THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 115 
yields only from five to se 
\-en p;)u 
. As 
may be 
supposed from the siz- an 
d locat 
ion of the 
s, thev 
but are 
rubbed fro 
m the 
l^ushes 
into a pan suspended fro 
;n the] 
neck of the 
picker. The 
wax is removed thro\'\ 
.•ing the berries int 
o hot 
It is clear hard wax with 
ish tint and whei 
ti made 
into candles gives out a 
nee that s 
of the 
crushed ba\^-berry leaves. 
DeTdei 
■s call the 
mvrtle 
Origin OF THE Name, MeadoWvSweet. — It we are to be- 
lieve the investigators into the history of plants, filename 
of meadowsweet, applied to certain species of Spiraea 
has no connection with meadows. An English plant 
with fragrant leaves was once used to flavor a drink called 
mead and hence was literally the mead-sweetener or 
Plants a.nd Temperature.— In regions where buck- 
wheat is grown the seeds are usually planted late in the 
year and the crop gathered just before frost. Not infre- 
tjuenth- the frost may catch some fields l)efore the crops 
are fully ripe and the way in which it appears to select 
the fields seems past the comprehension of the ordinary 
individual. Down in the valley where one would think it 
should be warmest the plants are often killed, while fields 
<m the hillsides escape unharmed. There is a reason for 
this, however. It has been found that the cold air is likely 
to settle down in the valley, while the warm airthat filled 
it by da^- rises along the hillsides and keeps the frost 
away from the vegetation there. These facts have an im- 
portant bearing on the distribution of plants and it has 
been shown that the northernmost representatives of 
southern species are likely to be found on hillsides while 
northern plants extending southward are likeliest to be 
found in valleys. This is just the reverse of what one 
would naturally expect and seems due to the inversions ot 
temperature with which the growers of buckwheat are 
familiar. 
