194 BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 



blue flowers. By the 1st of September undoubted potatoes had formed, 

 about an inch and a half long by half as wide and a third as thick. 

 Since then tubers have been found in the same region perfectly white 

 and as large as hen's eggs. If this plant really is the original of all our 

 cultivated varieties much may be hoped from its cultivation, in the way 

 of regenerating the old varieties which have become weak, and we hear 

 that Prof. Meehan predicts great results from this discovery. It is need- 

 less to say that Prof. Lemmon found the Colorado beetle quietly munch- 

 ing the leaves of this indigenous potato. 



Dr. Gray reviewing in Science DeCandolle's work, Origine des- 

 plantes cultivees, claims that our common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, is a 

 native of America. This is one of the three cultivated plants out of a 

 total of 247, the other two being the rather unimportant species of 

 Curcubita, C. moschata and C. ficifolia, which DeCandolle is unable to 

 trace to its original country. Dr. Gray maintains that it is American, 

 as he has previously done with Indian corn and pumpkins. Fruits and 

 seeds of it were found in the tombs of the ancient Peruvians at Ancon, 

 along with other vegetable products belonging solely to this continent, 

 and with the other two vegetables named, has been cultivated from abo- 

 riginal times from Mexico to Canada. It is probable, however, that 

 neither beans nor pumpkins were originally indigenous north of Mexi- 

 co, or possibly north of the isthmus of Panama. 



Dr. Gray, in a private letter, gives us some interesting information 

 concerning Dr. Torrey which so well illustrates his generous disposition 

 that we quote it as follows: "Sir Win. Hooker confided to Dr. Torrey, 

 at the time when Dr. Torrey visited him at Glasgow, theCarices of those 

 northern collections to be worked up by him. But. while the bundles 

 were still unopened, Dr. Chester Dewey made him a visit at New York. 

 Dr. Dewey was the author of a rival monograph of American Carices, 

 which was published in numerous articles in Silliman's Journal, partly 

 contemporaneously with the monograph of Schweinitz and Torrey, and 

 partly later. An inspection of those rich northern collections revived 

 Dr. Dewey's interest in the subject; observing which Dr. Torrey gener- 

 ously ottered the collection to his rival for study; and the latter contin- 

 ued his monograph with these materials. Later, when Dr. Torrey had 

 monographed the other N. American Cyperaceai, he appended to it a re- 

 vised arrangement of Carex, and added some new species. 



The first three numbers of the new American Journal, Science 

 have come to hand. It is a 4to of about 28 pages, and reminds one of 

 the English journal Nature, and like that appears weekly. The term 

 "science" has been liberally construed, but in the multiplicity of depart- 

 ments botany receives due attention. The first number devotes five 

 columns to a review by Dr. Gray of DeCandolle's new work on the 

 origin of cultivated plants. In the weekly summary of the progress of 

 science, botany receives two columns in each number. The notes have 



