JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST. 117 



through crossing in the process of cultivation that 

 only a few species may be identilied with the help of 

 botanical descriptions. The following are connnon 

 in our gardens : 



Peppermint P. {P. tomentosum). — The leaves are 

 large, round, heart-shaped, with five to seven lobes, 

 and are velvety-hairy on both sides. The insignifi- 

 cant flowers are white. By gentle pressure the leaf 

 will emit a peppermint odor, by which the plant can 

 be easily identified. 



Rose-scented P. {P. cajntatum). — The leaves are 

 velvety, rounded and moderately lobed, and the little 

 flowers, scarcely half an inch long, are of a magen- 

 ta-crimson color ; there are many flowers in a head ; 

 the foliage is unmistakably rose-scented. 



Pennyroyal P. (P. exstijndatimi). — This variety 

 has an altogether different leaf from the foregoing ; 

 botanically speaking, it is palmately three-parted — i. e., 

 in figure like the triple leaf of the clover, but, unlike 

 the latter, these divisions are close together and wedge- 

 shaped with toothed edges ; it is also small, perhaps 

 half an inch wide, and is soft and velvety ; it has a 

 strong aromatic smell like pennyroyal. The flowers 

 are very small and white. 



All three of these varieties are commonly culti- 

 vated by the farmers' wives throughont New York 

 and New England. 



