IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
//
.^/
^ A
k
..V
fe
^
^
1.0
1.1
til2A |25
lit 1^
Sf m
IL25 M 1.4
M
mi
1.6
y
f.
v^
7.
^>V
■^
Photugraphic
Sciences
Corporation
V
^
V
•17
\
;\
23 WIST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80
(716) 872-4503
h.
Vf>
<\\^\
'^
CIHM/ICMH
Microfiche
Series.
CIHM/iCIVIH
Collection de
microfiches.
Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques
\
\
T«chnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notas taehniquaa at bibiiograpliiquaa
Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat
original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of this
copy which may ba bibllographically unlqua,
which may altar any of tha Imagaa in tha
raproduction, or which may aignificantly changa
tha usual mathod of filming, ara chackad baiow.
n
u/
n
n
D
Coiourad covars/
Couvartura da coulaur
I I Covars damagad/
Couvartura andommagAa
Covars rastorad and/or laminatad/
Couvartura rastaurAa at/ou pailiculAa
Cover title missing/
Le titre de couverture manque
|~~| Coloured maps/
Cartes giographiquas en couleur
Coloured inic (i.e. other than blue or blacit)/
Encra de couleur (i.e. autre que bieue ou noire)
r~71 Coloured plates and/or illustrations/
Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur
Bound with other material/
ReliA avec d'autres documents
Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion
along interior margin/
La raliure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la
distortion le long de la marge intA; ieure
Blanit leaves added during restoration may
appear within the text. Whenever possible, these
have been omitted from filming/
II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutAes
lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans la texte,
mais, lorsque cela Atait possible, ces pages n'ont
pas *t4 fllmAes.
Additional comments:/
Commentaires suppl^imantaires;
L'Inatltut a mIcrofllmA la mailieur exempiaire
qu'll lul a At* possible de se procurer. Lee ditalla
da cet exempiaire qui aont paut-Atre unlquaa du
point da vue bibliographiqua. qui peuvent modifier
une image reprodulte, ou qui peuvent exiger une
modification dana la mithoda normala de fllmaga
aont indiquAa ci-daaaoua.
I I Coiourad pagea/
D
This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checited below/
Ce document est film6 au taux de reduction indiquA ci-dessous.
Pages de couleur
Pages damaged/
Pagea andommagAea
Pages restored and/oi
Pages restaurtea et/ou paUicul^aa
Pages discoloured, stained or foxen
Pagea dicolorias, tachatdea ou piquAes
Pages detached/
Pages dAtachtes
Showthrough/
Transparence
Quality of prir
Qualiti inigala de I'lmpreaaion
Includes supplementary matarii
Comprend du matirlai supplAmentaira
I — I Pages damaged/
[~n Pages restored and/or laminated/
n~| Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/
r~1 Pages detached/
1771 Showthrough/
I I Quality of print varies/
r~n Includes supplementary material/
Only edition available/
Seule Mition diaponible
Pages wholly or partially obacurad by errata
slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to
ensure the best possible image/
Lea pages totalament ou partiellement
obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, una pelure,
etc., ont M filmies A nouveau de fa^on A
obtenir la maiileure image possible.
10X
14X
18X
22X
26X
30X
A.
12X 16X 20X
24X 28X 32X
1
Thee
tothi
Theii
possi
of th<
fiimin
Origii
begin
the la
sion,
other
first
sion,
or iilu
The la
shall (
TINUi
which
Mapa,
differ<
entirel
beginr
right a
requin
metha
ilaira
M d«tailt
lqu«« du
nt modifier
Kigar une
J« fiimag*
The copy filmed hara haa baan raproducad thanka
to tha ganaroaity of:
Library of tha Public
Archives of Canada
The images appearing here are the best quslity
possible considering the condition and lagibility
of the original copy and in keeping with the
filming contract specifications.
Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed
beginning with the front cover end ending on
the last page with a printed or illustrated imprea-
sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All
other original copies are filmed beginning on the
first page with a printed or illustrated Impres-
sion, and ending on the last page with a printed
or illustrated Impression.
d/
:|utes
L'exemplaira f ilmA f ut reproduit grAce A la
ginArosit* da:
La bibiiothAqui.) das Archives
publiques du Canada
Las images suivantes ont tt6 reproduites avac le
plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition at
da la nettetA de rexempiaire filmA. et en
conformity avec les conditions du contrat de
filmage.
Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en
pepier est imprimAe sont filmAs en commenpant
par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la
derniAre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration. soit par le second
plat, salon ie cas. Tous les autres exemplaires
originaux sont fiimAs en commen^ant par la
premiAre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'iilustration et en terminant par
la darnlAre page qui comporte une telle
empreinte.
The last recorded frame on each microfiche
shall contain the symbol -^ (meaning "CON-
TINUED"), or the symbol Y (meaning "END"),
whichever applies.
Un dee symboles suivants apparaftra sur la
derniAre image da chaque microfiche, seion le
cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le
symbols V signifie "FIN".
aire
Maps, plates, charts, etc., mey be filmed at
different reduction ratios. Those too large to be
entirely included in one exposure are filmed
beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to
right and top to bottom, as many frames as
required. The following diagrams illustrate the
method:
Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre
filmte A des taux de reduction diff6rents.
Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre
reproduit en un seul clichA, il est film* A partir
de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite,
et de haut en has, en prenant le nombre
d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants
lllustrent la mAthode.
by errata
ned to
lent
une peiure.
faQon A
1 2 3
32X
1
6
<S*i^X«<*72e ^^^1^ <i^5X^l-A!L
*v\.\^)^^s^ Vfli\H\\H^ tft.^ %(iSTOH.
STUDIES
•OF
PLANT LIFE IN CANADA;
-OR —
Kleanings from Forest, Lake and Plaiij.
IIV —
< MRS C. P. TRAILL
LAKEFIELD, Ont.,
Author of '■'■Bachvoods of Canadtt," '■'■Caimdian Critsois," c>r. i5r^.
Illustrated with 3hromo-Llthograph« from Drawing! by
Mrt. OHAMBERLIN, Ottawa.
OTTAWA :
A. S. WOODHURX, PRINTER AND Pl'IlLISIIER, KI.GIN ST.
1885.
QIC
n
Entered according to the Act <if I'arlianicnt of ( anada, in the ytar 1885, by
C. r. Traii I, and Ai;NKS I). (.HAMnKRt.iN, in ihi- Office <>f Ihc Miniitcr
of Agriculture.
car 1885, by
the Miniiter
V K \i V \ r \i .
I'liis liltic work on the Imwi us and Naiivi. I'i \m> ol Weslcrn
Canada is ofTcrcd to the Canadian public with the hope that it may
prove a nv.'ans of awakening a lo\e for the natural produ< tions of the
country, and a desire to aajuire more knowledge of its resources. It is
not a hook for tlie learned. The aim of the writer is siin|)ly U) show
the real pleasure that may he (jblained from a h;il>il of ohservin^ wliat
is offered to the eye of the traveller, whether Uy the wayside I'ath,
among the trees of the forest, in the t'lelds, or on the shores of lake
and river. I^ven to know the common name of a llower or fern is
something added to our stock of knowledge, and in( lines us to wish to
know something beyond the mere name. (Curiosity is awakened, and
from this first step we go on to seek for higher knowledge, which may
be found in works <jf a class far al)o\e what the writer of the present
book can aspire to oiler to the reader. 'I'he writer has adopted a
familiar style in her descrii)tions of the plants, thinking it might jirove
more u.seful and interesting to the general reader, espe< ially to the
young, and thus find a place on the l)ook-shelves of many who would
only regard it for the sake of its being a jjretty, attractive volume, on
account of the illustrations. These, indeed, are contributed by the
pencil of a gifted and accomplished lady, Mrs. .\(;ni> ('hamisi ki in, a
beloved relative, to whose artistic taste and talents the authoress is
greatly indebted. She is conscious that many imperfections will be
found in this volume, the contents of wliich have been written at
intervals during a long series of years, many of which were marked by
trials, such as fell to the lot of the early colonist and backwoods settlers,
and others of a more afflicting nature, which recjuired patience and faith
. to bear, and to say " Thy Will be done, O Lord.'"
4
1
H
Phi: I- Act..
There is a < uininon little weed that is known Ity tlu- fanuliur nnnie
of (larpelwecd, a snull I'oly^onuni, that grow> at our doois and often
troiibleii us to root up, frouj its persevering habits and wiry roots. It is
rru^hed by the toot and bruised, but springs again as if unharmed
beneath our tread, and flourishes under all <ir< umstanre'., however
adverse. This little |)lant had lessons to teach me, and gave courage
when trials pressed hard upon me. The simplest weed may thus give
strength if wc use the lesson rightly, and look up to Him who has
|M)intc(l us to that love which has so clothed the grass of the field and
lared for the preservation of even the lowliest of the herbs and weeds.
Will He not also care ft)r the creature made in His own image ? Such
are the teachings which Clhrist gave when on earth. Such teachings
are slill taught by the flowers of the field.
Mothers of (!anada, teach your < hildren to know and love the wild
flosvers springing in their path, to love the soil in which (lod's hand has
planted them, and in all their after wanderings through the world their
hearts will turn back with loving reverence to the land of their birth :
to that dear country, endeared to thern by the remembrance of the wild
flowers which they plucked in the happy days of childh(Jod.
As civilization extends through the Dominion, and the cultivati(jn
of the tracts of forest land and prairie, destroys the native trees and the
plants that arc sheltered by them, many of our beautiful wild flowers,
shrubs and ferns will, in the course of time, disap|)ear from the face of
the earth, and be forgotten, it seemed a pity that no record of their
beauties and uses should be preserved ; and as there is no national
botanical garden in Canada, where collections of the most remarkable
of our native plants might be cultivated and rescued from oblivion,
any addition to the nataral history of the country that supplies this
want is therefore not without its value to the literature and advancement
of the country, and it is hoi)ed that it may prove valuable to the
incoming immigrant who makes Canada an abiding home.
Mrs. Traili, takes this opportunity of acknowledging the kind and
invaluable ass' stance which she has rt.ived from her friend, Mr. Ja.mics
Fi.KTCHHR, of the Dominion Library, and the encouragement to her
+
iiniliar name
iiH and often
roots. It is
f unharmed
e'., however
iave coiiraj^e
lay tliiis give
im wlio has
the field and
s and weeds,
lage ? Such
ill tca<:hings
love the wild
d'.s hand has
L* world their
their birth :
e of the wild
<:ultivaiion
rees and the
ild ilowers,
the face of
nd of their
no ncUional
remarkable
m oblivion,
upplies this
dvancement
able to the
ie kind and
Mr. Jamks
nent to her
PA'KF.ICE,
III
labours by I'rofessor .M acdi'n's opinion of the usefulness of I'.er work on
the vogctable productions of the country. She has also to acknowledge
the lK:ncrit derived from the pamphlet on the "Canadian I'oresl trees,'
by iier respected friend, Dr. HuKi.m ki. Mr. I'ikkmik, with that /eal
for his favorite study which has alreatly won for him so iiigh a place
among the naturalists of Canada, and that kindness which shrinks from
no trouble and has won him so many friends, ac« epted the drudgery of
revising the work and seeing it through the press.
The book is divided, for greater « onscniencc, into four parts : -
" The Wild, or Native I'lowcrs '' ; " I'lowering Shrubs " ; " Forest
Trees," and " Ferns."
The Wild, or Native Mowers and llowering Shrubs, are arranged,
as a general rule, in the order in which they appear in tiie woods ; but it
has been thought that by grouping them somewhat in families, esjjecially
where only a short mention is made of some spe<:ies, it would be easier
to refer to them, than if this order were strictly adhered to.
C. \\ ']'.
n
CONTENTS
Wii.i), OR Nat^vk I'lowers.
V 1016(8 ••■• •«•• •••# ■••• ••••
Engl ish V iolet — Viola odorafa ....
Early White Violet — Viola blanda
Pencilled Violet — Viola renij'olia
Hoodctl Violet — Viola cucnllata ....
Arrow-leaved Violet — Viola nayittata .... ....
Branching White Wood Violet — Viola Canalcnsis
Long Spurred Violet — Viola rostrata .... ...
Dog Violet — Viola canina var. si/lcestris ....
Downy Yellow V iolet — Viola pubescens
Smooth-podded Yellow Violet — V. pubescens var. scabriusciila
Liver- Leaf, Wind Flower — Hepatica acutilcba .... ....
Snow Flower — Hepatica triloba .... ....
Blood Root — Sangiiinaria Canadensis, Plate I . .
Tall Buttercup — Ranunculus acris
Early Crowfoot — Ranunculus J asdctt I a lis.
Creeping Spear-wort — Ranunculus reptans. . . .
White Water Crowfoot — Ranunculus aquaiilis ..
Yellow Water Crowfoot — Ranunculus multifidus
Marsh Marigold — Caltha palustris. Plate IV ..
Mitre-wort — Mitella diphylla .... ....
Lesser Mitre-wort — Mitella nuda . . .... ....
False Mitre-wort, Wood Mignonette — Tiarella cordi folia
Wood Betony — Pediculans Canadensis .... ....
Flowering Winter-green — Polygala jniuciJoUa. Plate III
Celandine, King-Cups
American Snake-Root — Polygala Senega .... ....
Slendor Purple Milkwort — Polygala polygama ....
Wood Anemone — Anemone nemorosa.
Anemone dichotoma .... .... .... ,
Thimble Weed — Anemone cylindrica . . .... ....
Tall Anemone — Anemone Virginiana .... ....
Pasque Flower — Anemone patens, var. Nultalliana . , . .
Golden Ijily of Palestine — Amaryllis lutea ....
Spring Beauties — Claytonia Virgiuica a. C. Caroliniana
Indian Turnip — Arisama trip hyll urn .... ....
Green Dragon — Ariscema Dracontium .... ....
Yams or Eddoes — Colocosia mucronatum . .
Spotted Arum — Ai'um maculatum .... .... ....
I'Alif.
5
6
6
6
7
7
7
8
8
8
8
10
10
11
12
12
12
12
12
13
1.3
13
14
14
14
16
16
16
17
17
17
18
18
19
19
20
20
21
21
II
cojvj'EJvrs.
Cassava — JaU'opha manihol .... ....
Scjiiirrel Corn — Dicenira Canadensis . .
Fly Flower — Dicentra Cucullaria. ....
Golden Fumitory — Corydalis atirea
Pale Coryilalis — Corydalis ijlnuca ....
Blue Cohosh — Caulop/it/lluiii thalictroides ...
Red Baneberry — Antcea spicala, var. rubra
White Coliosii — Ac.ta;a alba . . .... .... ....
Bell wort, Wood DatFodil — Uvularia (jraiuUflora. Plate II
Ucularia per/hliata. / 'cularia mesnili folia .... ....
Adder's-Tongue — Eri/t/ironiitm Americanum
White Flowered AilderV-Tonj^ue — Erythroniuiii albidum
White Trillium, Easter Fltnver — Trillium grnndijlorum .
Smiling Wake-Ilobin — Trillium cernuum .... ....
Lesser Snowy Trillium — Trillium nicale.. ....
Purple Trillium, Birtii-Root — Trillium erection
Painted Trillium — Trillium erythrocarpum. Plate III.
Rock Columbine — Aquilegia Canadensis ....
Painted Cup, Scarlet Cuji — Castilleia coccinea ....
Eye-bright, Clary. .. .... .... .... ....
Wild Ginger — Asarum Canudense .... ....
Showy Orchis — Orc/iis .ipectabilis ... .... ...
Lady's Slippers, Moccasin Flowers .... ....
Ram's-head Orchis — Cypripedium arietinum. Plate VII
Showy Lady '.s Sli|)per — Cypripedium specfabile
Golden-flowered LadyV Slipper — Cypripedium pubtscens
Lesser-flowered Liady's Slipper — Cyprijtedium parviflorum
Stemless Lady's Slipper — Cyjirijicdium aeaule
Wild Garliv . Wild Leek — Allium Iricoccum
Pldox dicaricaia,... .... .... ....
Gold Thread — Coptis irifolia ... .... .
Bunch Berry, Squaw Berry — Cornus Canadensis
Twisted Stalk — Slreptupus rosevs ....
False Solomon's Seal — Polygonahim biflorutn
May A\)\)]e—rodopli yllum peliaium ....
American Brooklime — i^eronica Americana ...
Scorpion Grass — Myoxotis pahtstris ....
Wood Geranium — Geranium maculatum ....
Herb Robert — Geranium Roberiianum . . . .
Smaller Crane's-bill — Geranium pusillum ....
Chickweed Wintergreen — Trientalis Americana .
Liirge Blue Flag — Iris versicolor .... ....
Shin-Leaf, Sweet Wintergreet. — Pyrola ellipiica .
One-sided Pyrola — Pyrola secunda. ... ....
Round-leaved Pyrola — Pyrola roiundifolia
Pyrola chloranl/ia.. . .... .... ....
One-Flowered Pyrola — Monesesvnijlora. .. .
Paob
22
22
23
24
24
21
25
25
25
26
26
27
27
27
27
2S
29
29
.SO
.32
33
33
34
34
34
34
34
35
36
37
37
38
39
39
40
41
41
42
43
43
43
44
45
46
47
47
47
Paob
22
, 22
23
, 24
24
, 24
25
, 25
25
, 26
26
. 27
27
. 27
27
. 2S
29
. 29
30
. 32
33
. 33
34
. 34
34
. 34
34
. 35
36
. 37
37
. 38
39
. 39
40
. 41
41
. 42
43
. 43
43
. 44
45
.. 46
47
,. 47
47
1
V'^sB
C0JVr£A'7S.
Ill
1
Prince's Pine — Chimaphih umbdlata
Pai.k
.... 48
wt
Lupine— Lupinu.1 pereniisis. Plato IV
4H
w
Twin Flower — Linncca borealfs. Plate IX
.... 49
Round-leaved Sundew — Droserarotundi folia
52
Long-leaved Sundew — Drosera longifolia
.... 52
Wliite Peat Mos>8 — Sphagnumcymhifoliiim .... ..■■
52
Pitcher Plant — Sarracenia piwptma ....
.... 53
Nepenthes distillatoria . . .... .... .... .... ••••
55
Wild Orange lAXy—LiUum Philadelphicum
.... 55
White Lily — Liliiim candidum... .... .... ....
55
Harebell — Campanula rotund ifolia ,, . .... .... ....
.... 57
Campanula Americana .... .... ....
57
Rough-leaveil Bell-flower — Campanula aparinoides ... ....
.... 57
Yellow-flowered Wood Sorrel — Oxalii utricta
58
Wood Sorrel— Oxalisacetosella .... .... ....
.... 58
Cistus, Kock Uose — Ildiantfiemiim. Canadense .... .... ••••
58
Yellow Flax — Li niwi sulcatum
.... 5!)
Canadian Balsam, Jewel Weed — Impatiens /ulva
59
Pale Jewel Weed — Impatiens pallida ....
.... 59
RattleKnake Plantain — Goodijera pubescens .... ....
60
Slender l^adieM' Tresses — Spiranthes gracilis .... ....
.... 60
Sweet-scented Water Lily — Nymphiva odorata ....
60
Pink Water Li\y—Ngmphiea odorata var. rosea, Plate VI ...
.... 62
Great Yellow Water Lily — Xeliimbiiim Inteum ....
62
Eel Grass, Tape-grass — Vallisneria sj)irulis .... .... ....
... 62
Yellow Pond Lily — Nui)har adcena .... .... ....
63
Pickerel Weed— /'oH/et/e/'/a cocrfttto ... ....
.... 63
Water Persicaria — Polygonum ampliibiiim .... ....
64
Spikenard — A ralia racrmosa .... .... • • • ■
.... 64
• Wild Sarsajiarilla — Aralia nudicaulis. ... ....
(>r>
Ginseng — Aralia quinqiiefolia •• •
.... 65
Dwarf Ginseng — Aralia trifolia .... .... ...
6.".
Monkey Flower — Mimulus ringens .... .... .... ....
65
Miid-dog Skull Cap — Scutellaria la! erijlora ... ....
65
Common Skull Cap — Scutellaria galericulata ....
66
Marsh Vetchling — Ijathijru.-< pidustris ....
66
Latlnjnis pahistris var. mi/rlij'olius ... .... .... ....
.... 66
Indian Bean — Apios tiibero.ia .... ... ....
66
Butterfly Weed — Asclepias tiiberosa .... ....
.... 66
''w
Pink-riowered Milkweed — Axclepias cnrnuti .... ....
67
■^
W i 1 iow-herli — Epilobiuvi angn.stiJ'oUum .... ....
.... 68
'!^
livening Fiiinrose — Ihhiolhera biennis var. grandiflora. Plate IX
69
'»
iiough. Evening Primrose — (Enidhera biennis var. muricata
69
S
Dwarf Evening Priinro.se— ffi/io^Aera piimila
.... 69
V
Enchanters' Nightshade — Circiva aljiina
70
Wm
Spreading Dogbane — Apocynum a ndrosa-mi folium .... ....
.... 70
t
^^^m
Indian Hemp — Apocynum caniiabinum ...
71
1
ri
IV
CONTENTS.
Wliite Dwarf Convolvulus — Coiicolvulun spithamcpus. . . ....
VtrwB P'\nk—Cahpogon imlchellnn. Plate VII
Arethima bulboaa. Plate VI F
BM'»-foot Orchh—Cali/pso borealia. Plate VII
Small Round-leaved OrcluH—l'latanthera rotundifoUa. Plate V
Large Fringed Orchis— //a6cHana^wi6/jate
Northern Green-man Orchis — Habenaria viridin var. bracfenta..
G olden Dodder — Cunciita Oronovii ....
Everlasting Flowers
Early-flowering Everlasting — Antennaria dioiva ....
Barren Wild Strawberry — Waldaleiniafragarioides .
Edelweiss — Leontopodimn alpininn .... ....
Plantain-leaved Everlasting — Antennaria plantaginifolia
Neglected Everlasting — Gnaphalinm polycephtdum
Gummy Everlasting — Onaphalinm decwrenn
Pearly Everlasting -Antennaria margaritacea
Yellow Coltsfoot — Tussilago Farjara
Asters
Diplopappus umbellatun
Coneflower — Rudbeckia hiria
Purple-rayed Cone-flower — Echinacea jiurpurea
Spice Winter-green — Gaultheria procumbens ....
Rattlesnake Root — hlabahis albun
Rattlesnake Root - N. albus, var. Serpentaria ....
Lion's-foot — Nabalus aliissimns .... ....
Thorough- worts — Eupatorium
Honeset — Eupatoiium perf'olmtum ... ...
Trumpet-weed — Eupatorium purpnreuni . .
White Snake-root — Eupatorium ageraioides
Boneset — Euoatorium perfoliatum .... —
May- Weed — Maruta Cotnla
Wild Suntlower — Helianthus xtrigoKUH ... ....
Dandelion — Taraxacum Dens-leonis. .. ....
Purslane — Portulaca oleracea ■ . . . .... ....
Garden Portulaca — P. grandijiora . . .. ...
Wild Bergamot — Monarda fistulosa
Western Bergantot — M. fiHtuloxa, var. mollis
Head-all — Prunella vulgaris
Common Mullein — Verbascum Thapsns
False Fox Glove — Gerarditi quercifolia
Gerardia pedicularia .... .... .... ....
Gay-feather. Button Snake-root — Liatris cylindracea ...
Blazing Star — Liatris scariosa ....
Golden-rod — Solidaqo latifolia . . , . .... ....
Tall Golden-rod — Solidago gigantea . .
Strawberry Blite. Indian Strawberry — Blitu7n capitatum
Good King Henry — Blitum Bonus Henricus
Paiip,
72
73
73
73
73
74
74
75
7G
77
77
77
77
78
78
78
79
79
80
80
81
81
83
83
83
83
85
85
8C
8G
87
87
88
89
89
90
90
90
91
91
92
92
93
9.'?
93
93
95
CO^TTENTS.
V
I'A.IK
Lam b'f Quarters — ChetinjKidium album .. . .... ■..■ ••••
95
Turtle- iiead. Snake-liead — Chelone glabra ... .... ....
.. !»5
Cardinal Flower— Z«o6e/ia carJinaZ/.v — .... ... ....
9(;
Larger Blue Lobelia — Lubeli a syphilitica .... ....
.. 9(5
Spiked Lobelia — Lobelia spicala. .... .... .... ••••
9(i
Indian Tobacco — Lobelia inflata .... ....
.. 97
Indian Pipe — Mouotropa tini flora .... •••
97
Pine Sup— Uonotropa Hypopiti/s .... .... .... ....
.. 98
Gentian.i .... .... .... .... .... ■...
9H
Calailiian Violet — Geniiana Saponaria .... .... ....
. 98
Gerdiana Pnenmonan the ' .... . . • •
98
Closed Gentian — Gentiana Andrewsii .... ....
.. 100
Dwarf Fringed Gentian — Gentiana detnnsa .••■
99
Fringed Gentian — Geniiana crinita ... . .... .... ....
.. 100
Five Howered Gentian — Gentiana (juiuqiiefloru .... .... ....
100
Grasses .... .... ....
.. 102
Deer Grass — Sorghum nutans ... . .... ... .... ....
102
Deer Grass — Andropogon furcatus . . . . .... ....
.. 102
Wild Rice — Zizania aquatica — .... .... ....
10.3
Fox-tail — Setaria viridis .... .... .... .... ....
.. 104
Red-top — Agrostis vulgaris .... .... .... .... ....
104
Arrow Grass — Stipa spartea .... ....
.. 104
Indian Grass— J^teroc/i/oa ftoreaZw .... ....
105
The Flowkrinc. Shrubs ok Ckntrai, Canada.
Ijeatherwood, Moosewood — Dirca palustris .... .... ....
. 107
Fever Hush, Spice-Bush — Lindera Benzoin .... .... ....
108
Trailing Arbutus, May-tlower — Epigaarepens, .... ....
.- 108
Beaked Hazel-nut — Corylus rostrata .... .... .... ...
109
American Hazel-nut — Corylus Americana .... ... •• .
.. 109
Red-berrii'd Elder — Sambucus pubens .... .... .... ....
110
Black-berried Elder— Saw^Mci/.'* Canrtrfeusjs.... .... ....
.. 110
Twin-flowered HoneysucUlc — Lonicera ciliata .... .... ....
110
Small-flowered Honeysuckle — Lonicera parviflora .... ....
.. Ill
Hairy Yellow-flowered Honeysuckle — Lonicera hirsuta ....
112
False Honeysuckle — D ier villa tri fid i,, ,,,, .... ....
.. 112
Snow-berry — Symphoricarpus racemosus .... ....
112
Sweet- Fern — Comptonia aspleni folia ... .... .... ....
.. 11.3
Sweet Gale — Myrica Gale ... .... .... .... ....
11.3
New Jersey Tea, Red Root — Ceanothns Americanus .... ....
.. 114
Wild Smooth Gooseberry — Ribes oxyacanlhoides ....
115
Prickly Gooseberry — liibes Cynosbati. .... .... ....
.. 116
Small Swamp Gooseberry — Ribes lacustre .... ....
116
Trailing Hairy Currant — Ribes prostratum .... .... ....
. 116
Wid Black Currant— /?/6es ^ocii/H»»
117
Wild Red Currant — Ribes rubrum.. .. .... ....
. 117
VI
CONTENTS.
Slmil-bus>h — Amelanihitr Canadensis .... ....
J uiit'lierry — A. Canadensis var. nblomji folia ...
Slit'i'plit'rry — Anvlanchier .... .... ....
Dwarf Cliorry — Smid Clierry — I'riinns jminila.
Choke Clierry — I'rnnus Virginiana .... ....
Prickly Asli—Xa/i/Aoxy/Mm Ame.ricanum ....
C'rc('|)iii<: Siiow-berry — Chiogenes hiyjiidula ....
BliR'licrrit's — Hiicklcbprries .. .... ....
Dwarf Bluelierry — Vaccinium Pennsylcantc.nm ....
Canuda Bliiolierry — Vara in in in Canadense ....
Swamp Blueberry— Vaccinium corymhosnm
Frost Grapp — Vitis cordifolia .... ....
Fo\ {\T\i\>e~Vilis Lahnisca .... ....
Black Hawlliorn — Ch-atwgus loincntosa
Scarlt't-truited Thorn — Crafa'gus cocciiiea. ....
Engl'iHli White Thorn, Maj — Crata-(fiis oxijucantha ...
Snmii Cranberry — Vaccininni oxi/caccus ... ....
Willow-leaved Meadow-sweet — Sjdriea salici folia ...
English Meadow-sweet — Sspira;a Ulmavia.. . ....
Hard-back Rose-Coloured Spirtua — S/i/nra tomcnlosa .
Purple FIowerin;;-Ilaspberry — Rnhns odoratns ....
White Flowering-Uaspberry — linbus Nutkanus
Wild Red Ra.spberry — Rnhus sirigosns ■. .. ....
Black llafj)berry — Rubns occidenlnlis. ....
Blackberry — linbns rillosns .... .... . . ■ .
Swamp Blackberry — Rubus hispidns.. ....
Swamp-berry — Rubus ivi floras. .. .... ....
Eai-ly Wild Rose — Rosa blanda
Dwarf Willi Rose — Rosa lucida . . ....
tswamp Rose — Rosa Carolina .... ....
Sweet Briar — Rosa micruntha .... ...
Climbin<: Bitter-sweet, Wax-work — Ce'astrus Scandens.
Labratior Tea — Ledum latifoliuvi .... ....
Ledum palusire ... .... .... ....
W i Id Rosemary — A ndronieda poli folia .... ....
Silky Cornel. Kinnikinnik — Cornus sericea..
Panicled or Privet-leaved Cornel — Cornus /hi niculata
Flowering Dogwood — Cornus florida.. ....
Red-Osier Dogwood — Cornus stoloni/era. ..
Partridge-berry. Trailing Winter-green — Mitchella rcpens
High-bush Cranberry. American Guelder-ro.«e — Viburnum
Hobble-bush — Viburnum lantanoides ....
Maple-leaved Dockiiiackie — Viburnum acerif'olium
Larger Doekinackie — Viburnum deniatuin....
Sheep-berry. Sweet-berry -Viburnum Lcntago.. ..
Button-bush — Cephalanthtu occidentalis ....
Poison Sumac — R/ius venenata. .. ... ....
Vm.K
•••• ••••
117
• ■ • • • •
.. 117
• • • • • • • •
118
■ • • • • ■
.. 118
118
.... . .
.. 119
121
.. 121
■••■ ••••
121
• • • • • •
.. 121
•••• ••••
121
• • • • • •
.. 12 1
125
.. 127
128
• . * . . .
.. 128
.... ....
129
... . .
., 130
....
1.10
.... . a
.. 1.31
.... ....
131
. • • * . .
.. 132
132
....
.. 133
133
.... . .
.. 133
.... ....
133
.... . T
.. 1.3+
. . . . ....
134
.... . .
.. 1.14
. . . . . . 1
1.3.5
....
.. 1.35
• . . . ....
13(i
.... . .
.. 137
. . • t ....
137
.... . .
.. 137
. . . . ....
13S
.... • .
.. 138
. . . . ....
138
ens ....
.. 139
num Opvlus
139
.. 141
, . . ■ ....
141
.... . .
.. 141
.... ....
141
• • . . . .
.. 142
• . . • ....
142
tins
PA(ir.
117
, 117
118
, 118
118
, 119
121
121
121
, 121
121
. \2\
125
. 127
128
, 128
129
. 130
1:10
. 131
131
. 132
132
. 133
133
. 133
133
. 134
134
. 134
135
. 135
13(;
. 137
137
. 137
138
. 138
138
. 139
139
. 141
141
,. 141
141
,. 142
142
C0N7F.NTS.
Poison Ivy. Poi.-<on Oak. Poison KIder — Rhus Toxicodendron
Ciinibing Poison Ivy — R. Toxinodendrnn, var. radicana
Stag-horn Sumac— 7ZAm.« <y;j/i/»m.. ..
Smooth Dwarf Siunac — Rhus glabra .... •... .... ....
Dwarf Sumac— 7?Au« co/>«Ht/ia .... .... .... ....
Black Aliler, Winter-berry — Ilex verlicillalii ....
The British Holly .... ••■■ ...• •••.
Mountain Holly — Netnopanthes Canadensis .... .... ....
Forest Treks.
Canailian Pine, While Pine— P»»iMs jS7/Y(&hs
Wellingtonia gigantea... .... .... ■••• ...• ....
Red Pino — l^nvs reatnosa
Hemlock Spruce — Abies Canadensis
Polyporus pinicola
Canatlian Balsam Fir — Abies balsamea- . ..
Black or Double Spruce — Abies nigra
White Spruce, .'16{e.v a26a ••••, •••• •••■ •••• ••••
Tamarack, American Larch — Larix Americana .... ....
White Cedar, American Arbor Vittc — Thuja occidentalis
Grey Tree Moss — Usnea .i.. .... .... .... ....
Cypress — Cupressus thyoides .... .... .... .... ....
Common . I uniper — Juniperua communis .... .... ....
Red Cedar — Savin — Juniperus Virginiana
American Yew — Giound Hemlock — Taxus baccaia var. Canadensis
British Columbian Yew — Taxus brevifolia ....
European Yew — Taxus baccaia .... ....
White Oak — Quercus alba .... .... .... .... ....
Black Oak — Que) cus coccinea var. tincioria ....
Scarlet Oak — Querents coccinea .... .... ....
Red Oak — Quercus rubra.... ... ... .... ....
Mossy-cup or Over-cup Oak— Quercus macrocarpa .... ....
Black Scrub Oak .. ... .... ....
Grey Scrub Oak .... ...
Oak of Palestine ... .... .... .... .... ....
Wep^ing White Elm — Ulmus Americana .. .... .... . . . .
Slipptry or Red Elm — Ulmusjulva .... ....
Rock Elm — Ulmus racemoaa
Blue Beech, American Hornbeam — Cai'pinus Americana ....
Ironwood, Hop Hornbeam — Oatrya Virginica ....
American Beech — Fagua faruginea .... ....
The Birch .... .... .... .... .... .... ...
