n 



338 ' Descriptmi of a new species of Liatris. 



shnot chiefly in the month of August after a hot timej at least in 

 Bel^inrn, Leyden, and Utrecht." t. ii, p. lUGl. 



5- h\ Foisler's Encyclopedia before quoted, under date of Au- 

 gust lOth, in the Rustic Calendar, it is distinctly affirmedj that 

 ''Falhna: stars and meteors most abound about this time of year. 



G. Dr. James Eights, in the '^Naturalist's Every Day Book," 

 {Zodiac, vol. I, p. 44, Albany, 1835-6,) under date of Angnst 

 22, 1835, remarks: ^'Meteors and falling stars have been quite 

 common for \h^. last few weeks, and this is the month in which 

 it is generally believed that they most commonly occur: and they 



were very numerous to night." 



7. M. duetelet, at the session of the Royal Academy of Brus- 

 sels, Dec, 3, 1836, announced his belief, that shooting stars were 

 unusually numerous about the 10th of August. In consequence 

 of his efforts, observations at the next occurrence of that season 

 were made in various parts of Europe, and as is well known, the 

 result verified the prediction. The attention of the writer of this 

 was first attracted to the subject, by the display accidentally ob- 

 served here on the night of August 9, 1837. 



A few^ references, by various writers, to the occurrence of me- 

 teors in Augiist, but all of them pertaining to years which have 

 been already noticed in this Journal, might be mentioned here. 



None of them, however, appears to recognize the periodicity of 

 the phenomenon. 



New Haven, Conn., Sept. 11, 1839. 



Art. XXI- — Description of a New Species ofLiatris; by David 



TUOMAS. 



Specific Character. — L. fexuosa. iS^^w flpxnoug. Leaves few, upper lance- 

 linear, semi-amplexicaul Peduncles from the upper axils, bracted, supporting one 

 flo 



vver. 



Observations. — Root, tuherous. Stem^ a foot high, simple, 

 smooth, striate. Leaves, 12 to 15, clasping the stem half round, 

 acute, nerved ; ciliate near the base, slightly pubescent on the 

 upper surface, smooth beneath. Lower leaves linear, somewhat 

 tapering towards the base, from 6 to 10 inches long, but short- 

 ening from the middle of the stem upwards, mitil the upj^er 



