Two interesting and somewhat amusing notes concerning America appear in a late number of a French horticultural journal (L'Illustration Horiicole). The one speaks of the mystic nymphssa of the Nile, with leaves pubescent beneath, and flesh-white blossoms, as being found in great abundance in the marshes southwest of Chicago! It also states that it has been proved beyond a doubt, that more than two centuries ago the aborigines of America ate the root of this lotus, roasted in ashes. As it was first mentioned by a Frenchman who visited this region in 1671, a trifle more than two centuries ago, no doubt the information has descended in direct French line to the present time.

The other note refers to our struggle for a national flower, and may be translated as follows : "After political flowers, such as the royalist fleur-de-lis and the imperial violet, come the national flowers. The chrysanthemum, the symbolic flower of Japan, gives Americans no rest. The United States is even now seeking a national flower. Some propose the hawthorn, which would be very charming; others dream of the laurel, which would perhaps be a trifle arrogant for republicans ; while others - and they are, we are assured, the most numerous - give preference to the cytise." "Cy-tise" is the French for "false ebony," or American ebony, as it is sometimes called. It is more commonly known as laburnum, and is also called "golden chain."It looks as if our friends were getting tangled up between the "golden chain" and the "golden rod." - C. S. Valentine.