THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 77 



Rose Jam and Jelly. — Roses are grown by the acre 

 in Bulgaria for the purpose aHke of making rose jam, 

 rose dessert jelly and the famous perfume, attar of roses. — 

 Gardening World. 



Plants Wanted. — Although the ironweed (Vernonia 

 noveboracensis) is one of the commonest of plants in the 

 greater part of eastern America, not a specimen has been 

 found in the Susquehanna Valley in southern New York. 

 The editor of this journal has tried to raise it from seed 

 without success, and would be glad to get small living 

 plants for trial. Among other plants desired for his wild 

 garden are pleurisy root {Asclepias tuberosa), marsh mal- 

 low and species of Liatris. He will be glad to exchange 

 plants of his own region for those here mentioned. 



Plants Used for Flavoring. — Members of the Gray 

 Botanical Chapter have recently been noting the use of 

 unusual plants for flavors in culinary matters. Geranium 

 leaves are sometimes boiled with the sugar to flavor crab- 

 apple jelly, sassafras leaves are used in winter soup, and 

 sassafras bark has been used to flavor apple sauce. In 

 the south the young tips of the sassafras are used to 

 flavor the dish known as gumbo. To this we add that 

 sassafras tea made from the bark of the roots is still 

 greatly valued as a blood purifier, and used in many fam- 

 ilies every spring. 



The Holidays and Plant Destruction.— The cus- 

 tom of decorating our homes and churches during the 

 Christmas holidays is responsible for a vast amount of 

 plant destruction, and as this custom seems to be spread- 

 ing to other holidays, those interested in plant protection 

 may well turn their attention to it. Just before Easter 

 the florists journals were full of advertisements of various 

 wildings for sale, the principal plants and their prices 

 given as follows, Galax leaves, 75 cents per 1000 ; Leu- 

 cothoe sprays, $1. per 100; southern wild smilax, $4. per 

 case ; laurel festooning, 4 cents per yard ; pine festooning, 

 4 cents per yard; princes pine [LycopodiumF'\, $5. per 

 100 pounds. 



