ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



189 



aquatilis, Wahl, Carex vulpiniodea, Michx., aud 

 Carex trichocarpa, Muhl. 



We may in future numbers take np these 

 grasses aud sedges, and examine them more in 

 detail. 



THE SPICY WraTERGREEX. 



{Gaultheria procumliens, L.) 



We find the following in an old number of 

 the Rural Xew Yorker, and it is written in so 

 charming a style, and shows such an intimate 

 acquaintance with the plant, that we print it 

 in hope that it may give our readers as much 

 pleasure as it has given us. The Wintergreen 

 is little known at the West; in this State we 

 only know of a few localities on the Lake shore 

 north of Chicago. Our Eastern readers will 

 readily recognize it. It is also sometimes called 

 Checkerberry : 



Who does not love the Wintergreen with its 

 pleasant, spicy flavor, and its rich scarlet ber- 

 ries. How glossy are the leaves with their bril- 

 liant green. And then how charmingly hang 

 the pendant bowl-like blossoms, hid almost 

 beneath those same beautiful leaves. Meek and 

 humble though these flowers are, yet they guard 

 treasures dear as life, which they hedge about 

 with an unspotted garment of innocence. Would 

 the casual observer suspect so much worth aud 

 goodness lay concealed in these humble plants? 

 Among the fields of humble life, lie hidden many 

 jewels of inestimable worth. Hearts throb in 

 the lower walks of society that would honor 

 angels, especially if the angels were earthly 

 ones. So the most merit often makes the least 

 show, and must be sought out to be known and 

 appreciated. 



Through all the vicissitudes of weather the 

 AVintergreen holds its unchangeable greenness, 

 being endowed by nature with a vitality that 

 endures, unchanged, the rigors to which it is 

 subject. As winter approaches we find the 

 flowers have given place to beautiful scarlet 

 berries. These are nearly globular, and at first 

 sight show no particular singularity; and yet 

 there is infinite wisdom displayed in that oi'gan- 

 izatiou. There is a thorn-like filament extend- 

 ing from the apex of the fruit. This is the 

 persistent pistil, from which you notice five 

 sutures, or lines taking their departure towards 

 the stem, stopping, however, before half the 

 distance is traversed. The divisions made by 

 these lines are readily elevated, beneath which 

 you discover a nice five-angled capsule with five 

 apartments filled with seed, which are thus safely 

 sheltered from wintry rigor. The envelop of 

 the capsule is the original calyx of the flower 

 now swollen into a berry, that will by spring 

 have arrived to its full maturity, when its color 

 is of deep scarlet and its flavor most delicious. 



The generic name of the Spicy Wintergreen 

 is Gaultheria, given it in honor of one Gaul- 

 thier, a French physician of Quebec. It is in 

 the Decandria Monogynia of the Linnsean Sys- 

 tem, classed naturally among the Uricacece or 



Heathworts, where are also found the Whortle- 

 berries, Cranberries, etc. In this order are 

 found sixty-six genera and one thousand eighty- 

 six known species diff"used in all parts of the 

 globe, but more rarely in the torrid regions. 

 But a few species of this order are poisonous, 

 some are medicinal, while the fruits of others 

 are wholesome and nourishing. T. E. W. 



NOTES ON SOME WISCONSIN PLANTS. 



To one who is accustomed to look upon our 

 species of the Evening Primrose— (Bno^Aem bi- 

 ennis, (E. fniticosa, CE. Missouriensis, or even 

 the gaudy grandiforasis types of that family, 

 the little CE. pumila is, when beheld for the 

 first time, quite a curiosity. Such it was to me 

 last summer, when I found it unexpectedly in 

 my travels in the northern part of Wisconsin. 

 In this I purpose to give a brief description of 

 this interesting little plant, its habits, etc., 

 togetlier with a few more of the most interesting 

 plants I found in the same locality. In general 

 all the representatives of this family we have 

 are found scattered about among fields and 

 waste places, while a few of the more showy 

 ones have found a place among the garden ex- 

 otics. This species of the Primrose I found 

 growing in the richer portions of that exceed- 

 ingly poor soil to the height of from three to ten 

 inches, with the foliage having the general 

 characteristics of our species, and the stem bear- 

 ing upon the top one or two bright yellow 

 flowers, as small proportionally as the plant, but 

 having plainly marked the characteristics of the 

 genus. 



Associated with this, though usually a little 

 larger, was the Rock Rose (IleliaHtliemum 

 corymbosurn) , a delicate little plant of lighter 

 foliage and lighter yellow flowers; also, the 

 Sweet Fern (Com^j/oftja asplenifolia) . Grow- 

 ing in the marshes and lower grounds of the 

 same locality, I found one of the Orchidaceous 

 flowers {Platanthera psy codes), that far excels 

 in beauty many of our garden flowers. I usually 

 found them about a foot high, each stalk bearing 

 from two to four flowers, whose brilliant colors 

 made the plant very attractive, either as seen 

 in the distance or when placed among other 

 specimens for preservation or ornament. 



Many have remarked that the State of Wis- 

 consin was modeled after the State of New York 

 in its laws and institutions. One would think 

 that not only its laws, but also its flora, was an 

 imitation of the same type. Nature having taken 

 the lead and the people following in her train. 

 I found there many plants that I had not seen 

 since seeing them in the State of New York, 

 such as the Pipsisiwa ( C7tj?napAj7a) , Wintergreen 



