120 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[April, 



tain, may be found from the first of April until 

 late in the fall. It is one of the finest of our na- 

 tive leaf plants, few, if any, of our cultivated 

 plants surpassing it in the beauty of its mark- 

 ings. It is somewhat rare in comparison to the 

 plants previously mentioned, but when once ob- 

 tained, it may be kept in good condition without 

 any difficulty. The Saxifragacese come in bloom 

 about April 18th. There are two varieties : the 

 Saxifraga Virginiensis and Pennsylvanicum ; the 

 former is more desirable because of its dwarf 

 manner of growth, but the latter would make a 

 very pretty plant for a rockery. The specimens 

 of the Liliacete growing about, among which are 

 the Solomon's seal and the Polygonatummultiflo- 

 rum, will be found coming in flower from May 

 10th to May 25th. They both will be found 

 growing in the woods, and both grow freely 

 when transplanted. The flowers of both varie- 

 ties are very pretty, and when they have passed 

 away the berries of the Solomon's seal are won 

 ■derful in their beauty. Both are plants very de- 

 sirable in any* wild garden. 



As the wild garden is the object for which this 

 was written, enough has been said for the pur- 

 pose mentioned. The foregoing list of our 

 spring plants does not by any means include the 

 whole number, but only a few of the most promi- 

 nent, and those mentioned are not calculated to 

 impress all with a sense of their beauty. The 

 individual fancy will continually suggest new 

 things in connection herewith, and will be guide 

 in this matter. The great thing in this matter, 

 AS in all others, is to start it ; it will then grow 

 of itself, and if the writer mistakes not, will be- 

 come the most attractive part of the garden. 

 When once planted it is permanent, and daily 

 increases in beauty, which, as the poet says, " is 

 a joy forever;" and joys enjoyed "will never 

 pass into nothingness.'' 



POISONING BY KALMIA. 



BY E. S. MILLER, WADING RIVER, N. Y. 



In a previous number of the Monthly I saw 

 Mr. Bassett's article on sheep poisoning by Kal- 

 mia. I at once wrote to Mr. Stratton, the herds- 

 man on Montauk Point, who has had years of 

 •experience in the care of the thousands of 

 sheep, cattle and horses which have been pas- 

 tured on the Point. His reply runs thus : " I 

 have made inquiries concerning sheep poison- 

 ing, though not with entirely satisfactory results. 

 I can hear of no one that has made a thorough 



examination with regard to this matter ; but it 

 is the general opinion about here that the sharp 

 points of the leaves cut the lining of the 

 stomach, thus causing inflammation, which usu- 

 ally results in death, but not always. I shall 

 probably have a chance to make an examina- 

 tion before spring, as Mr. Benson has over two 

 thousand sheep here for us to care for. The six 

 or seven hundred that have been pastured here 

 in previous years have been driven on about the 

 2.5th of March, Occasionally we have had snow 

 storms after that; then, unless we watched them 

 all the time, large numbers of them would kill 

 themselves. They will not touch the laurel so 

 long as they can get any grass, but when the 

 ground is covered they go for it instantly." 



This seems to me quite as likely to be the 

 case as the poisoning by the presence of prussic 

 acid. I shall endeavor to learn more about it 

 from Mr. Stratton and communicate the result 

 to you. 



PAWPAW. 



BY DR. W. R. GERARD, NEW YORK. 



Some one takes one of your correspondents to 

 task for spelling '' Papaw," Pawpaw. The latter 

 orthography is perfectly correct, the word is very 

 often spelled so; and, moreover, it represents the 

 accepted pronunciation of the name in the 

 Southern and South-western States; The name 

 was applied to the tree by the colonists, and was 

 transferred from the Malay name Papaya, _(Sp., 

 Papaya; Fr., Papaye; Eng., Papaw or Pawpaw,) 

 of the tropical Carica papaya — probably, as Dr. 

 Gray remarks, from a fancied resembla'nce in 

 form or flavor. Our plant does not even belong 

 to the same natural order with the latter, and there 

 is no reason why the spelling of the common 

 name should be made to conform in structure 

 to the Malay word; and there is every reason 

 why it should be made distinct and be spelled as 

 pronounced, Pawpaw. The earlier writers on the 

 vegetable productions of this country spell it 

 Papau, Paupau, Papaw and Pawpaw. The 

 Michiganders have named their town correctly. 



The Indian (Algonkin) name of the fruit waa 

 Assimin, "Stone-fruit," (from the numerous 

 seeds which it contained,) and hence the French 

 name Assiminier or Aciminier, and the modern 

 genus-name Asimina. It is a pity that in this 

 case, as well as in numerous others, where our 

 native plants had well-sounding aboriginal 

 names, such names had not been preserved. 



