BOTAyiCAL BVLLETiy. 



u e may hear of it as a troublesome weed. Its milky juice is very abundant and 

 may some day yield, in its gnm, to investiftating' industry, an ample return for it.-- 

 eultivation. Those who have occasion, however, to handle it, had better not do so 

 with abraded skin, and should be careful not to convey any to the mouth, as the 

 ]irinciple, Euphorbin, is exceedingly irritating in minute quantities and may be 

 fatal in large portions. Of C'eltis JJississippiensis. Bosc. we have jnet a single bush 

 about eight feet liigh. Of the Ordddace(M we list Orchis spectabilis, L., Hahenarin 

 psycodes, Gr., H. peramcena, Gr., Spiranthes cernna, Richard., S. gracilis, Big., Cofal- 

 h>rhi.ra o<lon(orhi,ta, Xutt., Aplectntm hyemale, Nutt., and Pogonia pendiila, Lindl, 

 The last'of these is here found among the leaf debris of thick beech woods and so' 

 jiearlj' covered that unless one discovers it by mere accident, he may look for a 

 whole season in vain. The ''Knobs'' also yielded us Agave Virginica, L., which oc- 

 curs there in some abundance. Among Liliacece, Ertjthronium albidum. Nutt. am! 

 Allium tricoccnm. Ait. are perhaps tlie most interesting in their distribution. 



Such are a few of the more interesting species of between 800 and 900 floAvering 

 plants the Editor and myself haVe collected in Jefterson County during the past 

 half dozen years. To these we have added about L')0 Cgperacex and Graiuinea' and 

 probably 7') to ]00 species of Miisci. Any notes upon these will be reserved for an- 

 • 'tlicr paper. — A. 11. Yoixc;, Ilaiiovcr, Lid. 



Dkntakia LACixiATA. ]Muhl. — Tliis crucifcr grows here in great abundance and 

 hixuriancc. it is one of our earliest spring llowers and one of the most variable 

 and per])lexing species I have ever met. A long list might be made of the various 

 forms in whicli it occurs. D. 'laayima, Nutt., J>. Iteterophijlla, Nutt., 1). lacitiiatUf 

 MuliL, and JK uniltijidu, ]\Inhl. undoi:btedly run together in this locality. Speci- 

 mens of these dilb'rcnt six'cics liave been found growing in the same patches and 

 even from tlie sanu; root I Tlie leaves vary from almost entire to.finely dissected. 

 In some -pecimcus tliere are three leaves in a whorl ; in some these leaves are al- 

 ternate; in some there are four alternate leaves; often there are but two leaves. 

 o[)posite or alternate. In sliort, tliere is no kind of division or position of leaves 

 which is not represented in tliis species. I a\ oiild like to know if any botanist ha^ 

 bad a similar exi)ericncc, or wlictlicr all tliese variations are due to tlie unusually 

 favorable conditions of soil and climate. If such i)eri)lexing intermediate form- 

 are met with wherever tlic i)Iant occurs, these sevei'al species should certainly be 

 r^-duced to one, and some sui-li name as D. Ju-icrophglla given to it. — Ei>. 



A Qri:i:v, — fn looking over the Botany of a friend I find among other notes 

 M rittcn upon the tly-leaves the following: 



Cninptoniii aaphniffilia, Alt. Thousands of acres in Michigan, hitherto deemed 

 utterly worthless because densely covered with a growth of "Sweet Fern." prove 

 to be very valuable, as this jdant is a miicii more powerful astringent than hem- 

 liK'k and far superior to it for tanning puri)oses, yielding forty per cent, of tannin 

 w here liemlock yields but fourteen. 



Has anytliing been d(Hie to prove the trutli or falsity of this observation ? It 

 seems to ))e tbiating aroiuid in the newspa|iers without any special authority. — Ed. 



('ontribulioiis iif notes are desired from ;ill ])Otanists, and smdi notes as ;ire ac- 

 cepted will appear in tlie nntiihcr <>/ the JliiUt'tiii issued immedidtelg offer their rerelpl . 

 as it is not intendeil to limit the size of the i):iper to four jciges if the amount of 

 iiiulti'i- will justifv :in eiil;irg(Mnent, 