Paper or Canoe Birch — Betula papyracea
Yellow or Silver-barked Birch — Betula lutea
Black Birch, Cherry Birch— Betula lenta
American Mountain Ash, Rowan-tree — Pyrua Americana
VII
Paiik
142
144
, 144
14.>
, 145
145
. Uo
147
153
15G
160
161
102
162
163
163
164
166
168
170
172
172
174
174
174
174
176
176
177
177
177
177
ISO
180
181
182
183
184
, 184
186
, 187
189
, 189
19a
Wliilf Ash — h'riixhiUH Americana .... .... •... ••••
Black Aul) — FraxiiiHM Mamhiwif'olia
Ufil Ach — Fm.riini* jmhinrenx .... .... .... ....
Black Walnut— 7H7/rj/i.'< «/</n/
MwiivrxwW— J iiijlaitK rim rea
Bittcr-iml Hickory — Caiija amura
Wliilc Hickory, Slitll-liurk Eliiikory— Can/(» a/6a
Biittoinvooil, Aiiit'ricaii I'luiie or Sycamore — I'lutaiin.t Occident aUit
Oriental Plane
Ba.fs Wooil, Wliite Wooij — Tilia Ainerirnna ....
While \Voii\,TnV\\>'\'rei'—L'iii>'leiilroit Villi /lij era.. ■■ ■•••
.Sn};ar .Miiple, nan! Maple, Itick Maple — Acer .idccharinum
Black Miiple—.4c'r /i/r/////M
Ke.l Maple, Swamp Miiple — Acer nibriini
Suit Maple— Siher Muple — Acir ilaKi/rarpum
Mountain Maple— -Itvr .tpiruliini
Striped Maple — Arrr l^iin/ii/lruiiiciiin
Aslrleaveil Maple — Neijuiid'i ucn-niiles ... ....
Spice Wt>i)ii — SiiKsii/'i'is iilfiriiiiite ....
Speckled Aliler—.l//M(.< ///cMia
Poplars .... .... • ... . •
Cottonwood, Necklace I'oplar — I'ojiulii.i muiiilijcra
Tacamaliac, IJalsani P^'plar — I'oitalna balsam i fera. . ..
American Aspen — I'lipiitiix tremuloidex .. . ....
Lar>;e-tootlied A.sj)en — I'ujuiIiik (jraiidideiitiita
Willows .... .... .... .... • . • .
Golden-barkeii Willow— Sf///j; citellim
While Willow— .S'«^> (///>tf
Shining Willow— S(///.'- /'"•''-'■.'
Low-lnisli Willow — .>«//.!• /iiimilis .... ....
Willow Tone (iails — Ofridnmi/ia Kalicis-strobilnides . , . ^
11
li»l
192
1'I2
VJ:\
id:'.
1!»4
l!t4
19.5
196
197
198
2():i
20.3
204
204
204
205
20.-)
211(1
207
207
207.
209
209
210
211
211
211
211
Naiivk Fkrns.
llock Polypody— /Vi////"<'///nH viili/nre ....
Maiden-hair, P'airy Kern — Adiantnm jx.datinn
Common IJrake, Bracken- /'/(,»(« aquilina...
liock Bviike—rrll(i:a f/raci Us
Clitl Brake— 7VZZ<i'a alropiirpurea
Chain Fern — Wnodwurdia Virginica
Lady Fern — .1 splcnium Filix-fwmina
Lady Fern — A. Filix-fwrniiui var. molle. ..
Lady Fern— .1. Fili.v-ficinina \ iir. ungHntitm..
Silvery S|)le'. nwort — Aspleiiium ihelypieroides .
Ehony Splee iwort — Anplcnium ebeneitm ....
Black Spleenwort — Asplenium^Trichomcmes
Green Spleenwort — Aspleiiium ciride
221
22.1
225
226
227
228
228
229
229
230
231
231
332
CONTJiNrS.
IX
I'ai.k
11
, 192
yyi
, 19:»
id:'.
, 194
194
, 195
196
. 197
198
, 20;?
•203
. 204
204
. 204
205
. 205
2IH'>
. 207
207
. 207.
209
. 209
210
. 211
211
. 211
211
Nurrou-icavoil Spicpinvort — Asphniiim ani/imti/otium ....
Haitwtonjuiic. Ct' iti|iiiii' ''\"rii — Scolopeinlinim ruhjare. ...
VVulkiiig Leaf, \Valkin>; l''i'iri Camplnsoniii rhizophijUux. ..
lk'i'.;li Fern, Iliiiry l*i)lypt>ily — I'/ieijopteiis fuilifjxtdiiiides ....
Hrouii Hcecli I'erii I'lieyiipte'JH hcxaijiuioptera . . . . ....
Wiiigeil I'olypody, Oiik Forti — I'heijuiileiiH Diyiipteiit ....
Sliiclii Fenis, WoixIFiTiis
Mursli Forii— Anpidiitm T/iclyplen'n. . . .... .... ....
New York Fern — Anpidii ■ Soveboriicen.it .... ....
Ever^ri'cn \Voo<i Feni — A.ipidium spiniilosuiii var. iidermediuin
Lantrea coltiiia .... ... .... ....
Bi'ijuil Sliiflil Forn — Axpldiitm npinidostim var. di lata turn ....
Margiiiiil Siiiflil Fern — Aspidiiim mttrginale .... ....
Mrn. 'I'luiUV Shifid Fern — A. iiiargimilr var. Tmilltv.. . ....
Cri'fted Sliit'id Fern — A.ipidium vrinltidim .... ....
Larger Sliielil Fern — A.spidiniii (Jiddianum . . .. .... ....
Holly Fern — Priekly SiiieM Vvrt)— A ipidium Loncliilis. . .,
Cliristnia.s IVrn, Everj'recn Kock Fe.'ii — Anpidium acrontichoidea
Hairy Wooii.sia, UMong Wootlsia — Woodsia IlceiMtin ....
Gos.-anuT Fern — Dicknoiiia ptlo.iiii.irula .... .... ....
Sensitive Fern, Oak-leaved Fern — Oituclca neii.Hibili.i ....
SenHitive Fern — O. isi:ii!<ibiliit var. obtii.sitobala ... ....
O.stricii-Feiitlier Fern — Onorlca Stnilliiiipleri.i ....
llrittle iUadder Fern — Ci/.stopleri.i/ruijili.s
Brittle Uludiier Fern — 6'. fra<iiUs var. uinjniilain ... ....
Brittle Bladder Fern — C. deutata- ... ... .... ....
Trailinj; Fern — Cystopterix bidbijera .... .... ....
Trailinj: i'Vrn — C. bidhi/'era \ar. flui/i'lli/'oniiin ....
Trailinj^ Fern — C. bulbijeni var. /lorizditlalin ....
Trailing Fern — C. bnlbifera wir. rigidux .... ....
lloyal Flowering Fern — O.smundu reynlin .... ....
Water Fern, Interrupted Fern — Oxmiinda Clayloniana ...
Cinnamon Fern — Oimunda cinnamomea. .. .... ....
Adder's-Tongue — Ophiogloxsum cuhjaium .... .... ....
Flowering Wood Ferns — Itattlesnake Ferns — Grape Ferns..
Moonwort — Hotrycfiiuin Liinaria .... .... .... ....
Uattle.<nake Fern — Botrychium Virginiamim .... ....
Botrychiam gracile . . .... .... .... ....
Moonwort — True Itattle.snake Fern — Bolrychiiim ternatum.,
Canadian Ferns Suitable tor Cultivation in the Old Country....
Ferns Wild in Canada but not in Greit Britain.... ....
Ferns Wild in Canada and also in Great Britain, but rare in tjie latter
ditterent in appearance ...
2:12
2:12
2:i;i
2:14
2;irj
2.35
2.3G
2:t6
2:17
2:jh
2:'.a
, 2.19
240
. 241
241
242
2i:t
, 244
244
. 245
247
. 248
249
, 250
251
, 251
232
, 2.52
252
. 252
25;i
, 255
257
, 257
258
. 258
259
, 259
260
, 2G2
2G.3
or
.. 270
Plate I
1' •
Bi,ooi >-Koo r {Safi^NiNiina CtiNadeNst!:)
Ill
,..
I '
!l;
fl
ATF
INTRODUCTORY PAGES.
" There's nothing left to chance below ;
The Great Eternal ciuse
Has made all beauteous orc'er flow
From settled laws."
^i^VERY plant, flower, and tree has a simple history of its own,
^O not without its interest if we would read it aright. It forms
oy^ a page in the great volume of Nature which lies open before
us, and without it there would be a blank,^ — in nature there is no
space left unoccupied.
We watch on some breezy day in summer one of the winged
seeds of the Thistle or Dandelion taking its flight upward and onward,
and we know not where it will alight, and we see not the wisdom of
Him
"Who whirls the blowballs' new fledged ])riilo
In mazy rings on high,
Whose downy i)inions once untied
Must onward (ly.
Each is commissioned, could we trace
The voyage to each decreed,
To convey to some barren place
A pilgrim seed."' — Agtics Slrifkland.
When the writer of the little volume now offered to the Canadian
public first settled in the then unbroken back-woods, on the borders
of the Katchawanook, just where the upper waters of a chain of
lakes narrow into the rapids of the wildly beautiful Otonabee ; the
country at that time was an unbroken wilderness. There was no
opened road for the rudest vehicle on the Douro side of the lakes,
and to gain her new home, the authoress had to cross the river at
Auburn, travel through the newly cut out road in the opposite town-
ship, and again cross over to the Otonabee at the licad of the rapids
in a birch-bark canoe. There was at that period no other mode of
2 IXTRODUCTOR\ PAGES.
connection with the northern part of the Douro, — now a branch rail-
road from Peterboro' terminates in the flourishing village where once
the writer wandered among the forest pines looking for wild flowers
and ferns.
As to the roads, one might say, with the Highland traveller,
" Had you Imt seen these roads before ihey were made
" Vou'il have lift up your hands and have blessed General Wade."
The only habitations, beyond our own log cabin at the date of
which I write, were one shanty, and the log house of a dear, lamented
and valued brother, the enterprising pioneer, the founder of that
prosperous village of Lakefield.
It may easily be imagined that there were few objects of interest in
the woods at that distant period of time — 1832— or as a poor Irish
woman sorrowfully remarked, " "I'is a lonesome place for the likes of us
poor women folk ; sure there isn't a hap'orth worth the looking at ; there
is no nclhing and it's hard to get the bit and the sup to ate and to
drink."
Well, I was better off" than poor Biddy Fagan, for I soon found
beauties in my forest wanderings in the unknown trees and plants of the
forest. These things became a great resource, and every flower and
shrub and forest tree awakened an interest in my mind, so that I began
to thirst for more intunate knowledge of them. They became like dear
friends, soothing and cheering, by their sweet unconscious influence,
hours of loneliness, and hours of sonow and suffering.
Having never made botany a study, and having no one to guide
and assist me, it was studying under difficulties, by observation only ;
but the eye antl tiie ear are great teachers, and memory is a great
storehouse in which are laid up things new and old, which may be
drawn out for use in after years. It is a book, the leaves of which can
be turned over and read from childhood to old age.
Having experienced the need of some familiar work, giving the
information respecting the names and habits and the uses of the native
plants, I early conceived the idea of turning the little knowledge, which
I gleaned from time to time, to su[)plying a book which I had felt the
want of myself ; but I hesitated to enter the field where all I had
gathered had merely been from simply studying the subject without
any regular systematic knowledge of botany. The only book that I
had access to was an old edition of a " North American P'lora," by
that good and interesting botanist Frederick Pursh. This work was lent
to me by a friend, the only person I knew who had paid any attention
to botany as a study, and to whom I was deeply indebted for many
hints and for the cheering interest that she always took in my writings,
IX'IRODUCTOR Y PAGES,
herself possessing the advantages of a highly cultivated mind, educated
and trained in the society of persons of scientific and literary notoriety
in the Old Country. Mrs. Stewart was a member of the celebrated
Edgeworth family. " Pursh's Flora," unfortunately for me, was chiefly
written in Latin. This was a drawback in acquiring the information I
recjuired ; however, I did manage to make some use of the book, and
when I came to a standstill, I had recourse to my husband, and ther^
being a dictionary of the common names, as well as one of the
botanical, I contrived to get a familiar knowledge of both. My next
teachers were old settlers' wives, and choppers and Indians. These
gave nie knowledge of another kind, and so by slow steps I gleaned
my plant lore — but it was under difficulty. Having no rescjurce in
botanical works on our native Flora, save what I could glean from
Pursh, I relied entirely upon my owi powers of observation, and this
did very much to enhance my interest in my adopted country and add
to my pleasure as a relief, at times, from the home longings that always
arise in the heart of the exile, especially when the sweet opening days
of Spring return to the memory of the immigrant Canadian settler,
when the hedges put out their green buds, and the Violets scent the
air, when pale Primroses and the gay starry Celandine gladden the
eye, and the little green lanes and wood-paths are so pleasant to ramble
through, among the Daisies and Blue-bells, and Buttercups; and all the
gay embroidery of English meads and hedgerows put on their bright
array. But for the Canadian forest flowers, and trees and shrubs,
and the lovely ferns and mosses, I think I should not have been
as contented as I have been, away from dear old England. It was in
the hope of leading other lonely hearts to enjoy the same pleasant
recreation, that I have so often pointed out the natural beauties of
this country to their attention, and now present my forest gleanings
to them in a simple form, trusting that it may not prove an
unacceptable addition to the literature of Canada, and that it may
become a household book, as Gilbert White's Natural History of
Selborne is to this day among English readers ; and now at the age of
eighty-three years, fifty-two of which have been spent in the fair province
of Ontario, in her far forest home on the banks of the rapid Otonabee,
the writer lays down her pen, with earnest prayers for the prosperity of
this her much beloved adopted country; that with the favour and blessing
of our (lod it may become the glory of all lands.
LAK.EKIELI), Ont., 1884.
1
ER RATA.
PuL'f 8, lint 26
u
n
kt
14
• (
22
((
8
<(
32
((
11
|C
39
((
10
((
79
«
5
t;
85
(C
15
((
95
l(
21
((
125
(C
19
n
129
((
:u
a
144
(i
:i
(<
145
(<
24
u
179
((
39
((
181
((
Note
((
202
<(
:^8 .
ti
217
({
21
tf
241
(•'
30
(C
249
(<
24
For By rant
" By rant
" elict
" riora
" flcridus
" loves
" Eiipatoriim.
" clayx
" Vites
" Calogogon
" fifteen
" glaha
" Betiie
" Pendils
" ol of
" Stmtheopieris
" piiinatirted
" piniis
rem! Brjant,
" Bryant.
" elicit.
" rtoral.
" fforida,
'' love's.
" Eupalorinvi.
" calyx.
" Vitis.
" Calopot/oii.
" fifteen*.
" glabra.
" Betiiel.
" Pendrils.
" on the.
" Strvthiopteri^
" pinriatitid.
" ])inna.
I
WILD, OR NATIVE FLOWERS.
Violets.
The violet in her (greenwood hower
Where birchen lioughs with hazel mingle,
May boast herself the fairest flower
In forest, glade or copsewood dingle. — Scott.
^^^HERE is music and poetry in the very name — " Violet." In the
4V^ forest wilderness, far removed from all our early home associa-
*^^v tions, the word will call up, unbidden, a host of sweet memories
of the old familiar land where, as children, we were wont to roam among
bowery lanes, and to tread the well-worn pathway through green pastures
down by the hawthorn hedge, and grassy banks, where grew in early spring,
Primroses, Blue-bells, and purple \'iolets. What dainty, sweet smelling
posies have you and I, dear reader, (I speak to the emigrants from the
dear Old Country) gathered on sunny March and April days on those
green banks and grassy meadows ? How many a root full of freshly
opened Violets or Primroses, have we joyfully carried off to plant in our
own little Lits of garden ground, there to fade and wither beneath the
glare of sunshine and drying winds ; but little we heeded, the loss was
soon replaced.
And still I doubt not but that \iolets and Primroses, the Blue-bells
and the Cowslips yet bloom and flourish in the loved haunts of our
childhood. Year after year sees them bloom afresh — pure, sweet and
fragrant as when last we filled our laps and bosoms with their flowers or
twined them in garlands for our hair : but we change and grow old ;
God wills it so, and it is we'.l ! Though Canada boasts of many members
of this charming family, there are none among our Violets so deeply
blue, or so deliciously fragrant, as the common English March Violet,
Viola odorata. I'his sweet flower bears away the crown from all
its fellows. One of our older poets (Sir Henry Wotton) has said, as if
in scorn of it, when compared with the rose.
! ill
ih ■
Ml
I !
! ' 1
■> ( I
* ' I
i \ i*
t ll
4^\ :l
: \ :\
^ li//./), Oh' x.i7/y/: /-i.on'EKs,
" \ L' viiilfis that rir.>t appear,
" Hy your pure purple mantles known,
" Like Ihe proud virj;ins of ihe year
" As if the sprinjj were all your cwn.
•' What are ye -when the rose is Mown?"
Ciootl Sir Henry, wc would niatcli the perfiitne of the losvly violet
€ven at,'ainst the fragrance of the blushing rose.
I'hough deficient in the scent of the purple Violet of Europe, we
have many lovely species among the native Violets of Canada. The
earliest is the small flowered
Eari.v Whitk Vioi.i-.t — Viola blaiida (Willd).
This blossoms early in April, soon after the disapjjearancc of the
snow. The light green smootli leaves may be seen breaking through
the black, datnp, fibrous mould closely rolled inwaid at the margins;
the flowers are small, rather sweet scented, greenish white, with delicate
pencillings of purple at the base of the petals ; it is a moisture-loving
plant, and affects open, recently overflowed ground, near creeks. It
comes so early that we welcome its appearance thankfully for it
" Tells us that winter, coM winter is past.
And that sjiring. welioniu spring;, is returning at last."
On pulling up a thrifty plant, late in the summer, it surprises you
with a new set of flowers, quite different from the spring blossoms; these
are small, buds and flowers of a dull chocolate-brown, lying almost
covered over in the mould, with seed ])ods, some ready to shed the
ripened seed, others just formed. This mysterious little plant has
been distinguished by some botanists as Viola clandestina, from the
curious hidden way in which it jmiduces the subterranean flowers and
.seeds ; others have considered it as identical with the next species.
'V\i\: I'knxii.i.ki) \'1')i,i;t, Viola niiifolia, (Clray),
which bears its white blossoms on rather long slender foot-stalks, and
which are slightly larger than those of the above, milky white with dark
veinings. The leaves, although covered with soft hairs, have a curious
smooth and shining appearance. They are round heart or kidney-shaped,
notched at the edges. .Xs the summer advances the foliage of the
Pencilled Violet increases in luxuriance and many white fibrous running
roots are produced in the loose soil. This attractive species may be
found in swamps and forests, growing amidst decayed wood and mosses,
and increasing after the same. manner as Viola blanda. A point which
easily distinguishes this species from the last is the total absence of
scent ; the leaves, too, are much more pubescent — a character which is
very noticeable in the early morning when they are covered with dew.
W/LD, OR X.rnyf. Fl.OlVIiA'S. y
'I'lie conimont'st among our blue Violets is
I'lIK HOODKD ViOI.KT — Violtl CHCIlllitf,!, (Ait.)
so called from the involute habit of the leaves, which, when lirst
appearing, are folded inwardly as if to shield the tender buds of the
flowers from the (hilling winds. There are many forms or varieties of
this species varying very much in ajjpearance, the difference being
jirobably due to the habitat in which they occur. One of the hand-
somest is the Large Hlue Wood Violet, which flowers about the middle
of June, has blue scentless flowers with round petals, and large blunt
hirsute leaves, and is found in low woods. Another variety, with deep
violet flowers, has elongated petals and pointed, rather smooth, leaves
of a purplish tint, at least till late in the season. It is found on open
sunny banks, and dry grassy hill-sides. Yet another variety is often
found by the sides of springs and rivers, forming spreading tufts among
the grass with its smooth pointed leaves and pale delicate flowers.
The prettiest of all our blue \'iolets is the
Akrow-Lkavki> \\o\.v:v —Viola sai^iitata, (Ait.)
It is found in I'nv, sandy, shady valleys or very light loamy soil.
The leaves of this species are not always arrow or heart-shaped, but also
long and narrow, blunt at the apex, decurrent on the short leaf-stalk,
notched at the edges, and rather roughened and dulled in colour by the
short silvery hairs on the surface, 'i'he flowers rise singly from the
crown of the plant : colour a full azure-blue, a little white at the base of
the i)etals which ore bearded with soft silky wool ; anthers — a bright
orange, which form a tiny cone from the meeting of the tii)s. The
flowers, six or eight in number, fall back from the centre, and lie
prostrate on the closely horizontal leaves. The unopened buds are
sharply folded with bright green sepals, and are of a deep bluish-pur])le.
Another form, sometimes called Viola 07<ata, very nearly resembles the
above, but the leaves are less hairy, and tiie color is more jnirple in
the tint.
Among the white \'iolets none are so beautiful as tht
Branxhinc; Wnni': Wood Vioi.kt — Viola Canadaisis, (I,.)
This, our Canada \'iolel, is worthy of a place in the garden. Not
only is it a lovely flower, but it takes kindly to garden culture, preferring
a shady place to the oper. sunshine. In its native haunts, the rich black
vegetable mould of beech and majjle woods, it rises to the height of
from nine inches to a foot, throwing out slender leafy-bracted branches,
with many buds and pure milk-white flowers. The petals are slightly
! i : ii
t 1 i
! ■a
-"I
8 IV//.D, ON XATjrii /■Aoiry: A'.s:
clouded on the outside with purple : the buds are also dark, while the
petals of the llower are veined with pur|)le, and in some cases there is a
shade of yellow in the centre of the flowers, but this is not seen when
under cultivation.
'I'he plant continues to send forth blossoms all through the summer
and even late in the month of September when undisturbed, the seeds
ripening early, form new plants, which, sheltered by the parent stems,
continue to increase, forming a compact ball of snow-white flowers.
'I'his has been the case in my own garden. If well watered and in
suitable soil, this pretty branching violet may be taken from the woods
even in full bloom, and will grow and continue to blossom freely, but
must have shade and moisture and leaf mould to ensure success to its
healthy growth. 'I'he leaves are large, broad at the base, narrowing to
a very slender point and coarsely toothed.
Among the branching \'iolets we have two very pretty lilac ones :
Long Spurred N'iolet ( I'lo/a tostratn) and the Dog N'iolet ( Viola canina
var. sylvi'stris). These pretty species are distinguished by the long spur,
lilac-tinted petals, striped and veined with dark purple and branching
stem. The next in point of interest is the
DowNV Ykli.ow Violet — Viola pnbescens^ (Ait.)
This handsome species is confined to our forests and copses. It
will attain to more than a foot in height in its rich native woods, and
blossoms in early summer ; the colour is golden yellow, veined with black
jetty lines. The seed-vessels are dee* 'v clothed with white silky wool.
The ^'ellow \'iolet has been imi-iortalised by the sweet verses of
that rare poet of nature Cullen IJyrant — almost every child is familiar
with his stanzas to the \'ellow \'iolet. There is another variety of this
Violet, called var. scabriuscula, which is not so branching, lower, the
leaves darker, and and the blossoms smaller but of a deeper golden
colour. This variety is found in drier, more open soil — the black
veining more distinctly marked than in the downy Yellow \'iolet, and
the seed-vessels smooth. They both improve under culture, having two
sets of flowers during the season.
The \"iolet has ever been a favourite flower with the poets, from
Shakespeare and Milton down to the present day we find mention of
this lovely flower scattered through their verses. Nor are the old Italian
poets silent in its praise. Luigi de Gonzaga, in stanzas addressed to his
lady-love, says : —
" But only violets shall twine
Thy ebon tresses, lady mine."
u
iv/ii), ofi KAT/rj-: Fi.oiy/ih's. 9
Milton in his sonnet to Kcho speaks of the " Violet einhroidered
vale."
Here are lines to early X'iolets after the manner of the old lini^lish
poet Herrick :—
Children of sweetest Itirlh,
Why <1<) yc licml to earth
Kyes ill whoso (k't'post hUic
Sues liiit the (lininonil dew.
I Ins not the early ray
Vet kis'.cd those tears away
That fell with ci()siii(» day ?
Say do ye fear to meet
The hail and drivinj; sleet
Which j;looniy winter stern,
Flinys from his snow-wreathed urn ?
Or do ye fear the breeze,
So sadly si(;hinK thro' the trees.
Will chill voiir fraijrant llowers,
'Ere April's silv'ry showers
Have visited your bowers ?
Why came ye till the Cuckoo's voice
Hade hill and dale rejoice?
Till rhilomel with tender tone
Waking the echoes lone,
Hade woodland glades prolong
Her sweetly tuneful song.
Till Sky-lark blithe, and Linnet grey,
From fallow brown an<l meadow gay.
Tour forth their jocund roundelay.
Till Cowslips wan, and Dasies pied,
Hroider the hillocks side ;
And opening Hawthorn buds are seen
Decking the hedge-row screen.
What though the I'rimrose drest
In her pure modest vest.
Come rashly forth
To brave the biting North.
Did ye not see her fall
Straight 'nealli his snowy pall ?
And heard ye not the West wind sigh
Her requiem as he hurried by ?
Go hide ye then till groves are green
And April's clouded bow is seen.
Till suns are bright, and skies are clear,
And every flower that doth appear
Proclaims the birthday of the year. —C.I\ 7., Lakefietd
a '■
l;i:i
t. "J..'
IVI/.n, OK XATIVE FLOWERS.
LiVKR-I^EAF— Wind- P" LOWER — Hcpatica acutilolui, (D.C.)
" Lodged in sunny clefts,
Where the cold breeze conies noc, blooms alone
The little Wind-flower, whose just ojientd eye*
Is blue, as the spring heaven it gazes a\."— Bryant.
The American poet, Bryant, has many happy allusions to the
Hepatica under the name of "Wind-flower." The more common name
among our Canadian settlers, is " Snow-flower," it being the first blossom
that appears directly after the melting off of the winter snows.
In the forest — in open, grassy woods, on banks and upturned roots
of trees — this sweet flower gladdens the eye with its cheerful, starry
blossoms ; every child knows it, and fills its hands and bosom with its
flowers — pink, blue, deep azure an'd pure white. What the Daisy is to
England, the Snow-flower or Liver-leaf is to Can. i da. It lingers long
within the forest shade, coyly retreating within its sheltering glades
from the open glare of the sun : though for a time it will not refuse to
bloom within the garden borders, when transplanted early in spring,
and doubtless if properly supplied with black mould from the woods
and partially sheltered by shrubs it would continue to grow and flourish
with us constantly.
AVe have two sorts, H. acntiloba and H. triloba. A large variety
has been found on Long Island in Rice Lnke, the leaves of which are
five lobed; the lobes are much rounded, the leaf stalks stout, densely
silky, the flowers large, of a deep purple blue. This handsome plant
throve under careful cultivation, and proved highly ornamental.
The small, round, closely-folded buds of the Hepatica, appear be-
fore the white, silky, leaves unfold themselves, though many of the old-
leaves of the former year remain persistent through the winter. The
buds rise from the centre of a silken bed of soft sheaths and young
loaves, as if nature kindly jirovided for the warmth and protection of
these early flowers with pari al care.
Later in the season, th young leaves expand, just before the flowers
drop off. The white flowticd is the most common among our Hepaticas,
but varieties may be seen of many hues — ^waxen pink, pale blue and azure
blue with intermediate shades and tints.
The Hei)atica belongs to the Nat. Ord. Ranunculaceaa, the Crow-
foot family, but possesses none of the acrid and poisonous qualities of
the Ranunculus proper, being used in medicine, as a mild tonic, by the
American herb doctors in fevers and disorders of the liver.
It is very probable that its healing virtues in complaints of the
liver, gave rise to its common name in old times ; some assign the
name, " Liver-leaf," to the form of the lobed leaf.
TliL'-lilni' flowered "Ilepatfea triloba" is eviilcntly tlie llDwer ineiiiit liy the jioet.
IV/LD, OK KATIVK I'J.OWEKS. il
Bi.ooD-RooT. — Sa/iguiiiaria Canadensis, (L.)
(PLATE 1.)
" Here the (niick-footed wolf
I'ausinp to lap thy waters, ctuslied the Hower
Of Sanguinaria, from whose brittle stem
The led drops fell like blood . " — Bryant.
Just at the margin of the forest, and in newly cleared ground
among the ricli black leaf mould, may be seen late in April and May
the closely folded vine-shaped leaf of the Blood-root, enclosing in its
fold one pure white bud.
The leaf is strongly veined beneath with pale orange veins, the
simple semi-transparent round leaf stalk as well as the flower scape, is
filled with a licjuor of a bright orange red colour : break the thick fleshy
tuberous root and a red fluid drops from every wounded pore, whence
its local name " Blood-root."
This juice is used largely by the Indian squaws in their various
manufactures. With it they dye the porcupine quills and moose-hair
both red and orange, and also stain the baskets of a better sort that
they offer for sale in the stores. Nor is this the only use to which it is
applied : they use the juice both externally in curing cutaneous eruptions
of the skin, and internally in other diseases. Latterly its medicinal
qualities have been acknowledged by the American Eclectic School of
Pharmacy as valuable in many forms of disease, so that we find our
beautiful plant to be both useful and ornamental.
The Blood-root grows in large beds ; each knob of the root sends
up one leaf, and its accompanying flower hud which it kindly enfolds
as if to protect the fair frail blossom from the chil'ing winds and
showers of hail and sleet. The leaf is of a greyish or blueish green, at
first the^iinderside, which is the part exposed to view, is salmon coloured
veined with red, but as it expands and enlarges the outer surface
darkens into deeper green. The blossom is comi)osed of many i)etals,
varying from eight to twelve. The many stamens are of a bright orange
yellow. The stigma is two-lobed, and the style short or sessile. The
seed is contained in an oblong nod of two valves. The seeds are of a
bright red brown colour. The ivory white jietr-s are oblong, blunt, or
sometimes pointed ; the inner ones narrower than the outer, at first
concave, but opening out as the flower matures. Under cultivation the
blossom of the Blood-root increases in size, but the plant does not
seem to spread and multiply freely as in its native soil. It is one of
our most lovely native Spring flowers. It is a pity that, with the
march of civilization, we shall soon lo.se its fair pure blossoms. It is
easily cultivated, and repays care by the increase in size of the flowers
ripening the seeds perfectly and freely.
u
I
'y\
12 WILD, OR NATIVE FLOWERS
Tall Buttercup — Ranunculus acris^ (L.)
We see the old familiar meadow-flower of our childhood bright and
gay, growing abundantly in low, wet pasture lands in Canada, where it
becomes to the eye of the farmer a troublesome, unprofitable weed,
rejected by the cattle for its bitter acrid qualities. Yet it is pleasant to
meet its old tamiliar face in a foreign land, where often the sight of some
simple flower will awaken tender recollections of early scenes of sunny
grassy meadows, where we wandered in days of thoughtless childhood,
free of care as the Lark that carolled above our heads in the glad
sunshine; happy days brought back, in all their freshness, to memory
by the sight of a simple yellow Buttercup blossoming in Canadian wilds
and wastes : despised and rejected by others, but precious to the heart
of the lonely immigrant who hails it as a tiny link between himself and
his early home life.
Early Crowfoot — Ranunculus fascicularis, (Muhl.)
This native species of Ranunculus is one of our earliest spring
flowers. It grows low and spreading to the ground, the foliage, hairy,
which gives a hoary tint to the divided coarsely cut leaves ; the blossoms
are ot a pale yellow colour, not as large as the common Buttercup.
The root is a cluster of thick, fleshy fibres.
One of the prettiest of the Ranunculus family is the
Creeping Spear-wort — Ranunculus reptatis, (Gray.)
a tiny delicate plant, with slender thready stems rooting from beneath
the joints. The leaves are very narrow, and pointed, those nearest to the
root a little lobed or eared. The little bright, golden, shining flowers,
only a few lines broad, are borne in the axils of the leaves of the
prostrate creeping stems, and peep out from the sandy soil among tufts
of minute hairy sedges {Eleocharis acicularis) that clothe the damp
low-lying shores of rivers or lakes. There are several Water Crow foots,
some with white flowers, others with yellow. These flowers float upon
the surface of still-flowing rivers or lakes, gently rising or falling with the
motion of the waters. The beautiful adaptation of plants to soil and
circumstances may be noticed in these and some other aquatic plants
which have their foliage dissected into narrow segments, so that the
water may freely flow through them. Of the water Ranunculi, we may
mention White Water Crowfoot {R. aquatilis) and Yellow Water Crow-
foot (i?. multifidus).
There are among our native Ranunculus flowers a few plants of
whicii the outward beauties of their blossoms are better known to us
IVILD, OK XATIVE FLOWERS.
13
than their useful qualities, though df)ubtless even the lowliest among
them has a part to perform, though not apparently for man's sole benefit
but also for the support or shelter of some of God's creation among the
insect tribes or smaller animals or birds which find nourishment in their
seeds, leaves or roots. It is a remarkable fact but it is rarely, if ever
the case, that the flower is selected of any plant lor food by bird
or beast.
There are many native plants of the order Ranunculacea;,
too many to be here described. Gray describes nineteen species of
Ranunculus proper, only a part of the plants described being found with
us, and there are doubtless many others found in our extensive
Dominion not at present named. The large, deep golden, abundant
flowers of the
Marsh M.arigoi.d — Caltha palustris, (L.)
II
are too well known to need any minute description. It is; indeed, a
splendid flower, and can hardly fail of being admired, when seen, like a
" field of cloth of gold," covering the low, wet ground with its large leaves
of a deep refreshing green, and its rich golden cups : a pleasant sight to
the eye in May. The leaves were used as a pot-herb by the early
backwoods settlers, before gardens were planted, but through carelessness
or ignorance, accidents of a fatal nature are known to have occurred
by gathering the leaves of the Arisceiiia triphyUiiin with those of the
more innocent herb the Marsh Marigold, or Water Cowslip, as this
plant is often called.
