THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
115 
Chrysanthemum Smoking. — The chrysanthemum 
now has something else to do besides look pretty. Accord- 
ing to The Gardening World the petals have been recently 
recommended as a harmless substitute for smoking- 
tobacco. A medical journal goes still further and asserts 
that the smoking of chrysanthemum petals is very bene- 
hcial in dyspepsia and cites a case in which an epileptic 
patient has been nearly cured by this treatment. This 
news ought to strengthen the chrysanthemum market. A 
flower that may be worn till it wilts and still be worth 
the original price as smoking material is indeed unique. 
Correlation of Color.— We commonly think of the 
color of flowers, only, but the color of stems, leaves, fruits 
and seeds are usually so closely correlated with that of the 
flower that one may usually select the plants that will 
bear pale or deeply colored flowers from a batch of seed- 
lings as soon as they begin to grow ; indeed, they may 
often be selected before the seeds are sown. In bulbous 
plants the bulbs with colored scales will produce the 
flowers of deepest color. By keeping this in mind when 
setting out plants that bear flowers of more than one 
color, such as phlox, one may avoid getting all the flowers 
of the same color together. 
The Markings of Flowers. — In a letter to the 
editor, Mr. John H. Lovell observes that actinomorphic, 
or regular flowers, are rarely lined or spotted. The 
regular flowers are visited by a great variety of insects 
and apparently can dispense w4th honey-guides. The 
zygomorphic or irregular flowers are patronized b3^ fewer 
instfcts and these are nearly always directed to the nectar 
b}^ lines or spots or both. Some regular flowers, however, 
are lined and Mr. Lovell instances the wood sorrel ( Oxa /is 
acetosella) and various members of the saxifrage family. 
An additional instance can be cited in the spring beauty. 
Green flowers are generally without markings but the 
white hellebore ( Vera t run viride) is marked if our remem- 
brance of the flowers is correct. Who can supply other 
instances ? 
