NOTE AND COMMENT. 



Wanted. — Short notes of interest to the general botanist 

 are always in demand for this department. Onr readers are in- 

 vited to make this the place of publication for their botanical 

 items. 



Use for Prickly Lettuce. — In sections where the prickly 

 lettuce (Lactuca scariola) is becoming a nuisance, it may be wel- 

 come news that this plant is greedily eaten by poultry. 



The Current Number. — "Swindled again," said the old 

 gentleman as he threw his paper down. "They advertised to send 

 the current number for 25 cents and there ain't a word about cur- 

 rants in it." 



The Shamrock. — A recent number of Leslies Weekly 

 alludes to the shamrock as " the little green blossom dear to the 

 heart of Ireland's sons and daughters." Evidently the editor is 

 neither an Irishman nor a botanist. 



The Amiable (?) Science. — In view of the many differ- 

 ences that exist between the leaders of botany at present, it would 

 seem that the individual who called botany " the amiable sci- 

 ence " must have overlooked a most important prefix. 



Lithospermum Pieosum. — This beautiful plant inhabits 

 the Alpine crags and peaks of the Sierra Nevada summits. It 

 lias singularly beautiful gray white foliage and grows flattened 

 and depressed, no doubt caused by winter snows. Viewing this 

 plant from a short distance it looks like a pile of ashes. It would 

 make one of the greatest novelties out for scenic effect in land- 

 scape gardening. — S. L. Watkins, Grizzly flats, California. 



Date Palm Sugar. — The common date palm (Phoenix 

 - duel yl if era) is found growing wild in nearly all parts of India. 

 In Bengal the tree is utilized economically for the manufacture of 

 sugar from its juice, and is a source of profit to the owners. This 



