ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



319 



piiate common name of Golden Club. It is found in 

 tlie natural order Araa-re. The leaves ni'e large, ten or 

 twelve inches in length and about half ivs wide; tlio 

 upper surface of the leaf is a light velvety green, the 

 under surlace much paler, ami very smooth and shining, 

 on long radical petioles; from the midst of these leaves 

 arise several scapes, or Hower-st:ilUs, which, from the 

 base up to within a few inches of the top, are of a dusky 

 purplish color, wlileli gradually fades into the purest 

 white, terminating in a rich golden-yellow spadix, 

 covered with small, perfect yellow (lowers. 



LehqihyHum li/n/uliu?/i, Kll., is another ehanning pine- 

 barren i)lant, and has receive<l the characteristic com- 

 mon name of Sand Jlyrtlc. it belongs to the order 

 £n'cacnii,\\\l\\ our spleinlid Azaleas and Rhododendrons, 

 which the Kuropean llorists have coaxed into number- 

 less varieties. Possibly this bcaulllul little shrub will 

 be neglected by us until the European llorists sell it back 

 to us at high ligures, as they already have many plants 

 of this lamily. 



The Leiophylluiii is an evergreen shrub, with leaves 

 small, dark gi-een, very smooth and shining, and strung 

 thickly along the stems, which in May are terminated 

 with tliick, umbel-like clusters of small white or pinkish 

 llowers. Gray and other botanists give the lieight ot 

 this shrub at irom eight to ten inches, and this is its 

 usual height on the dry sandy barrens; but in Atlantic 

 county, near the coast, in damp soil, I lound an acre or 

 more of this shrub with an average heightof about three 

 feet. I found It while in full bloom, and it stood so 

 thick as to exclude almost everything else. It was sur- 

 rounded by a thick, almost impenetrable, tangled mass 

 of shrub-growth, bound together by the climbing prickly 

 Smilax, through which I forced my way, and was more 

 than repaid for my toil by the beautiful sight, which can 

 never be eft'aced from my memory. 



One of the most stately and beautifid pine-barren 

 plants is Xerophylluin anplwdtluides, Nutt, It is an En- 

 dogenous plant, and found in the order JlelaiMacea'. 

 The foliage consists of a thick tult of grass-like leaves, 

 from the midst of which arises a single Uowcr-slalk, 

 from three to four feet In height, bearing a dense raceme 

 of showy white tlowers. It is found in moist places, 

 and commences blooming in May. Sir. Fuller, ol ILuitli 

 anil Hume, remarked iin lirsl seeing this plaiU, that this 

 alone was worth takinna trip from >'ew York to see; 

 and, tlorist as he is, this remark is a sutticieut guarantee 

 of its rare loveliness. 



lint I would not have the reader think that the pine 

 barrens exclude the charming llorteis of his aefiuaint- 

 ance: Krom the latter part of March all through the 

 month of April, the air is redolent with the sweet fra- 

 grance of the Trailing Arbutus {liplijea repeus, L.), grow- 

 ing with a rich luxuriance in the white sand, with a 

 simple mulching of oak and pine leaves. Also the deli- 

 cate, early little \\\\\ii-\\o\\cr (Antmone nemoiosa, L.) is 

 lound in abundance, with the ever-present, aromatii^ 

 VVintergrecn (Gaulthera procumhena, \j.), with its shin- 

 ing green leaves ai\d bright scarlet berries. The little 

 trailing Partridge ^inc {Mitehellu reptas, L.), with its 

 scarlet twin berries— like the Wintergreen remaining on 

 the plant all winter — greets us otten in our early spring 

 rambles. As the se.ison advances so does the mnnber 

 of beautiful plants increase among the seemingly dreary 

 pine barrens, of which 1 will tiy to make further report 

 lioni time to time. Mauy Tukat. 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Plants to Name—//. W. Patleraon, Oi/mml-a, Ilh. 

 — Xo. 1, 7'hanpiumhaihino.!c. Null.; No. 2, Ghjceria /nr- 

 vata, Trin.; No. 3, Ei-iijtroii. gtriijosam, JIuhl.; No. 4, 

 Carer Meadii,l^ew.\ No.,"), Oenothera /ruticosa,h.; No. 