MiTREwoRT, Blshop's Cap. — Mitella diphylla, (L)
This elegant forest flower is found in moist rich soil among beech,
maple, and other hardwood trees.
We have two species of these plants : one Mitella iiuda, Z., rather
creeping, with green blossoms, only a few inches in height, and the
flowers larger and fewer on the slender scape, the bright green lobed
loaves si^reading on the ground. The taller Mitrewort has elegant
fringed cups, greenish white, many flowers arranged in a long slender
spike. The term diphylla distinguishes it from the low dwarf species,
there being two opposite pointed leafy bracts about ilic middle of the
long slender scape. Not only are the fringed cap-like flowers worthy ot
minute attention, but the boat-shaped two-valved capsules of the seed
vessels form a pretty feature in the i)lant. At an early stage of ripeness
the shining jet black seeds appear and are scarcely less attractive than
i
""wsmasii
i\
i'iS
Lj 1
I
'if
1
m
: , .
Ijl
i
,11
;
H
1.
: '■
n :
I:
1 :
1
14
Il'VLD, OK XATIVE FLOWERS.
the delicate fringed flowers, and have given rise to the local name in
some places of " Gem-flower." Nearly allied to the above is the wood-
land flower
False MriRKWORr.— TifV/zr/Zo' cordifolia, (L.)
to which the name Wood Mignonette is often given, not with respect to
its scent, for there is no particularly agreeable odour in the flower, and
the leaves are somewhat coarse and ])ungent in quality ; but for the
beauty of the light graceful blossoms which are white with orange tipped
or light tawny brown anthers. The petals are pointed and five in
number ; stamens ten, long and slender ; styles, two ; seed vessel, two
valved ; the base of the pistil is thickened, forming a turban-like pod.
There are two forms of our pretty " Wood Mignonette" — one with
closer, more globular, heads of flowers, the other with the flowers looser
and more scattered. Both affect the rich black mould and shade of the
forest trees!
The plant might be called evergreen, as the leaves appear green
and fresh from beneath the covering of Winter's snow. The large flat
sharply-toothed, lobed, leaves are shaded in the centre with purple ; the
veinings also blackish purple, and the surface is beset with very short
appressed hairs. The leaf stalks of the young plants are of a reddish
pink and hairy at their junction with the root.
^Voon Betonv — Pedicularis Canadensis, (I^.)
This plant is commonly found in open grassy thickets and plain-
lands. Of the two common species, we have one with dark, dull red
flowers, and another with yellow. It is a rather coarse flower ; the spike
leafy, hairy and rough ; the leaves are divided into many rounded lobes,
toothed at the margins, and deeply cleft, nearly to the midrib, turning
black in drying. The yellow flowered is a smaller plant than the red ;
the foliage is niLch more hairy, and the lipped blossoms are also hairy,
the upper lip arched over the lower lobes of the corolla. I think it must
be a distinct variety, or even species. Lindley remarks in his " Natural
System,'' that the Betony is acrid in quality but that it is eaten by goats:
unluckil) we have no goats in Canada to benefit by the herbage of this
homely plant.
Flowkkinc, Winter-Green — Polygala paucifoiia, (Willd. )
This is one of our early flowering plants, distinguished by the
common name of " Winter-green." It belongs to a family of well-
IV/IJ), OR XATIVE r- LOWERS.
15
known plants called Milk-worts — low, bitter herbs — some of which are
remarkable for tonic properties, of which the Senega, or Snake-root, is
an example.
Some of the species are remarked as bearing fertile flowers under
ground. The flowers of some are white, some red and others purple or
reddish lilac. The name Milk-wort apjiears to have been adopted
without any foundation, from an imaginary idea that the herbage of
some of the species promoted the secretion of milk in cows. Several
of the milk-worts are indigenous to Canada.
P. Senega is not evergreen in its habit ; it flowers in May among
grasses on dry uplands ; it is simple, slender, and not ungraceful, the
leafy stem terminating in a spike of greenish-white flowers. The wiry
root is said to possess medicinal (lualities. The plant which merits our
attention more particularly for its beautiful flowers is P. paiicifolia, the
beautiful fringed, or crested, Polygala. It is a small-sized plant, about
six to nine inches in height ; the stem is simple, rising from a running
or creeping root-stalk, often furnished with subterranean imperfect
leaflets, and fertile flowers. The smooth, dark-green leaves, delicately
fringed with soft, silky hairs, tinged with a purplish hue, are persistent
through the winter. The stem of the plant is leafy : the lower leaves
small and bract-like, the upper ones larger and clustered round the
summit ; from amongst these appear from two to four, and sometimes as
many as ve elegantly winged purple-lilac flowers. The two upper petals
are long-ovate, the lower forming a crested keel, finely tinged with deeper
purple. The flowers of this beautiful species are very graceful, slightly
drooping from among the shining leaves on thread-like pedicels. The
stamens are six ; sepals of the calyx, five ; petals, three. Some old
writers have given the name of " Fly-flower " to our pretty Polygala, and
truly not an inappropriate name, as one might not inaptly liken the
opened blossom to some gay purple-winged insect ready to take its flight
from the bosom of the soft silky leaves that form an involucre round it.
This Flowering Wintergreen is one of our earliest spring flowers ;
in fine warm seasons it appears in the latter end of April, continuing to
bloom on till the middle of May. The early flowering plants are not so
tall, neither are the flowers so large as those put forth later in the season.
On sunny spots, on moderately sandy soil, on open waste, by the wayside,
or at the edge of the partly cleared forest, it expands its soft purple —
sometimes rose-coloured flowers — often mingled promiscuously with the
white blossoms of the wild Strawberry and creeping Early Everlasting.
The lovely winged flowers gladden the eye of the traveller, when as yet
but few blossoms have ventured to brave the late frosts that oftimes nip
the fair promise of the Spring.
' -,
:i i
>
i6
IV/LD, OA' .\ATIVE FLOWERS.
No wonder that we watch with pleasure for the re-appearing of our
little floral gem, as in old times we did for the bright golden varnished
flowers of the Smaller Celandine, that starred the green turfy banks in
our English lanes, opening so gaily to the ruffling winds and sunshine on
bright March mornings. Some of the peasants and old writers call the
little Celandines — "Kingcups" — and I have often fancied that Shakes-
peare was thinking of this sweet spring flower when he wrote his charming
song. Hark the lark at Heaven's gate sings,
" And winking Maiy-buds begin
To ope their golden eyes ;
Willi all the things that pretty bin,
My lady sweet arise. "
Mary-golds, which some suppose the poet meant by Mary-buds,
have little poetical charm about them, not being associated with the
Lark, as a wild spring-flower. It is more than jjrobable it was the gay
little Celandine that he thus immortalises with his sweet song.
The larger form of our Flowering Wintcrgrcon is found somewhat
later in May, in the woods, and is known by the settlers as "Satin-flower."
It would make a pretty border plant, and from its early flowering would
be a great acquisition to our gardens.
American Snake-Root. — Polygala Scno.:;a, (L.
already referred to, is less ornamental, though a delicate and graceful
little plant. Like the rest of the genus its root is perennial, woody and
bitter in its qualities. The stem is simple, wand-like, clothed with
lanceolate leaves, and terminating in a spike of greenish white flowers.
The wings of this species are small, and embrace the flattened less
conspicuously crested keel. Its favourite haunt is dry upland plains,
among shrubs and wild grasses ; it blossoms later than the more showy
purple Polygala, being seen through May and June.
Another purple-flowered species is
Slender Purple Milkwort. — Polygala polyganui, (Walt.)
The flowers form slender racemes of violet coloured flowers springing
from a woody root-stock, which also bears numerous inconspicuous, but
more fertile flowers, beneath the ground. Its usual habitat is dry grassy
banks, in sandy or rocky ravines ; all these plants seem to prefer
sunshine to shade, and a light sandy, lop-ny soil. Several of the sj)ecies
are used as tonics and alteratives i , the Aine- 'can herbalists
ll'I/.D, ON XATIl'E FLOWERS. j-
VVooD A'SiMow. -A/iemoNe neinorosa, (Lin.)
" Within the wood,
Whose younj; and half Iransparent leaves,
Scarce cast a shade ; f;ay circles of Anemones,
Danced on their ■stalks." — Bryant.
The classical name Anemone is derived from a (.reek word, which
signifies the wind, because it was thought that the flower opened out its
blossoms only when the wind was blowing. Whatever the habits of" the
Anemone of the (Irecian Isles may be, assuredly in their native haunts
in this country, the blossoms open alike in windy weather or in calm ;
in shade or in sunshine. It is more likely that the wind acting upon
the downy seeds of some sijecies and dispersing them abroad, has been
the origin of the idea, and has given birth to the popular name which
poets have made familiar to the ear with many sweet lines. Byrant
who is the American poet of Nature, for he seems to revel in all that is
fair among the flowers ard streams and rocks and forest shades, has
also given the name of " Wjnd-flower " to the blue Hepatica.
This i^retty delicate species loves the moderate shade of groves and
thickets ; it is often found in open pinelands of second growth, and
evidently prefers a light and somewhat sai.dy soil to any other ; with
glimpses of sunshine stealing down upon it.
The Wood Anemone is from four to nine inches in height, but
occasionally taller ; the five rounded sepals which form the flower are
white, tinged with a purplish-red or dull pink on the outside. The leaves
are three — parted, divided again into three, toothed and sharply cut,
and somewhat coarse in texture ; the three upper stem leaves form an
involucre about midway between the root and the flower-cup.
Our Wood Anemone is a cheerful little flower, gladdening us with
its blossoms earl)- in the month of May. It is very abundant in the
neighbourhood of Toronto, on the grassy banks and piny-dells at Dover
Court, and elsewhere.
"T .<,re thickly strewn in woodland bowers,
Anemones their stars unfold."
A taller species. Anemone dichoioma, with very beautiful white
starry flowers, is found on gravelly banks by river-sides and under the
shade of shrubs in most parts of Canada, as is, also, the downy seeded
species known as "Thimble-weed" Anemone cylindrica from the
cylindrical heads of fruit. This latter is not very attractive for beauty
of colour ; the flower is greenish-white, small, two of the sepals being
shorter and less conspicuous than the others. The plant is from one
to two feet high ; the leaves of the cut and pointed involucre are
'4t
IJ J
•4d "^
i8
li'/LD, OA- XATIVE FLOWERS.
coarse ; of a dull green, surrounding the several long flower-stalks.
The soft cottony seeds remain in close heads through the winter, till
the spring breezes disperse them.
The largest species of our native Anemones is the Tall Anemone,
A. Virginiana. This handsome plant loves the shores of lakes and
streams ; damp rich ground suits it well, as it grows freely in such soil,
and under moderate shade when transferred to the garden.
The foliage of the Tall Anemone is coarse, growing in whorls round
the stem; divisions of the leaf, throe parted, sharply pointed and toothed.
In this, as in all the species, the coloured sepals, (or calyx leaves) form
the flower. The outer surface of the i\'()ry -whiie flower is covered with
minute silky hairs, the round flattened silky buds rise singly on tall
naked stems ; but those of th outer scries are supplied with two small
leaflets embracing the stalk The central and largest flowers open first
the lateral or outer ones, as these fade ^vway ; thus a succession of
blossoms is produced, which continvie to bloom for several weeks. Tlie
flowers of this plant, under cultivation, become larger and handsomer
than in their wild state. This species is distinguished from A.
cylindrUa by its round heads of fruit and larger flowers. The Anemone
is always a favourite flower wherever it may be seen, whether in British
woods, on Alpine heights, or in Canadian wilds ; on banks of lonely
lakes and forest streams, or in the garden parterre, where it s rivalled
by few other flowers in grace of form or s])lendour of colour.
We cannot boast, in this part of the Dominion, any of the more
brilliant and beautiful flowers of this ornamental family, though that
interestmg lovely species, known as Pasque-flower, Anemone patens,
(L.) var Nuttalliana (Gray), is largely distributed over the prairie lands
of the Western States and in our North-Western Provinces, where it is
one of the earliest of the Spring flowers to gladden the earth, with its
large azure-blue blossoms, than which none are more beautiful.
The bud appears on a thick leafless scape, about four to six inches
high, enclosed in a cut and pointed involucre of grey bracts of silvery
hue and shining brightness. The scape is clothed with hairy scales •
from within this silky covering peeps out the fair blue bud, which
shortly expands into a large, open, bell-like, very blue blossom, with a
shade of white at the base of each large pointed sepal. As the flower
advances a change takes place in the whole aspect of the plant : the
root-leaves begin to appear, which are compoundly cut and divided, and
the head of plumy fruit is raised on a high scape above the silken
involucre, and now ripens in the breezy air and sunshine.
WILD OR XATIVI-: FLOWERS.
";
I have a fine, perfect, dried specimen before me, under all its
several aspects, and wish that it could be oftener seen as a cultivated
border ornament in our Canadian gardens. The name " I'asque -flower '
is hardly knr wn among the inhabitants of our North-Western prairies,
and the Indian name I have not yet obtained ; it would, 1 am sure, be
descriptive of some natural (luality of the plant — its growth or habits.
We have in Ontario several distinct species of Anemone, though
none so finely coloured as the Prairie flower : nor can we boast of the
splendid Anemones that gem the wilderness tracts of Palestine. Some
travellers have suggested that it was to the brilliant blossoms of the
scarlet, blue, and white Anemones that the Saviour drew the attention
of his disciples, while Sir James Smith has supposed — and with more
probability — it was to the glowing colours of the golden flowered
Amaryllis littea, which abounds on the fields of Palestine, that He
alluded in His words — " Behold the Lilies of the field," etc.
Spring Beauiv— CAm'A^ww Viri^inica {\m.) and C. Curoliuiana {"siichx )
Where the lire had smoked and-sniouldered,
Saw the earliest llowcr of Spring-time,
Saw the Heaiily of the Spring-time,
Saw the MisUodeed (*) in l)lossom. — Llia-Mtlia.
This sim])le, delicate little plant is one of our earliest April flowers.
In warm springs it is almost exclusively an April flower, but in cold and
backward seasons, it often delays its blossoming time till May.
I'artially hidden beneath the shelter of old decaying timbers and
fallen boughs, its pretty pink buds peep shyly forth. It is often found
in partially cleared beech-woods, and in rich moist meadows.
In Canada, there are two species ; C. CaroliiiitvKi, with few flowers,
white, veined with red, and both leaves and flowers larger than the more
common western form, C. Virginica, the blossoms of which are more
numerous, smaller, and pink, veined with lines of a deerer rose colour,
forming a slender raceme ; sometimes the little pedicels or flower stalks
are bent or twisted to one side, so as to throw the flowers all in one
direction.
The scape springs from a small deep tuber, bearing a single pair
of soft, oily, succulent leaves. In the white flowered species, C
CaroUniana, these leaves are placed about midway \\\> the stem, but in
the pink ( C. Virgintca ) the leaves lie closer to the ground, and are smaller
and narrower, of a dark bluish green hue. Our Spring Beauties well
deserve their pretty poetical name. They come in with the Robin and
the Song Sparrow, the Hepatica, and the first white Violet ; they
linger in shady spots, as if unwilling to desert us till more sunny days
(•) Miskoilced— Imliaii iiaiiic for Siiriun Bi'iiuty.
I
20
WILD, OR X ATI VI-: FLOWERS.
m '
!i:^
1 '"i
' 1
have wakened up a wealth of brighter blossoms to gladden the eye ; yet
the first, and the last, are apt to be most prized by us, with flowers as
well as other treasures.
How infinitely wise and merciful are the arrangements of the (Ireat
Creator. Let us instance the connection between Hees and Mowers.
In cold climates the former lie torind, or nearly so during the long
months of winter, until the genial rays of the sun and light have
(luickened vegetation into activity, and buds and blossoms open,
containing the nutriment necessary for this busy insect tribe.
The Bees .seem made for the Blossoms ; the Blossoms for the
Bees.
On a bright March morning what sound can be more in harmony
with the sunshine and blue skies, than the murmuring of the honey-
bees, in a border of cloth of gold Crocuses ? What sight more cheerful
to the eye ? But I forget. Canada has few of these sunny flowers,
and no March days like those that woo the hive bees from their winter
dormitories. And even April is with us only a name. We have no April,
month of rainbows, suns, and showers. We miss the deep blue skies,
and silver throne-like clouds that cast their fleeting shadows over the
tender springing grass and corn ; we have no mossy lanes odorous with
blue Violets.
]iut our April flowers are comparatively speaking, few, and so we
prize our early Violets, Hepaticas and Spring Beauties.
We miss the turfy banks, studded with starry Daisies, pale Primroses
and azure Blue-bells.
In the warmth and shelter of the forest, vegetation appears. The
black leaf-mould, so light and rich, cjuickens the seedlings into rapid
growth, and green leaves and opening buds follow soon after the melting
of the snows of winter. The starry blossoms of the Spring plants come
forth and are followed by many a lovely flower, increasing with the
more genial seasons of May and June.
Our May is bright and sunny, more like to the English March ; it
is indeed a month of promise- a month of many flowers. But too
often its fair buds and blossoms are nipped by frost, " and winter,
lingering, chills the lap of May."
Indian Turnip. — Arisa'iiia triphylliini. (Torr.)
"Or [)i;i.'is llic .\ruiii from its spotted veil." — Bryant.
There are two species of Arum found in Canada, the larger of
which is known as Creen-1 )ragon {A. Dracoiitiiiiii) ; the other is
known by the familiar name of Indian Turnip {^A. triphyllum or A
purptireuiu).
WILD, Oh' XATIVI. F/.OlV/:h'S.
2\
These nioisture-'oving plants are chiefly to be found in rii h, black,
swampy mould, beneath the shade of trees and rank herbage, near
creeks and damp ])Iaces, in or about the forest.
The sheath that envelopes and protects the spadix, or central column
which supports the clustered flowers and fruit, is an incurved membra-
naceous hood, of a pale green colour, beautifully striped with ilark purple
or brownish-purple. The flowers are inconspicuous, hidden at the base
of the scape by the sheath. They are of two kinds, the sterile and fertile,
the former, placed above the latter, consisting of whorls of four or more
stamens, and two to four-celled anthers, the fertile or fruit-bearing
flowers, of one-celled ovaries. The fruit, when ripe, is bright scarlet,
clustered round the lower i)art of the round, fleshy, scape. As the
berries ripen, the hood, or sheath, withers and shrivels away to admit
the ripening rays of heat and light to the fruit.
The root of the Indian Turnip consists of a round, wrinkled, fleshy
corm, sometimes over two inches in diameter ; from this rises the simple
scape or stem of the plant, which is sheathed by the base of the leaves.
These are on long naked stalks, divided into three ovate pointed leaflets,
waved at the edges.
The juices of the Indian Turnip are hot, acrid, and of a poisonous
quality, but can be rendered useful and harmless by the action of heat ;
the roots roasted in the fire are no longer poisonous. The Indian
herbalists use the Indian Turnip in medicine as a remedy in violent
colic, long experience having taught them in what manner to employ
this dangerous root.
The Arisfema belongs to the natural order Aracetr, most plants of
which contain an acrid poison, yet under proper care they can be made
valuable articles of food. Among these we may mention the roots of
Colocosia mucronatum, and others, which, under the more familiar names
of Eddoes and Yams, are in common use m tropical countries. (I-indley.)
The juice of ^. triphylluni, our Indian Turnip, has been used "iled
in milk, as a remedy for consumptio \
Portland Sago is prepared from a larger species, Armii inaculatum^
Spotted Arum The corm, or root, yields a fine, white, starchy powder,
similar to Arrow-root, and is prepared much in the same way as Potato
starch. The pulp, after being ground or pounded, is thrown into clean
water and stirred ; after settling, the water is poured off, and the white
sediment is again submitted to the same process until it becomes quite
pure and is then dried. A pound of this starch may be made from a peck
of the roots. The roots should be dried in sand before using. Thus
purified and divested of its poisonous qualities, the powder so procured
'if
ft
t\7f/), ON XAIIVE FI.OirilNS,
becomes a pleasant and valuable article of fooil, and is sold under the
name of Portland Sago, or Portland Arrow-root.
When deprived of the poisonous acrid juices that pervade them,
all our known species may be rendered valuable botii as food and
medicine ; but they should not be employed without care and experience.
There seems in the vegetable world, as well as in the moral, two
opposite principles, the good and the evil. 'I"he gracious (iod has given
to man the power, by the cultivation ot his intellect, to elict the good
and useful, separating it from the vile and injurious, thus turning that
into a blessing which would otherwise be a curse.
"The Arum family possesses many valuable medicinal (i^'alitics,"
says Dr. Charles Lee, " ';ut would nevertheless become dan'^erous
poisons m the hands of ijj,nor int persons."
The useful Cassava, /(//w///rt iiiani/iot (\\n.), of the West Indies
and tropical America, is another remarkable instance of Art overcoming
Nature, and obtaining a positive good from that which in its natural
state is evil. The Cassava, from the Hour of which the bread made by
the natives is manufactured, being the starchy parts of a poisonous
plant of the Euphorbia family, the milky juice of which is highly acrid
and poisonous. The pleasant and useful article sold in the shoi)s undf;r
the name of Tapioca is also made from the Cassava root.
How well do I recall to mind the old English Arum, known by its
familiar names among the Suffolk peasantry as "Cuckoo-pint," "Jack' in
the Pulpit " and " Lords and Ladies." The first name no doubt was
suggested from the appearance of the plant about the time of the coming
of that herald of spring the Cuckoo ; the hooded spathe shrouding
the spadix like a monkish cowl the second ; while the distinction in the
colour between the deep purplish-red and creamy white of the central
column or spadix, supplied the more euphonious term of " Lords and
Ladies," whicli to our childish fancies represented the masculine and
feminine element in the plant ; of course we dreamed not of the
Linnnean system ; the one was the I<ord because it was dark, the other
the Lady because it was fair and more delicate. This was plain reason-
ing of the cause ; children never reason, they only see effects. I am
afraid that in many things I am yet a child.
S(iUiRRKi. Corn — Diceiitra Canadensis (D. C.)
This elegant species belongs to the Fumitory family, and is
remarkable for its sweetness, as well as for tl e grace of its almost
pellucid white, or pale pink, bells, and the finely dissected compound
foliage of a peculiar bluish-tint of green. The Corolla is heart-shaped
//7/0, Oh' XATIVI II.OWEKS.
23
with slij^htly rounded blunt s|)ur.s, tliL* tips of the petals projertinj,' and
rather more distinctly coloured. 'I'here is a fine variety of this flower
with larger, more drooping hells, and of a decidedly pink shade.
In the rich black mould of the forest, and in rather damp situations,
this species known by old settlers as Htpiirrel Corn and by others as
Wood Hyacinth may be found. 'I'he sweet scent of the fresh flowers
has sug[{este<I the last name. The round clusters of o.ange bulblets
that are found at the base of the scape no doubt gave rise to ih'.' more
common name Scjuirrel Corn. Whether these grain-like looking
buli)s are eaten by the little ground squirrels, I do not know, the fact
depends upon the authority of the Indians and old woodsmen, so wC
assume it is correct.
In studying the habits of this and the next species of the genus
Diccntra, I have noticed some |)eculiarities of growth in these interesting
plants which appear to have esca|)eil tiie attention of the more learned
botanical writers. One thing may here be mentioned, which is, the total
and very rapid disapi)earance of the whole plant, directly the flower has
pL-rfected and ripjnoJ th -.ced, which is aljyut a month after the plant
has bloomed. 'I'he fine and elegantly dissected compound leaves wither
away, leaving not a wreck behind to mark where the plant had grown ;
delicate seedlings, indeed, may be detected near where the older plant
stood, and a few golden bulblets may be found near by, under the
mould, but not a vestigj of the origin.il plan' remains. These golden
slightly flattened bulbs are intensely bitter but not acrid or biting. I
think the tiny seedhngs are not the offspring of these bulbs but ol the
real seed — ^yet the bulbs will vegetate and produce living plants, as in
the Tiger Lily.
All the species flourish under cultivation, and become very
ornamental early border flowers ; but care should be taken to jjlant
them in rich black vegetable mould, the native soil of thjir forest
haunts.
This family contains another very c!i ir.nin^ spezies, t) which the
outlandish and vulgar name of " Dutchm.in's Breeches" has been given,
and I am sorry to siy his bjjn retain.vl in D;. Gray's mxnual. A
far prettier and more aporo^^iate, bacauie descriptive nxm.' would
be that of
Fly-Flower — Dkentra Cucullaria (D. C.)
the diverging nectaries taking just the angle of the wings of the Deer.
Fly when spread for flight, and the brown tips of the four petals give the
semblance of the head of the insect. The delicate pale primrose-tinted
M
IV/LD, OK NATIVE FLOWERS.
«ac-lilce spurs of the Corolla, give a peculiar aspect to this very attractive
flower, which forms one nf the ornaments of the Spring. It appears early
in the month of May, or, in warm and genijl seasons, as early as the latter
weeks in i\\.\ !. Like the Squirrel Corn, the foliage is finely dissected
and ample ; it blooms a week earlier however.
Golden Fumitory- Corydalis atirea (Willd.)
This 1 retty flower is also one of our native Fumitories ; it makes
a good border bloomer ; is biennial in habit, seeds itself and blossoms
freely. It is a low j:rowing bushy plant, with pale bluish, finely disected
foliage, y-id simi)le racemes of golden yellow flowers ; it begins to
blossom v;.,y late in May, and continues all through June, and later.
There is a finer, larger, more compactly growing plant, with larger flowers
and foliage, found in rocky woods and islands in our backwor-ls'
lakes. A very pretty species is Corydalis glauca (Fursh). This
is tall and branching, with delicate flowers of bright pink, yellow
and green, or white. The foliage is very blue in shade, not very
abundant ; the divisions of the leaf bluish ; pods very slender, splitting
and shedding bright shining seeds. It is a very pretty plant and grows
readily among grasses and other wayside herbage.
Vx
\ :
if:;:l
! I
Blue Cohosh, Pappoose Root — Caulopliylliim tlialiclrvidcs (Michx).
Though bearing the same Indian name " Cohosh " our plant has
bjen removed by botanists to another family, than the red and white
Bineberries, or Cohoshes, which are members of the Ranunculacene, c
Crowfoot family. There is no beauty in the blossoms of the Blue
Cohosh, yet the plant is remarkable for its medicinal uses, which are
well known among the Indians, and herbalists of the United States
medical schools.
The round, rather large, blue berries are not the portion of the
the plant thai is used, but the thick knotted root-stock. The loaves are
of a dull bluish green, the flowers dark purplish green, lurid in colour ;
the leaves arc closely folded about the thick fleshy stem when they first
appear. The whole plant unpresses one with the conviction that it is
poisonous in its nature ; there is something that looks uncanny about it.
Nature stamps a warning on many of our herbs by unmistakeable tokens :
the glaring inharmonious colouring of some ; the rank odours exhaled
by others ; the acrid biting- taste in the leaves and juices of some are
safe guards if we would but heed them as warnings. The compound
leafage of the Blue Cohosh breaks the ground in Ai)ril, with the
immature flowers- after a while the leaf spreads out, and lurid blossoms
WILD, OR XATIVE FLOWERS.
25
expand. The berries are set upon short thick fleshy foot-stalks, and the
round hard fruit forms a loose panicle of drupe-like, naked seeds of
horny texture.
The plant may be found in open woods, and grassy plain-lands —
known by its large bluish green leafage, and the dark blue berries.*
Rkd Banebkrry, Rki) Cohosh — Adaea spicata (/.) var rubra (Gray)
•
The Red Cohosh is a larger plant, with foliage coarsely veined
pointed in the divisions, of a full green, sharply cleft, and toothed ;
flowers, white in a close tufted terminal raceme. The berries when
ripe are oval, shining, of a deep red, set on slender stalks ; it grows in
damp rich woods.
Whitk Cohosh — Adaea alba (Bigel).
This is a striking looking plant when in ripe fruit, the berries are
white, and shining, set on rose-red fleshy foot-stalks, the plant is branch-
ing and inclined to fall prostrate from the weight of the long stalked
cluster of heavy fruit. In some of its peculiar characteristics it seems
to resemble the Blue Cohosh — the Indian herbalists evidently considered
they were of the same nature. In none of these plants is the fruit
edible.
[Beliavort — Wood Daffodil. — Ujuilaria i^raiidiflora (Smith.)
(PLATE II.)
" F.Tir Daffodils we weep to see
Thee haste away so soon,
As yet the early rising sun
Has not attained his noon.
Stay, Stay ! —
Until the hasting day
Has run,
Hut to the evening song ;
When having jirayed together we
Will go with you along." — Heryicl;
This slender drooping flower of early spring, is known by the name
of Bellwort, from its pendant lily-like bolls ; and by some it is better
known as the Wood Da'^odil, to which its yellow blossoms bear some
remote resemblance.
The flowers of the Bellwort are of a pale greenish-yellow ; the
divisions or the petal-like sepals are six, pointed and slightly twisted
or waved, the flowers droop from slender thready pedicels term
inating the branches ; the stem of the plant is divided into two
portions, one of which is generally barren of flowers. The leaves are of
a pale green, smooth, and in the largest species, perfoliate, claspiog
the stem.
*Tlii^ routs or tliis )ilniit arc in use with tlie hiilian wciiiit'ii, its roiiiiiioii iiiiine is " 1'u|i)ioiihi'
Ruut." Its virtues iirt; ul it Hiiijjular andjixjweiful imtiiru, kiiuwii only ti> the iiutivf Iniliiiii.
!!t'
I
36
WILD, OK NATIVE FLOWERS.
The root (or rhizome) is white, fleshy and tuberous. The Bellwort
is common in rich shady woods and grassy thickets, anu on moist
alluvial soil on the banks of streams, where it attains to the height of
two feet. It is an elegant, but not very .showy flower — remarkable
more for its graceful pendant straw-coloured or pale yellow blossoms,
than for its brilliancy. It belongs to a sub-order of the Lily tribe.
There are threp species in Canada — Uviilaria grandiflora, U. perfoliata
and U. sessilifolia,
Adder's-Tongue — Dog's-Tooth \'ioi.lt.
Erythroniuin Americaniini (Smith).
"And spot'ed Ailders-tongue wiih drooping bell,
Greeting the new-born spring."
In rich black mould, on the low hanks of creeks and open wood-
lands, large beds of these elegant Lilies may be seen piercing the softened
ground in the month of April ; the broad lanceolate leaves are i)eauti-
fuUy clouded with purple or reddish brown, and sometimes with milky
white. Each bulb of the second year's growth produces two leaves, and
between these rises a round naked scape, (or flov er stem), terminated
by a drooping yellow bell. The unfolded bud is striped with lines of
dark purple. A few hours of sunshine and warm wind soon expand' the
perianth, which is composed of six coloured recurved segments, which
form a lily-like turban-shaped flower ; each segment grooved, and
spotted at the base, with oblong purplish brown dots. The outer
surfaces of three of the coloured flower leaves are marked with dark
lines. The stamens are six ; anthers oblong ; pollen of a brick-red, or
dull orange color, varying to yellow. The style is club-shaped ; stigmas
three, united.
This elegant ^'ellow Lily bends downward when expanded, as if ta
hide its glories froiu the full glare of the sunlight. The clouded leaves
are of an oily smoothness, resisting the moisture of rain and dew. This
is one of the most elegant of our native Lilies and well worth cultivation.
It blossoms early in May or late in April, and we hail it with gladness
when it brightens us with a graceful golden bell at the edge of the
dark forest.
The name Dog's-tooth Violet seems very inajiprop/iate. The
pointed segments of the bell may have suggested the resemblance to
the tooth of a dog ; but it is difficult to trace any analogy between this
flower and the Violet, no two plants presenting greater dissimiliarty of
form or habit than the Lily ani the Violet, though often blendid in the
WILD, OA' NATIVE FLOWERS.
27
verse of tlie poet. The American name, Adder's-tongue is more sig-
nificant.* 'I'his name must refer to the red poiiited anthers rather than
the foliage, as some have suggested.
The White Flowered Adder's-tongue, Erylhronium albidum (Nutt)»
grows in the more western portions of Canada, as on the shores of Lake
Huron.
White Trili.ium— Easter Flower — Trillium ^raiidijlorum (Salisb).
" And spotless lilies bend the head
Low to the passing gale."
Nature has scattered with no niggardly hand, these remaricable
flowers, over hill and dale, wide shrubby plain and shady forest glen.
In deep ravines, on rocky islets, the bright snow white blossoms of the
Trilliums greet the eye and court the hand to pluck them. The old
people in this part of the Province call them by the familiar name of
Lily. Thus we have Asphodel Lilies, Douro Lilies, &c. In Nova
Scoiia they are called Moose-flo -ers, probably from being abundant in
the haunts of Moose-deer. In some of the New England States the
Trilliums, white and red, are known as the " Ueath-flower," but of the
origin of so ominous a name we have no record. We might imagine it
to have originated in the use of the flower to deck the coffin or graves
of the dead. The pure white blossoms might serve not inappropriately
for emblems of innocence and purity, when laid upon the breast of the
early dead. The darker and more sanguine hue of the red species^
might have been selected for such as fell by violence ; but these
are but conjecture. A prettier name has been given to the Nodding
Trillium {T. cernuum) : that of '"Smiling Wake-robin," which seems to
be associated with the coming of the cheerful chorister of early spring,
"The household bird with the red stomacher," as Bishop Carey t
calls the Robin Red-breast. The botanical name of the Trillium
is derived from trilex, triple, all the parts of the plant being in
threes. Thus we see the round fleshy scape furnished with three
large sad green leaves, two or three inches below the flower, which is
composed of a calyx of three sepals, a corolla of three large snow white,
or, else, chocolate red petals : the styles or stigmas, three ; ovary throe
celled ; and the stamens six, (which is a multipli- "f three.) The white
fleshy tuberous root is much used by the Amerii ui Schools of Medicine in
various diseases, also by the Indian herb doctors.
