(SO 



represented by several species of the pigweed, many of them 

 among the commonest weeds of our roadsides and waste 

 places. Forming a series to the right of this are : the four- 

 o'clock, pokeweed, carpetweed and purslane families. In the 

 four-o'clock family may be found the common four-o'clock of 

 our gardens, a native of tropical America, its flowers open- 

 ing only on cloudy days or late in the afternoon on clear 

 days, whence its name; and the umbrellaworts, from North 

 America. The pokeweed family is represented by the com- 

 mon poke or garget {Phytolacca), native of the eastern part 

 of North America, a plant of medicinal value and poisonous, 

 but its young shoots when first appearing above the ground 

 are sometimes used as " greens." In the carpetweed family 

 are the carpetweed, from which the family derives its name, a 

 native of the United States and Mexico, but a common weed 

 in this vicinity ; and representatives of the south African fig- 

 marigolds (Mesembryanthemum) , many of them very showy; 

 they are not hardy in this latitude and must be planted out 

 every spring. In the purslane family, among others, may be 

 found the sunplant or common portulaca of the gardens, a 

 native of South America; the small-flowered talinum, from 

 the central United States ; and the common purslane or pusly, 

 a pernicious weed in many sections of the country, and often 

 used for " greens " or as a salad. 



The pink family follows, with three beds. Many kinds 

 of pinks, catchflies, chickweeds and gypsophils may be found 

 here. In the first pool, formed by the widening of the brook, 

 is the water-lily family; the large yellow pond lily or spatter- 

 dock, a native of eastern North America, may be found here, 

 as may also its relative, the red-disked pond lily, from north- 

 eastern North America ; the small white water-lily, a native of 

 northwestern North America and Asia, the European water- 

 lily, from Europe and Siberia, and the sweet-scented water- 

 lily, and its variety, the pink, or Cape Cod, water-lily, also 

 find a place here; the water-shield or water-target is also a 

 member of this family and a native of North America. The 

 tanks in the court of the public conservatories contain a great 