 8, ICci'lei'ia crutata, Pers.; No. it, Panicum paucifivrum^ 

 Ell.; No. 11, Carex. hyatricina, Willd. : No. 12, Xngeroa 

 Philudilpliicum , L. : No. 1(1, Vryptotixnia Canadeiminf 1). 

 ; No. 14, Melica nmtica, Walt.; No. 21, llurdiwn pii- 

 xllliim, Nutt.; No. 22, Ptelta tri/oliala, L.; No. 27. 

 J/i/dr&phyllum Vinjinictim, Jv.; No. 2.S, (hmofrfiua iornji- 

 dylu, D. C; No. 21). Polyfuniii Kutlallii. D. ('.; No. .'lO, 

 Sanicula Canadennia , Ij. 



Huron BuH, C'lilluiriiij, Mo. — No. 1, Annual Spear- 

 grass {Po(i annua, \,.) 'i'his is probably an introdui-cd 

 grass — it .seems to follow in the line of advancin.g civili- 

 zation. It is too small to be productive as a meadow 

 grass. Mr. C. L. Flint, author of a "Practical Treatise 

 on Grasses,'' says: "This modest and biautilul grass 

 flowers throughout the whole 8i;mnicr, and forms a very 

 large part of the sward of New Englaml pastures, pro- 

 ducing an early and sweet feed exceedingly relished 

 by cattle. It does not resist the drought very well, 

 but b<-comes parched up in our pastures." It is 

 called an annual, but comes up as you say in the fall 

 from seed, ripens its seeds the ensuing summer and dies. 

 No. 2, the common Rush -grass (Juncus tenuis, L.), \cry 

 well characterized as "Wire-grass," ami of little prac- 

 tical value. No. :i is called Cleavers, or Goose-grass, 

 (Galium aparine, L.) though not properly a grass, but a 

 plant ot the .^ladder family (liuhiacecc). No. 4 is the 

 omnipresent Knot-.grass, or tioose-grass (Polygonum 

 ariatlare, L.), which everywhere takes possession of 

 door-yards and paths, and thrives uniler the roughest 

 treatment. 



Geo. L. r,odlcy. Battle Creek, i/«'c/t.— The leaves you 

 send are those of the Red JIulherry (Mortis rubra, h.) 

 On mature trees the leaves arc seldom lobcd. being 

 ovate heart-shaped . 



Chas. E. Billen, Ph!ludclphia.— iii>. 12, tin- cullivaled 

 Poet's Narcissus (Narcitsus poetieuK). No. II, Scdum 

 ternutum, or Three-leaved Stone-crop, growing wild in 

 rocky woods, also occasionally lound in gardens, and 

 often erroneously called a JIoss. No. l.'i, Vihuinum 

 jiiim-ifolium, or HIai'k Haw, a large and handsome shrub 

 or small tree. No. U, Winter Cress (Barharea vuhjaiis, 

 L.) No. 1.'), Daisy Eleabane (Eriyeron hellidifuliam, 

 Muhl.) No. 1(1, Wild Geranium (Geranium maculaium, 

 Linn.) 



/. L. Townsend, Marshall, Mo., u.sks for information 

 on the following subjects ; 1st, Time to commence study- 

 ing botany, whether summer or winter. 2nd, Hooks 

 needed, their price, and where they can be purchased. 

 3rd, Magnifying gla.ss, the size, number of lenses, 

 where to bo obtained, and price. 4th, Microscope for 

 that class of students who wish to pay attention to the 

 Cryptogamia, kind, price, and where obtained, ."itli. 

 Collecting box, size, material and cost. Gtli, White 

 printing paper, cost, whether best purchasid of printers 

 or deilera. 7th, Hints on preserving ripened capsules 

 and seeds, so that tin: pressure will not scatter them. 

 Slh, How to get the llowers and fruit from high trees. 

 !)th, Hooks for the special students, and works dc.scrib- 

 ing the medicinal plants for those who would be inter- 



