THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 109 



soil of the kind known as upland peat. Then followed an ef- 

 fort to secure large-sized berries from which to breed superior 

 plants. The fifty dollars now offered is for plants which pro- 

 duce berries of the diameter of a penny. Let nobody assume 

 that berries of this size will not be forthcoming, for two plants 

 with such fruits have already been secured. If there are other 

 plants in existance, now is the time to exchange them for cash. 

 Full particulars of the offer may be secured by addressing 

 Miss Elizabeth C. White, Lew Lisbon, N. J. 



Fragrant Wildflowers. — Apparently it is going to take 

 a long time to make a complete list of our fragrant wildflowers. 

 Those that have a strong and lasting odor are easily numbered, 

 but those whose odors are so evanescent as to be seldom per- 

 ceived except in masses may long escape detection. This ap- 

 pears to be true of the common eastern lupine {L. perennis). 

 In the mass, the flowers have a distinct and pleasing fragrance. 

 Another species scarcely suspicioned of being odorous is the 

 black willow (Salix nigra). The tree does not bloom until 

 the last week in May, long after most willows have shed their 

 staminate catkins, and when the twigs are well clothed with 

 leaves. Then it puts forth a multitude of long, yellow catkins 

 that are so strongly perfumed that the odor may be perceived 

 for a considerable distance. 



Swamp Appi.es. — The note on page 64 of the May 

 American Botanist is somewhat misleading. The honeysuckle 

 apple on Azalea is gall-like but not a true gall. Galls are caused 

 on plants by the sting of an insect made in depositing an egg, 

 and possibly by the further irritation of the larva in getting 

 its living. The easiest illustrations are found on oak trees 

 and very different ones on the hackberry, cotton wood, and 

 willow. Rose bushes also show them frequently in the wild 

 state and the common goldenrod, Solidayo Canadensis, has 

 one that nuist excite curiosity. It is found about the middle of 

 the stem forming an ellipsoidal swelling about half an inch in 



