May  9,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
393 
close  inter-relations  of  all  three  forms  with  each  other,  and  of  the 
many  divergences  which  each  ot  the  forms  presents.  Taken  as  a 
whole,  the  story  of  these  Cedars  is  a  beautiful  illustration  of  an 
ancient  species  in  a  state  of  evolution. 
(To  be  concluded.) 
- « - - 
Missouri  Botanical  Garden. 
Where  in  the  wide  world  is  there  greater  scope  and  possibilities  for 
an  unexcelled  botanical  garden  than  exists  at  St.  Louis  in  Missouri, 
one  of  the  largest  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  situated  at  the 
junction  of  those  two  mighty  rivers,  the  Mississippi  and  the  Missouri  p 
We  are  glad  to  find  that  the  beginning  of  what  may  ultimately  develop 
to  be  a  great  botanical  centre,  sending  forth  its  lamp  of  light  and 
of  exchange,  5272  herbarium  specimens  were  distributed  to  corre¬ 
spondents.”  A  general  catalogue  of  the  library  is  kept  abreast  with 
the  constantly  increasing  additions  made  to  the  bookshelves.  The 
trustees  are  able,  after  all  expenses  were  paid,  to  carry  forward  a 
surplus  of  over  15,000  dollars. 
The  rest  of  this  interesting  report  includes  scientific  papers,  on  “  A 
Disease  of  Taxodium  distichum,”  with  ooloured  plates,  &o.,  “  A  Revision 
of  the  American  Species  of  Euphorbia,”  with  fifty-two  species  illustrated, 
and  notes  on  species  of  Agaves.  Our  figure  of  Agave  attenuata  is 
from  a  photograph  of  a  specimen  in  this  Missouri  garden.  The  specimen 
as  seen  in  the  illustration  began  to  send  up  its  spike  about  November  1st, 
1898.  On  November  5th  the  spike  measured  2  feet  4  inches  • 
November  10th,  3  feet  4  inches  ;  November  16th,  4  feet  4  inches ; 
November  19th,  5  feet ;  November  28th,  5  feet  6  inches  ;  and  finally 
it  reached  6  feet  (?).  It  began  to  flower  on  December  9th,  and 
continued  till  January,  1899.  The  plant  in  most  respects  corresponds 
closely  with  those  specimens  which  have  flowered  in  Europe,  although 
none  have  been  described  as  having  so  many  flowers  in  a  cluster _ that 
ALOCASIA  ODORA  IN  MISSOURI  BOTANICAL  GARDEN. 
learning,  has  been  instituted  at  St.  Louis,  in  the  State  named.  Some 
time  ago  the  eleventh  annual  report  reached  us,  and  from  it  we  gather 
that  new  buildings  and  new  land  are  beiner  constantly  added  to  the 
embracement  of  the  garden.  A  board  of  trustees  manage  the  working 
of  it,  Mr.  R.  J.  Lackland  being  'president,  and  he,  together  with  the 
secretary,  have  drawn  up  the  report,  to  which  we  now  refer. 
Considerable  additions  were  made  during  1900  to  the  plants 
cultivated  in  the  several  departments  of  the  institution,  the  total 
number  of  species  and  varieties  in  cultivation  now  being  9127,  of 
which  5875  are  annuals  or  hardy  perennials,  and  3252  receive  the 
protection  of  plant  houses  during  the  winter.  The  plants  added 
during  the  year  represented  227  entries.  The  number  of  visitors  the 
garden  receives  during  the  oycle  of  the  seasons  is  not  great  when  we 
compare  this  Missouri  Botanical  Garden  with  some  of  ours  at  home 
here.  In  midsummer  1898  a  definite  count  showed  that  89,102  persons 
visited  the  grounds  during  that  year.  The  most  on  any  one  day  was 
8837,  when  an  “  open  Sunday  ”  was  announced.  The  herbarium 
seems  to  increase  hugely,  for  “  the  material  actually  incorporated 
during  the  year  (1900)  amounted  to  32,890  sheets  of  specimens.  Of  this 
amount  15,863  were  bought,  4930  pertain  to  the  Redfield  herbarium, 
1451  were  collected  by  garden  employes,  and  10,646  were  presented 
chiefly  in  exchange  for  garden  publications  and  specimens.  By  way 
is,  six  to  eight.  The  illustration  on  this  page  shows  a  bed  of  Alooasias 
in  the  grounds. 
The  report  extends  to  over  150  pages,  exclusive  of  illustrations ; 
and  is  printed  in  bold,  clear  type,  on  the  best  quality  paper,  and  is 
bound  in  strong  dark  green  covers.  It  is  altogether  a  highly  creditable 
report,  and  of  much  value. 
IVIay-month  and  Sunshine  In  London. — London  folks  rejoice  in 
the  fact  that  May  is  usually  their  most  suushiny  month,  the  average 
attaining  to  183  hours,  exceeding  Edinburgh’s  mean  by  eighteen  hours, 
and  that  of  Glasgow  by  twenty-four.  Still  Londoners,  according  to  the 
“  Westminster  Gazette,”  have  to  acknowledge  the  superiority  of  more 
southern  stations — such  as  Brighton,  with  an  average  of  216  hours; 
Hastings,  with  238;  and  Guernsey,  with  265  hours.  The  rainfall  is 
usually  about  an  inch  and  three-quarters,  though  last  year  it  reached 
only  half  that  amount.  The  average  London  minimum  for  night 
temperatures  is  45°,  and  the  mean  day  maximum  63° ;  last  year, 
however,  the  thermometer  fell  to  37°,  and  in  1892  to  29°,  whilst  in  1880 
a  reading  of  86°  was  recorded.  A  cold  spell  often  occurs  towards  the 
middle  of  the  month,  at  times  accompanied  by  frost. 
