(56) 



belongs to the meadow-beauty family, few species of which 

 occur in cool regions ; it is largely represented in warm tem- 

 perate and tropical regions, and many other species may be 

 found in the conservatories. But a short distance from the 

 violet family is the evening-primrose family; here may be 

 found a number of the evening primroses (Oenothera) , with 

 their showy yellow flowers, noteworthy as the plants mainly 

 experimented with by Professors DeVries and MacDougal in 

 their studies on the origin of species. Along the brook, not 

 far from the loosestrife family, is the water-milfoil family, 

 represented by the Chilean water-milfoil or parrot's-feather, 

 forming a beautiful mass of feathery green on the surface of 

 the water. Returning now to the ridge, a little beyond the 

 violet family, we find the bed allotted to the ginseng family; 

 here are the Indian-root, from eastern North America, and 

 the heart-leaved aralia from Japan. To this family also 

 belongs the ginseng plant, the root of which is so much 

 prized by the Chinese as a medicine. Down the slope from 

 this group may be found two beds given over to the carrot 

 family, which includes many economic plants, such as the 

 carrot, parsnip, celery and caraway; lovage, a common 

 European plant, is shown, and the rattlesnake-master, from 

 the eastern United States; the wild carrot and the golden 

 meadow parsnip also belong here. 



To the primrose family, located at the base of the ridge a 

 little beyond the carrot family, belong the primroses (Prim- 

 ula) , many of which are natives of Europe ; here we find the 

 common European primrose, the cowslip and others; the 

 moneywort, a native of Europe, but introduced into many 

 places in this country, sends it long creeping stem all over the 

 bed — this is sometimes known as creeping Charlie ; the fringed 

 loosestrife, from North America, is also here, as is the clethra- 

 like loosestrife, from Japan, with its racemes of white flowers. 

 Between the two beds devoted to the carrot family, and a little 

 beyond, is the plumbago family, to which belongs the com- 

 mon thrift of Europe; there are several other thrifts here 

 also, as well as the statices or sea-lavenders, in several 



