( 160 ) 
are both here. Along the edge of the brook, and opposite 
the spurge family, will be seen the water-starwort family, to 
which belong a number of small aquatic plants. About oppo- 
site this, and at the base of the rocky ridge to the right, are 
two representatives of the box family, in the trailing pachy- 
sandra, from North America, and its Japanese relative, the 
terminal pachysandra; the true box (Buxus) is a shrub or 
small tree, native of Europe, and several specimens of it will 
be found at the fruticetum. A little to the right of the wood- 
sorrel family is the jewel-weed family, to which belong the 
common balsam of the gardens, and the plant so common 
along our brooks and other wet places, and known as jewel- 
weed, or touch-me-not. A little beyond this are three beds 
of the mallow family; the hollyhocks belong here, as do the 
mallows; the crimson-eye mallow, and the swamp-rose mal- 
low, both from North America, are showy representatives of 
this family; the halberd-leaved rose-mallow, also a North 
American plant, with its pinkish white flowers with a deeper 
center, is also showy; and the marsh mallow, a native of 
Europe and the Orient, is also shown; its root is used in the 
manufacture of a mucilage and for medicinal purposes. 
To the right of the mallows is the bed given over to the 
St. John’s-wort family. The rock-rose family comes next, a 
little further on; here belong the rock-roses of Europe, and 
our own frost-weeds. To the right of this is the violet family ; 
a large collection of our native species, together with some 
from foreign lands, is here brought together and many of these 
will be recognized as old friends. Up on the ridge to the 
right, across the walk, will be found the cactus family; rela- 
tively few of these are hardy in this climate, so the larger 
part of the cactus collection must be sought in the conserva- 
tories. Here will be found, however, several representatives 
of the prickly pears (Opuntia), including the eastern prickly 
pear, common in this part of the country, which is frequently 
found on the rocky ridges in the vicinity of New York and 
occurs wild on some ledges within the Garden reservation. 
Down near the brook, and not far from the mallow family, 
