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THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



other varieties being very bitter so that they have to be boiled 

 with several changes of water to make them palatable. The 

 white quinoa, according to this writer, makes an excellent 

 breakfast food fairly comparable with oatmeal both as to taste 

 and texture. The second pigweed is called canihua and is 

 used exclusively for food. The seeds are much smaller than 

 those of quinoa and of a grayish color. They are slightly 

 parched and then ground into a fine flour. The chief use of 

 canihua is as a travel ration for the shepherds. — Ed.] 



Duration of Life in Rudbeckia. — If you leave it to 

 the books, the black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) is a biennial; 

 that is, it devotes the first summer of its existence to accumu- 

 lating sufficient food materials for the formation of flowers 

 and seeds and, after these have been produced, the second 

 summer it dies. But the plants themselves, do not view the 

 matter in this light. They are really perennials. In the 

 editor's garden there are plants of this species that have been 

 there five or six years and show no signs of giving" up the 

 struggle. The fact is, that if the Rudbcckias are left unpro- 

 tected during the winter, some oi them may fail to resume 

 growth in the spring, but this may happen to any plant if the 

 winter is one of alternating cold and warmth with the conse- 

 quent heaving of the ground, by frost. The plants are not 

 killed by mere cold, however. On the other hand it is not 

 unusual to find in a bed of seedlings many plants that are 

 ready to flower two months from the time they appeared above 

 ground. Possibly all the plants would flower the first year 

 if given an equal start in spring. It is possible, however, that 

 there is both an annual and perennial strain in this species 

 similar to that well known in its relatives the gaillardias, which 

 might be developed by breeding. 



Decorative Galiums. — By many lovers of flow^ers, the 

 species of Galium are regarded as insignificant weeds and the 

 opinion can not be challenged if the goose-grass or cleavers 



