2 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Feb. 



such as are not already published as Canadian, or as are of critical 

 inter est y 



2. Canadian Ginseng. — My friend and former pupil, Dr. 

 John C. Scbiiltz, the active Sec^retaiy of the Soientific Institute 

 of Rupert's Land, called attention some time ago to the trade 

 which was then being carried on in exporting ginseng Aralla 

 quinquefoUa from Minnesota to China. In western Minnesota the 

 root is collected by Indians, and sold to traders in St. Paul's for 

 a dollar a pound, to be carried to New York for export. Dr. 

 Schliltz, seeing several barrels of it at St. Paul's, wisely suggested 

 to Canadians the propriety of taking up this lucrative branch of 

 industry. In a letter which I have received from Sir William 

 Hooker, that veteran botanist observes : " I am glad to see the 

 subject of the American ginseng alluded to. Is it the fact that it 

 is still largely exported to China ? and what are the statistics ? 

 Now would appear to be the time to send it. I can assure you, 

 that, old botanist as I am, and with correspondents all over the 

 world, with two collectors I have had in Manchuria, intimate 

 with all the Russian botanists, I have never been able to procure 

 even a dried specimen of the Chinese ginseng. With great 

 difficulty Dr. Bunge obtained for me a single dried root, for 

 which three guineas was paid in the country. I have no doubt your 

 ginseng is every bit as good as that of Manchuria, and certainly 

 the Chinese once thought so." 



3. Canadian Nuts and Gooseberries. — I find that the 

 common hazel-nut of central Canada is Corylas rostrata ; that of the 

 Northern States and of the plains west from Canada, C. Ameri- 

 cana, which in Canada is local, occurring abundantly in some 

 places however, as at Belleville, where it was pointed out to me 

 by Mr. J. McCoun. The common smooth gooseberry of Upper 

 Canada is Bibes rotundifolium. The more prevalent one in the 

 New England States is, according to Prof. Gray, R. hirtellum. 



4. Canadian Habitats of Diplostachyum apodum. — Mr. Jo- 

 siah Jones Bell, of Carleton Place, one of my former pupils, has given 

 me specimens of this very interesting lycopod, collected by him at 

 Dickson's Point, Mississippi Lake, C. W., August, 1863. The 

 only Canadian localities previously known were Detroit River, 

 C. W., where it was found by Dr. P. W. Maclagan ; and Belle- 

 ville, C. W., where Mr. McCoun pointed it out to me last sum- 

 mer. I have since found it in a fertile state in the grass by the 