Trillium grandifloruui is the largest and most showy of the white
species. Trillium nivale or Lesser Snowy Trillium is the smallest ;
* Tlif Ilium Dog's-toDtli rofiM's to tlio .slmpi? of the siimll iiDiiitDcl wliite Imllis of the cimi-
iiion KuiopeiiM speeics, si) wi^ll known in Englmh gimlens. -Prof. Lawson
t An old writer in the time of Juniea I., ami tutor to one of tlie diiUKl.ters of Cliarles t.
!i
'' i
r r
1
\i\
' 1
L
'1
!■■
' 1
■' i
1
98
IF/LD, OK NATIVE FLOWERS
this last blooms early in May. May and June are the months in which
these flowers appear. The white flowered Trilliums are subject to many
varieties, and accidental alterations. The green of the sepals is often
transferred to the white petals in T. nivale; some are found handsomely
striped with red and green, and in others the very foot-stalks of the
almost sessile leaves are lengthened into long petioles. The large
White Trillium is changed, previous to its fading, tr . dull reddish lilac.
PuKPLK Trillium — Birth-Root — Trillium erectum. (Lin.)
" Bring flowers, bring flowers o'er the bier to shed
A crown for the brow of the early dead.
Though they smile in vain for what once was ours,
They are love's last gift, bring flowers, bring flowers." — Ilemans.
Gray and other botanical writers call this striking flower " Purple
Trillium;" it should rather be called red, its hue being decidedly more
red than purple ; and in the New England States it is called by the
country folks. The Red Death-flower, in contrast to the larger White
Trillium or \Vhite Death-flower. T. erectum is widely spread over
the whole of Canada. It appears in the middle of May, and continues
blooming till June, preferring the soil of damp, shad> ..uoJ.^ and thickets;
but it takes very kindly to a shaded border in the garden, where it
increases in size, and becomes an ornamental spring flower. .
" Few of our indigenous plants surpass the Trillium in elegance
and beauty, and they are all endowed with valuable medicinal properties.
The root of the Purple Trillium is generally believed to be the most
active. Tannin and Bitter Extract form two of its most remarkable
ingredients." So says that intelligent writer on the medicinal plants of
North America, Dr. Charles Lee.
The Red Trilliums are rich but sombre in colour, the petals are
longish-ovate, regular, not waved, and the pollen is of a greyish dusty
hue, while that of the White species is bright orange-yellow. 'J'he leaves
are of a dark lurid green, the colouring matter of the petals seems to
pervade the leaves ; and here, let me observe that the same remark may
be made of m^.ny other plants. In purple flowers we often perceive the
violet hue to be perceptible in the stalk and under part of the leaves?
and sometimes in the veins and roots. Red flowers, again, show the
same tendency in stalk and veins. Where the flower is white the leaves
and veinings, with the stem and branches, are for the most part of a
lighter green, more inclining to the yellow or else bluish tinge of green.
The Blood-root in its early stage of growth shews the Orange juice
in the stem and leaves, as also does the Canadian Balsam, and many others
that a little observation will point out. The colouring matter of flowers
has always been, more or less, a mystery to us : that light is one of the
IV/LD, OM NATIVE FLOWERS.
39
great agents can hardly for a moment be doubted, but something also
may depend upon the peculiar cjuality of the juices that fill the tissues
of the flower, and on the cellular tissue itself. Flowers deprived of light
we know are pallid and often colourless, but how do we account for the
deep crimson of the Beetroot, the rose red of the Radish, the orange of
the Rhubarb and Carrot, which roots, being buried in the earth, are not
subject to the solar rays ? The natural su])position would be that all
roots hidden from the light would be white, but this is by no means the
case. The question, is one of much interest and deserves the attention
of all naturalists, and especially of the botanical student.
AVhat shall we say to the rich colour of the Ruby, Carbuncle,
Amethyst, Topaz and Emerald, taken from the darkness of the mine ;
can it be that all are really colourless till the light is admitted to them>
and the different conditions of the crystallised forms catch, imprison and
forever hold fast the glorious rays of light.
Painted Trillium — Trilliiim erythrocarpum, (Mx.)
(PLATE ML)
This beautifully ornamental species is of rare occurrence in our
woods. The flower is elegantly tinged with soft pink veinings on the
white, waved, and pointed, petals; the base of each is richly coloured and
shaded from deep red to pale rose, which colour indeed is slightly diffused
through the flower. Leaves distinctly petioled, broad at the base,
waved at the margins and sharply pointed. The whole plant, from six
to nine inches in height. The specimen from which the drawing is
taken was found in May, near Ottawa, where it is not uncommon, 'i'he
under-surface of the leaves is slightly tinged with purple.
Though scarce in our western woods. Gray says the Painted
Trillium may be found as far northward as Lake Superior and New-
England, and also southward in the Alleghanies and Virginia.
Rock Columhine — Aquilegia Canadensis (Lin).
"The graceful Columbine all blushing rod,
Hends to the earth her crown
Of honey-laden bells."
This graceful flower enlivens us all through the months of May and
June by its brilliant blossoms of deep red and golden yellow.
In general outline the Wild Columbine resembles its cultivated
sisters of the garden, but is more light and airy in habit. The plant
throws up many tall slender stalks, furnished with leafy bracts, from
which spring other light stems terminated by little pedicels, each bearing
a large drooping flower and bud, which open in succession.
i
m
^:f,'Sit.
.!„! !
AF//.A OA' XATH'E FLOWERS.
The flower consists of five red sepals and five red petals; the latter
are hollowed, trumpet-like at the mouth, ascending ; thcv form narrow
tubes, which are terminated by little round knobs filled with honey,
The delicate thready pedicel on which the blossom hangs causes it to
droop down and thus throw up the honey-bearing tubes of the petals;
the little balls forming a pretty sort of floral coronet at the junction with
the stalk.
The unequal and clustered stamens, and five thready sty'cs of the
pistil, project beyond the hollow mouths of the petals, like an elegant
golden fringed tassel ; the edges and interior of the petals are also of a
bright golden yellow. These gay colors are well contrasted with the
deep green of the root leaves anr" bracts of the flower stalks. The bracts
are lobed in two or three divisions. The larger leaves are placed on
long foot stalks, each leaf is divided into three leaflets, which are again
twice or thrice lobed, and unequally notched; the upper surface is smooth
and of a dark rich green, the under pale and whitish. .\s the flowers
fade the husky hollow seed pods become erect.
The wild Columbine is perennial and very easily cultivated, its
blossoms are eagerly sought out by the Bees and Humming-birds.
On sunny days you may be sure to see the latter hovering over the
bright drooping bells, extracting the rich nectar with which they are so
bountifully supplied. Those who care for Bees, and love Humming-
birds, should plant the graceful red-flowered Columbine in their garden
borders. Indeed this elegant ornamental species should find a place in
every garden. I have seen a striking effect produced by a number of
these flowers grown together.
In its wild state it is often found growing among rocks and surface
stones, where it insinuates its roots into the clefts and hollows that are
filled with rich vegetable mould; and thus, being often seen adorning the
sterile rocks with its bright crown of waving blossoms, it has obtained
the name of Rock Columbine.
Painted Cup — Scarlet Cup.— C^j-Z/Z/m coccinca. (Spreng.)
Scarlet tufts
Are glowinjj in the green, like fl.ikes of Hre ;
The w.inderers of the prairie know them well.
And call that brilliant flower the Painted Cup. — Bryant,
'i'his splendidly-coloured plant is the glory and ornament of the
plain-lands of Canada. The whole plant is a glow of scarlet, varying
from pale flame-colour to the most vivid vermillion, rivalling m brilliancy
of hue the Scarlet Geranium of our gardens.
WU.D, OR NATIVE FLOWERS.
3«
The Painted Cup owes its gay appearance, not to its flowers, tvhich
are not very conspicuous at a distance, but to the deeply-cut, leafy
bracts that enclose them and clothe the stalks, forming at the ends of
the flower-branches clustered rosettes.
The flower is a flattened tube, bordered with bright red, and edged
with golden yellow. Stamens, four ; pistil, one, projecting beyond the
tube of the calyx ; the capsule is many-seeded. The radical or root
leaves are of a dull, hoary green, tinged with reddish purple, as also is
the stem, which is rough, hairy, and angled. The bracts, or leafy ap.
pendages which appear on the lower part of the stalk, are but slightly
tiiiged with scarlet, but the colour deepens and brightens towards the
middle and summit of the branched stem.
The Scarlet Cup ajipears in May, along with the white and red
Trilliums ; but these early ])lants are small ; the stem simple, rarely
L»'anched, and the colour of a deeper red. As the summer advances,
o r gallant, soldier-like plant, i)Uts on all its bravery of attire. All
th.ough the glowing harvest months, the open grassy plains and the
borders of the cultivated fields are enriched by its glorious colours. In
favourable soil the plant attains a height of from 2 to 3 feet, throwing out
many side branches, terminated by the clustered, brilliantly-tinted bracts ;
some heads being as large as a medium-sized rose. They have been
gathered in the corners of the stubble fields on the cultivated plains, as
late as October. A not uncommon slender variety occurs of a pale
buff", and also of a bright lemon colour. The American botanists speak
of Castilleia cocciitea as being addicted to a low, wettish soil, but this
has not been my experience ; if you would find it in its greatest perfec-
tion, you must seek it on the high, dry, rolling plains of Rice-lake,
Brantford, the Humber, to the north of Toronto, Stoney Lake, the
neighborhood of Peterboro, and similar localities.
I'"or soil, the Scarlet Cup seems to prefer light loam, and evidently
courts the sunshine rather than the shade. If it could be prevailed
upon to flourish in our garden borders, it would be a great acquisition,
from its long continuance in flower, and its brilliant colouring. The seed
is light brown, contained in thinnish capsules, ripe in September. Gray
says : " Herbs parasitic on roots," but our brave plant is no parasite
but grows freely on open ground. Neither is it found with us in low
wettish places ; it loves the light and would not flourish in shade. It
is essentially a " Prairie flower." I have had bright s])ecimens from
our North-West, and also from Wisconsin and Dakota, U. S.
These lovely plants, like many others that adorn our Canadian woods
and wilds, yearly disappear from our midst, and soon we shall seek
them, but not find them.
if
I!
I
! I
! i
I
32
//-■//, A OA' XATIVE f LOWERS.
We might say with the poet :
"'T. a,, jiity nature brouj^ht ye Torth
Merely lo show your worlh,
And losi.' yc quite I
Hut ye have hively leaves, where wc
May read how soon things have
Their end, though ne'er so lirave ;
And after they have shown their pride.
Like you awhile they glide
Into the grave. " — Hcrrick.
I do not know if our brave Scarlet Cup, of Canada, has any flora,
relationship to an herb known in the Old Country as " Clary " or by its
local and descriptive name of "Eye-bright." It is an old-fashioned
flower, sometimes found in cottage gardens. I lemeniher its curious
coloured leaves and bracts attracted iny notice where first I saw it, in a
neglected corner of a i^oor old woman's garden. There were two
varieties, one with the dull, veiny leaves, bordered with purple, as if the
leaves had been dipped into some logwood dye, the other with a full
pink. I forget, in the long lapse of time since I saw the plants, if the
flower itself was pretty, or partook of the same tint of colour as the foliage,
but the great marvel consisted in the black, oval seeds, not very large,
about the size of the seed of the Sage. This wonderful seed, Nannie
Prime to'd me, gave the name to the plant " Eye bright," though, she
added, " the learned gardener folk do call it ' Clary.' If any dust or
motes, or any bad humors, are in the eye and one of these seeds be put
into the corner of the eye, it will gather it all round itself and clear the
precious sight ; and this is why folks do give it the name of ' Eye-bright.'
Sure, Miss, the Lord gave this little seed for a cure for us poor folk, and
no doubt the whole plant is good for otlier complaints, as many of our
liarbs be, if we did but use them right." We know of no especial
healing virtue contained in the seed or leaves of our beautiful Scarlet
Cup ; but it charms the eye and delights us, and that is (iod's gift also.
There seems to be no actual void, no space unfilled in God's creation.
Something fills up all vacancies, either in vegetable or animal life ;
unseen organisms, too subtile and too fine to become visible to our
unassisted vision, have their existence though we behold them not.
" Father of earth and heaven, all, all are thine ;
The boundless tribes in ocean, air and plain,
And nothing lives, and moves, and l)reaths in vain.
Thou art their soul, the impulse is divine ;
Nature lifts loud to Thee her happy voice,
And calls her caverns to resound Thy praise ;
Thy name is heard amid her pathless ways.
And e'en her senseless things in Thee rejoice. "
Ift ifi^
r««tti
I. Trailing Akditl's {E/'ii;crM rcpcns).
II. Wooo Daifoum, {Uvulana ^^randtflora).
iV.ri'
f-lAfE
. ■'>
f^^^^^^^^^^
t'l.ATE II.
It: 1
i-^
m
IVII.D, OR NATIVE FLOWERS.
33
Wild (iiNGFR — Asarmii Canadense (L.)
This is a singular herbaceous plant, chiefly found in bush-wood and
damp, rich meadow-land. 'J'he leaves are wide, rounded kidney-
form with deep sinuses. The flower, on a short peduncle, springs from
the root-stock and appears below the leaves close to the ground, seldom
more than one to each plant ; it is campanulate with sharp pointed
segments of a deep chocolate colour. The floral envelope consists of a
calyx, but no corolla ; the creeping, thick fleshy root-stock is warm,
pungent and aromatic. It is a coarse singular looking plant much used
in Indian medicine craft.
Showy Orchis. — Orchis spedabilis^ (L.)
" Full manv .i gem of purest ray serene,
The (lark unfathonied caves of ocean bear ;
Full many a flower is born lo blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air." — Gray.
Deep hidden in the damp recesses of the leafy woods, many a rare
and precious flower of the Orchis family blooms, flourishes, and decays,
unseen by human eye, unsought by human hand, until some curious,
flbwer-loving botanist plunges amid the rank, tangled vegetation, and
brings its beauties to the light. One of these lovely natives of our
Canadian forests is known as Orchis spectabilis — Beautiful Orchis—
or Showy Orchis. This pretty plant is not, indeed, of very rare
occurrence ; its locality is rich maple and beechen woods all through
Canada. The colour of the flower is white, shaded, and spotted with
pink or purplish lilac ; the corolla is what is termed ringent or gaping,
the upper jietals and sepals arching over the waved lower-lipped petal.
The scape is smooth and fleshy, terminating in a loosely-flowered and
many-bracted spike; the bracts are dark-green, sharp-pointed, and leafy;
the root a bundle of round white fibres ; the leaves, two in number, are
large, blunt, oblong, shining, smooth, and oily, from three to five inches
long, one larger and more pointed than the other. The floweriiig time
of the species is May and June. The excjuisite cellular tissues of many
of our flowers of this order delight the eye, and give an api)earance of
great delicacy and grace to the blossoms. In this charming sjjecies the
contrast between the lilac purple colour of the arching petals and sepals,
and tlie almoot ])ellucid lower lip or somewhat broadly lobed under petal,
is very charming. The large shining leaves lie close to the ground when
the plant is in flower. Transplanted to gardens, the Showy Orchis
rarely survives the second season of removal from the forest sliade. It
will not grow freely, exposed to cold wind, or glaring sunlight. It loves
moist heat ; the conservatory would probably suit it, and it would be
worth a trial there.
!
'
' i;
IJHHl
f!i
!'■
34
iyy/.£>, OK NATIVE /'LOWERS,
Lady's Slippers — Moccasin Flowers.
Among the many rare and beautiful flowers that adorn our nati> e
woods and wilds, few, if any, can compare with the lovely plants
belonging to the Orchis family. W'liere all are so worthy of notice it
was difficult to make a choice ; happily there is no rivalry to contend
with in the case of our Artist's preferences. We will, however, first
treat of the Cypripediums or Lady's Slippers, better known by the
name of Moccasin-Flowers, a name common in this country to all the
species. The plants of this family are remarkable, alike for the singular
beauty of their flowers, and the peculiar arrangement of the internal
organs. In the Linnrean classification they were included, in common
with all the Orchids, among the Gynandria.
Whether we regard these charming flowers for the singularity of
their form, the exiiuisite texture of their tissues, or the delicate blending
of their colours, we must acknowledge them to be altogether lovely and
worthy of our admiration.
One of the rarest, and at the same time most beautiful and curious
is the
Ram"s-hkai) Orchis — CypHpedium arietiuuin (R-Br.)
(PLATE VII.)
which has smooth glaucous green leaves, and small purplish flowers
bearing a close resemblance to a ram's head with the horns and ears
and a tuft of wool on the top of the head. It is seldom over six inches
in height, and grows in cold peat bogs, and flowers in July ; associated
with it we find our most gorgeous representative of the family, the
Showv Ladv's Si.ii'i'icR OR Pink Fi.owerep MoccasiV Plant —
CypHpedium speital>,'le (Swartz).
It grows chiefly in tamarack swamps, and near forest creeks, where,
in groups of several stems, it appears, showing its pure blossoms among
the rank and coarser herbage. The stem rises to the height of from i8
inches to two feet. The leaves, which are large, ovate, many nerved
and plaited, sheathing at the base, clothe the fleshy stem, which
terminates in a single sharp-pointed bract above the flower. The
flowers are terminal and generally solitary, although old and strong
plants will occasionally boar two or even three blossoms on one stem.
The unfolded buds of this species are most beautiful, having the
ai)pearance of slightly flattened globes of delicately-tinted rice-paper.
The large sac-like inflated lip is slightly depressed in front, tinged
with rosy jjink, and striped. The pale thin petals and sepals, two of
each, arc whitish at first, but turn brown when the flower is more
[8
re
IV//.D, Of! NATIVE FLOWERS.
35
advanced towards maturity. The sepals may be distinguished from the
|)etais ; the former being longer than the latter, and by being united at
the back of the flower. The column on which the stamens are placed
is three-lobed ; the two anthers are placed one on either side, under the
two lobes ; the central lobe is sterile, thick, fleshy, and bent down,
somewhat blunt and heart-shaped. The root of the Lady's Slipper is a
bundle of white fleshy fibres.
One of the remarkable characteristics of the flowers of this genus,
and of many of the natural order to which it belongs, is the singular
resemblanc the organs of the blossom bear to the fiice of some animal
or insect. Thus the face of an Indian hound may be seen in the
Golden-flowered Cypripedinm puhescens ; that of a sheep or ram, with
the horns and ears, in C. arietinum ; while our " Showy Lady's Slipper "
displays the curious face and peering black eyes of an ape.
A rarer species is the
Stemi.ess Lady's Slipper — Cypripedinm acaitle {A.\t.)
I; differs from the former species by the sac, which is large and ot
a beautiful rose tint exquisitely veined with deeper red zig-zag lines, not
being closed; but merely folded over m front; this is not observable until
you examine it closely. The scape rises from between the two large
oval leaves which lie horizontally on the mosses amidst which the plant
grows.
A time will come when these rare productions of our soil will
disappear from among us, and will be found only in those waste and
desolate places, where the foot of civilized man can hardly penetrate ;
where the flowers of the wilderness flourish, bloom and decay unseen
but by the all-seeing eye of Him who adorns the lonely places of the
earth, filling them with beauty and fragrance.
For whom are these solitary objects of beauty reserved ? Shall we
say with Milton ;—
" Thous.imls of unseen lieings walk this e.Trili,
Both while we wake and while we sleep : —
And think though man were none, —
That earth would want spectatois — God want praise.
Yellow Lady's Slippers — Cypripediiiin parriflonim (Salisb.) and
Cypripedinm piibescens (W'illd.)
" And golden slippers meet for Fairies' feet."
Of the golden-flowered Moccasin flowers, we boast of two very beau
tiful species, C. pubescois, Hairy Moccasin flower, and C. parvifloriini
" Lesser-flowered Moccasin flower." 'I'he larger plant is the more
il iW
'!! i
Sf!
11
36
WILD, M XATIVE I' LOWERS.
showy ; tlie smaller the more graceful, and has a delicate fragrance
which is not so strong in the larger flower. The long spirally twisted
l)etals and sepals of a purplish brown colour, sometimes tin'.ed and
veined with red, give this smaller flower a very elegant appearanco
though the rich golden hue of the larger is more striking to the eye.
C. parvifloruin affects the n^oist soil of wet grassy meadows and
swamps, while the larger plant loves the open plain lands among shrubs
and tall grasses. In the month of June when it may be seen beside the
gay Painted Cup (Castilleia coccinea), the Blue Lupine (Z. peretinis\
the larger White Trillium, and other lovely wild flowers, it forms a
charming contrast to their various colours and no less varied forms.
The stem of the larger Moccasin flower is thick and leafy, each
many-nerved leaf sheathing the flowers before they open. The flowers
are from one to three in number, bent forward, droopmg gracefully
downwards. The golden sac-like lip is elegantly striped and spotted
with ruby red ; the twisted narrow petals, and sepals, two in number of
each kind, are of a pale fawn colour, sometimes veined and lined with a
deeper shade.
Wild Garlic — Wild Leek. — AUium tricomim (Ait.)
As soon as the warm rays of early spring sunbeams have melted
the snow in the woods, we see the bright, closely-folded and pointed
leaves of the Wild Garlic, or Wild Leek as it is commonly called,
piercing through the carpet of dead leaves that thickly covers over
the rich black mould, the refuse of many years of former decayed
foliage. The cattle, that have been for many months deprived of green
food, eagerly avail themselves of the first appearance of the succulent
and welcom'^ leaves of the Garlic. The milk of the cows becomes so
strongly flavoured with the disagreeable odour of the oi'y vegetable that
the milk and butter are rejected, and can only be used by persons who
are indifferent to the nature of their food, caring more for fjuantity than
quality ; but the generality of people turn away with a feeling of disgust
from leeky butter and leeky milk. It is, however, a consolation to the
thrifty farmer to know that, like many other evils, it has its palliative.
The cows and oxen that have been brought low in flesh and str;;ngth
during the long, hard winter, are speedily restored to health by feasting
upon this otherwise objectionable food.
It is a pleasant plant to the eye — the rich verdure of the broad
succulent leaves springing so freshly where all was barren and unsightly
— and later in the season, the tall heads of pretty, pale blossoms are not
without attraction, though not nice to place in a bouquet of sweeter
flowers.
WILD, OR XATll'E fl.OWEKS.
37
Before so many extensive tracts of forest had been cut down,
the Wild Garlic was to be found in all beech and maple woods. But it
is becoming very rare, and you hear no more complaints of leeky milk
and butter.
Phi.ox -/%/fA- divaricata (L.)
We have in Canada several species of this family, and all are
worthy of cultivation. Phlox divtiricata is found on dry grassy wastes
by forest roads, in shady spots. It is a plant of slender growth, about
twelve or eighteen inches high, with slender lanceolate painted leaves
somewhat clasping the stem; flowers in a flat spreading head terminal on
the slightly stalked branches, corolla salver shaped, primrose-like ; calyx
with slender pointed sepals ; co'.uur of the petals, pale lilac, scalloped at'
the edges — it is an elegant species. A small variety of this beautiful
flower has also been found in low meadows near the Ottawa river
growing in great profusion in some of the North-eastern townships — its
beautiful blue flowers formed an attractive feature in the landscape.
A gentlemen who had an especial love for the beauties of nature
was much struck with the beauty of this very lovely flower, and brought
home some roots ; the plant was then in full bloom. They continued to
flourish till the following spring, when they disappeared entirely. The
leaves were of a full rich glossy green, delicately fringed with silky
purplish hairs ; flowers, not so large as the P. divaracata found here ;
heads loose on long footstalks springing from between the slightly
clasping leaves ; roots white, fibrous.
A charming little dwarf Phlox is that known by the gardener as
Moss Pink, or Lake Erie Moss. The slender pointed grassy looking
foliage and abundant pink flowers, its low tufted growth and hardy
character, make it most valuable as an edging for flower beds. It comes
early and remains for some time in bloom, and even when the blossoms
have faded,, the bright cheerful verdure that remains, has a good effect
as a pretty edging to the beds. It grows in large cushion-like plots
when not used as an edging for borders.
Gold Thread — Coptis trifolin (Salisb).
In the deep shady forest we are attracted by the bright glossy thrice
parted (trifoliate) leaves of this pretty plant. In early Spring its delicate
white starry flowers, on upright slender foot-stalks appear, just peeping
above the mosses among which it delights to grow. The modest pearly
white star-shaped blossoms, contrast well with the dark evergreen shining
leaves, and orange thready rootlets, that may be seen among the light
feathery mosses, hardly concealed, for they are barely covered by the
mould in which they grow. The orange fibrous roots and rootlets are
%
I !
11
if
n ^ ^1
f^
3«
//7/.A OA' XATIVK FLOWERS.
intensely hitter, and are much used by the old settlers as tonic remedies
against weakness in children when brought low by fever and ague :
more especially is it used as a wash for sore ulcerated mouths, as thrush
in young infants. The Indian women use it for their little ones in rase
of sore mouth and sore gums in teething. I once saw the small
evergreen leaves of the (Jold 'Thread a])])lied to a very different purpose
— that of trimming evening dresses of clear white muslin, and as the
heat of the room had little effect on them they looked fresh and
singularly ornamental on the young ladies that had so tastefully arranged
the leaves on their simple white dresses.
I have noticed the term " CJold-thread " applied lately to one ol
the species of Dodder, that singular parasite, but it was by a
person apparently unac(]uainted with our elegant little forest evergreen,
Coptis irifolia.
Bunch Berry — Squaw Berry — Cormis Canadfiisls (l.in.)
This elegant and ai'v: -aive little plant is met with most commonly
in beds, beneath the shade of evergreens. Hemlocks and Spruces, it
multiplies by its creeping root-stork as well as by the drupe-like berry.
Its popular nrnie in the back-woods, is the Scjuaw-berry, and also
Bunch-berry. It is a truly lovely little plant — a perfect forest gem.
In height our tiny Dogwood rarely exceeds four or six inches ; the
stem is leafy, the upper leaves form a whorl round the flowers, which are
enclosed by the white corolla-like involucre, which is more conspicuous
than the tiny terminal umbel of little flowers with their dark anthers.
The flowers are succeeded by small round berries which become
brilliantly scarlet by the end of the summer, appearing like a bright red
coral ring surrounded by the whorl of dark green, somewhat pointed,
veiny leaves.
From its love of shady damp soil, this little plant would grow
under cultivation, if suitable localities were selected in shrubberies,
among evergreens and in rock-work not much exposed to the sun.
This low Cornel is very ornamental, both in flower and fruit. The
berries are sweet but insipid. The Indian women and children eat
them and say, "good to eat for Indian." The taste of the Indian is so
simple and uncultivated that they will eat any fruit or vegetable that is
innoxious, apparently indifierent to its flavour.
The poor squaw gathers her handful of berries, and goes her way
contented with her forest fare, from which the more luxurious children
of civilization would turn away with contempt, or admire their beauty
possibly, and then cast them away as worthless. Few indeed think of
WILD, ON NATURE FLOWERS,
39
the lessons that may be learned even from the humblest forest flower,
speaking to their hearts of the loving care of the great Creator, who
provideth alike for all his creatures ; the wild berry to feed the wild bird,
the Squirrel and Field-mouse. He openeth His hand and fiUeth all
things living with plenteousness.
There are, among other species of the Dogwood family that might
be enumerated as indigenous to this Western part of Canada, some with
blue berries, some with white, some with red and others with dark steel
■coloured fruit. The dwarf Cornel, C. Canadensis is the smallest species,
the rough, bushy round-leaved C. circinata the second ; C. floridiis the
largest : all are tonics, and bitter ; some are used in medicine ; others
in dyeing by the natives. The berries of several species are largely sought
for and form food for the wild ducks that haunt the borders of marshes
and lake shores where these shrubs abound.
The Cornel seems to have a wide geographical range, it being
found not only in the Eastern States of N. America, but in the colder
parts of Canada, westerly and northerly, and extends even to the borders
of the Arctic Zone. I have before me a specimen of a closely allied
species from North Cape, Norway, which was gathered by a friend
among the da:rk evergreen glades of that far-off land. The tiny plant
is smaller, and has a more pinched and starved look than our more
vigourous plant, otherwise there is no apparent difference. The early
frosts of Autumn give a pretty jiurple shade to the surface of the leaves
of our little forest Dogwood, but they do not wither, remaining fresh
and persistent through tlie winter beneath the snow.
Twisted Siai.k. — Stnptopus roseits (Mx.)
This is a graceful plant with pretty pink, striped, bells belonging to
the Lily family. We find it in the forest as well as in open grassy
thickets. The stalk is divided into two or three branches, bearing on
the underside several pairs of graceful, pendant bells on thready, twisted,
foot-stalks. The tips of the segments are pointed and slightly recurved.
The berries are red, round and seeded with several hard, bony nutlets.
The flower is scentless. The foliage is of a light yellowish green, many
nerved, oval and pointed. Associated with this there often may be
found in the deep shade of pine woods, as well as in the rich !)lack leaf
mould of the hardwood forest. The False Solomon's Seal {Folygonatuni
l>i^or u w, £.,) which has pale greenish-tinged bells and large blue berries.
The leaves are of a dark bluish green. The stem is simple and bends
gracefully. The flowers, notwithstanding the name, are mostly solitary.
Our woods hide within their shades many a lovely flower, seen only by
the Indian hunter and the backwoods lumberer or the axe man ; by the
40
in/.D, OR XATIVE FLOWERS.
i*'
former they are noted for some medicinal or healing (|uality, by the
latter they are trodden under foot, while to the uneducated settler
whose business is to clear the forest land of the trees and wild
productions of the soil, on which the life supporting grain and roots are
to be sown or planted, these natural beauties have no value or charm,
and he says " Cut them down, why cumber they the ground." In these
things he sees not the works of the Creator ; they are, in his eyes,
" weeds — \\ ds^v ■;, nothing but weeds."
OurBen•'v^■ ' d Trilliums, Smilacinas and Orchids are among
our most intc itiOj" \< i attractive native forest flowers, but as the
woods are levelk ' ^iid tb' .>il changed, by exposure to the influence of
the elements and the introciuitin of foreign plants, our native vegetation
disappears, and soon the eye that saw and marked their lovely forms
and colours will see them no more.
MaV-ApPI.K— M.V\DRAK.K— /Wr'/Z/J'/Z/CW/c/A?////// (L.)
The Mandrake or May-Apple is chiefly found in the rich black soil
of the forest, where partially clear of underwood ; in such localities ft
forms extensive beds. When the broad umbrella-like leaf first breaks
the soil, early in May, it comes up closely folded round the simple fleshy
stem, in colour of a deep bronze or coppery hue, smooth and shining,.
but assumes a lighter shade of green as it expands. The blossom
appears frst as a large round green bud between the axils of the two
broad peltuie, lobed and pointed leaves ; the first year's leaves are single
and smaller and the young pl.mt is flowerless.
The corolla of the flower consists of from six to nine concave
greenish-white thick petals ; sepals (or calyx leaves) six ; the edges of
the petals are generally torn or ragged, the handsome flower slightly
drooping between the two large leaves gives out a powerful scent — not
agreeable if inhaled too closely, but pleasant at a little distance.
The plant increases by buds from the thickly matted fleshy root-
stock ; the roots form a singular net-work under the soft vegetable
mould, spreading horizontally, at every articulation sending up a pair of
fruit-bearing scapes. The single-leafed plant is most probably a seed-
ling of the former year.
The fruit of the May-Apple is a large fleshy berry ; the outer rind
is, when ripe, yellow, otherwise darkish-green and of a rank unpleasant
flavour ; the inner or pulpy part is white, soft and filled with somewhat
bony light-brown seeds. When not over-ripe this pulpy part may be
eaten ; it is sub-acid and pleasant. The fruit makes a fine preserve
with white sugar and when flavoured with lemon-peel and ginger ; but
WILD, OA' A'ATIVE FLOWERS,
41
the outer coat I would not make use of. The fruit is rii^e in August,
but should be gathered, when the first yellow spots on the outer coat
indicate ripeness, and laid in a sunny window for a few days.
The medicinal value of the root of this remarkable plant is now so
wei! established that it has superseded the use of Calomel in comjjlaints
of the liver with most medical practitioners in this country, but so
powerful are its properties that it should never be used by unskilful
persons. Ignorant i^ersons have been poisoned by mistaking the leaves
for those of the Marsh Marigold f' CflZ/Z/rt' palustris) and using them as a
pot herb. A case of this kind occurred some years ago, whereby several
persons were poisoned. At that time there was no attempt made by
the backwoods settlers to cultivate vegetables, and the- iiade use of
many of the wild herbs with very little knowledge of ttiJr s ative or
injurious (jualities.
American Brooklime — Veronica Aiiieruatia (Prhw.)
" Flowers spring up and dii; ungalherei —Ihyant
In the language of flowers the blossoms of the Veronica or
Speedwell are said to mean undying love, or constancy, bill the
blossoms of the Speedwell are fugacious, falling cjuickly, and therefore,
one would say, not a good emblem of the endurance of love or
friendship.
Sweet simple flowers are the wild Veronicas, chiefly inhabiting
damp overflowed ground, the oorders of weedy ponds and brooks,
whence the names of Brooklime and Marsh Speedwell, Water
Speedwell, and the like. Some of the species are indeed found mostly
growing on dry hills and grassy banks, cheering the eye of the passing
traveller by their slender spikes of azure flowers. This species is often
known by the pretty name of Forget-me-not, though it is not the true
" Forget-me-not," which is Alyosotis paliistris, also with the rest of its
family called " Scorpion-grass" ; from the small buds, before expansion,
having the petals twisted and forming a small coil at the tips of the
branches. The American Brooklime is one of the prettiest of the
native Veronicas, and may easil)- be recognized by its branching si)ikes
of blue flowers, and veiny, partially heart-shaped leaves. It is but liule
that we have to say of our pretty native wildiing, for its delicacy
and harmless qualities are all that require notice about it. The
traveller passes it by with scarcely a commendatory glance ; its fleeting
pale blue, scentless blossoms, which fall at a touch, scarcely attract the
little children when gathering flowers by the wayside brooks. It
i^r
■
ttv
42
WILD, OK XATIl'E FLOWERS
remains with the true lover of flowers, even if they be only homely
weeds, to examine and ajjjjreciate the inimital)le beauty and wisdom
shown in their several parts, each so wisely fitted to perform its part
according to the Divine Maker's Will.
