

 siderable height. It has often been mistaken for the woodbine 

 — usually much to the sorrow of the one making the mistake. 



My first sight of the aromatic sumach, R. canadensis, was 

 near the top of a steep cliff in southern Vermont. In such 

 situations or on dry stony banks, it is usually found. Crush 

 the leaves and it will be found that they have rather a pleasant 

 aromatic odor; hence the name R. aromatica by which the 

 shrub is sometimes known. The ill-scented sumach or skunk- 

 bush, R. canadensis var. trilobata is a western plant, common 

 but beyond the range of the Eastern student. The smoke tree, 

 R. Cotinus, which is often seen in parks and cemeteries is a 

 sumach and is said to have sometimes escaped from cultiva- 

 tion. It certainly would be a welcome addition to our waste- 

 land and hedgerow shrubs. 



Shushan, N. Y. 



ST. JOHNSWORT. 



BY DR. W. W. BAILEY. 



THE common St. Johnswort (Hypericum perfora- 

 ttini) is one of the many weeds adventive from 

 Europe. Its English name is said to have been given 

 from the fact that it begins to bloom on St. John 

 the Baptist's day — June 24th. Here where I write, 

 from a corner of the Old Bay State, this is certainly true. 



If I desired to show a beginner how many curious things 

 may be learned from a single plant, there is hardly one that I 

 would prefer as a text. The young, especially, are ever in- 



