10 TuANSACTJO.yS OF THE 



no fruit. By putting a sufficient number of either perfect or staminate plants 

 among them, he might have had fruit. 



A lady once cut off the "false blossoms," staminate ones, from her cucum- 

 ber vines, to make them bear better. She sliould have known that these 

 were just as necessary as the others. A botanist knows how to keep different 

 varieties of corn, melons, etc., from intermixing and degenerating. 



Last summer Dr. Wright, of Peun Yan, New York, wrote me that he had 

 seen in a New York paper a statement that a grass or grasses in Kansas 

 never produced seed. He did not believe it, but wished to know whether I 

 knew of any such grass. I replied that every plant in favorable circumstan- 

 ces produced seed, but if the soil, climate or season were unfavorable, and 

 especially if the plant also produced tubers, it might seldom produce seed. 

 From time immemorial (to me), my father had in his garden a dense thicket 

 of artichokes, helianthus tuberosus. They never blossomed till I cultivated 

 some of them in hills like potatoes. Sweet potatoes seldom or never blossom 

 in this climate, but doubtless they do in their native place. Some varieties 

 of common potatoes seldom or never blossom; others blossom, but ])roduce 

 no seed; while others produce seed abundantly. I have noticed that those 

 varieties which have "balls" have poor, watery potatoes. 



A patch of wild rice in a wet basin near Osawatomie sent up no flower 

 ^stalks for seven years, and then it had them twelve feet high. 



The three most common and valuable prairie grasses of Kansas, some 

 years produce only leaves, except in some favored spots. 



Buffalo grass, so called in Miami county, seldom or never blossoms, but 

 doubtless it does further west. 



Some })ear trees and plum trees blossom abundantly, but never bear fruit ; 

 probably from a lack of something in the soil that is needed to perfect the 

 fruit. 



Plants not in the Class-book nor jNIanual, are marked thus ; * immigrants 

 thus.+ 



.ADDITIONS TO THE CATALOGUE OF THE PLANTS OF KANSAS FOR THE YEAR 1873. 

 Ranunculaceae. ■ I Benkirla, Pepper Root. 



Clematis, Vlrpin's Bower. 1). laciniatii. Wakarusa. 



C. Pitcheri. One .^ipocinieii. < Curdnmiiie, Bitter t'res.s. 



Anemone, Wind Flower. ] C. rhomVioid'.'a. Leaven wortli. Wherrell. 



A. patens or Nuttalliaua. Western Kansas. Snow. ' Arabis, Rock-cres.s. 



RnnunciiJus, Crowfoot. A. Canadensis. Vinland. 



R. recurvatus. Lawrence and Leavenworth. Snow. firuMiVn «?«/.*?/»«/;«, C'al)l)age and Mustard. 



R. fasolcularis. W^akarusa woods. Snow. f B. arvensis. I'icld Mu.stard. Snow. 



NvMPiiicACEAE. lA'pi.Uum, Peppergrass. 



yympkaea. White Water Lily. 

 U. odorata. .Southern Kansas. Prof. Mudge. 



Fl'MAKIAC'EAE. 



<\»ydalis. 

 €. aurea, variety Flavula. Lawrence. Snow. 

 C. montaua. Lawrence, Snow. Topeka, Papineau. 



CniCIFERAK. 



Xustiirtivm, 'Water-cress. 

 K. svlvestre. Lawrence, rare. 



L. intcniiodiuni. Lawrence. Saunders. 

 I 'esiriiriu, Bladder-pod. 



* V. Feiidl.'ri. Ellis. Watson. 

 i'ai'paridackae. 



Cleome, Spider Flower. 



* C. integrifolia. Leavenworth. T. E. Wilcox, U. 

 S. .\ ; also Topeka, Papineau. 



VlOL.^CEAE. 



Violii, Violet. 

 V. sajritt:ita. Lawrence, one si)eciiucn. Snow. 



