75 
member of the Crowfoot family, or Ranunculaceae, and is to be 
found in almost any woods in this vicinity, its pretty flowers, 
ying from almost white to deep purple, ia in some 
wae sheltered spot as early asthe latter part of February or early 
in March. To the north and west of us this species is replaced 
by the sharp-lobed liverleaf, H. acuta. Specimens of this were 
added to the collection in the herbaceous grounds last fall, and 
we were much gratified to see it put forth its flowers early in 
April. These are almost identical with those of the common 
liverleaf. In both species the leaves appear after the flowers, 
and it is in these that the differences appear, the leaves of our 
plant having lobes that are rounded at the tip, while in A. acuta 
the lobes are pointed. 
The coltsfoot, a Farfara, begins to bloom in March or 
April, and bel to the sunflower family, the Compositae. Its 
flowers are a yellow and attractive, and it is one of ithe few 
r 
fully watched to prevent a too great indulgence of its one great 
fault, a desire to roam. The flowers are a half to three- a 
of an inch broad, and are succeeded by large showy lea It 
is a native of Europe, but has become introduced and ne 
in some sections of North America. 
Among the more interesting of the early flowering wood 
plants that we have under cultivation is a witch-hazel from Japan, 
Hamamelis arborea, which promises to be a valuable addition to 
our early flowering shrubs. It was imported direct from its 
native country last spring, and flowered with us for the first time 
the first week in April. As yet it is but a small shrub, 2-3 feet 
tall, but is said to attain a height of 15~20 feet in Japan and the 
dignity ofa tree. Our native poss of this genus, 7. Virginiana, 
th 
t 1s ob- 
tained, puts forth its bright yellow flowers in the fall, while this 
flowers early in the spring. The flowers of the Japanese shrub are 
over an inch across. The petals are curiously rolled up in the 
bud like a piece of tape, and when expanded are crimped. 
are a primrose yellow, striped and tinged with red purple. The 
