282 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[September, 



an active opponent of modern scientific thought 

 on the question of evokition." 



Stranjj;ers who read Prof. Cope's paper, may 

 suppose the academy governed by a few men 

 whose mere whims are absolute hiw. Several 

 hundred members constitute the academy, and 

 these all have the privilege of voting for every 

 officer. Nominations are open to every mem- 

 ber. Regulations prevent any instantaneous 

 filling of vacancies. Several meetings elapse 

 before a vacant position can be filled. It will 

 be, therefore, but fair for those who read Prof. 

 Cope's tirade, to believe that the academy selects 

 the best officers in its power. It is also but fair 

 to remember that the offices in the academy 

 are not solely offices of honor. They imply a 

 great amount of personal attention. There are 

 many admirable scientific men in Philadelphia 

 members of the academy, but who are so en- 

 grossed with their pursuits that they rarely at- 

 tend the meetings, and could not give that per- 

 sonal attention to the aff'iiirs of the academy 

 which the " honors" demand. It must be within 

 Prof. Cope's recollection that the offices have 

 been so filled. If the academy has to choose 

 between one who, in Prof. Cope's eyes, is " un- 

 scientific," but who can perform the duties of 

 the office to the entire satisfaction of those who 

 elect him, and between one who " holds some 

 position," but can do nothing, it may be the 

 academy's misfortune if it choose the former, 

 but scarcely its fault. 



And it seems still more to the credit of the 

 academy that in electing the Eeverend Dr. 

 Henry McCook, a Presbyterian clergyman, as 

 one of its two Vice-Presidents, it did not see in 

 him either the clergyman or an anti-evolution- 

 ist, but simply an earnest devotee of science, 

 and one who, at the same time, is willing to give 

 a good share of very valuable time to the practi- 

 cal management of the institution. And further, 

 if there should be any to wonder why Prof. Cope 

 does not try to urge on the members the neces- 

 sity of "reforming things," as he understands 

 reform, instead of whispering his grievances 

 through the Naturalist, in the ears of people all 

 over the world who cannot help him ; it may be 

 also fair to remember that Prof. Cope has been 

 a candidate for office on several occasions, ex- 

 pressly as the representative of these supposed 

 reforms; and that the vote— not by a few "resid 

 uary legatees," but by a very full attendance of 

 the members of the academy has always been 

 heavily against him. 



It is of little importance to distant people how 

 a local institution chooses to govern itself; but 

 when they are compelled to listen to one side of 

 the story, it becomes the part of justice that 

 they should hear the other. 



Legend of the Cherokee Rose.— The Christian 

 Advocate tells the following story, which we re- 

 cord, as we usually do in such cases, more as a 

 matter of news than as a genuine legend. It is 

 a misfortune that there is no way by which a 

 genuine legend can be distinguished from a 

 newspaper lie ; but for the credit of the news- 

 paper name from which we quote, we will hope 

 that there is such a legend afloat, and that the 

 story was not expressly manufactured for its 

 columns. 



It ma}' be remarked, in passing, that the origin 

 of the Cherokee rose on this continent is en- 

 shrouded in mystery. It was found by Michaux 

 in the South, but has never been found wild 

 since his time. It is hardly believed to be a 

 native rose, though by analogy with some other 

 rare Southern plants, it might be. It has Asiatic 

 relatives : 



" The legend of the Cherokee rose is as pretty 

 as the fiower itself. An Indian chief of the 

 Seminole trihe was taken prisoner by his ene- 

 mies the Cherokees. and doomed to torture, but 

 became so seriously ill that it became necessary 

 to wait for the restoration to health before com- 

 mitting him to the fire. As he lay prostrated by 

 disease in the cabin of the Cherokee warrior, the 

 daughter of the latter, a young, dark-faced maid, 

 was his nurse. She fell in love with the young 

 chieftain, and wishing to save his life, urged him 

 to escape; but he would not do so unless she 

 would fiee with him. Yet before she had gone 

 far, impelled by soft regret at leaving home, she 

 asked permission of her lover to return for the 

 purpose of bearing away some memento of it. 

 So, retracing her footsteps, she broke a sprig 

 from the white rose which climbed up the poles 

 of her father's tent, and preserving it during her 

 flight through the wilderness, planted it by the 

 door of her new home in the land of the Semi- 

 nole. And from that day this beautiful flower 

 has always been known between the capes of 

 Florida and throughout the Southern States by 

 the name of Cherokee rose." 



The American Candle. — Among the peculiari- 

 ties of travel in France is that every morning 

 you find two candles fresh on the mantel-piece 

 of your room, and whether used or not, you find 

 these daily " bougies" charged in your bill. It 

 will be some consolation to the people of this 

 country to know that in future *' La Chandelle 

 Americaine" is to take the place of the time" 

 honored " bougie." At least "La Science pour 



