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In addition to the many asters which may be used to brighten 
the herbaceous border in the fall, there are four other plants 
especially desirable at this time of the year. One of these is 
Polygonum polystachyum, a vigorous grower, with an abundance 
of feathery masses of white flowers, having a fragrance some- 
what resembling that of the common buckwheat, a relative of 
which it is. Stems three or four feet long are produced, each 
terminated with a flower cluster, the flowering period extending 
over several weeks, beginning in September. Another plant, 
sometimes known as the hardy A geratum, which will add a touch 
of blue to the fall border, is Conoclinium coelestinum, or Eupa- 
torium coelestinum as it is often called, a native of the south- 
eastern United States. The color of the flowers is much like 
that of the common Mexican Ageraium conyzoides, but this has 
the advantage of being a hardy perennial, while the other is a 
tropical annual. Another excellent blue flower is Aconitum 
Fischeri, a native of northern Asia. Its richly colored flowers 
appear late in August or early September, and continue up 
into October. One of the latest blooming of the sunflowers is 
Helianthus Maximiliani, of our own western country, and is the 
fourth of the quartet referred to. It is a tall stately plant, with 
drooping leaves, excellent for the rear of the herbaceous border. 
Its habit is graceful, and its starry bright-yellow flowers continue 
in profusion until late in the fall. 
In a bed devoted to the crowfoot family, on an elevation in 
the herbaceous grounds, are two trees of the North American 
papaw, Astmina iriloba, a member of the custard-apple family, 
Anonaceae, largely represented in tropical countries. These 
have matured a few fruits this fall. To those who like it, the 
fruit appears delicious, but it is an acquired taste with many. 
The tree grows naturally, chiefly in river valleys, from western 
central New Jersey to western New York, southern Ontario, 
Michigan, and Kansas, south to Florida and Texas. It was very 
common along the banks of the Susquehanna River, at Harris- 
burg, Pennsylvania, where the writer lived for many years. At 
its best development it reaches a height of twenty feet and a 
trunk diameter of ten inches. The flowers are borne on the wood 