Wood CiKRanium — Geranium miuulatiiiii (L.)
There are !)ul few flowers of the Cranes-bill family in Canada.
The one most worthy of notice is the Wood Geranium. This is a very
ornamental plant ; its favourite locality is in open, grassy thickets, among
low bushes, especially those tracts of country known as Oak-openings,
where it often reaches to the height of from two tf) three feet, throwing
out many branches, adorned with deej) lilac flowers ; the half-opened
buds are very lovely. The blossom consists of five petals, obtuse, and
slightly indented on their upper margins, and is lined and delicately
veined with [iurple. The calyx consists of five pointed sepals ; stamens
ten ; the anthers are of a reddish brown ; styles five, cohering at the
top. When the seed is mature these curl up, bearing the ripe brown
seed adhering to the base of each one. The common name, Cranes-
bill, has been derived from the long grooved and stork-like beak
composed of the styles. The Greek name of the plant means a Crane.
The whole ])lant is more or less beset with silvery hairs. The leaves
are divided into about five principal segments ; these again are lobed
and cut into sharply pointed, irregularly sized teeth. The larger hairy
root leaves are often discoloured with red and purplish blotches, whence
the specific name {maciilatuiii\ spotted, has been given to this specie.s.
The flower stem is much branched, and furnished with leafy bracts ;
the principal flowers are on long stalks, usually three si^ringing from a
central branch and again subdividing into smaller branchlets, terminating
in buds, mostly in threes, on drooping slender pedicels ; as the older
and larger blossoms fall off a fresh succession appears on the side
branches, furnishing rather smaller but ecjually beautiful flowers. Cray
gives the blooming season of the Cranes-bill from April to July, but
with us it rarely appears before June, and may be seen all through July
and August. Besides being very ornamental, our plant possesses virtues
which are well known to the herbalist as powerful astringents, which
quality has obtained for it the name of Alum-root among the country
people, who use a decoction of the root as a styptic for wounds ; and
sweetened, as a gargle for sore-throat and ulcerated mouth ; it is also
given to young children to correct a lax state of the system. Thus our
plant is remarkable for its usefulness as well as for its beauty. A low
growing showy species, with large rose-coloured flowers and much
dissected leaves, may be found on some of the rocky islets in Stoney
nil.D OK XAT/r/: FJ.OU'/.h'S.
43
Lake, Ont. The slender flower stem i.s al)out six inches in heinht,
sprint^ing from a leafy invohicrc, which is lut and divided into many
long and narrow segments ; llowers generally from one to three, terminal
on the little bracted foot stalks. The seed vessels not so long as in tlie
Wood Cleraniuni.
Besides the above named we have some smaller species. The well
known Herb Robert {G. Kol>ertianii>ii, (I-.) which is said to have
been introduced from Britain ; but it is by no means uncommon in
■Canada, in half cleared woodlands and by waysides, attracting the eye
by its bright pink flowers, and elegantly cut leaves, which become
bright red in the fall of the year. This pretty si)ecies is renowned for
its rank and disagreeable odour, and so it is generally passed by as a
weed in spite of its very pretty bright pink blossoms.
Another small-flowered species, with pale insignificant blossoms is
also common as a weed by road sides and in open woods, this is G.
pmillum, smaller Cranes-bill ; it also resembles the British plant, but is
of too frequent occurrence in remote localities to lead us to sui)pose it
to be otherwise than a native production of the soil ; we find it often in
very remote places in our forest clearings and road-side wastes.
Chick WEED Wintergrkkn — Trieiitalh Americana (I'ursli).
•
This pretty starry-flowered little plant is remarkable for the occur-
rence of the number seven in its several parts, and was for some time
cherished by botanists of the old school as the rci)resentative of the
class Keptandria.
The calyx is seven parted ; the divisions of the delicate white
corolla also seven ; and the stamens seven. The leaves form a whorl
at the upper part of the stem, mostly from five to seven, or eight ; the
leaves are narrow, tapering at both ends, of a delicate light-green, thin
in texture, and of a pleasant subacid flavour. The star-shaped (lowers,
few in number, on thread-like stalks, rise from the centre of the whorl
of leaves, which thus forms an involucr^' to the pretty delicate starry
flowers. This little ])lant is frequently found at the roots of trees ; it is
fond of shade, and in light vegetable mould forms considerable beds ;
the roots are white, slender and fibrous; it is one of our early May
flowers, though, unless the month be warm and genial, will delay its
opening somewhat later. In old times, when the herbalists gave all
kinds of fanciful names to the wild plants, they would have bestowed
such a name as " Herbe Innocence " upon our modest little forest
flower.
I
'tf
44 wii.I),okxati\eiio\\'i:rs.
I.ARCF. Bi.UK Fla(i— F'l.KUR i)i: I.ucK— /m versicolor {\..).
Lilies <>r all kinds.
The (iL'ur-ilc-liici' licinj; (mo. — U'iiiUi's 'I'aU.
I'his beautiful flower abounds all through Canada, and forms one
of the ornaments of our low, sandy flats, marshy meadows and overflowed
lake shores ; it deli),'lits in wet, muddy soil, and often forms large clumps
of verdure in half-dried ponds and similar localities. Karl) in spring,
as soon as the sun has warmed the waters, after the melting of the ice,
the sharp sword-shaped leaves escaping from the sheltering sheath that
enfolded them pierce the moist ground, and ai)pear, lormini; beds of
brilliant verdure, concealing the swampy soil and pools of stagnant water
below. Late in the month of June thv bursting buds of rich purple
begin to unfold, peeping through the spathc that envelo|)es them. A
few days of sunshine, and the graceful petals, so soft and silken in
toxture, so variable in shades of colour, unfold : the three outer ones
reflexed, droo]' gracefully downwards, while the three innermost, which
are of paler tint, sharper and stiffer, stand erect and conceal the stamens
and petal-like stigmas, which lie behind them : an arrangement so suit-
able for the preservation of the fructifying organs ol the flower, that we
cannot fail to behold in it the wisdom of the great Creator. The
structure of the cellular tissue in most water plants, and the smooth,
oily surface of their leaves, has also been provided as a means of throw-
ing off the moisture to which their place of growth must necessarily
expose them ; but fpr this wise provision, which keeps the surface dry
though surrounded with water, the plants would become overcharged
with moisture iind rot and decay too rapidly to perfect the ripening of
their seeds — a process often carried on at the bottom of streams and
lakes, as in the case of the Water-lily and other aquatics. Our blue Iris,
however, does not follow this rule, being only partly an aquatic, but
stands erect and ripens the large, bony three- sided seeds in a three-sided
membraneous pod. The hard seeds of the Iris versicolor have been
roasted and used as a substitute for coffee. 'I'he root, which is creeping,
fleshy and tuberous, is possessed of medicinal (jualities.
The name Ins, as applied to this genu^, was bestowed upon it by
the ancient Greeks, ever remarkable for theiv appreciation of the beauti-
ful, on account of the rainbow tinted hues displayed in the flowers of
many of the species ; especially are the prismatic colours shown in the
flowers of the large, pearly-white garden Iris, a plant of Eastern origin.
The Fleur-de-lis, as it was formerly written, signified whiteness or
purity. This was changed to Fleur-de-iuce, a corruption of Fleur-de-
I.ouis — the blossoms of the plant having been selected by Louis the
/r//.A Oh' XATIVI: II.OWENS.
45
Seventh of France as his heraldic [)caring in the Holy Wars. The
flowers of the Iris have ever been favourites with the poet, the architect,
and s( ulptor, as many a fair specimen wrought in stone and marhle, or
carved in wood, can tt;stify.
The Kleur-de-lis is still the emblem of France.
Longfellow's stanzas to the Iris are very characteristic of that
graceful flower :
" Ik'.iutifiil lily (Iwclliiij; liy siill river,
Or solil.nry mere,
Or where the slunuish nie.nlow lirook ileiivers*
lis waters to the weir.
The wind liluws, and uplifts thy droopinj; banner.
Anil ''.rmind thee thronjj and run
The rushes, the jjreen yeomen of thy manor -
The outlaws of the sun.
O lleur-dedure, bloom on, ami let the river
Lin(;er to kiss thy feet ;
O flower of song, bloom on, and m.nku forever
The world more fair and sweet."
Shin-Lkak — SwKF.T WINTER! ;rkkn — Pyrola eUiptica — (Nutt.)
" Wandering far in solitary paths where wild flowers Mow,
There would I liless His name." — Ifeber.
The familiar name U'intergreen is applied by the Canadians to
many species of dwarf evergreen i)bnts, without any reference to their
natural affinities. The beautiful family of Pyrolas shares this name in
common with many other charming forest flowers on account of their
evergreen habit.
Every member of this interesting family is worthy of special notice.
Elegant in form and colouring, of a delicate fragrance and enduring
verdure, they add to their many attractions the merit of being almost
the first green things to refresh the eye, long wearied by gazing on the
dazzling white of the snow, for many consecutive months during winter.
s the dissolving crust disappears from the forest, beneath the
kindly influence of the transient sunbeams of early Spring, the deeji
glossy-green shoots of the hardy Pyrolas peep forth, not timidly, as if
afraid to meet
"The snow and blinding sleet ; "
not shrinking from the chilling blast that too often nips the fair promise
of April and May; but boldly and cheerfully braving the worst that the
capricious season has in store for such early risers. •
117 /./h OA' XATIVE FLOWERS.
All blight, and fresh, and glossy, our Wintergreens come forth, as
though they had been perfecting their toilet within the sheltering canopy
of their snowy chambers, to do honour to the new-born year, just
awakening from her icy sleep.
r. ellifitica forms extensive beds in the forest, the roots creeping
with running subterannean shoots, which send up clusters of evergreen
leaves, slightly waved and scalloped at the edges, of a deep glossy green
and thin in texture.
The name I'yrola is derived from a fancied likeness in the foliage
to that of the Pear, but this is not very obvious, nevertheless we will not
cr.vil M it, for ii is a pretty sounding word, far better than many a one
that has been bestowed upon our showy wild flowers, in compliment to
the person who first brought them into notice.
The pale greenish-white flowers of our Pyrola, form a tall terminal
raceme : the five round petals are hollow ; each blossom set on a slender
pedicel at the base of which is a small i)ointed bract : the anthers are
of a reddish orange colour, the stamens ascending in a cluster, while the
long style is declined, forming a figure somewhat like the letter J. The
seed vessel is ribbed, berry-shaped, slightly flattened and turbinate ;
when dry, the light, chaffy seeds escape through valves at the sides.
The d-y style in this, and most of the genus, remains persistent on the
capsule.
The number 5 prevails in this plant ; the calyx is 5 parted ; petals
5 : stamens 10, or twice five : stigma i, but 5 rayed with 5 knobs or
tubercles at the apex ; seed-vessel 5 celled and 5 valved. The flowers
are generally from 5 to 10 on the scape. Most of our Pyrolas are
remarkable for the rich fragrance of their flowers, especially ]'. liliptka,
and P. rotiiiidi/o/itj, to'j;ether with its variety incarmUa.
Onk-sidki) Pyrola — P. secuiida (L.)
This little evergreen plant is rather singular than pretty. The
flowers which are greenish-white form a one-sided slender raceme,
being all turned to one side of the flower-stem ; the style is long and
straight, exceeding the stamens and anthers, the latter are very dark,
almost dusky black, the stigma, thick and ribbed, forming a turban-
shaped green knob in the centre of the flower, stigmas persistent on the
capsule. The foliage is dark green, smooth, serrated at the margin of
each oval leaf. The leaves are clustered at the base of the flower stem
on foot-stalks, leafing the stem ujjwards a little. The plant is found in
dry woods and on banks, under the shade of trees. The flower is
scentless.
WILD, OR NATIVE I'l.OWERS.
47
The Round i,i;.\\i-;i) Lksser Pvrola — Pyrola rotutuiifolia (I,.), v.
iucaritata (dray).
is a far more attractive (lower — fragrant with a (ew sweet pink blossoms
and small round or kidney-shajjcd dark green leaves. Like the sweet
\'iolet «jf old country hedgerows it betrays its presence by its fine perfume,
though often deep hidden among the mosses and weeds which are
found in the peat bogs where it grows. We have yet another I'yrola
with round green bell-shaped flowers and dark tipped anthers. This is
Pyrola citloraiitha, (Swartz.)
Though we have none of the Heaths that clothe the hills and com-
mon-lands of Scotland and I'.ngland, we have a large number of beautil'ul
and highly ornamental, as well as useful plants and flowering shrubs
belonging to the Natural Order Ericacea;, which are widely diffused all
over the Northern and Eastern portions of the C'ontinent ; wherever there
exists a similarity in climate, soil and altitude of tlic land, there we may
expect to find members of the same Natural Orders. Thus we find spread
over the Northern and Eastern portions of this Continent, plants that are
common to northern l''.uropean countries ; wo have representatives of
many familiar flowers, belonging to such families as the Lily, Rose, Violet,
Phlox, Saxifrage, Mint, Dogwood, Pyrola, and Campanula, in foct we
cannot enumerate the half of wliat we recognize in our woodlands and
plains. It is true that the eye of the botanist will discover some differences
in the specie.s, but in most instances these are so little apparent that a
casual observer would not notice them. The Pyrola has its representa-
tive flower in England. The IJiunra, in Norway. Our pretty
Siiiilaciiia I'ifolia, ox '■' W'WiX I,ily of the N'alley,"' and our Low Cornel
are also found wilh many of our native Ferns, in that Northern land of
mountain, flood and forest.
It is pleasant to recognize an old familiar flower, it is like the face
of an old friend in a foreign country, bringing back the memory of days
lang syne, when the flowers that we gathered in our childhood were a joy
and a delight to heart and eye.
Oni'.-1''i.o\\i;ki;i) I'vkola -Moiicsi's uiiijiora (Cray).
'i'his excjuisitely scented flower is only found in the shade of the
forest, in rich, black, leaf mould, where, like P. clli plica, it forms con-
siderable i)eds ; it is of evergreen habit. The leaves are of a dark
green and smooth surface, clustered at the base of sliort stems '.vliich
rise from the running root-stock, from the centre of each of which
rises one simple scape, bearing a gracefully nodding flower ; each
milk-white petal is elegantly scalloped ; the stamens, eight to ten,
are set close to the base of the petals ; the anthers are of a bright
^'i
I! i
iiiiii
48
/F/Z/9, <M' NATIVE FLOWERS.
purple-amethyst colour ; the style straight, with five radiating points at
the extremity, forming a perfect mural crown in shape ; it is bright
green, and much exceeds in length the stamens.
The scent of the flower is very fine, resembling in richness that ot
the Hyacinth.
The members of the Pyrola family are, for the most part, found in
rich woods, some in low, wet ground, but a few i)refer the drier soil
of forests ; one of these is the exquisitely beautiful evergreen plant
known by Canadian settlers as
Prince's Pine — Chiinapliila umbcUata (Nutt),
From root lo summit this plant is altogether lovely. The leaves are
dark, shining and smooth, evergreen and finely serrated ; tiie stem is
of a bright rosy-red ; the delicately pink-tinted flowers look as if moulded
from wax : the anthers are of a bright amethyst-purple, set round the
emerald-green turbinated stigma. The flowers are not many, but form
a loose corymb springing from the centre of the shining green leaves.
There is scarcely a more attractive native plant than the Cliiinaplnla
in our Canadian flora.
The leaves of this beautiful Wintergreen are held in high estimation
by t!ie Indian herbalists who call it Rheumatism weed ( Pipsissava ). It
is bitter and aromatic in quality.
Lupine — Lnpuiiis perennis (L. )
(PLATE IV.)
" Liipinu whose azure eye sparkles with dew."
Those who know the Blue Lupine only as a cultivated flower can
form but a poor idea of its beauty in its wild state on the rolling prairies
or plainlands.
On light loamy or sandy soil our gay Lupine may be seen, glad-
dening the wastes and puri)ling the ground with its long spikes of azure
blue, white and purple flowers, of many shades.
The Lupine comes in with the larger yellow Moccasin {Cypripedinm
pubescciis); the Trilliuin graiidiflonitii \ the white Pyrola, \\'ild Rose
{Rosa l>/ai/d(i); Scarlet-cu|) (Gm///Av'« ry^w/fw) and many others in the
flowery month of June ; mingling its azure flowers with these, it produces
an effect most pleasing to the eye.
The blossoms, like those of all the Pulse tribe to which it belongs,
r.re papilionaceous or winged. The two upper petals or wings are concave,
closing over the scythe shaped keel, which encloses the stamens, these are
united into a bundle at the base (this arrangement is called by botanists
!
■•— t-
WILD, OR XATIVE I'l.OWERS,
49
monadclphous). The sheath that conceals the stamens is entire, pointed
and varying in colour from white to reddish-purple. The flowers are
set on short pedicels or flower stalks, forming a close, long, terminal
raceme, the lower flowers opening first. The stem is leafy, erect, downy;
the leaves on longish foot stalks are composed of from seven to nine
soft, greyish, silky leaflets, set round the central axis of the stalk in a
horizontal circle. The whole plant is soft and velvety in appearance.
The pods are long and somewhat broad. The seeds are ivory white
when fully ripe, and are the food of Squirrels, Partridges, Field-mice and
other wild denizens of the wilderness. The Lupine can be readily
grown from seed, and blooms well in our garden plots, abiding with us
year after year. The ivory white seeds are often introduced into those
pretty fanciful wreaths, fre(iuently exhibited at our township shows, and
known as the "Farmer's Wreath," being composed of different varieties
of grain and seeds, arranged so as to form flowers, leaves, fruits, (S:c.
Before the plainlands above Rice Lake were enclosed and culti-
vated, the extensive grassy flats were brilliant with the a/.ure hues of the
Lupine in the months of June and July; but the progress of civilization
sweeps these fiiir ornaments from the soil. What the lover of the
country loses of tiie beautiful, is gained by the farmer in the increase
of the useful, and so it must be; but nevertheless we mourn for the
beautiful things which gladdened our eyes.
"Oh wail l(;r ihc forest its glories nre o'ur."
TwiN-i'LOWKR- I.i)ui(ca borealis (Clronov. )
" Nestled at its roots is be.auly.
Such as lilooiiis not, in the glare
Of the liroail sun. That delicate forest llower
With scented hreath, and look so like a smile,
Seems, as it issues from the shapeless mould,
An emanation from the indwelling life." — Bryant.
'•And there Linnxa we.ives her rosy wreath,"
This delicate and graceful little evergreen is widely diffused through
most of the Northern countries of ICurope and Anierica. It is found
within the limits of the x\rctic Circle : in dreary Kamschatka, and in
snowy 1 .upland, the young -iris wreathe their hair with its flexible garlands.
In inhospitable Labrador it covers the rocks ar.d mossy roots of I'ines and
Birches in lonely shaded glens. It is found in uie Scottish Highlands
and through all i)arts of the Northern and Ivislern States of America.
In all the Provinces of our own Canada it may be found in secltided
spots. On the rot ky Islands of the St. Lawrence, and of our inland
lakes it is particularly aiiundant, and its graceful trailing branches cover
-- t
WILD, OR lYATIVE FLOWERS.
the rude rocks, rnd fling a robe of luxuriant vegetation over decaying
fallen timber, concealing that which is unseemly with grace and beauty.
" SwL't'l tlower, that in llic lonely wood
Anil tangled forest, clollicst the rude twisted roots
Oflofly jiine and feathery liemlock,
AVith thy flow ei -decided garhuvl ever green ;
Thy modest, drooping, rosy hells of fairy lightness
Wave gently to the passing l)reeze,
Dilfiising fragrance."
This pretty, graceful little plant was named in honour of the great
father of botany, the good Linnaeus, who chose it more especially as
his own flower when lie pluc'ced it first in Bothnia : by his wish it 'vas
adopted for the crest of his coat of arms.
The little flower has been imniortalised by the great botanist. It
is said that one of his pupils aware of his great master's love for the
plant, when visiting China, caused a service of fine porcelain to be made
and decorated with wreaths of the Linna;a, as a present to Linn;i:ub, ana
as a mark ot his grateful remembrance.
At the death o' the great naturalist, Cardinal de Noailles erected a
cenotaph in his garden, to his memory, and i)lanted this little northern
flower at its base for the sake of him whose name it bears.*
At every joint the l.inmea puts forth white, fibrous rootlets, thus in-
creasing and perpetuating the growth of the plant till it forms a tangled,
mass of leafy branches. The leaves are round, slightly crenate with
a deeper notch at the top, and together ^ "'h the younger stalks are some-
what hairy. They are [placed in oj'iosite pairs, from the centre of each
of which rises a slender flower stalk, f:n king near the summit, and bearing
a i)air of delicate, rose-tinted drooping bells, veined with lines of a
deeper pink. The throat of the bell is tubular, as in the Honey-suckle
and is thickly beset with silvery, woolly hairs. Stamens four, two of
them shorter than the others ; the corolla is divided near the margin into
five pointed segments. Seed vessel a dry, three-celled, but one-seeded
pod.
If i^lanted fur cultivation, the ground should be shaded and some-
what damp. In an artificial rock-work, sufificiently protected from the
glare of sunshine and ke]it mcjist in hot days, it would grow luxuriantly
and throw its evergreen matted branches over and among the .stones with
proUy effect. The blossom?; give out a delicate fragrance, especially at
dewfall, the scent being scarcely perceptible during the noontide heat.
•ScT Wv > HrlKlittti'irs Life i.f Liuii.HiB,
ll'/l.D, OK iXATIVK FI.OWL'RS.
51
Our charming Twin-llower is very constant in its habits, being
found Near after year in the same locaUty, as long as it enjoys the
advantages of shade and moisture ; but it cannot endure exposure to the
heat and glare of sunshine, thougli it will linger as long as it can ohtam
any shelter.
Thirty years ago I found the IJtimra borealis growing beneath the
shade of Hemlock trees among long .Si)hagnous mosses, on the locky
banks of the Otonabee. Last year, on re-visiting the same spot, I
noticed a few dwarfed, yellow and starved-looking plants struggling, as
it were, for existence, but the evergreens that had sheltered them at their
roots were all gone.
There seems to be a law of mutual dependence among the
vegetable tribes, each one ministering to the waru:; of the others.
Thus the shelter afforded by the larger trees to the smaller shrubs and
herbs, is repaid again to them by the nourishment that the decaying
leaves and stems of these latter afford, and the warmth that they yield
to their roots by covering the ground from the winter cold, and thus pro-
tecting them from injury, l-'urther than this, it is very probable that they
appropriate to their own use ([ualities, in the soil or in the air, that might
prove injurious to the healthy growth of the larger vegetables. That which
is taken uj) by one race of plants is often rejected by others. Yet so
beautiful is the arrangement of God's economy in the vegetable world
that something gathers up all fragments and nothing is lost — -nay, not the
minutest particle runs to waste. The farmer practically acknowledges
the principle that one kind of vegetable feeds upon that which another
rejects, when he adopts a certain routine in cropping his land, for he
knows that if he planted grain in constant succession the soil would soon
cease to yield its increase, because it would have ceased to afford the
food necessary for perfecting the grain : but he sows Wheal after roots,
as Potatoes, Turnips and Beets, or after pulse as Pease, Beai. or \'etches,
for these have taken only certain constituents of the soil, leaving those
portions on which the Cereals feed unappropriated. Thus silently,
unconsciously, and mysteriously, do God's creatures administer to one
another, working out the will of their Great Creator, and obeying his
laws while following the instincts of their several natu.es.
We might follow out this subject to a greater length than our limits
will admit of our doing, but it is time that we dismiss our lovely little
Twin-flower which forms so attractive a feature in our artist's graceful
design, hoping that it may sometimes win an admiring glance from our
readers, who may be so fortunate as to meet with its evergreen wreaths
and fragrant flowers, in its native woods d.iring the i ify month of
s^u;
('!
„''!
111:!
i
il
■ 1 w
^ii
52
;/■//./>. OA- x.i'//i7-: fi.o\vi:rs.
June, wliich is its nowciing season— tliough oitcn it may be seen
lingering in rocky woods lluough July, and now and llicn a few late
blossoms will be found in shady ground late in August.
Roi'Ni) i.K.WKn SiNDi'w Drouni rotiDuiifolia (L.)
Two species of this interesting and singular family are common in
Canada. One Droscra rofinidi/a/ia with round leaves, beset with stiff
glandular hairs of a dcei) red colour, abounds in boggy soil in most
parts of the Dominion.
The beauty of this little ]jlant consists in the hairy fringes of the
leaves which exude drops of a clear dow-like (luid ; each little leaf seems
adorned with a row of liquid gems, beautiful as pearls, and glistening in
the sunlight like miniature diamonds.
The round red leaves are prolonged into the petiole, or rather the
leafstalk is expanded at its edges and terminates in the glandular leaf.
The llowers are small, white, sometimes tinged with pink, borne on a
slender, naked, somewhat one-sided scape, which droops a little at the
tip. I am not aware of any medicinal or useful {jualities of the
Sundev s, but the eye that sees the beauty set fortli in the little dew-
gemmed leaf of this lovely jilant, may behold in it with reverent
admiation a work of creative mind, su. passing all that man's ingenuity
can i^roduce. The jeweller may jiolish and set the ruby and the
diamond iu fretted gold, but he cannot make or.e ruby-tinted leaf of
the little Sundew.
A rather narrower-leaved species is Droscra lotij^ifolia (L.), which
grows abundantly in a peat marsh near Stoney T.ake, at a spot known as
" Hurricane I'uint," a rocky cape, at the rear of which lies a low marshy
flat, covering several acres kA wet groimd : a rare garden and nursery
for many charming flowering shrubs and ex(]uisite bog-loving plants.
A beautiful v arpct of white Peat Moss Sp]iai:;)uim cyinbifoIiiDii is spread
over the jurface, nearly a foot dec^p ; on this we see wreaths of the grace-
ful lo'.--busIi Cranberry, trailing its slender branches with their dark green
giob^y myrtle-'ike foliage and delicate i)ink revolute flowers, as well as
berries in every ^ tage of jjrogress, the tiny green immature fruit — the
golden — the 'iiottlvd and the deep red ripe berry. How tempting to the
hand and eye. There the slender leaved Sundew mixes its white
flowers with the fringed Orchis, and sends up from the watery soil its
nindest flowers in the midst of a bed of the grand blossoms of that
larely consti. cted plant the " Pitcher I'lant," Sarraccina purpurea, ox as
it is called by some writers " Side-saddle flower."*
* (Iray suyn it is ■lilliiMilt to I'mii'V ;iny riwcinlii.-Min' lii'lwi'ri! Iliis li.iwiT .iihi ,-i ^i■l•■-s;lcilll^■. I
venture t'l siijigcst lli;it tlic fuiniiicpii ii.imi' ciri;,'iii;iti'a fioin tlic llaji-likc rxteiisioii nf tin.' leaf.
%
;r//./>. Oh' xAT/rE flowers.
S}>
;is
Tlie hog of wliich I speak abounils in shrul)s, among which we see
the narrow, dark-leaved Sheep-laurel, Kaliiiia i^Inuar, with its rose-
coloured flowers ; the aromatic Sweet-Oalc, Mvrica Gnlc : and I.abrador-
tea, J.cdiini hitifoliiiiii with its revoiute, rosemary-like, narrow leaves, and
whitish flowers. Above all, (or beauty, is the White Peat Moss itself,
with its soft, velvety foliage, varying in shade from pale sea-green or
creamy-wJute to delicate i)ink and dcei)er rose. 1 know of nothing more
lovely than are these exc[uisite Splni^itiiiiis : nor are they without their
value, for they are greatly used by the florist and gardener in packing
roots and plants for sale.
There are more vegetable treasures to be found in the peat marsh
near Hurricane I'oint than I have noticed. A deer track leads beyond
this marsh to" Fairy Lake." This lake is like a mountain tarn ; it is
surrounded by lofty rocks,'and is not a mere hilet from Stoney Lake, as it
now appears, being encircled on all sides by a stony barrier of rugged
rocks, some rising from the water's edge, bare and ])recipitous, or clothed
with grey, hoary tufts of Cladonias and other lichens and mosses. In
the clefts may be found the somewhat rare Woodsin Ilrcnsis, Hairy
Woodsia, and the Rock Polyijody, /-. rtil^ari. The last named is
not, indeed, an uncommon adornment to the rocky bluffs and stony
islands of our back lakes, and enlivens the rugged, grey, rocky surfaces
with its bright, glossy fronds and golden fruit dots. The rocks decline
to the side facing the larger lake, and towards the western corner there
is a bed of the ^\'hite Peat Moss, overshadowed by a forest of that
grand fern, Osmuiida nivalis, worthy of its regal name, for here, among
the soft Sphagnum, and towering to the height of five and six feet, it
bears above its light green leafage (or should I say /ro//dn^i,v ?) its rich
tufts of cinnamon-brown sporangia. Beneath the Osmundas, and rising
above the mosses, the crimson-lipped leaves and large, red flowers of
the "Pitcher Plant"' Sarract'uia purpurea^ may be seen in great iierfection.
These are but a few of the attractions of I'airy Lake, for there are
flowers and flowering shrubs, that grow in the wild, rocky soil, of many
kinds. 'I'he beautiful spikes of the rose-blossomed Spirea tomentoso, the
Hardback of the Indians, and the graceful white Spirea mlicifolia,
wild Roses, and (k)lden-rods, and Asters, with many others are scattered
round this lovely lakelet, rendering it a place of interest to the botanist
and to the pleasure-seeking tourist.
PrrcHKR Plant — Soi.dier'.s Drinkixc. Cui' — Sarracenia purpurea (L.)
Even the most casual observer, in jiassing a l"><?d of these most
remarkable plants, must be struck by their appearance. Indeed, from
root to flower, thev are in ever) wav worthy of our notice and
admiration.
§1
Hi'
54
iy//.D, OA' XATIl'E l-'LOWENS.
'I'lic l'itc:her I'hint is by no means one of those flowers found only
in inacccssibl<* bogs anil dense cedar-swamps, as are some of our
rare and lovely Orcliids. In almost any grassy swamp, at the borders
of low-lying lakes, and beaver-meadows -often in wet, spongy meadows —
it may be found forming large beds of luxuriant growth.
When wet with recent sliowers, or glistening with dew-drops, the
rich crimson veinings of the broadly scalloped lip of the tubular leaf,
(which is thickly beset with fine stiff silvery hairs,) retain the moisture,
and shine and glisten in the sun-light.
'{"he root-stock is thick, and bears many fibres. The tubular leaves
are ')f a reddish tinge on the outer and convex side, but of a delicate
light-green within. The texture is soft, smooth and leathery; the base of
the leaf, at the root, is narrow and pipe-stem-like, expanding into a large
hollow receptacle, capable ot containing a wine-glass-full of liquid ; even
in dry seasons this cup is rarely found empty. The hollow form of the
leaves, and the broad ewer-like lips, have obtained for the plant its local
and wide-spread name of "Pitcher Plant," and "Soklier's Drinking Cup."
The last name I hatl from a poor old emigrant pensioner, when he
brought me a specimen of the plant from the banks of a half dried up
lake, near which he was located : " Many a draft of blessed water have
we poor soldiers had, when in Egypt, out of the leaves of a jilant like
this, and we used to call it the "Soldier's Drinking Cuj)."
Most probably the plant that afforded the "blessed water" to the poor
thirsty soldiers was, the Nepenthes distillatoria, which plant is found in
Ei.\ pt and other parts of Africa. Perhaps there are but few among the
inhabitants of this well watered country that have as fully appreciated
the value of the Pitcher Plant as did our poor uneducated Irish pen-
sioner, who said that he always thought that God in His goodness had
.created the plant to give drink to such as were athirst on a hot and toil-
some march ; and so he looked with gratitude and admiration on its
representative in Canada. Many a lesson may we learn from the lips
of the poor and the lowly.
Along the inner portion of the leaf there is a wing or flap which
adds to its curious appearance. The evident use of this ajipendage is
to lontract the inner side of the leaf, and to produce a corresponding
rounding of the outer portion, which is thus thrown backwards, and
enables the moisture more readily to fill the cup and to be there retained.
Quantities of small flies, beetles and other insects, enter the pitcher,
possibly for shelter, but are unable to get out again, owing to the refiexed
bristly hairs that line the upper part of the tube and lip, and thus find a
watery grave in the moisture that fills the hollow below, whence there
is no escape for the i)oor deluded prisoners.
WILD, Oh' XAriVE FLOWERS.
55
The tall stately blossom of the Pitcher IMatU is iiDt less worthy of
our attention than the curiously formed leaves. 'i'he smooth, round,
simple scape rises from the centre of the plant to the height of eighteen
inches or two feet. The flower is single and terminal, composed of live
sepals, with three little bracts : five blunt, broad petals of a dull purplish
red colour, but sometimes red and light-yellowish green ; and in one
variety the petals are mostly of a pale green hue, and there is an
absence of the crimson veins in the leafage. 'l"he petals are incurved
or bent downwards towards the centre. The stamens are numerou,s.
The ovary is five-celled, and the style is expanded at the summit into a
five-angled, five-rayed, umbrella-like scalloped mantle, which conceals
beneath it five delicate rays, each terminating in a little hooked stigma.
The capsule or seed-vessel is five celled and five-valved ; seeds
numerous.
I have been more minute in the description of this interesting plant,
because much of its ))eculiar organization is hidden from the eye, and
cannot even be recogni/.ed in a drawing, unless it be a strictly botanical one,
with all its interior parts dissected ; and also because the Pitcher IMant
has lately attracted much attention by its reputed medicinal ([ualities in
cases of Small-pox, that loathsome scourge of the human race. A
decoction from the root of this plant has been said to lessen all the
more violent symptoms of the disorder. If this be really so, its use and
application should be widely known ; fortunately the remedy would be
within the reach of everyone; like many of our sanative herbs it is to be
found without difficulty, and being so remarkable in its appearance, can
never i)e mistaken by the most ignorant of our country herbalists for
any injurious substitute.*
Wii.i) Or.\ni:i'. 1-ii.v — IJliiiin I^hiladilphicmn (\m\.)
