appropriate. Most of the varieties in the Garden collection were 
derived originally from American stock; a few, however, came 
from a European and Asiatic species, Aster Amellus. 
Our native asters, lavishly displayed all about us at this 
season in woods and fields, deserve more attention from local 
plant lovers. Their cultivation is easy, and they improve greatly 
under domestication. If it is desired to multiply some particular 
variety, propagation is readily affected by division of well grown 
rootstocks or even by cuttings, for in this case it is unsafe to 
trust to seed. 
The much cultivated China aster, which is an annual plant, 
raised from seed each spring, is not a true aster at all ; yet many 
people have this in mind when speaking of asters. It is a form of 
Callistephus hortensis , a native of China, and, like the Chrysanthe- 
mum, has proved to be capable of remarkable variations. The 
true asters belong to the genus Aster, and are for the most part 
perennial, their rootstocks remaining alive underground through 
the winter from year to year. 
Arthur H. Graves. 
DOCENTRY 
Throughout May and June, and September and October, for 
the assistance of visitors in studying the collections, a docent will 
leave the front door of the laboratory building every Monday, 
Wednesday, and Friday (weather permitting) at 3 p.m., as per the 
Fall Schedule 
( Japanese Garden 
t Wild Flower Garden 
( Rock Garden 
( Conservatories 
j Herbaceous and Shrub Garden 
( Ecological Garden 
The service is free to members of the Botanic Garden : for 
others there is a nominal charge of 10 cents a person. No trips 
will be taken for parties of less than six adults. 
following schedules: 
Monday 
Wednesday 
Friday 
The Leaflets are published weekly or biweekly from April to June, and 
September to October, inclusive, by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn. N. Y. 
Telephone: 6173 Prospect. Mail address: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn. 
N. Y. 
