264r 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
necessary to have soil that is light, and which 
contains a large share of vegetable matter- 
such as is known as woods-earth or leaf-mold. 
It sometimes happens that a florist will furnish 
a supply of soil of this kind for a moderate 
sum, or arrangement can be made with some 
of leaves besides. The stem is terminated by 
usually two umbels of flowers, which have the 
structure peculiar to the genus. But few plants 
present such a striking departure from the or- 
dinary form of the flower as do those of the 
Milkweeds. Wonderfully curious is the ar- 
are derived from Latin and Greek, could be 
perplexed as every druggist is almost daily by 
the indefiniteness of common names, tbey 
would gladly adopt the definite botauical ones. 
To distinguish the Yellow-root in question 
from the others Dr. Gray very properly gave it 
&■ J*k-£ dot . 
foub-leaved milkweed. — (Asdepias quadrifolia.) 
shrub yellow-koot. — (ZanlJiorhiza apiifolia.) 
market gardener to bring in a barrel of the de- 
sired material. One who is really in earnest 
can procure it without great difficulty. We 
would advise those who collect ferns by all 
means to learn their name. We have seen a 
large collection, the result of several years' 
labor by a lady, who did not know the name 
of a single one of her ferns, and we could not 
help thinking how much more she would have 
enjoyed her pets could she call them by name. 
In Gray's Manual the ferns of the Northern 
States are carefully described by Prof. D. C. 
Eaton, and as one specimen r.f each genus is so 
illustrated by engravings that its characteristic 
parts are distinctly shown, almost any intelli- 
gent person can with a little study make out 
the names of the species he finds. 
The Four-leaved Milkweed. 
(A&depias quadrifolia.) 
One or more species of Milkweed is to be 
found in almost every lo l, .lity, but the com- 
moner ones which grow along roadsides and in 
fence-rows have generally..,!! coarse, weedy look. 
Not so the little four-leaved species of the 
woods, which is as delicate as the others are 
coarse. This has a slender stem, one to two 
feet high, upon which are one or two whorls 
of four leaves together, and one or two pairs 
rangement of the stamens, from which the 
pollen can only be removed by the help of in- 
sects, and singularly beautiful is the crown of 
cups attached to the stamens, each cup or hood 
looking like a minute, tinted shell, within which 
is a slender curved horn ; this crown is often 
the most conspicuous part of the flower. In the 
present species the hoods are nearly white, 
delicately tinted with purple at the base. The 
flower appears in June, and has a most pleasing 
fragrance. We do not remember to have seen 
the Four-leaved Milkweed in cultivation ; but 
it is worthy of trial by growers of native plants. 
~— ■ 0m r-^ 
The Shrub Yellow-root. 
It is the misfortune of common names as ap- 
plied to plants that they are very apt to be used 
loosely. Sometimes the same name is given to 
widely different plants, and again a plant will 
have several common names, and the greatest 
confusion prevails among the common names 
of our native plants. There are five kinds of 
" Rattlesnake Root," three things called Check- 
erberry, while the plants known as "Snake- 
root " number a dozen or more, henct it should 
not surprise us to find three or four distinct 
plants called in diflerent localities "Yellow- 
root." If those persons who hold in contempt 
botanical names of plants simply because they 
the name of Shrub Yellow-root, and as the 
others bearing this name are herbs this simpli- 
fies matters greatly. The botanical name, 
ZanthorMza, is the rendering of Yellow-root 
into Greek, and its specific name, apiifolia, 
means parsley-leaved, as the foliage is cut up 
something after the style of that of " single " 
parsley. It belongs to the Ranunculus Family, 
and is interesting as being one of the few mem- 
bers of that large and important family that 
are shrubs. The plant has long, deep, yellow 
roots, from which arise several steins, sometimes 
as high as three feet, but more commonly from 
one to two. The stems have large terminal 
buds, from which in spring appear the many- 
divided leaves and the drooping racemes of 
small, brownish purple flowers. The general 
habit of the plant is given in the engraving. 
The plant is found in Western New York, 
Pennsylvania, and southward along the moun- 
tains. Both root and stem have a very yellow 
and bitter bark, which was found in use by the 
aborigines as a dye, which takes readily upon 
wool and silk. Some years ago it attracted at- 
tention as a medicinal plant, but its properties 
are only those of a simple bitter, and it is not in 
this respect superior to other and more com- 
mon tonics or vegetable bitters, which are 
much alike in their effects. The coloring 
matter is similar to that of the barberry. 
