ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



283 



or absence of the bristles of the leaves ; third, 

 the form of the leaves. Nuttall, in " Genera of 

 North American Plant-," 1818, follows the same 

 disposition, but the number of his species is 

 thirty-two. 



Spach, in Vol. XI of his " Histoire Naturellc 

 des Veg. Phanerog." 18i2, gave a natural ar- 

 rangement of the oaks, which is founded on the 

 form and duration of the leaves, the cup, and 

 the ripening. 



Endlicher maintained the same disposition and 

 characters, only changing the name of one of 

 the sub-genera, and establishing for it three sub- 

 divisions of the sub-genus Lcpidobalanus, which 

 includes nearly all our American species. 



De Candolle adopts the three sub-genera of 

 Endlicher, adding two more, viz : the sub-genus 

 Androgyne, formed by the single Californian 

 species, Q. densiflora, Hook, which has the 

 flowers of both sexes in an upright spike, male 

 above, female below, the abortive ovules at tho 

 apex of the seed ; the other new sub-genera is 

 Pasana, with south Asiatic species. All the 

 other American species belong to the sub-genus 

 Lepidobalanus. The arrangement iu the "Pro- 

 dromus" is thus: 



I.— Lepidobalanus. 



? 1. Abortive ovules below; maturation annual. 

 * Leaves ihciduous. 



1, Qttercus lyrata, Walt.; 2, (J. macrocarpa, Miclix.; 3, 

 Q. oUvmformu , Mielix.; 4, Q. bicolor, Wiild.; B, Q. 

 prinui, L. (here he places as varieties Q.castanea.,ii\i\\\., 

 viiT . mont I'cola and var. prinoides); C, Q. ttellata, Wg. 

 (which is (J. oltuHloba, Michx. ; there are three varieties 

 of this species given, one in Florida, Q. ^/londana,Shut. , 

 the var. deprensa, Nutt. , on the Upi)e'r Missouri, and 

 var. utahemis, the only oak between Stilt Lake and 

 Sierra Nevada); 7, Q- alha, L., with two varieties, 

 reparula and microcarpa. Then luUow live Californian 

 and New Mexican species, wliii-h arc nearly related to 

 the European Q. rohur, and of Mexican and Central 

 American species twenty kinds. 



*Zeave8 penistent. 



Of this section one only, y. rirens, Ait., belongs to the 

 eastern part of the continent, the others are chiefly 

 Central American. 



3 2. Abortive ovules below; mtituration biennial. 



The species in this section are all New Mexican, 



? 3. Abortive ovules above; maturation biennial. 

 *Leai'eg deciduous* 



The Eastern species in this section are, 1, Q. fulcula, 

 Michx.; 2, Q. illicifoUa, Wg.; 3, Q. rubra, L'.; 4, Q. 

 palustrie, i>\i&o\\ 5, Q. Georgiajia, A. Curt.; G, Q. coc- 

 cinfa, Wg.; 7, Q. Leana, Nii'tt.; 8, Q. phellos,!,.; 9, Q. 

 imbricaria, Mich.x,; 10, (i. nigra, L. 



^Leaves persistent (evergreen)* 



1, (^. 0'yi/.a(«Va, Walt.; 2, Q. cinerea, iiUciiK. 



De Candolle supposes that of the species now 

 known and described, about two-thirds are 

 provisional, and that when all the species of 

 America and Asia now adopted are as well 

 studied as the European, the " good species " 

 will be reduced to about one hundred; then the 

 American species would scarcely bo more than 

 fifty. This is credible when we" perceive that 

 the" single species, Q. robur, as proposed by De 

 Candolle, includes thirty-two varieties, and 

 nearly a liundred synonyms. 



The Avierican Agricidlurist is undoubtedly 

 doing much to form a popular taste for Natural 

 History, by its numerous articles on that sub- 

 ject, rendered doubly attractive and useful by 



its excellent illustrations. In the June number 

 we find the following: 



The Prairie Apple (Pomme blanche). 



The species of our native plants are very 

 numerous, but among them there are but few 

 which furnish articles of food. Berries and 

 pei'ishable fruits are more or less abundant in 

 their season ; but those native products which 

 can be stored up are limited in number, and as 

 articles of food are at best indifferent. Neither 

 iu the variety nor in the quality of his food does 

 the savage equal the poorest among the civilized. 

 Acorns and grass-seeds are poor substitutes for 

 corn and wheat; and, among the several more 

 or less edible roots used by the Indians, there is 

 none which approaches the potato in excellence 

 and nutritious quality. A large share of the 

 vegetable food of some of the Western tribes of 

 Indians is the Prairie Apple, or Pomme Blanche, 

 as it was named by the French voyageurs. It is 

 the root of a Psoralea (P. esculenta), which is 

 found from AVisconsin westward to tlie Rocky 

 Mountains. 



Tlio plant grows about a foot high, has leaves 

 with five divisions, and its flowers are clustered 

 in a dense head much resembling a large clover. 

 The flowei's arc purplish-blue. The root is tur- 

 nip-shaped, and somewhat farinaceous; and, 

 though it would be considered scarcely edible 

 by us, is gathered in large quantities by the 

 Indians, and stored for the winter. 



THE AMERICAN HOLLY. 



A 



The American IloUy {Ueiopaca, Ait.) 



We have lately been shown a twig of the 

 American Holly {Ilex opaca. Ait.) which was 

 collected on the banks of the Mississippi near 

 Vicksburg. The leaves are evergreen, thick, 

 and of a lively green color, and about three 

 inches long. In this specimen they are nearly 



