438 



In the vicinity- of Paris a yield of 30 hectoliters per hectare should, 

 under ordinary conditions, cause a consumption of water which, added 

 to that lost from the soil by solar evaporation during the time included 

 between the seed-time and the harvest, should make a total very near 

 the average rain-fall it receives. We have, therefore, good authority for 

 the employment of water for the same purpose as fertilizers. 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 



By Dr. Geo. Vasey. 



Pentstemon is a IS'orth American genus of herbaceous perennial 

 plants of the order Scrophidariacew, comprising within the limits of the 

 United States over sixty species, a large number of which are showy 

 and well worthy of cultivation. They have, however, received very lit- 

 tle attention in this country, whereas in England our species have been 

 sought after, and quite a number of them brought into successful culti- 

 vation. The genus is mostly confined to the portion of country west of 

 the Mississippi; only two or three species having a somewhat wide 

 range east of that river. The larger number are found on the elevated 

 plains of the Rocky Mountain region, some at high altitudes in the 

 mountains, others in Arizona, New Mexico, and California, whence the 

 genus extends into Mexico, We will enumerate some of the more showy 

 species, which are hardy, and deserving of more attention among horti- 

 culturists and florists. 



Pentstemon Digitalis^ Ntitt. — This species grows in the Southern States, 

 and also in the southern portion of the States bordering the Ohio Eiver 

 on the north. It has a mass of large, smooth, radical leaves, with stems 

 rising 3 to 4 feet high, rather leafy, with opposite sessile leaves; the 

 upper ones are large, ovate, and clasping below, becoming oblong or lanc- 

 eolate, and a rather large and showy much-branched panicle of flowers, 

 which are 1 inch or more long, somewhat clammy, and of a pale blue or 

 white color. The specific name is derived from its resemblance to the 

 fox-glove, 



Fentstemon grandifloriis^ Fraser. — This species is more showy than 

 the preceding; the flowers are about 2 inches long, varying in color 

 from purple to white ; the panicle is about 1 foot long and rather nar- 

 row; the leaves are remarkably thick, smooth, and of a bluish-green 

 color. This species ranges from Kansas northward, and is found also in 

 the vicinity of the Mississippi, from Oquaka, 111., to Saint Anthony's 

 Falls, Minn, 



Fentstemon Coh(ca, lifutf. — This is a smaller species than P. grandi- 

 ftorus, with shorter stems and panicle, but the flowers equally large and 

 more bell-shaped above. It is found from Kansas to Texas, 



Pentstemon glaber^ Pursli. — This species grows commonly about 1 foot 

 high, with large flowers in a somewhat one-sided close panicle, the whole 

 plant very smooth, the leaves thick and entire. The flowers are a bright 

 puri)le. There are several varieties which extend over a large region of 

 country, from Washington Territory and the Upper Missouri to Nevada, 

 Utah, Colorado, and south to Mexico. 



Pentstemon cgananthus, Eooli.^ is a closely-related species, with a more 

 slender stem and shorter panicle. Found in Wyoming and Utah. 



Pentstemon harhatus, Niitt. — This species is remarkable for its tall 