" C'onsider the lilies of the field, how they ijrow ; they toil not, iieilhei' do they
spin ; and yet I say unto you, tliat Solomon in all his jjlory was not ariayeil like one
of these.'"
The word Lily is said to be derived from a Celtic word, /./, which
signifies whiteness; also from the Greek, Lirion. Probably thii stately
Lily of the garden, Li/iii/ii aindiduiii, was the (lower to which the name
was first given, from its ivory whiteness and the extjuisite polish of its
petals. However that may be, the name Lily is ever associated in our
minds with grace and ])urity, and reminds us of the Saviour of men,
who spake of the Lilies of the field, how they grew and flourished
beneath the care of Him who clothed them in robes of beauty more
gorgeous than the kingly garments of Royal Solomon
* Note.- I reyri'ttn lie i'iiiii|ii'lli'il tii say tliiit Inter exiierii'iice Ins ili.siinllfil lielicf in the virtue
of tlie I'iteljer t'Lint, Tin such guml results liaviuj} lieeu nbtaineil fniiii lepeiteil trials in eases of that
ilireful disease, siuall-pux.
iil
1
f
56 IV//J), OA' .\A7/n: /■7.oir/:k-s
1
Sir James Smith, one of tlic most celeliraleil of Englisli botanists,
suggests that the Lilies aiiiided to by our Lord may Iiave been Aiiuiryllis
I 1
liit(0, 01 the (lolden Lily of i'alestine tlie bright yellow blossoms of
1
'ills plant abound in the fields of Judiua, and at that moment probably
caught His eye, their glowing colour aptly illustrating the subject on
I
which He was about to speak.
The Lily has a wide geographical range, and may be found in
some form in every clime.
w
There are Lilies that bloom within the cold inlluence of the frigid
K
zone, as well as the more brilliant species that glow beneath the bla/ing
>
i
1
suns of the equator in .\frica and Southern Asia.
Dr. Richardson mentions, in his list of Arctic plants, Lilium
Fhiliuiclphii.itiii, our own gorgeous orange (or rather scarlet s\)otted)
Lily. He remarks that it is called by the Est [uimaux " Mouse-root."
from the fact that it is much sought after by the field mire, which feed
ujion the root. The Porcupine also digs for it in the sandy soil in
which it delights to grow.
In Kamtschatka the l.ilinin puiiipouiiini \f, used by the natives as
an article of food ; and in Muscovy the white Narcissus is roasted as a
substitute for bread.
The healing ([ualities of the large white Lily roots and leaves, when
applied in the form of a poultice to sores and boils, are well known.
1
Thus are beauty and usefulness united in this most attractive plant.
\
We li:i 1 the Orange Lily most frequently growing on open plain-
lands, where the soil is sandy loam. \x\ i)artially-shaded grassy thickets
(
in oak-openings, in the months of June and July, it may be seen mixed
with the a/ure blue Lupine {Lupiinis pcrcnnis), tie golden-flowered
1
Moccasin ( Cypripediiiin pubesicus), the large sweet-scented 'Wintergreen
(Pyrola clliptiai), and other charming summer flowers. Among
1
1
these our gay and gorgeous Lily stands conspicuous.
1
1 )
The stem is from eighteen inches to two feet high. The leaves
1
are narrow ^:)ointed, and of a dark green colour, growing in whorls at
|i
intervals round the stem. The flowers are from one to three ; large
open bells, of a rich orange scarlet, within, spotted with puri)lish brown
(
1
i ■
lii
or black. The outer surface of the petals is pale orange ; anthers six,
on long filaments ; pollen of a brick red, or brown colour ; stigma three-
lobed.
1
1
1' .1 ■
Many flowers increase in beauty of colour and size under cultivation
■
in our gardens, but our glorious Lily can hardly be seen to greater
1
advantage than when growing wild on the open plains and prairies,
1
under thi, 'oright skies of its native wilderness.
(
]»
.
«
W'lI.lK OR XA-IIVE ri.OWKRS. j^
Hakmiiki.l — Coiiipaniihi roiiiiidiJ'oUa (Ijn.)
" Willi (Ircidpinj; liclls of purest Miie
Tlioii (liilst altracl my thildish view,
Aliiiosi rl■'M•llllllill^;
The ;\/iiru liulUrlli(!s lii.it llcw,
\\ Ihtl' "mill lliL' licatli lliy |]|i)>s(im^ ^h'W,
Sii lij;litly trt'mlilinj,'. "
The writer of the above charining linos has also railed the Ilai 'cll
"the I'lower of Memory," and truly tlie siglit of lliese fair flowers, when
found in lonely sjiots in Canada, has carried one hai k in thought to the
wild heatiiery moors or sylvan lanes of the mother country.
" I think upon the heatiiery hills
I ae hae lo'eil sac dearly ;
I think upon the wimplinj; burn
That wan(lerL<l by sae clearly."
But sylvan wooded lanes, and heathery moorlands arc not charac-
ters of our Canadian scenery, and if we would find the Harebell, we
must look for it on the dry gravelly banks of lakes and rivers, or on rocky
islets, for these are its haunts in Canada.
Although, in colour and shape of the blossom, the Canadian llower
resembles the British one, and is considered by botanists to be the same
species ; it is less fragile, the flower stems being stouter, and the foot
stalk or pedicel stiffer and less pendulous : the root leaves, whi( h are not
very conspicuous during its flowering season, are round, heart-shaped.
'I'hose of the flower-stem are numerous, narrow, and iiointed. This
pretty llower is variable in colour and foliage. Its general flowering
season is July and .\ugust.
The corolla is bell-shai)ed or cami)anulate, five cleft ; calyx lobes,
awl shaped, persistent on the seed vessel ; stamens five ; style one ;
stigmas two ; seed vessel several celled and many seeded ; in height
the plant varies from a few inches to a foot ; number of flowers varying
from a few to many.
We have three common species in Canada, the present one ;
Campanula Americana, {Lin.)a. large, handsome species, found in Western
Canada ; and C. aparinoides, (Bursh) the Rough-leaved Bellflower which
is found in thickets and swamps, it is of a climbing or rather clinging
habit, the weak slender stem, many branched, la\ing hold of the grasses
and low shrubs that surround it, for support, which its rough teeth enable
it to do very eftectually : in habit it resembles the smaller Galium, or
Lady's Bed-straw. The graceful bell-shaped flowers arc of a delicate
lavender colour. The leaves of thir) species are narrow-linear, rough
with minutely-toothed bristles ; the flowers arc few, and fade very
quickly. The name Campanula is from campaim, a bell.
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
1.0
I.I
l^|21 12.5
itt m g2.2
£f b£ 12.0
M
'•25 II '-^ IJ^
<
6"
»
<^
*^
A?
/
■v'
y
/^
Hiotographic
Sciences
Corporation
33 WIST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, NY. USSO
(716) 873-4503
f-
58
WH.l), OR XATIVE FLOWERS.
'I'he Harebell has often formed the theme of our modern poets, as
illustrative of grace and lightness. In the Lady of the Lake we have
this pretty couplet when describing Ellen :
" E'en ihf light Harebell raised its head
Elastic from her airy tread."
Ykli.ow-ki.gwkrki) Wood-Sorrei. — Oxalis strUta (L.)
This delicate little flower may be found occasionally by the wayside;
but is oftener seen among the herbage near the borders of cultivated
fields. The trifoliate leaves are terminal on longish foot-stalks, thin in
texture, and of a pleasant acid taste. At sunset, like the clover and other
trefoils, it droops and folds its leaflets together to sleep, for some plants
rest as in sleep. This Wood-sorrel is somewhat branching and bushy ;
the pale yellow blossoms are on long stalks, fading very soon. There is
also another species — Oxa/is AcctoscUa (L.) — white with jnirpie veinings,
a lovely delicate thing of great beauty, which is found on damp mos.sy
banks at the edge of low pastures. It has been asserted by some persons
that the Wood-Sorrel is the Irish Shamrock, the emblem of the Holy
Trinity ; but it is more likely, if St. Patrick really used any plant as a
simile, that he took the familiar golden-blossomed trefoil Yellow clover,
which is " The .Shamrock," which grows so abundantly in Ireland by
waysides. The Wood-sorrel is of rarer occurrence and of less familiar
ajipearance.
Cisius — RocK-Rcsii — Neliant/ieiiium Qviodcnsi: (Michx.)
We find the yellow Cistus growing on gravelly hills m-.C sunny
banVs. It is a pretty, delicate-flowered plant of slender upright growth,
and hoary foliage, beset with silvery gray hairs. The flowers, rarely
more than two opening at a time, are about an inch wide ; the petals
slightly notched at the upper edge, of a pale brimstone colour ; the
many stamens and anthers reddish-orange. The flowers open at sunrise
but fall before night ; they are so slight in texture that the least touch
bothers them. There is a peculiarity in this plant that is very singular,
the tendency to produce an abundance of abortive flowers along the
lower portion of the stem. These never open, and give a scaly look to
the plant. The Cistus is also known by the name of Frost- Plant ;
this name may have been given to it from the hoary appearance of the
leaves, though a less obvious cause has been assigned for the name.
It is said that ice crystals are formed on the bark in the autumnal frosts ;
but most likely some crystallized substance from the juices of the plant
has been mistaken for ice.
;/7/,A OK .\AT1VE FLOIVEKS,
Ykli.o\v-Flax — Wild Fiax — Linum sulcatum (Riddcll.)
59
This is a delicate little plant mostly found on dry sunny banks,
during the hot summer months. The blossoms resemble the common
blue Flax, but are smaller ; the narrow leaves are harder in texture and
the plant not more than one foot in height ; the flower falls very soon.
I do not know if the stem possesses the thready flax fibre of the
cultivated species ; its only recommendation is the jjretty i)alc yellow
blossom.
Canadian \\\\.s\\\ —/inpatieiis fiiiiui (Null.)
Our Wild Ualsam is a sinjjularly gay plant, with its jjrofusion of
orange-coloured spotted flowers, light foliage and semi-transparent
stems. The Butterflies seem to take delight in hovering over the bright
blossoms, and the Humming-birds may be seen on sunny days with
outsti etched beaks and wings, winnowing the air as they balance their
tiny bodies, while extracting sweets or insects from the curiously hooded
flowers. In the New England States it is known as the Humming-bird
Flower, but it has other pretty descriptive names. Jewel Weed, .Speckled
Jewel, and Touch-me-not. 'i'his last alludes to tlit -jcnsitive nature of
the slender seed-pods, which burst at a slight touch, rolling themselves
into pretty rings and shedding abroad the seed.
The flowers hang lightly, drooping on very slender thready stalks ;
when open the outer sepal of the coloured calyx forms a hooded caj)
which reminds one of an old jester's cap and bells. It is only in the
single-flowered Ualsam, under cultivation, that we see the < urious hood
with its horn-like nectary ; but the elastic seed-]Jod is, like the wild
species, ecjually sensitive if touched. A strong cijlouring matter of
bright orange pervades the whole plant in our \\'ild Balsam leavesi
stem and flower. 'I'he Indian women use the juice in dyeing, and also
apply it in Erysipelas caused by Poison Ivy and in other diseased states
of the skin. Our Balsam loves low wet soil. The low lake shore, and
forest streams are its favourite haunts, where it attains the height of three
and four feet.
There are two s])ecies, Inipatiens fulva, distinguished by its deeper
coloured blossoms, orange, almost scarlet, and its brown spots, and
darker green leaves. /. pallida (Nutt) is paler, and the markings on the
petals lilighter, the foliage is much lighter, and the juice of the plant
more watery.
Professor Lindley has given the Balsam a place among the garden
Nasturtiums. A very natural affinity seems to exist between the
Nasturtiums and Balsams as respects habits, form and colour. I^r.
Gray gives the Balsams an order to themselves.
ii
1 1
4
60 jr//.D, OA XATHE II.On-ERS.
R\iri KsNAKi; V\..\sv \\\ —Gotn/yern />u/>iscens (R. Mr.)
This is a forinidaMo name (or a lovely little plani, the loaves of
which are prettily netted over the dark j;reen surface with milky-white
1
1
veinin>;s. The ovate, pointed leaves are set close to the ground ; from
^r 1
the ( Liitre of the leaves rises a naked stalk ot pearly white (lowers in a
j
*
slender spike : c urrolla ringent with inflated lip ; root-stork somewhat
'
i
creeping, soft and fibrous ; the flowers are slightly fragrant. This
I
pretty little plant is fouhd in the forest, often on fallen decayed trunks
■i
of trees, or in light fibrous mould. It is very nearly allied tc the
1
Si.iNDKR Ladiks'-Tresses— 5//;v?«///('jr grticilis (Big.)
The flower-stem of this singular plant is twisted, .so that the blos-
■ (
>
soms are turned to one side, forming a spiral of great beauty. The
flowers are larger than those of the Rattlesnake Plantain, and sweeter ;
greenish-while, lipped and fringed. The two leaves are closely pressed to
the ground, and are little seen after the plant is in bloom. There
are several species of these graceful Orchids.
The si)iral arrangement of the flowers |)robably suggested the
ringlets on some fiiir lady's head. The old florists and herbalists ot
former times were more gallant than our modern botanists, for they
gave many i)retty names to the flowers instead of the harsh-sounding,
unmeaning ones that we find in our scientific manuals of Botany. So
we have among our local and familiar names, such prettily sounding
ones, as "Ladies' Tresses,'' "Sweet Cicely," "Sweet Marjoram," or
" Marjory," " Mary-gold," " Ladies' Slipper," with a number of others
that I could name — besides descriptive names, which form a sort of
biography of the plant, giving us a correct idea of their characteristics
and peculiar uses or habits.
Sweet Scented Water-Lii.y— AV/////wrf odorata (Ait.)
" Rocked gently there, the he.iutiful Nymphiva
Pillows her lirigh! head." — Calendar of J-'l<ru'eis.
Water-Lily is the popular name by which this beautiful a(iuatic
plant is known, nor can we find it in our hearts to reject the
name of I-ily for this ornament of our lakes. The White Nympha;a
might indeed he termed " Queen of *'ie Lakes," for truly she sits in
regal pride upon her watery throne, a very (jueen among flowers.
Very lovely are the Water Lilies of England ; but their fair sisters of
the New World excel them in size and fragrance.
(
•
Wf/.l), OA' XATIVF. FLOWERS.
6i
Many of the tribe, to which these plants belong, are natives of the
torrid /one, hut our White Water-Lilies {Ny: Miica odorata and tulhioux)
and the \eIlo\v I'ond- Lilies \\uphar adveua, luUa and k'dhiiiaiia) only
are able to support the cold winters of (Janada. The de])th of the
water in which they grow enables them to withstand the cold, the frost
rarely penetrating to their roots, which in the Nymph;eas are rough and
knotted, white and fleshy, and often as thick as a mans wrist. The
root-stock is horizontal, sending many fibrous slender rootlets into the
soft mud; the steins that support the leaves and blossoms are round, of
an olive green, containing open pores filled with air, which cause them
to be buoyed up in the water. These air-cells may be examined
by cutting the stems across, when the beautiful arrangement of the
pores can be seen, and admired for the use they are, in buoying up the
stem, and allowing the flower-cuj) to float upon the surface of the water.
These air-cells are arranged with beautiful symmetry, so as to give
strength as well as lightness.
The leaves of the Water-I,ily are of a full-green ( olour, deeply
tinged with red towards the fall of the year, so as to give a blood red
tinge to the water : they are of a large size, round kidney-shaped, of
leathery texture, and highly-polished surface ; resisting the action of the
water as if coated with oil or varnish. Over these beds of Water-I.ilies
hundreds of Dragon Flies of every colour blue, green, scarlet and
bronze -may be seen like living gems, flirting their ])carly-tinted wings
in all the enjoyment of tlu'ir newly found existence ; possibly enjoying
the delicious aroma from the odourous lemon-scented flowers, over which
they spor' so gaily.
The flowers of the Water-I,ily grow singly at the summit of the
round, smooth, fleshy scapes. Who that has ever floated \.\\mn one of
our calm inland lakes, on a warm July or August day, but has been
tempted, at the risk of upsetting the frail birch-bark canoe, or shallow
skifT, to put forth a hand to snatch one of those matchless ivory cups,
that rest in spotless purity upon the tranquil water, just rising and falling
with the movement of the stream ; or has gazed with wishful and
admiring eyes into the still, clear water, at the exquisite buds and half
unfolded blossoms that are springing upwards to the air and sunlight-
The hollow boat-shaped se[)als of the calyx are four in number, of
a bright olive green, smooth and oily in texture. The flowers do not
expand fully until they reach the surface. The petals arc numerous,
hollow (or concave), blunt, of a pure ivory white ; very fragrant, having
the rich odour of freshly-cut lemons ; they are set round the surface of
the ovary (or seed-vessel) in regular rows, one above the other, gradually
lessening in size, till they change, by imperceptible gradation, into the
62
wii.n, OK XAini-: fi.owiiks.
narrow, fleshy petal-like >'ellow anthers. The pistil is without style,
the stiynia forming a flat rayed top to the ovary, as in the Poppy
and many other plants.
Hut if the White Water-Lily is beautiful, how much more .so is the
lovely pink-flowered variety shown in our Plate, which was painted by
Mrs. ('hamherlin from a specimen she collei:ted at Lakefield and which
was of such an excpiisite shade of colour that it could be only compared
with the
" Hues of the rich unfoUlint; morn,
That ere the glorious sun l>f Imrn
Hy some soft touch invisililc,
Around his path are tau){ht to swell." — Kehle.
This is called N. odorata var. rosea and is found abundantly in
many of the small lakes in the northern counties of Ontario,
particularly in the Muskoka district.
On the approach of night our lovely water-nymph gradually closes
her petals, and slowly retires to rest on her watery bed, to rise again
the following day, to court the warmth and light so necessary for the
perfection of the embryo seeds, and this continues till the fertilization
of the germ has been completed, when the petals shrink and wither,
and the .seed-vessel sinks down to the bottom of the water, where the
seeds ripen in its secret chambers. Thus silently and mysteriously
does Nature perform her wonderful work, " sought out only by those
who have pleasure therein."*
The roots of the Water-I.ily contain a large (juantity of fecula
(flour), which, after repeated washings, may be used for food ; they are
also made use of in medicine, being cooling and softening ; the fresh
leaves are used as good dressing for blisters.
The Lotus of Kgypt belongs to this family, and not only furnished
magnificient ornaments with which to crown the heads of their gods
and kings, but the seeds also serve as food to the people in times of
scarcity. The Sacred I,oius {Nclumbium specicsitiii) was an object itself
of religious veneration to the ancient Egyptians.
The Chinese, in some places of that over-populated country, grow
Water-Lilies upon their lakes for the sake of the nourishment yielded
by the roots and seeds.
" Lotus-eaters," says Dr. Lee, " not only abound in Egypt, but all
over the ICast." " The large fleshy roots of the Ndumbiiim luteiiw,
• III tliat siii^iuliir iilaiit, tlu' fct-l <ir Tiipi'Krass Vitlllsuerin .-yimiis (I..) ii |iliiiit iniligi'iioiiH to
(iiir Hlow-lii.wiii^' wati'i's, tlir rlsstic sti'iii wliirli bears tho pistillate Howers 'iiii-iills to rencli tlie
surface of tin' water; about the same tiiue tlie ]i(illeii-lieariiig llowers, wliicli are iiroiliiee.l at the
Inittdiu of tlie water nil vei'.v short seapeK, lir»ak away from the eoiiliiiiiiK lioiuls that liolil tlieiii,
and rise to the suifiiee, where they expand and scatter their fertilizing; dust .ipon the I'ruit-
liearing tlowers wliieh float arounil tbeiii ; these, after a while, <'oil up again and draw the pod-
like ovary down to the liottoiii, there to riiKJii ami perfect the fruit.
WILD, OR XATIVE I'l.OWF.KS.
6S
or great Yellow Water- Lily, found in our North Anierican lakes
resemble the Sweet Potato {Ihitatas t-Jitlis), and by some of the natives
are esteemed eijually agreeable and wholesome,' observes the same
author, "being used as food by the Indians, as well as sjnie of the
Tartar tribes."
As yet little value has been attached to our charming White
Water-Lily, because its uses have been unknown. Ii is one of the
privileges of the botanist, and naturalist, to lay open the vegetable
treasures that are so lavishly bestowed upon us by the bountiful hand
of the great Creator.
Yei.i.ow I'onu-Lii.v — Spatier Dock — Niipha r adi'eiia (.Wi.)
And thure the l)right Nympluv.i loves to l.ivc,
And spreads her fjolden orlis .Thjiip the dimpling w.ive.
The Yellow Pond-Lily is often found growing in extensive beds,
mingled with the White, and though it is less graceful in form, there is
yet much to admire in its rich orange-coloured flowers, which appear, at
a little distance, like l)alls of gold floating on the still waters. The large
hollow petal-like sepals that surround the flower, are sometimes finely
clouded with dark red on the outer side, but of a deep orange yellow
within, as also are the strap-like petals and stamens : the stigma, or
summit of the pistil, is flat, and 12-24 rayed. The leaves are dark-green>
scarcely so large as those of the White Lily, and more elongated, they
are borne on long thick fleshy stalks, flattened on the inner side, and
rounded without. The botanical name A'/z/^Z/rtrr is derived, says (Iray
from the Arabic word Neufar, signifying Pond-Lily.
Nature's arrangements are always graceful and harmonious, and
this is illustrated by the grouping of these beautiful water |)lants
together. The ivory white of the large Lily mingling with the brighter,
more gorgeous colour of the yellow ; and the deeper green of the broad
shield-like leaf with the bright verdure of that of the Arrow-head, and
the bright rosy tufts of the red Water Persicaria ; the leaves, veinings
and stems, giving warm tints of colour to the water, as they rise and sink
with the passing breeze.
Where there is a deep deposit of mud in the shallows of still
waters, we frecjuently find many diflerent species of atiuatics growing
promiscuously. The tall lance-like leaf and blue-spiked heads of the
stately Pontcderia cordata, keeping guard, as it were, over the graceful
Nymphiva, like a gallant knight with lance in rest, ready to defend his
(lueen ; and around these the fair and delicate white flowers of the small
Arrow-head rest their frail petals upon the water, looking as if the slightest
breeze that ruffled its surface, would send them from their watery pillow.
64
WILD, ON XATI\'l: Fl.OWEKS.
ncyf)nd this icjuatic garden lie beds of Wild Kice {/.iziuiiii aijiuitica)
with floating leaves of emerald green, and \va\ing grassy flowers of
straw-colour and ijurjjle while nearer to the shore the bright rosy tufts
of the \Vatcr I'ersicaria ( Polvj^oinim aiiiphihiiim), with dark-green leaves
and crimson stalks, delight the eyes of the passer-by.
SiMKKNARi) Araliii nitciiiosn (I,.) '
This valuable plant is distinguished by its heart-shaped, five foliate,
l)ointed and serrated leaves ; wide-branching, herbaceous stem ; long,
white, aromatic, astring"Mt root; greenish white flowers and racemose
branching umbels of small, round, purple berries, about the si/e and
colour of the purjile berried elder. It affects a rich, deep soil, the long,
tough roots sometimes extending to a yard or more in length ; forking
and branching repeatedly. 'I"he plants are often seen growing on large
boulders where there is a sufficiency of soil, the roots penetrating into
the crevices, or extending horizontally over the surface. Another
f? vourite place for this plant is on the earth adhering to large upturned
loots, the seed having been left by the birds. 'I"he root has an aromatic
taste, and smells like Aniseed orCa.away. It is a most valuable domestic
medicine, safe and simple ; its curative properties, in cases of obstinate
dysenterical disorders, deserve to be widely known.
It was from an old Canadian settler that I learned the virtue of the
Spignet-root, for it is by that name it is known in country places. I
have tested its efficiency in many cases of that common and often fatal
disorder, to which young children are subject during the hot summer
months in Canada. For the benefit of anxious mothers I give the
following preparation from this valuable root :
Recipe. — Take the long roots, which are covered with a wrinkled
brown skin, wash them well and remove the outer bark ; then scrai)e
down the white fibrous part, which is the portion of the root tliat is to
be made use of, throwing aside the inner, hard, central heart, which is
not so good.
A large table-spoonful of the scraped root may be boiled in a pint
of good milk, till the quantity is reduced to one-half; a small stick of
Cinnamon, and a lump of white sugar, boiled down with the milk improve
the flavour, add to its astringent virtue, and make the medicine (juite
palatable. 'J'iie dose for an infant is a tea-spoonful, twice a day ; for an
adult, a dessert-spoonful twice or thrice a day, till the disorder is checked.
The months of August and September arc the best time to obtain
the roots, which have then come to perfection.
«
'
r
^
•
Plate III
I . I ' A I N r r; I > ■ I ' K 1 1 1 n M ( T til Hunt eiyth roca vpuin ).
:
I,
II. Wii.i) 1,11 V Of iHK Vam.i V (SmaliriniX hifolia\
III. Klv-ki.owkr Ki,()Wi;i<in(j W'i.m ku-hki.k.n {Poly^^ala paucifolhi.)
I
f.
PLATE
c
IV/LD, OK NATIVE FLOWERS.
65
The strengthening and purifying nature of this plant makes it quite
safe as a medicine even for a young infant. The preparation is by no
means unpalatable j it is sweet and slightly bitter, aromatic and
astringent.
I have seen children that had been reduced to the last stage of
debility, restored, after taking three or four doses, to a healthy state of
body ; it purifies the blood and strengthens the system.
This plant, and Aralia nudiaittUs, (L.) or Wild Sarsaparilla, are
held in great repute as wholesome tonics by the old settlers.
The Ginseng, A. qnhi'/uefoiia, (Gray) or Five-leaved Sarsaparilla, is
known by its scarlet berries.
DwARK (iiNSENC, — Aralia tri/olia, (Gray.)
Is a pretty, delicate little plant, with three, palmately three to five
foliate, light-greeri leaves, which form a leafy involucre to the small
delicate umbel of whitish-green flowers which surmounts them. The
root is a round tuber, deep below the soil ; it is pungent to the taste.
MoNKKV Flower. — Mimuhis ringens, (L.)
Our Mimulus is a sober-suited nun, not gorgeously arrayed in
crimson and golden sheen, scarlet or orange, but in a modest, uno!)trusive
dark violet colour, that she may not prove too conspicuous among the
herbage and grasses. Her favourite haunt is in dami) soil, by low-lying
streams and open, swampy meadows, among moisture-loving herbs,
coarse grasses and sedges, and dwarf sheltering bushes. Vet our
Mimulus is l)y no means devoid of beauty; the dark violet-purple of
the corollas being rather unusual among wild-ilowers. The blossoms
grow from between the axils of the leaves, singly, on rather long foot-
stalks ; the upper lip of the tubular corolla is arched, the lower spreading
and thrice lobed ; the leaves are long, of a dullish green, often, with the
angled upright scape, taking a bronzed purple tint.
M.VD-DOG Skullcap — Scutellaria lateriflora, (L.)
This pretty, light-blue flower grows on the low-lying shores of the
Katchawanook Lake, and other localities on the banks of the Otonabee
and its tributaries.
The stem is slender, branching, the leaves rather coarse ; colour of
the blossoms azure blue ; with the small upper lip somewhat curved.
The old settlers imputed great virtues to this very humble herb
which it is more than doubtful if it possessed. Good faith, however,
will often work marvellous cures. The idea was that the plant would
avert the terrible effects of the bite of a mad-dog.
<)6
WILD, OR NATIVE FLOWERS.
There is also a much handsomer species with larger flowers and
simpler stem — the Common Skull-cap (S. galericulata.)
Marsh Vetchling — Marsh 1^e.\ -Lat/iyrus palustris, (L)
The Marsh- Vetchling or Marsh-Pea is a graceful climbing plant
with purple flowers, and long slender leaflets arranged in pairs from two
to four, or six, along the leaf-stalk which terminates in a cluster
of clasping thread-like tendrils. The flowers are placed on long,
slender, arching peduncles springing from the base of the leaf-sta!k,
which is furnished at the joint with a pair of sharply pointed stipules.
The Marsh-Pea is found chiefly in damp ground among herbs and
dwarf bushes along the margins of low-lying lakes and creeks, and sandy
grassy flats. Its pretty purple pea-shaped blossoms and pale-green
leaves attract the eye, as it twines among the herbage and forms graceful
garlands amidst tlie ranker and coarser plants to which it clings. A
taller species with slender stalks, two to four feet high with ovate-
elliptical leaves, much larger stipules, and an abundance of small, pale
blue-purple flowers is also found on marshy shores. This is the variety
my rt if alius of Gray.
There are many other graceful twining plants of this order. The
most remarkable is the
Indian-hean — Apios iiiberosa, (Ma^nch.)
known also as Indian-potato and Sweet-bean. A tall climber with
compound leaves of five to seven ovate leaflets, and sweet-scented
clustered flotvers of a ^'rownish-purple colour, and pear-shaped tubers,
of the size of a hen's egg, which are used as an article of food by the
Indians, who roast them in the embers, and eat them as we do baked
potatoes. A fine white starchy substance can be obtained by grating
the tubers — tasteless and not unwholesome.
BuTTERFL\ Weed — Asdepias tuberosa, (L.)
Of this remarkable family Canada possesses many handsome species.
The most showy is a large bushy i)lant, with gorgeous orange, almost
scarlet flowers. Every branch is terminated by a wide-spreading head,
composed of small umbels of brilliant flowers. This plant is known by
the name of Butterfly I'lower from its singularly gay appearance, which
's very attractive when seen on dry hills on sunny days. The root is
used in medicine as a powerful vermifuge by the old settlers, who say they
learned its medicinal virtue from the Indian herb doctors.
ly/LD OA' \ATIFK FLOWERS,
The floral construction of the flowers of all this family is peculiar.
The petals are somewhat pointed, five in number ; divisions of the calyx
also five ; the petals are reflexed, showing a central crown, which
is composed of five hooded nectaries, each of which encloses a
curved horn-like appendage. The crown is often of a diff"erent
shade of colour from the petals ; and from its peculiar form,
the flower has the appearance of being double. The leaves of the
Butterfly Flower are rough on the surface and hoary ; the seed-pods are
also hoary. It is a striking and showy flower, deficient in the viscid
milky juice that is so abundant in others of the genus.
The pink-flowered Milkweed, A. Corniiti, is fragrant and also
handsome ; it is a tall, showy plant, abounding in milky juice ; the leaves
are large, soft, and velvety ; the flowers pale pink, falling in graceful
tassels from between the leaves ; the form of the flowers is the same as
in the above ; the seed-pods are large and the seeds flat, lying one
over the other, closely pressed, in beautiful succession, like the shining
silvery scales of a fish ; each seed is furnished with a tuft of silken hair.
The pod opens by a long slit ; and it is wonderful to see the
beautiful winged seeds, the instant the prison door is opened, rise as if
moved by some sudden impulse, spreading their shining silken wings
and taking flight, wafted away by the slightest breeze to parts unknown.
One marvels how this winged multitude ever found space to lie within
the narrow case from which they escaped ; and it reminds you of that
wonderful Genius of the old Arabian tale, that the poor scared fisherman
induced to re-enter the metal pot. Methinks it would be even harder to
gather together our fugitive silky seeds than to coax a refractory (lenius
into a quart pot again.
The whole of the Asdepias family are remarkable for the strong,
tough, silken fibre that lines the bark of the stout stem. This, in
the common Silk-weed, A. Coriiuti, has attracted much attention, but has
not as yet been utilized for textile fabrics. The fibre is strong, and
can be divided into the finest threads of silken softness, and of good
length, as the plant reaches from two to three feet, or more, in height,
and grows so freely that I have seen extensive plantations of it on wild
tipots, where it has been self-sown : and where few other plants would
grow.
The silken beard of the seed, though so bright and beautiful, is too
short and brittle for spinning ; still, as a felting material, or for pajjer
manufacture, it might prove of value, when even the pod might be
employed. A good fibre is found in all the tall Milkweeds and also in
the Apocynnms or Dogbanes, where the thread is still finer. All these
I; 1
HI
68
li'/LD, OK NATIVE FLOWERS.
plants are rcniarkablc for the bitter, viscid, milky juices with which they
abound.
W'q. know nothing in medicine, experimentally, of this tribe of
native plants ; but I believe they are sujiposed to contain poisonous
properties of a narcotic nature, as is the case with most vegetables
containing acrid milky juices.
It would add greatly to the value of botanical books, if a few words
as to the poisonous character of native plants were inserted.
A\'i L 1 .( )'.\ - H E R I! — Epilobimii aiii^ttsti/oliitiii, ( I .. )
This handsome, showy plant, with its tall wand-like stem, and
abundant blossoms of reddish lilac, adorns old neglected fallow-lands
that have been run over by 1,'ish fires, and open swampy spots, where it
covers the unsightly ground with its bright colours and drooping stems,
which are often borne down by the weight of their blossoms and fair
buds. It often shares these waste places with the White Everlasting,
Anh'iinaria iiinrgaritaccn, \\'ild Red-Raspberry, Blackberry, and the Fire-
weed ; with a variety of smaller plants that take possession of the virgin
soil, there to perfect their flowers and fruit, while at the same time their
abundant foliage serves to cover the confusion caused by charred and
blackened trunks and branches of prostrate trees. Over all these the
graceful Willow-herb waves its flowery spikes and long willowy leaves.
All through the months of July, August and September it blooms
on, while later in the season its silky-plumed seeds fill the air, as they
wing their waj' to other wild spots equally favourable for their growth and
development.
'I'hc midribs of the leaves are white, or rosy red, as also are the
wand-like stems and branches. The terminal naked buds are of a deep
crimson ; the seed-pod long, and opening lengthwise to allow the seeds to
float off on the breeze by means of their silky sails.
'J'he Willow-herb is cultivated in gardens in England, where it is
known by the name of French Willow. I remember seeing it in
almost a wild state, in a picturesciue old garden in Suffolk, where it
grew to the height of seven or eight feet, the long flowery wand-like
stems drooping over the margin of a fish-pond, where, beneath the
shadow of r big old Willow, I used to sit and feed the silver-scaled Carp,
which were so fearless that they came and fed upon the crumbs that I threw
into the water. It was a pleasant spot, with the flowers, and the fish, and
the old Willow tree.
il^Jf.D, Of! NATIVE FLOWERS. 69
Evening Primrosk — CEnothcra biennis (L.) var. f^nindijlorn, (Lindl.)
