in the eastern pari of Massachusetls. 205 



Besides the plants in the above table, there are many others 

 which are not so well fitted for comparison, or which I have 

 not observed so regularly, or for so long a time: some of 

 these I have placed in another table. 



The common Skunk Cabbage, Symplocarpus fos^tidus, is 

 the first plant which flowers in spring in New England. It sends 

 up its green and purple spathes, which are rolled in at the 

 sides and pointed at the tip, sometimes even in winter, when, 

 for a few days, the thermometer rises to 50 and 55°. I have 

 observed its earliest flowering every year, for many years, in 

 the same situation in Ipswich, but in consequence of its flow- 

 ering sometimes in winter, it is impossible to estimate the pro- 

 per mean time of its flowering. In computing the mean of 

 this and of A'lnus serrulata, I have excluded the year in which 

 they flowered in February. 



t^nemone hepatica. Earliest anemone, or "Noble liverwort," 

 is the earliest flower that has any pretensions to beauty: it is 

 scarce in Ipswich, and not within convenient reach for obser- 

 vation. 



The Wild Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis, is not common 

 in Ipswich; on the rocky clifts about Salem it appears to flower 

 a few days after the dandelion. 



The White Maple, .3^cer dasycarpum, on the banks of Ips- 

 wich river, appears, from observations in an early and a late 

 season, to begin to flower at the same time as the alder. 



The common peach tree varies much according to the dif- 

 ferent varieties, and perhaps according to its condition the pre- 

 ceding summer and winter. Some trees generally flower be- 

 fore the cherry, and others later. On the whole, it is not so 

 fit for comparison as some other trees. 



The Buffalo berry, Shepherdia argentea, now frequently 

 cultivated, appears to be an excellent tree for this purpose, 

 flowering very regularly and abundantly every year. It seems 

 to flower a few days after the red maple. 



The Golden currant, often cultivated, flowers about the 

 same day as the cherry. 



The common quince tree, and the common barberry, flow- 

 ers generally the last week in May, but my observations of 

 their flowering have been limited. 



The common Wild Black Cherry, Prunus virginiana 

 JMich.f begins to flower about the first of June. 