" A tuft of EvcniiiR Primroses
O'er which the mind niijjht hover til! it iloses,
Hut that it's ever startled by the leap
Of buds into ripe flowers." — Ken's.
In common with the Northern and Eastern States, Canada owns
many native flowers of this fine fair.ily. Our largest variety of (E. biennis
is dehciously fragrant, with large showy flowers of a deep sulphur colour
— of all the shades of yellow the most beautiful and satisfying to the
eye — so full, so soft, and delicate is the hue. Some species of the
?"vening Pritnrose, true to their descriptive name, only open their
blossoms at sun-set ; others bloom during the day-time and endtire the
light and heat of a July or August sun. Some, as our \a.x'iQiy grn nJiflora,
are from three to four feet high, with stout branching steiiis and many-
flowered spikes ; others are low in stature, with rough hoary leaves and
smaller flowers. (E. pumila, a dwarf species, about six inches in height,
has small flowers of pale colour and of little floral beauty. (E. biennis
(L.) var. nniricata, (dray), which is cominon in open fields and plains,
is a large branching species with smooth, red-veined leaves, a red bristly
stem, and smaller flowers than gmndijiora. It is less fragrant but is a
handsome species, and continues flowering all through the summer, till
cut off by early frosts. But by far the finest and most interesting of our
Evening Primroses is the large flowered, fragrant, gmndiflora under
consideration : no sooner has the sun set, than one after another may
be heard, in ([uick succession — the bursting of the closely shut sepals
of the calyx. One b\- one the petals begin to unfold — slowly, slowly, you
notice a slight movement in the corolla : first one ])etal is loosened from
Its ])laited folds, then another, till in a few seconds the wliole (lower
expands and opens its beautiful deep sulphur-coloured cup with its eight
stamens and yellow anthers, giving out its delightful scent upon the
dewy air. What an object of interest is this flower to children as they
gaze with watching, wondering, eyes, upon its fair unfolding flowers.
One little fellow, almost a baby, cried out, " Oh look ! it's waking now,"
when he saw the first pure i)etal softly rolled back as the blossom com
menced opening. The diagonal lines which cross the surface of the
flower are caused by its twisted aestivation, or folding in the bud, and
this gives it a crimped appearance, which is singularly pretty as well as
curious. It has been stated that a flash of phosphorescent light has been
noticed at the instant the flower opens, but I think a tiny flash of such
pale light would hardly be perceptible during the daylight : besides, the
petals unclose gradually ; the only sudden motion is the unclasping of
the enfolding calyx leaves which emprison the corolla. Nevertheless
70
W//.D, OK NATIVE FLOWERS.
II
it is a inetty idea, and it may be a fact, though not as yet a fully
established one. I think it is Professor Lindley who has recorded the
circumstance in his " Natural System of IJotany," from the observation
of some French naturalist.
Enchanter's Night-shauk -Cmv^r? rt/////^?, (L.)
With so ominous a name we might naturally expect to find some
sad, lurid-looking, poisonous weed or sombre-leaved climber, instead of
a very delicate, innocent-looking, leafy plant, with thin, light-green
foliage, and tiny white or pale pink blossoms, dotted with minute spots
of pale yellow, something like the old garden plant I^ndon Pride. One
can hardly imagine so inoffensive a little flower being introduced by the
ancient Sybils into connexion with their unholy rites, nor understand
why its classical name, Ciraca, after a horrible old enchantress, should
have been retained by our modern botanists.
We often wonder at the Greek names given to plants which are
indigenous to other climes than Greece, and are retained even where
the significance is so obscure as to be cjuestioned by our botanical
writers. It is these hard classical names that frighten youthtul students,
especially young ladies, who are only too glad when they can meet with
names of flowers that give them an insight into the appearance and
qualities of the plants, by which they can be easily recognized.
Imagination loves to get a glimpse at the poetical in the names of
flowers, giving a charm to what is dry and uninteresting in our botanical
books : something that gives us an insight into the history of the flower
we study, beyond the mere structure and definition of its parts. I
remember an old gardener (he was by no means an ignorant man) once
said, " Oh ! madam, in these days they turn poor Poetry out of doors,
but in the olden time it was not so, for it was the language in which
God spake to man through the tongues of angels and prophets. Aye,
and it was the language in which even sinful man spake in prayer to
his Maker : but now they only use hard words for simple things, such
as the flowers of the field and the garden ; or the talk is about gold, and
the things that gold purchases ! "
Spreading Dogbane [Indian Hemp.] Apocynum androsatnifoliuni, (L.)
This pretty pink-flowered plant is also known by the name of Shrubby
Milkweed, from the abundance of acrid milky juice that pervades the
stem, branches and leaves.
The flowers .of this plant are very unlike those of the Asdepiadacece ;
but it: belongs to a closely allied order, and possesses some of the
characteristics of that remarkable order of plants in which the deadly
ih
IV/LO, OK NATIVE FLOWERS.
7»
Strychnia is included, with others of evil reputation. There art Miany
virtues as well as vices in our Milkweeds. The Apocynums have some
worthy members in the family — sweets as well as bitters.
In the " Hya-hya " of Demarara, we find the luscious Milktree, which
with the Cream-fruit of Sierra Leone and some others redeem the charactei
of this remarkable tribe of vegetables. Our own native Shrubby Milkweed
has some marked peculiarities which deserve notice ; in common with
all the Milkweeds it has a strong, fine, silky fibre in the bark, which can
be drawn to a great degree of fineness ; and in one of the species,
Apocynum cannabinunu Indian Hemp, is exceedingly tough and strong,
and is said to have been used by the natives in lieu of thread. No doubt
it can be put to such purpose. While many writers have dwelt upon the
silk contained in the pods of the Milkweeds, suggesting the possible uses
to which it might be applied, the ;nore valuable strong flaxen-tibre, which
is superior in quality to hemp, seems in a large measure to have escaped
public attention. The free growth of the common white-flowered
Milkweed, which could be easily cultivated, growing readily, and
attaining the height of three or four feet, would give a long thread
easily divided into the finest strands, and might form a valuable addition
in the manufacture of native Canadian fabrics. But I have already
referred to this subject in another portion of my little work, so I will
return again to my text.
The ancient name Apocynum, is derived from two Greek words,
signifying, — from a dog ; to which this shrub was supposed to be injurious
or baneful, whence its common name Dog-bane. Whether the plant
deserves this reproach as regards dogs, I cannot say ; but truth
obliges me to confess that in its pretty treacherous bells many a poor
incautious fly meets with a certain though possibly lingering death.
Lured by the fragrance of its blossoms, which it gives out at dew-fall,
hundreds of small black flies seek rest and shelter in the flowers, and are
seized instantly by the irritable stamens and held in durance by their legs.
And as there is no philanthropist to take his nightly rounds and release
them, they perish in their flowery prison.
Though the Dog-bane is perennial, the stems die down annually
and are renewed again each Spring. The bark is of a deep red ; the
foliage on distinct foot-stalks, ovate and pointed. The flowers in loose
spreading cymes; the pale rose somewhat striped corolla, open bell-
shaped, with recurved lobes. The flowers are followed by long slender
red pods, meeting in pairs at the points, in twos or fours, the pods
converging together ; these pods open longitudinally and let out the
small winged seeds, each of which is furnished with a tuft of delicate silk.
Thewhole plantismilky — moresothanthe next less showy-flowered species
72
iy//.D, OA' XAT/l'E J-V.OirJ^A'S
Indian Hv.uv—Apocy/ium cannai>inuiii, (L.)
The flowers of this species are white, small, and in terminal cymes,
the leaves are narrow, of a dark green, smooth ; the fibro in the bark of
this i)lant is very strong, as well as fine : the Indians use this thread in
the manufacture of fishing nets and lineS; and probably in sewing.
The banks of streams and lakes seem to be the habitat of the Indian
Hemp. I am not aware that it has any scent. The scent of the pink
Dogbane is only given out after sun-set.
Whitk l^wARK Convolvulus— Dav-Fi.ower-
spithtviueus, (I'ursh.)
-Couvolruhts
-Mthough so delicate and fragile in texture, there is no flower that
loves the sunlight in its noon-tide power more than this lovely wild
Convolvulus. In this, it differs from the splendid Morning (llory,
which opens early, in the freshness and coolness of the morning, but
fades before the noon-day heat and light : only on cool cloudy days
will it display its glorious tints of royal purple, rose, crimson, and
exquisite shades of pink, pearly-blue, and white. But our modest white
flower may be seen blooming in open fallows, and wild grassy plain-
lands, where it has little shade unless from the surrounding herbage.
The plant is seldom more than twelve or eighteen inches in height,
tapering from a broad l)ase to a slender leafy point. The foliage is whitish
or hoary grey, from a minute downy covering. These grey leaves are
hastate, not arrow-shaped, pointed and lobed at the base ; the lower
leaves on long foot-stalks, the upper ones dimmished to mere bracts.
The flowers are large, purely white, open bells, on long stalks — only two
opening each day. The stem of the plant is somewhat woody, slightly
branching or sim))le, and forming a pyramid of slender apex, twining
slightly and clas])ing the stalks of grasses and neighbouring heibs.
On the flowery Rice Lake plains, I have seen this lovely flower
mingling its hoary foliage and white fragile bells with the gay bracts of
the Scarlet Cup and azure-blue spikes of the Wild Lupine, the Sweet
Pyrola and Wild Rose : and surely no garden ever shewed more
glorious colours or more harmonious contrasts than this wilderness
displayed.
This pretty wild Convolvulus might be introduced into garden
culture, where the soil is light, without any fear of its becoming a
troublesome weed like th? common Bind-weed, or the double-blossomed
variety, which should only be kept as plants for a Trellis or as Bower-
climbers.
IV/IJ), OK NATIVE F/.0U'/:A'.S. 73
CtRAss-VmK Qt/(>/>(f^vfi />u/c/ie//ns, (K. Br.)
(PLATE Vn.)
Our open, si)rin',y Pojjlar flats, partially shaded by Aspen shrubs
and wild grasses, afford shelter to many a rare Orchid. 'Ihe warm rays
of the sun acting on the moist, boggy soil, (juicken into life and
loveliness one of the most ornamental of our Orchidaceous plants.
In the month of July we find that very beautiful flower, the (Irass-l'ink,
or Calopo^on. Its flowers are little known, and may indeed truly be
said to waste their sweetness i ,' the desert air.
From a round, solid corm, about a quarter of an inch in diameter,
rises a bright green sword-shaped leaf, which clasps at its base a tall
scape, bearing a loose four to eight-flowered raceme of elegant rose or
lilac-coloured flowers. The lower blossoms open first. The form of the
flower is peculiar ; the concave upper petal or lip is bearded with yellow
and i)urple hairs arching over the column, wiiich is winged and free.
The bright reddish-purple sepals and petals are pointed and fragrant :
the scape rises to the height of from eighteen inches to two feet. .\ bed
of these elegant flowers, when in bloom, is a charming sight.
Another of our Orchids is the lovely and rare Arctlutsa bulbosa^ (L)
the flower of which is no less remarkable for the beauty of its form and
rich colouring than the Calopogon. The colour of the ringent corolla
is of a deep, rich rose-purple, and it is very sweetly scented ; the scape has
occasionally one grassy leaf. Not less singular is the charming Calypso
l>orealis(?>a\hh.)Qr Bird's-foot Orchis, with its graceful, deliciously-sceuted,
pendulous flowers, and crested lip, bearded with yellow and pink, and its
narrow, twisted and waved, pale pink sepals and petals ; the scape is
garnished with one oval shield-shaped shining leaf of dark glossy green.
It flowers in the month of May. Another elegant bog-plant is the
' Small Round-leaved Orchis — Platanthera rot 11 ndi folia, (Rich.)
(PLATE VII.)
" Your voiceless lips, O flowers, are living pre.nchuis ;
Each cup a pulpit, and each leaf a hook.
" Floral apostles that in dewy splendour
Weep without woe and olush without 3. crime." — -Horace Sniiih.
This is one of the lovely native plants of the Orchis family, of which
we boast many remarkable for beauty as well as for the eccentric forms
which arise from the peculiar arrangement of their floral organs.
The one above nam.ed is worthy of attention. Our quaint old
herbalists would have called it the Holy Dove, or some such name, from
the curious resemblance that the petals and sepals take to the body and
extended white wings of a hovering Dove. The lower lobed petal
74
IVfLD, OK NATIVE FLOWERS,
taking the semblance of the tall and wings, the upper one;i meeting
over the anthcr-cells, which might be likened ^' two eyes of the
bird, and the arched hooded appendage abov ..e head.
The scape of this pretty Orchis is furnished with one handsome
round or shield-shaped leaf, of shining bright green, and a bracted spike
of white flowers, spotted with delicate pink, as also is the throat of the
arched petal that partly covers the anthers and stigmalic disc.
Our beautiful Orchids, with many other rare bog-plants, re|)ay the
difficulties of obtaining them in their native haunts, such as Cedar swamps*
Cranberry marshes. Poplar swales, and Peat bogs ; where, however
zealou.s, our lady botanists may not venture without risk.
These rare plants, growing in lonely isolated places, are little known,
and but seldom met with, unless, as I have said, by the enthusiastic
botanist who is not afraid to seek for such flo'.al treasures, however
difficult they may be to obtain. A curious and handsome species is the
Striped Orchis or Coral- root, Cotallorhiza multiflora, (Nutt). This plant
is leafless, silvery-sheathing scales taking the place of leaves ; the roots
are branched and knobby, like some kinds of coral ; the scapes, many
flowered, growing up in clusters from twelve to eighteen inches high ;
flowers pale fawn, striped and dotted with crimson or (nirple ; such
was a plant that I found at the root of a big Hemlock tree, near the
forest road where I often walked many years ago.
'["here are several diflerent species of this curious order, varying
in size and the colour of their blossoms.
Of fringed and tufted fragrant kinds, we have the Pearly White
and the Fringed Pink Orchids. These are very pretty and not un-
common flowers. I first saw them on my voyage up the St. Lawrence,
when the ship was anchored off Bic Island and the Captain brought
me a noble posy of sweet flowers, the first Canadian flowers I ever saw.
Among Wild Roses, and elegant Blue Lungwort, Mertensia marHiina,
which I had also seen and gathered near Kirkwall, in Orkney ; there
were yellow Loose-strife, Hare bells, and the sweet scented White Fringed
Orchis, the Pink Fringed Orchis and some elegant cream-coloured
Vetches, with several other flowers then unknown to me.
There are many other plants of the Orchis family scattered through
our woods and swamps, and on the rocky or low islands of our Northerri
Lakes. Among those not already mentioned, the Larger Fringed Orchis
Habenaria Jimbriata, may be named. This is a tall handsome bog-
plant, flowering in the beginning of July, with large rose-purple, deeply-
cut petals. Another less conspicuous species, found in dry woods, is
the Northern Green-man Orchis, Habenaria viridis (L.) var. bracteata^
WILD, OK NA TIVE Fl.OWEKS.
Tf
(Reich.) The scape of this species is furnished with long narrow
shar|)Iy pointed bracts and greenish flowers.
In some of our Orchidaceous plants when examined, there will be
seen at the base of the fleshy scape, two roundish bulbs, or tubers ;
farinaceous masses, whence the bundle of white fibres, the roots and
rootlets proper, proceed, and which contain the prepared food to support
the growth of the year.
From one of these tubers, the scape, bearing the scaly or leafy
bracts, niot-leaves and flowers, springs, and at the flowering season is
much larger than the other.
The flower-bearing bulb deceases from exhaustion of its substance,
shrivels, turns brown, and begins to decay, while the other continues
slowly but steadily to go on increasing, bearing in its bosom the embryo
flower-stem and foliage, which are to appear the following year. Another
tiny bulb is also preparing in like manner, attachtd by a slender fleshy
cord to its comi)anion. Thus from year to year the process goes, on each
one taking the place of its predeces.sor after its office has been fulfilled.
This singular mode of reproduction seems to supersede the necessity
for the development of seed, as in other flowering plants ; nor is it so
common to find seedlings of the Orchids springing up round the
parent plant, as in the case of other flowers.
The reason why so few amateur florists succeed in transplanting
the native Orchids into their gardens, arises from want of due care in
taking them up. The life of the plant for the following season being
contained in the new forming tuber, if this be in the least injured
the chance of another flower in the future is at an end. The succulent
tender roots are easily broken or wounded, and these strike rather deep
down in the soil, and must be taken up uninjured, with a good portion
of the mould, or there is small chance of life for the plant. Nor will
the Orchis thrive in common earth — it requires fibrous, peaty soil,
moisture, and some shade, with the warmth that arises from the moist
soil, and shelter of the surrounding herbage. They all thrive best in
the Conservatory or Green-house.
Goi.Dr;N Dodder — Cuscuta Gronovii, (Willd.)
This smgular parasitical plant occurs on the rocky shores of our
inland lakes. There seem to be two species. One with bright, orange-
coloured coils, and greenish white flowers ; the other with green, rusty
wiry stems, and smaller blossoms. This last occurs on the rocky shores
of Stoney Lake, where in the month of August it rnay be found
twining around the slender stems of the Lesser Golden-rod, a small,,
narrow-leaved Solidago.
76
/^7/./>. ON x.inn-: Fi.oiy/:fis.
In no instance did I find this cut.ous parasite associated with any
other |)Iant ; as if i)y some mysterious instinct the Colden rtni seemed
to lie selected for its support. Nor could tiie union with the flower he
discovered by the most careful examination. The Dodder seems to be
leafless and rootless. The C.oldenrod to which it hatl attached itself
did not appear to have sufTercd from the clinJ^in^^ embrace of its singular
companion, thou},'h its coils were so tightly wounil around it that it was
not an easy matter to separat«T them from the supporting stem.
'I'he Dodder could not even be sail) to have the claims of a poor
relation to excuse its unwelcome intrusion.
'I'he white blossoms of this parasite were closely clustered in
intervals on the wiry stem.
The (Jolden-stemmed species, with somewhat larger, greenish-
tinged white flowers, I found in the same locality attached to the culms
of stout wild grasses, which alone it seemed to have selected for its
sujjport. 'I'he bright orange coils, and clusters of flowers, formed a
pretty contrast with the dark foliage of the climbing Indian liean, Af<ios
tiik-rosa, many young ])lants of which handsome, fragrant climber grew
there in profusion, covering the low bushes.
In the States it .j known as (lold Thread, from the bright, orange,
thready twining stems, which it throws like a golden net over the neigh
bouring herbage. It seems, indeed, more ornamental than useful ; but
as it does not intrude itself into our gardens, we will not quarrel with it.
There is room and space in this wide world for it and others to find
some little spot in which to grow. Something would miss it, were it
to be entirely destroyed from the face of the earth — for as the poet says —
" Nothintj lives, or grows, or moves in vain ;
Thy pr.Tisc is hcanl amid her pathless ways.
And e'en her senseless things in Thee rejoice.'' — /. A'oscoc.
Everlasting Flowers.
" Hring flowers for the lirow of the early dead."
It is on the open prairie-like tracts of rolling land, known in
Ontario by the names of Oak-openings and Plains, where the soil is
sandy or light-loam, that flowers of the Composite order abound. All
through the hot months of July and August and late into September,
the starry rayed blossoms of the sun-loving Sunflowers, Rudbeckias,
Asters and Golden-rods, enliven the open wastes and grassy thickets,
with their gay colours, the more welcome because the more delicate of
the early Spring and Summer flowers have long since faded and
gone, and we know that we shall see them no more.
ly/I.O, ON XATIVE HOin-h'S. ^1
Our Floral Calendar niinht l)c likened to four stages of life. The
ten»'"i early (lowers of Sprinj; to innocent ( hildhoo<l. The ^i\y
blossoms of May ;in(l June with all their f'uilfiil jjrotnises, to advanc ing
youth. The rijiening fruit of Sumnier's prime, to mature manhood in its
strength and perfec tion ; while the white flowers and hoary leaves of
our Pearly Kverlastinj^s and drooping (Irasses are not inapt emblems of
old age, bending earthward yet not destroyed, for they have winged
seeds that rise and lloat upwards and heavenwards, and we shall again
behold them in renewed youth and beauty.
Kaki v-n.owKRiNc; KvKRi.AsiiNd Aiitt'ttiiiirin dioicn^ (daertn.)
Our earliest Everlasting is a pretty, low, creeping plant, not
exceeding six inches in hcigiit, with small round clustered heads of
downy whiteness, with dark brown anthers, which resenble the antenmu
of some small insect, whence the generic y\,\mc Aiitt'iiinria is taken,
The leaves of the plant are white beneath and slightly cotiur>y uii the
outer surtace, becoming darker green during the summer. The root-
slock is spreading, the leaves numerous, roundish-spatulate. The whole
l)lant has a hoary appearance when it first springs up.
This modest, innocent-looking little (lower, peeps forth in .\pril,
and carpets the dry, gravelly hills with its downy blossoms and soft,
silken leaves, sharing the newly uncovered earth with the Mlue X'iolet
( Viola iiuiilldld), and early pale yellow Crowfoot, Rock Saxifrage and
Barren Wild Strawberry ( Wahistciiiia fra^arioides, (Tratt), which is then
beginning to put forth its new foliage and yellow (lowers, that have been
kindly sheltered by the persistent leaves of the former year, now red
and bronzed by the frosts of early Spring. Our pretty Canadian
Everlasting bears some family resemblance to the far-famed "Edelweiss"
of the High Alps {Leoutopodium alpiiium). As in that flower, the
clustered heads are set round the centre of the disc, like a little infant
family surrounding the careful mother.
In the singular Alpine species, the whole i)lant, from root-leaves to
stem and involucre, is thickly clothed with snow-white down, as if to
keep it warmly defended from the bitter mountain blasts and whirling
showers of snow and hail. Thus does Creative Love shield and clothe
the flowers of the field : His tender care is over all His works.
Scarcely has our little Everlasting raised its soft cottony head above
the short turf when another species appears, as if to rival its tiny brother.
Pi.ANTAiN-LEAVED EVERLASTING — AntcHnaria plantagini/olia, (R. Br.)
This plant varies in height from six inches to eight or nine. The
woolly stem is clothed with narrow, leafy bracts ; the root-leaves are
ff
!]#
78
IV/LD, OA' NATIVE FLOWERS.
large and broadly ovate, several-nerved, very white underneath, and
less downy on the outer surface ; the corymbed head of flowers shining
with bright scales and silky pappus — the scales are not pure white, but
with a slight tinge of brown. Later on in the month of July, a tall,
slender form of this Everlasting may be seen with larger root-leaves and
loose heads of flowers on long foot-stalks ; the flowers are slightly
tinged with reddish-purple and silvery-grey, which gives a pearly or
prismatic effect, as the eye glances over a number of the plants moved
by the summer wind. The flowery heads are conical, the unopened
blossoms sharply pointed : the whole plant tall, slender and simple, and
very downy.
The later plants of the Everlasting family differ from the above
species. One commonly called
Neglected Everlasting — Gnaphalium polycep/ialum, (Mx.)
deserves our especial notice on account of the pleasant fragrance which
pervades the gummy leaves, as well as the shining straw-coloured flowers;
the scent is aromatic and slightly resinous. This plant is found in old
pastures, and by wayside waste lands, often mingled with the Pearly-
Everlasting {Anteniiaria iiiar^aritacea) and other common species
of the order.
It is so commonly seen, and is so little cared for as to have obtained
the name of Neglected Everlasting. Truly even a flower may be without
lionour in its own country !
There is another plant of this family, found in old dry pastures,
with straw-coloured, shining flowers ; but it lacks the aromatic fragrance
and dark-green, narrow, revolute, gummy leaves of the preceding ; it is
branching with a wide-spread corymbed head and has the leaves decurrent
on the stem, whence its name, G. deciirrens. 'I'his is an earlier species
than the Neglected Everlasting.
Pkari.v Everlasting — Antennaria niargaritaceci, (R. Wr.)
The abundance of the common Pearly Everlasting induced many
of the backwoods settlers' wives to employ the light dry flowers as a
substitute for feathers in stuffing beds and cushions, and very sweet and
comfortable these primitive pillows and cushions are, they are, too,
pleasantly fragrant, for the Pearly Everlasting is also sweet-scented,
though not so much so as G. polycephaluiii ; the heads are soft,
elastic, and easily obtained. The I'Yench peasants still hang up Wreaths
or Crosses of the white-flowered Everlastings in churches, and upon
the graves of the dead, to mark where one fair bud or blossom has
lany
as a
and
too,
itcd,
soft,
;aths
ipon
has
IV/LD, OR NATIVE FLOWERS.
79
dropped from the parent tree to mingle with its kindred dust. It is a
fond old custom, which time and the world's later fashions have not yet
•changed among the simple habitants.
Surely we may say with the sweet poet : —
" They are loves last gift,
Bring flowers — pale flowers."
Yellow Coltsfoot— Tiissilago Far/ara, (L.)
A large proportion of our flowers of Mid-summer and Autumn
are of the Coinposite order, but in the Spring they are rare, with a few
exceptions, such as the Early-flowering Everlasting, the Fleabanes and
the Coltsfoot.
The first flower that blossoins is the Coltsfoot, Titssilago far/ara,
(L.) which breaks the ground in April with its scaly, leafless stem
and single-headed, orange-yellow rayed flower. It is a coarse,
uninteresting plant, not common, excepting in wet, clayey soil ; seldom
found in the forest. It is the earliest plant of the Canadian Spring, and
prized on that account, and for its medicinal virtue, real or imaginary.
Both flower and leaf are larger than the British species, but its habits
are similar.
In July, August and September our rayed flowers predominate,
especially in the two latter months ; it is then, when the more delicate
herbaceous flowers are perfecting their seeds, that our hardy Sun flowers
lift up their showy heads and seem to court the glare of the summer
sunshine ; it is then that we see our open fields gay with Rudbeckias,
Chrysanthemums, Ragworts, Golden-rods, Thistles and Hawk-
weeds. In the forest we find our White Eupatoriums, Prenanthes,
and Fire-weeds. On all wastes and neglected spots the wild
Chamomile abounds, as if to supply a tonic for all agues and
intermittents. The beautiful Aster family may now be seen in
fields, by waysides, on lonely lake shores, in thickets, on the margins
of pools and mill-dams or waving its graceful flowery branches, on the
grassy plains and within the precincts of the forest. There are species
for each locality — white, blue, jjurple, lilac, pearly-blue — with many
varieties of shade, height and foliage ; some species graceful, bending,
and spreading, others stiff, upright and coarse ; t)u't the species are number-
less and their habits as various. The most elegant are the Aster cordi-
folius, (L.) and A. punicctts, (Ait). The most delicate, the little white,
shrubby Aster, A. nudtijiorus, (L.) with reddish disc and golden-tipped
anthers, which give a lovely look to the crowded, small, white-rayed
flowers, as if they were spangled with gold-dust. On dry, gravelly banks,
ii
•Ml
I
80
ly/LD, OK NATIVE FLOWERS.
near lakes and streams, is the favourite haunt of this pretty Aster. The
plant is much branched, the branches growing at right-angles to the stem ;
crossed with narrow leaves, and bearing an abundance of small, daisy-like
blossoms. On the springy shores of ponds and the banks of low creeks
■xn upright, single-headed Aster, A. cestivus, may be seen, with bright azure
rays and yellow disc, together with a tall woody-stemmed flat-topped,
coarseW rayed, white species, Di/>/(>/>a/>/'us /(//t/'f//(r///s, (T. iv: (1.). The
large-flowered,branching, many-blossomed, purple-rayed Asters are chiefly
found in dry fields, by wayside fences, and among loose rocks and stones,
giving beauty where all else is rough and unsightly, making the desert to
blossom as a garden : so bountiful is Nature ; so beneficent is the Creator
in all His works ; so lavishly does He scatter man's path with flowers, that
his eye may be gladdened and his heart may rejoice in the beautiful things
of the earth on which he is a sojourner. Should we not, therefore, praise
Him even for the lowly herbs and the lovely blossoms that adorn our
paths.
Cone-flower — Riidbeckia hitta, (L.)
The Cone-flower is one of the handsomest of our rayed flowers.
The gorgeous flaming orange dress, with the deep purple disc of almost
metallic lustre, is one of the ornaments of all our wild open prarie-like
plains during the hot months of July, August and September. We find
the Cone-flower on sunny spots among the wild herbage of grassy
thickets, associated with wild Sunflowers, Asters and other plants of
the widely difl'used Composite Order.
Many of these compound flowers possess medicinal qualities. Some,
as the Sow-thistle, Dandelion, Wild Lettuce, and others, are narcotic,
being sui)plied with an abundance of bitter milky juice. The Sunflower,
Coreopsis, Cone-flower, Ragweed, and Tansy, contain resinous properties.
The beautiful Aster family, if not remarkable for any peculiarly
useful qualities, contains many highly ornamental phmts. Numerous
species of these charming flowers belong to our Canadian flora ; linger-
ing with us
"When fairer flowers are all decayed,"
brightening the waste places and banks of lakes and lonely streams
with starry flowers of every hue and shade — whitp, pearly-blue and
deep purple.
The Cone-flower is from one to three feet in height, the stem simple,
or branching, each branchlet terminating in a single head. The rays are
of a deep orange colour, varying to yellow; the leaves broadly lanceolate,
sometimes once or twice lobed, partly clasping the rough, hairy stem,
IV/LD, OR XATIVE FLOWERS.
8i
hoary and of a dull green, few and scattered. The scales of the chafiTy
disc are of a dark, shining purple, forming a somewhat depressed cone.
This species, with a slenderer-stemmed variety, with rays of a golden
yellow, are to be met with largely diffused over the Province.
Mmy splendid species of the Cone- flower are to be found on the
wide-spread prairies of the West, where their brilliant starry flowers are
mingled with many a gay blossom known only to the wild Indian
hunter, and the herb-seeking Medicine-men of the native tribes, who
know their medicinal and healing qualities, if they are insensible to their
outward beauty. One tall, purple-rayed species {Ecldnacca pur/fiircd)
is very handsome.
I sometimes think, thai, though apparently indifferent to the beauties
of nature, our labourers are not really so unobservant or apathetic as we
suppose tlieni to be ; but that being unable to express themselves in
suitable language, they are silent on subjects concerning which
more enlarged minds can speak eloquently, having words at their
command. The uneducated know little of the art of word painting,
in describing the beautiful or the sublime.
Si'iCK WiNTER-GREEX — Gatilthcria procnmbens (L).
This pretty little plant has many names besides the one above : it
is also known as Tea-berry, Checker-berry and Aromatic Winter-
green ; but it shares these English names with many other forest
plants.
The aromatic flavour of its leaves and berries has made the Spice
Winter-green a favourite, not with the Indians only, but also with the
Confectioners, who introduce the essential oil that is extracted from the
leaves and fruit into their sugar confections. It is also an ingredient
in many of the tonic and alterative bitters prepared and sold by the
druggists in Canada. The Squaws chew the dry, spicy, mealy berries
when ripe with great relish ; and in the lodge, the Indian hunter
smokes the leaves as a sul)stitute for tobacco : when burnt they give
out a i)leasant aromatic smell. The leaves are warm and stimulant,
agreeable to the taste, and perfectly wholesome.
The creeping root-stock throws up sini])le upright stems at inter-
vals, crowned with a few smooth, thick, shining leaves, of a bright green
colour. The flov/ers are three or four in number, resembling in form the
Arbutus, Heath, Huckle-berry and others of the family ; being a roundish
bell contracted at the neck, pale-white or flesh-coloured. The fruit
which is persistent through the winter, is of a brilliant scarlet. The
fleshy calyx is of the same texture and colour, and forms a part of the
I
r
83
U'fl.f), OR XAT/ri-: l-LOWERS.
edible berry. The habit of the plant is evergreen, and it may be found
on sandy knolls, in thickets, and under the shade of bushes in Oak-
openings; a finer, larger form is also to be met with in the forest, in
cedar swamps ; the leaves, fruit and flowers being nearly twice the size
of the above. The leaves are strongly revolutc at the edges, very smooth
and shining.
There is nothing that we cling to with fonder affection than the
flowers of our country, especially such as in childhood we delighted
to gather. Thus the Daisy, Primrose and \'iolet of England and
Ireland, and the Bonnie Heather and Harebell of old Scotia, are dear
to the heart of the emigrant, and the sight of one of these beloved
flowers ciierished in i. garden or greenhouse, will awaken the tenderest
emotions. An old Scotch woman when asked how she liked Canada,
replied. "Aye, nae dout its a gude land for food, and for the bairns,
but there is nae a bit of heather, or ae bonny Bluebell in a' the Ian'.
Its nae like my ain country."
AVhen shown a bunch of Harebells, which I had gathered fresh
from a gravelly bank ; she grat (wept) at the sight of them. '''I'o see,"
sl.e said, " the bonnie wee things once mair before I died."
T was once touched by the rapture, even to tears, of a Swiss nurse,
who on seeing some flowers of the Alpine Ranunculus growing in the
garden of Tavistock S(iuare, flung herself on the grass beside
them and kissing each blossom, cried out, " Ah 1 flore de ma pays."
" Ah ! flower of my country."
The brilliant scarlet berries of several of the shrubby little Winter
greens, forming so gay a contrast to the dark, glossy foliage, render
them very attractive.
On dry rocky hills we find the Box-leaved Winter-green orBearI)erry,
Arctostaphylos Uvn-iirsi, (Spreng.) which clothes the dry, rocky and
gravelly hills all through the continent of North America, is found far to
tiie North, even in barren Labrador, and on the rocky slopes of the
far-off Hudson's Bay. It abounds far north in Norway, and clothes the
ground with its spreading branches. As winter approaches the dark
green leaves assume a purplish-bronze hue which is enlivened by the
bright red berries. These pretty evergreens might be adopted as a
substitute for the Holly, by such as care to keep up the old custom of
dressing the house with green boughs at Christmas-tide in honour of
the birtiiday of the Saviour. Might not the primitive Chiistians
have intended by these emlilems to keep Faith, Hope and Charity
ever green within the Church and Homestead.
A deeper meaning often lies in the old usages of our forefathers
than \\e are willing to acknowledge in this our day of cotton-spinning
and gold-digging, railroads and electric telegraphs.
IV/LD, OR NATIl'i: FI.OIVF.RS. 83.
Raitlksnakk Rooi — .V(?/W/« albus, (Hook.)
This tall stately-growing plant belongs t<j the same Natural Order
as the Lettuce, and like it abounds in a bitter milky juice, which
pervades the leaves and stem and thick spindle-shaped root, even to the
pedicels of the graceful nodding pendent flowers.
The plant aijjilied both externally and internally has long had the
reputation of being an antidote for the bite of the Rattlesnake.
The slender ligulate corollas which surround the cinnamon-
coloured pappus, are beautituUy striped with purple and creamy
white ; the pointed tips are turned backwards in the full-blown flowers
displaying the stamens and pistils, and soft woolly pappus. The clustered
flowers on slender foot-stalks, droop very gracefully at intervals on the
stem, which with the branchlets have a purplish tinge.
In the variety Serpentan'a, this colour jiervades the whole plant to
a greater degree, and the leaves are more deeply divided than in the type.
In damp rich woods we often find a slender delicate species, which
is commonly called
Lion'.s-I'OOt — Nabalus altissimiis, (Hook.)
The plant is from two to three feet high ; leaves light green, thin,
coarsely toothed and widely lobed. The strap-shaped flowers, narrow,
pointed and revolute ; the scales are of a pale green, the pappus of a
beautiful fawn colour. The elegant yellow drooping flowers in clusters,
making this forest plant a very attractive object from its graceful habit
The above plant was pointed out to me as the true Lion's-foot, by
an old Yankee settler, and I have retained the name, though it does
not quite correspond with Gray's plant, so called. Gray's Lion's-foot is
also known as Gall of the Earth, from the intense bitterness of its root ;
possibly all these bitter milky juiced plants are narcotics, but as yet
not recognized unless by the unlearned Indian, or old herbalist of
some remote backwoods settlement, where doctors and druggists were
unknown, and the herbs of the field the only medicaments ; generally
administered by an old woman, famed more for her herb decoctions and
plasters than for her wisdom in book-learning, who believed that there
was a salve for every sore, and a potion for every ailment under the
sun if the folk had but faith to believe in her " Yarbs."
THOROU(;H-^\■oRTS.
There is a popular belief among many of our native Herbalists, that
for every disease that man is subject to, God in His mercy has provided
M'
84
iy//.D, OK XATIVE FLOWERS.
a certain remedy in the herbs of the field and trees of the forest ; that
there is a sovereign virtue in roots and harks, and leaves and flowers, if
man will hut search them out and test their qualities.
The use of simples, as the vegetable medicament used emphatically
to be termed, has always found advocates in the lower classes, especially
amongst the humble country-folk, who dread mineral medicines, with
the nature of which they are totally unac<iuainted — preferring the herbs
of the field, which they see growing about them, to the more costly
Doctor's stuff, as they call the prescriptive medicines of the physician.
To the Herb Doctor they apply with every confidence, entertaining no
fear of the vegetable poisons, in which he often deals ; in his skill they
have unlimited faith.
Much of this kind of knowledge is possessed by the old Canadian and
"\'ankee settlers, those hardy pioneers who emigrated from the United
States at the close of the Ri.'volutionary War, induced by the promised
reward of certain grants of land in return for their professed, or actually
proved attachment to the British Government. These families under
the appellation of U. E. or United Empire Loyalists, spread them.selves
along the then unbroken forests on the shores of the .St. Lawrence, and
bore hardships and privations, to which there are few parallel cases.
Jewellers in the lonely, leafy wilderness, with no road but the
rushing river, or broad-spread sea-like lake. 'I'hey lived apart from their
fellow-men : self-dependent, they ""elied upon their own ingenuity and
personal exertions for the actual necessaries of life. The men supplied
the household with game from the forest (it was over-plentiful in those
days) and fish from the lakes and streams. While in clearing the land
and cultivating it in the rude fashion of those days, the women and
children, without respect of age and sex, did their part. On the females
depended the manufacture of every article of clothing ; the loom
occupied a prominent place in the log-house, and the big spinning-wheel
the stoop in Summer.
Occasionally a few families bound together by ties of love, or interest,
wisely formed a colony and lived within a reasonable distance from one
another ; but more commonly their grants comprising many hundreds of
acres, according to the number of persons in one household, the settlers
were thrown far apart. A blazed path through the forest their only
means of communication by land ; and this often interrupted by rapid
unl)ridged streams, or impenetrable cedar-swamps.
In case of accidents, sucli as wounds from axes, broken limbs, and
such ailments as agues and fevers, necessity compelled active measures
to be adopted on the spot ; medical-practitioners, so called, there were
WILD, OR XATIVE FLOWERS.
85
none ; the l)roken limbs were set by those in the settlement possessed
of tiie most nerve, while the elder women bound up the wounds, or
gathered the healing herbs which they had learned to distinguish by
experience, or from oral tradition, as being curative in certain disorders.
Something of this healing art was derived from their ancestors, who had
the knowledge from the Indian medicine-men ; and some remedies
were no doubt discovered by chance ; a happy thought seized \x\mx\, and
put into ijractice in some desperate case, where the chances of life hung
upon something being done to relieve the sufferer, effected a cure, and
established the fame of the remedy.
To these simple peo[)le, no doubt, we owe many of the significant
local names by which our native plants are still distinguished, and
which will always be adopted when speaking of them in familiar parlance.
Occasionally we pause and ponder on tlie source whence such a
name as Boneset for Eupatomm perfoliatidii (L.) has been derived. We
can only surmise that the powerful virtues of the [ilant are serviceable
in cases of dislocations and fractures, by reducing fever and causing a
more healthy action of th j blood, which accelerates the return to strength
in the injured limb.
The sanative qualities of these plants are no new discovery, nor
are the medicinal properties confined to one species alone, some are
used in curing the bites of snakes, as E. agcratoides (I-.) An infusion of
the leaves of another species is an excellent diet drink, almost all are
sudorifics and tonics.
The genus Eupatorium is dedicated to Eupator Mithridates, who
is said to have used a species of the genus in medicine. Several species
of these homely plants are used in Fevers and Intermittents by the
Herb-doctors and Indians.
The tallest and most showy of the Eupatoriums is
Trumpet-wef.d — Thorough-wort. — E. piirpii renin., (I..)
The flowers, in dense corynil)s are of a deep flesh-colour, approaching
to red ; leaves, shining, coarsely veined, narrowing to a point, the upper
ones much narrower, mostly growing in whorls round the stout stem.
The plant has a bitter, somewhat resinous scent when the leaves are
bruised. This tall Thorough-wort is abundant on the banks of creeks
and in marshy places, where it often reaches the height of five or six
feet.
The red-flowered Eupatorium, the old Thorough-wort of the
English herbalists, seems to resemble our Canadian plant very closely ;
86
;;■//./), OA' XATIM: II.OW'ERS,
its habits, colours and ([iialities seem the same. \N'hen viewing the native
species it seems to carry my thoughts hack to childish haunts on the hanks
of the clear-flowing Waveney and the flosvcry Suffolk meadows
•' Where in cliililhoixl I strnyed,
And iiliicUed tlio wild Howors that Ining over its way."
A more graceful meml)er of the luijiatorium family is the
\\'hi IK SxAKK-ROor— 7i«/r7/'<?/'///w a^eratoides^ (L.)
^
which is a pretty, elegant, shrubby plant found in rich woods. The white
flowers are borne in compound corymbs.
The leaves are from two to three inches long, toothed, narrowly
pointed, on long stalks and of a bright green, smooth and thin. Our
plunt is about three feet high, wide and loosely spieading. The pretty
white corymbs of flowers make this an uttraction, seen among the forest
herbage ; for at the season when it is in bloom most of the flowers have
disa].peared from the woods. Not unfreciuently we find in damp woods,
but more especially on open marshy ground, the well-known herb
Bun i;-hii ; 1 - Eupatoi iuni pcrfoUaluin, ( L. )
This species is easily distinguished from any other by its veiny,
hoary, greyish-green leaves, united at the base around the stem, or perfo-
liate, the stem of the plant passing through the centre ;)f each pair.
The large, closely- set corymbs of flowers are of a greenish-
white and want the pretty tassel'ed appearance of the White .Snake-root,
E. ai^^eraioidis. 'i'iie scent of this more homely plant is strongly
resinous and bitter ; but it is held in great esteem for certain (lualities of
a tonic and anti-febrile nature, and forms one of the old remedies for
ague and fever.
In evidence of the value of the herb Bone-set, Pursh gives a jiracti-
cal illustration from his personal experience of the etti<acy of its medicinal
virtues. He says : -
"The whole jjlant is exceedingly bitter, and has been used forages
past by the natives in Intermittent levers ; it is known by its common
names. Thorough-wort and Bone-set. During my stay in the neighbour-
hood of Ontario, when both Influenza and Lake-fever were rnging, I .saw
the benefit orising from the use of it, both as regarded myself and other.s.
It is used as a decoction, or as I considered more effectual, as an infusion
or extract in rum or gin." ( Vid-: Pursh's Flora Ameriar SepttiitrioiiaUs).
WII I), OR XATIVE FI.OWENS.
May Wekd- -JA//'///rt Cotitla, (DC.)
Till' liavi'llor piisscs liy
Willi nckld t;I.ini 1-, .iii.l iMnli'^> Iri'.id,
Nor ni.irks the kindly carpet spread,
lieiicath his ihaidxlcss foct.
87
S(1 prior a niLt'd of sympathy,
Do ^jracioiis hrrlis of low ik'^jreo,
Kroni haiij;l;ly mortals meet.-
A^ncs Shickland.
This is one of our coiiiiiionest weeds, intruding itself into the very
streets and by-lancs of our villages, hut never welcome there, as it gives
out a nauseous bitter scent at dew-fall. 'I'he more sunny the place and
tlie drier the soil, tlie more does this hardy plant flourish ; it heeds not
the trami^ling feet of man or steed, but rises uninjured from the tread
of the jiassers-hy, cheerful under all i)ersecution, despised and dis-
regarded as it is ; yet if we look closely we see beauty in the finely ctit
and divided foliage, and the ivory-white, daisy-rayed dowers which
appear all through the summer ; but when seen in dirty streets we over-
look its merits and turn from it with distaste. This feeling is not very
amiable, but it is natural, to dislike whatever is vulgar, low and
intrusive.
W'lio Stv I'F.OWKU /filimithiia s/r/i^ns/rs; (L.)
" As tlu' Siui-llov.-r turns to her tjod as he sets,
The same look which she turned when he rose."
■Mooii'.
So sings the Irish bard, but I rather fancy it is a poetical illusion,
for I have watched the flowers, and never could convince myself of the
fact. However we may hope that as the Sun-flower has liecome so
fashionable an ornament in the present day, some of its devoted lovers
will strive to ascertain the truth of the tradition.
As a not very graceful badge of the votaries of nestheticism, we
see the garish orange Sun-fiower worn in 1 ats and bonnets, as orna-
ments for breast and sleeves : and rei)roduced in needle-work and (Jthor
ornamental designs for the boudoir or drawing-room. Rows of the gigantic
flowers may now be seen lolling their jolly heads in gardens, and lording
it over the humbler and lowlier blossotiis. Tastes differ--! am afraid
my wild Sun-llowers would hardly be appreciated by some of the fashion-
able ladies and gentlemen, folio*'. ers of Osc.;- Wilde.
We have many flowers of this wide-spread tribe of plants extending
through the Country, wherever the soil and surroundings are fiivourable
to their growtii ; ^specially may different meinbers of these rayed
flowers be found on dry plains, in open copse-woods, and on the i)anks
of streams where the soil is sandy, or gravelly.
17
II
I' \
■A
I
m
¥/iv-
88
ir/I.D, OA' NATH'E /■l.0U7:h'\
So niiineroiis are the varieties, that it would he tedious to enumerate
them. One of the handsomest is H. stff^iosiis, ( I ,. ) The Sun-flowers form
one of the distinguishint; floral ornaments of the Canadian plains, and
of the extensive prairies of the North-West, where miles of Sun-flowers,
Rudbeckias, Liatris and other gorgeous flowers -blue, white, red may
be seen all through the hot summer months. The orange anil yellow
stars of the Helianthus tribe above all most conspicuously apparent.
'l"he garden Sun-flower may often be met with within the forest,
the seed having been carried by the (Iround-hog or Scjuirrel, and
dropped on the road.
I have seen little piles of the ripe seed of the garden Sun-flower
lying on .stumps and rails to dry ; the industrious little gleaners deposit-
ing them in such places, to be hoarded at their convenience in their
granaries. The same thing may be noticed during the harvest-time
near tlie Wheat-fields.
I have watched with no little curiosity, the heaps of Wheat left by
these little, innocent gleaners, and seen them come with their com-
panions to fetch away their newly threshed stores, having first carefuUj
destroyed the germ,s. Who taught the Siiuirrel that wise precaution, to
prevent the germination of the grain ?
Many years ago, while living on a wild lot, on the Rice Lake, my
son in uigging the ground for the construction of a root house, discovered
a granary v( a Stjuirrel, or it might be of a Clround-hog, the Canadian
Marmot. A large supply of Indian Corn, Beech-nuts and Acorns,
was stored many feet below the surface of the dry sandy soil ; but the
eye or germ had been carefully bitten out of each one.
Dandki.ion — Taraxacum Dcns-lt'onis, (Desf.)
The Composite Order presents us with more numerous families of
plants than any other, and supplies us with a host of flowers, arid also
some troublesome weeds, which are of wide diffusion, the winged seeds
being borne to great distances, and establishing themselves wherever
they chance to alight. Many an un-named flower exists, no doubt, in
unfrecjuented spots, where as yet the foot of man has never trod, — those
unfre(juented wilds where even the hardy lumberman's axe has never
been heard, those rugged hills known only to the Eagle and the Falcon ;
those deep cedar swamps that afford shelter to the Wolf, the Rear and
the Wild-cat, conceal many a graceful shrub and rare plant that one day
may be gazed on with admiring eyes by the fortunate naturalist whose
reward may possibly be to have his name conferred upon the newly
discovered floral treasure.
wiLii, OK \A77r/: n.om-.Ksr,
89
A large numl)cr ot [)Iants of the Composite Order arc remarkable
for the hitter milky juice contained in the leaves, stalks and roots, the
proijcrties of which are narcotic and sedative. This hitter milky juice
pervades all parts of the Dandelion, or Taraxacum ; also Wild I'",ndive
and other members of the Lettuce tribe.
'I'he I )andeiion is so well known that it is unnecessary to enter into
any description of its floral parts. 'I'he root of the Dandelion has been
utilized as a substitute for l,'offee ; in preparing it the root should be
washed thoroughly, but the thin brown skin not scraped off. as much of
the tonitj viitue is contained in this brown covering of the root. This
must be cut up into small pieces and dried by degrees in the oven until
it becomes dry and crisp enough to grind in the coffee-mill ; it is then
used in the same way as the (!offee-berry, with the addition of milk and
sugar. A j^mall jiortion of fresh Coffee would, I think, be an improvement
to the beverige, but it is not usually added. Many persons have used
this preparation of the Dandelion and greatly approved of it. It is a
good tonic and very wholesome. The herb itself, if the leaves be
blanched, makes a good salad, ecjual to the garden Endive.
VVK^Lxav.—Porltilaca okraa-a, (L.)
This is one of the troublesome weeds of our gardens, and one
would hardly associate it with the brilliant, showy flower of our borders.
We must, however, recognize it as a near relation. The original of
the cultivated Portulaca of our gardens is P. graiidijlora, from South
America, whence it was introduced some years ago. J'^ven in its
wild state, or on its native prairies, it is a strikingly attractive
flower claiming the admiration of the beholder, but our humbler
species is regarded as a thing of naught. The simple Purslane however,
has its virtues, and we will try to rescue it from being utterly despised, by
showing how it may be utilized. A\'hen the plant first ajjpears it pushes
forth small wedge-shaped succulent leaves, of a dull red colour, and
soon spreads over the ground, branching at every thickened joint. If
the soil be rich it becomes very luxuriant, and being very tenacious of
life it is difficult to get rid of it, as it springs again from the joints,
flourishing the more vigourously from the persecution it has undergone.
The axil of every joint is furnished with a small sharply-pointed red bud.
The flowers are small, pale yellow, opening in sunshine ; pod, many
seeded, with a little round lid that covers the top of the capsule.
The soft, oily mildness, of the leaves and stalks of this plant, renders
it useful as an application, crushed or steeped in hot water or milk, for
inflammatory tumours. I have seen it also recommended as a pot-herb
for the table — in fact, it is largely grown in France for that purpose ; I
T
U-.
90
ini.D, OA' X.ITIVI: hl.OWIlKS,
have also hoard it said tliat it may he used as a dye, Ijiit tliat tlie blue
colour produi ed is very evanescent.
I merely mention this about the uso maile of tlii^ plant as .1 dyi'
weed, but have no experience of my own to verify its accuracy.
Wii.u llERCNMor Monardit fistiilout, (L.)
Among the Mints we have many different species, all odorous,
l)ungent and aromatic : some have pretty flowers, but generally speaking
they are more valued for their (jualities than chosen for any striking
beauty of colour in the blossoms.
^\'e have Spear-mint, I'epper-mint, Horse-mint, ("atnip and many
others of this humble but not useless family.
The plants of the Natural Order !,abiat;e are remarkable fcjr
being mostly aromatic and pungent, although some are coarse and rank
in odour, none are hurtful.
One of the handsomest and most agreeable in scent is the tall
Moiiiuda or Wild Hergamot, a very hand.some, sweet scented plant,
common upon our Oak-openings and wild grassy plains and dry uplands.
I have seen a very pretty variety — Aroiiarda Jisttilcsa {\..) \ar. mollis,
(Benth) with rose-coloured blossoms and glandular flowers, from the
i'ojilar Hills, Manitoba. 'The specie.: so commonly seen on the liilly
ground above Rice Lake — Moiinrdu Jistulosa, (L.) — is tall, with s(jft
leaves of a dull green, of a fine aromatic .scent and velvety surface ; the
globular heads of lilac lipped flowers are terminal ; the colour of the
corolla varies from lilac to very pale, pinkish-white.
All the species are sweet-scented, and -'•"ht be utilized to
advantage as an aromatic flavouring, 'i'he Hjrgamot being far more
delicate and agreeable than the Winter green which is so largely used in
confections.
HiiAi -Ai.f. — Pniiulla rulx'trn's, (L.)
This sim])le herb is commonly found in grassy meadows and on
wayside waste-lands, near ri\ers and low grounds. It is common
everywhere, yet is generally thought to be an exotic, having been
introduced among foreign grasses, and thus become naturalized to the
country.
There seems to be really no special virtue in the plant ; though it
boasts of a name which should entitle it to notice, yet we are ignorant
of its medicinal or healing uses. It is destitute of any sweetness, but
the blossoms are pretty and associated with English meadows and green
bowery lanes, so we look kindly upon the ])uri)le-lipped flower for the
dear Old Counf-y's sake.
H'/iJ), ()A' XAIIVE II OWENS.
Common Mi,i i.i.in. Wilitisiiiin /'//(?/>//>,( I -.)
9»
'I'liis plant is one of tlic tallest of our wayside weeds ; the large,
.■cjll leaves, ilensely i lollied willi silky while huiis, are not Nvilh'fUl value
with the Herh-doctors. They are used in pulmonary disordeis, as
outward api)lications for healing purposes, and in su( h (oinplaints as
Dysentery, to allay \yX\\\ ; the leaves are made hot before the lire, and so
laid over the body of the sufferer. Moreover, this wonderful jilant is
said to drive away rats and mice, if laiil in cellars or granaries ; hut this
virtue may only he a fond delusion. ( "fjuimend me rather to Miss I'ussy,
as a more certain exterminator of these troublesome household pests. .\
grand .md stately spike of goldi'n flowers, cnlicd (liaiit taper, grew in my
father's garden, and was the resort of I loney-bees innumeral)le. Homely
as our Canadian plant is considered to be, yet it has uses of its own,
besides those attributed to it by the old settlers. The abundan( e of the
seeds which remain in the hard capsules during the winter, afford a
bountiful supjjly of footl for the small birils that < ome to us early in
Sj>riiig. In March, and early in April, the .Snow-Sparrows, and their
associates, the little Chesnut-crowned Sjjarrows,
" 'l'li:il iDnic Ijifoic the Swnlliiw ilarcs,"
and the brown Song Sparrows, may be seen eagerly feasting on the dry
seeds which still remain on the withered ])!ants. The soft grey down of
the hoary leaves, later on in May and June, is used as linings for the nests
of the Humming-birds, and other small birds that weave dainty .soft
cradles for the tiny families that need such tender care. Taught by
unerring wisdom, each mother-bird seeks its most suitable material, and
appropriates it for the use and comfort of its unknown, unsern brood.
l,et us not dcs|)ise the common Mullein, for may it not remind us of
Him who careth for the birds of the air, and giveth them from His
abundant stores their meat in due season ; and that wonderful unerring
wisdom that we call instinct: "Who least, hath some; who most, hnth
iicrcr all.'' Happy are the wild flock for who.se untold wants He
provideth. The birds of the air teach us wisdom, f(;r they obey the
Creator's will, and rebel not at His laws.
Fai.sk I'Ox-oi.om;.
C/trarilia i/iicnifolia, (Pursh).
(PLATE V.)
I think old Gerarde, the first English writer on the wild (lowers
and native plants of England (for whose memory all botanists feel a
sort of veneration) would have given a far better description of the
stately plant honoured by his name, than the writer of this little work
can hope to do, seeing that the only native species that has come within
iili
IV/LD, OA' A'ATIVE FLOWERS.
her knowledge, is a s'.ender purple-flowered Gerardia, G. piir/>iin'a
which grows on the margin of Rice Lake, among wild grasses and other
herbage.
It has been said by one who was a diligent botanist and naturalist,
(the late Dr. (1. G. Bird) that no Gerardias were found north of the
Great Lakes ; but all were confined to the Western and Eastern States ;
this however was a mistake. At that date very little was known of
the Canadian Flora.
It was the trying time of pioneer life in the backwoods, when little
heed was taken of the vegetable productions of the country, and even
the trees of the forest were hardly distinguished by name, much less
were the wild flowers cared for, unless some of the settlers knew
of curative medicines to be extracted from the leaves or roots, or of
some household dye for the home-spun flannel garments, which were
then all that could be obtained as clothing for their families. But to
return to my Gerardias, several fine species have been found growing
on the Islands of Lake Ontario, and on the banks of the Humber, that
fruitful wilderness of many flowers ; and doubtless these handsome showy
plants are well known in many localities westward in the Dominion of
Canada.
The handsomest ot all is G. querdfolia, Oak-leaved Gerardia, a
robust, stately plant of from three to six feet in height, with large open-
throated orange bells; it is known as False Fox-glove. There are several
fine purple-flowered species, and others of paler yellow than (/tiercifolia,
with stems coarse, rigid, downy or bristly ; the leaves mostly rough on
the surface, and of a dull green.
I am not aware of any particularly useful (lualities attributed to this
Genus, but as ornaments to our gardens they would prove very attrac-
tive — one of the most suitable is G. pedifithiria, a very much branched
species which grows in dry thickets ; it is jout 2 feet high, has prettily
lobed foliage and a profusion of yellow '.owers. It seems a pity that
these beautiful i)lants should be passed by only as weeds, unnoticed and
unvalued.
Gav-feather — Button Snaki'.-root — Liatris cylindracca^ (Michx.)
?i.i
This pretty purple flower is found growing on dry hills, near lakes
and rivers, on sandy flats and old dried water-courses. The slender,
stiff, upright stem is clothed with rigid, narrow, grass-like, dark green
leaves, the longest being nearest to the root. The flowers form a long
spike of densely-flowered purple heads ; the scales, of the involucre
that surrounds them, are green tipped with black, and finely fringed ;
■•^^f..-
akes
ider,
reen
long
ucre
ged;
WILD, OR XATIVE FLOWERS.
93
the styles protrude beyond the tips of the coroi'.a. The root is a round
corm, about the size of that of the Crocus, sweetish and slightly astringent,
mealy when roasted,and not unpleasant to the taste. The roots are sought
after by the ( Jround-hogs, which animals often make their burrows near the
place where the plants abound, this is often on the slopes of dry, gravelly
hills. At any rate it is on the sides of ravines, on the dry plains above
Rice Lake, and on islands in our chain of back lakes in Burleigh and
Smith, where I have found the bright (lay-feather blooming in the hot
month of August. The seeds are hairy, almost bristly, of a light
sandy brown when ripe. 'I'he blossoms retain their beautiful colour
when quite dry, even for many years, and may be mixed with the
flowers of the Pearly Everlasting for Winter boucjucts or ornamental
wreaths.
One of the species of this family, L. uwiosa, a handsome flower
found on our Northwestern jirairies, is known by the name of Blazing
Star. The showy flowers of the Liatris family, and their hardy habits,
make them desirable plants for cultivation. They are easily jiropagated
from seed.
Goi.rjKN-ROi) — Solidago latijoUa, (L.)
The Solidagos are among our late August and September wild
flowers, coming in with the hot Summer suns, which have given the
ripened grain to the cradle scythe of the harvest-man. The Trilliums
and Tupines and gorgeous Orange Lilies have gone with the Moccasin-
flowers, the sweet-scented Pyrolas, and the Wild Roses. Man\ of
the fair flowers have faded and gone, but we are not ijuite deserted,
we have yet our graceful Asters, our i)retty Gay-feathers, our Sun-flo«-ers,
Cone-flowers and our blue Gentians, and brightening our way-sides with
many a gay, golden sceptre-iike branch, our hardy, sunny Golden-rods •
varying in colour from gorgeous orange to pale straw-colour , from the
tall stemmed S. gtgaiitea to the slender wand-like forms of the dwarf
species, of which we possess many kinds, some with hoary foliage, others
with narrow willow-like leaves of darker hue. On the grassy borders of
inland forest streams we find the Golden-rods ; tliey seem to accommo-
date themselves to every kind of soil and situation. The rocky clefts
of islands are gay with their , 'right colours, the moist shores of lakes,
the sterile, dusty wa\sides, corners of rail-fences or the forest shades,
no spot so rude bat bears one or another species of these hardy plants.
A coarse but grand Genus and not without its value. Not^for ornament
alone is the Golden-rod prized. The thrifty wives of the old Canadian
settlers prized it as a dye-weed, and gathered the blossoms for the
colouring matter that they extracted from them, with which they dyed
their yarn yellow or green.
I m
94
ir//./), CM" XATIl'E FLOWERS
One of the late flowering species, S. latijolia. is remarkable for its
fragrance, it is slender in habit, the lax branches trailing upon the
ground in grassy woodlands. The leaves are large, very sharply aufl
coarsely toothed, margined on the leaf-stalk, terminating in a slender
point at the apex. The blossoms, which are larger than those of many of
the taller species, are clustered in the axils of the large thin leaves at
rather distant intervals along the slender branches ; the silky pappus of
the winged seeds is tinged with purplish-brown, the flowers are golden-
yellow.
Str.wvhkrrv Bi.rrE— Indian Stra\vi!ERrv. — Blituiii capitatiiin, (I,.)
The Strawberry Elite — or, as it is often called, Indian Strawberry-
is widely spread over the Northern States, and Canada.
Wherever the forest has been cleared it is sure to appear, as it
seems to affect the rich black leaf-mould of the newly-cleared forest.
It is not indeed found within the close thick forest, but appears
wherever a partial clearing has been made. It may be seen close to
the rough lo§ walls of the lumberer's or chopper's shanty, flourishing in
great luxuriance under this half culture. On forest land, that has been
burnt over and left uncropped, it may be seen in perfection ; and within
the garden enclosure, where it becomes a common weed : though truly
more ornamental than many a flower that the gardener cultivates with
care and trouble.
When fully ripe, the long spikes of crimson fruit, and foliage of a
bright green colour, have a beautiful appearance, and tempt the hand to
pluck the richly-coloured seed clusters ; but beauty is not always to be
trusted, and in this case the eye is deceived and the taste disajjpointed
The fruit is insipid and flavourles;, though not unwholesome.
The red juice is used by the Indian-women in dyeing — and in old
times the backwoods settlers made it a substitute for ink — but unless
the colour be fixed by alum, it fades and disappears from the paper.
'J"he Indian Strawberry or Blite, belongs to the Spinach family, and
may be used with safety as a substitute for the garden vegetable, being
perfectly harmless.
I well remember, many years ago, greatly alarming some of my
neighbours in the backwoods, by gathering the tender leaves and shoots
of these plants, and preparing them for the table. I was assured that
death would be the result of my experiment ; but I was confident in
the innocnt (pialities of my fruit-bearing Spinach, and laughed at the
drediction that I should find death in the pot.
--(I
IV/I.D, OR XATIVE FLOWERS.
95
Nor is the Indian Strawberry the only member of the Spinach tribe
that is found growing in Canada. We possess several others, among
these are the herbs commonly known by the country people as (lood
King Henry ( B. Bonus Heiiriciis), which has been introduced
from Europe, and Lamb's-C^uarters (Clieiiopodiuin album)., which
plants are still made use of as Spring vegetables, though not
now in such repute as formerly. Happily few houses, or even
shanties, but can boast of a garden around the dwelling. But many
years ago it was a rare thing to see even a Cabbage-plot fenced in about
the homestead, and the cultivation of flowers was regarded as a piece of
useless extravagance, a mark of pride and idle vanity. We do not wish
tJiose good old times back again !
The leaves of the Indian Strawberry are thin, long- pointed, somewhat
halbert-shaped, with shallow indentatiotis at the edges. They are of a
bright lively green colour. In the earlier stages of growth, the flowering
sjHkes stand upright, but as the fruit ripens they decline, and are bending
or entirely prostrate, much resembling the drooping Amaranth (called
I -ove lies Bleeding) of our gardens, but more brilliant in hue. The berries
of the Indian Strawberry are wrinkled on the surface and dotted over with
purplish-black seeds, which lie embedded in the soft fruity pulp of the
altered clayx in a manner similar to the Strawberry. The fruit begins
to ripen in July, and continues by a succession of lateral branches to
bear its red clusters all through August, and till the frosts of September
cut it off and destroy the beauty of the plant.
TuRTLE-HKAi) — Sn.^ke-head — C/ielotif glabiXi, (L.)
This coarse, but rather showy plant, is found in damp thickets near
lakes and streams. The large, white, two-lipped flowers grow in terminal
clusters or spikes ; the upper lip projects downward like a Turtle's
bill ; the foliage is dark green, the leaves opposite, the edges coarsely-
toothed, long and sharp-pointed ; the stem, simple, or widely branching
and bushy ; the large handsome white flowers are often tinged with red
or purplish-red ; the blossom is open-throated, somewhat contracted at
the mouth by the overhanging of the upper lip. The whole plant is
from two to three feet high. The name of the Cenus is derived from a
(Ireek word, which signifies a Tortoise, the form of the beaked corolla,
resembling the head of a reptile, hence al.so the common name Snake-
head, from the fancied likeness to the open mouth of a snake. The
flowering season is from July to September ; probably, under cultivation,
this flower would become highly ornamental as a large border-plant.
There are many very ornamental flowers belonging to the same
Natural Order as the Turtle-head, among which are the Beard-tongue
96
WILD, OR NATIVE FLOWERS.
{Peiitsteinon), Monkey-flower {Miinuliis), Snap-drag la [Aiitirt/iiiiii>/i),
Scarlet-cup {Casti/leia), and Cierardia, with many other plants more
remarkable for beauty than for any useful or healing qualities, but very
showy in the garden, and not difificult of cultivation.
Cardivai. Flower — Lobelia avdinalis, (L.)
One of the most striking of our native flowers is the Red Lobelia
or Cardinal-flower. The plant had found its way into English gardens
as a rarity before I saw it growing in all its wild beauty on the shores ot
the Otonabee, on my first journey, or rather voyage, up the country.
There, growing at the edge of the low, grassy flat, beside the water — its
tall, loose, spike of deep red flowers fluttering in the breeze and
reddening the surface of the bright river with the reflection of its
glorious colour — this splendid flower first met my admiring eyes.
It was but a short time before that I had seen it cultivated as a new
and rare border flower, and here it was in all its loveliness on the banks
of a lonely forest stream which then flowed through an almost unbroken
wilderness, growing uncared for, unsought for and unvalued. The
people — they were a rude set of Irish settlers — were amused at the
delight with which I plucked the flowers. They cared for none of
these things : they were, to them, only useless weeds.
There are several varieties of the Cardinal-floA'er, occasionally found
among the wild plants near the inland lakes and creeks of the back-
woods : some with flesh-coloured corollas, or white striped with red ; but
these variations are not very common. The prettiest of the blue-
flowered plants of the Lobelia family is a small, delicate, branching one
with azure-blue and white petals, which is cultivated in hanging baskets
as its bright blue flowers and slender leaves droop gracefully over the
pot or basket, and contrast charmingly with larger flowers of deeper
colour and more vivid foliage.
The largest and most showy, but not often cultivated, of the
Lobelias, is L. syphilitica, a stout-stemmed, many-flowered species, which
is chiefly found near springs ; the flowers are full blue and the spike
much crowded ; the height about eighteen or twenty inches ; leaves light
green. The plant seems to flourish in clayey soil near water. Another
blue-flowered Lobelia of slenderer habit is Z. spicafa, the leaves growing
up the wand-like stem in threes, with intervals between ; and it has a
one-sided look. The spike of flowers is loose and scattered, leaves
very thin, long and narrow, light-green and smooth.
Though by no means so showy — for indeed it is a very simple
looking flower— but more remarkable for its uses and medicinal qualities
is the celebrated
H
I. \Vii,u Lur'.NK {Liipiiiiis pcn-niiis).
11. Marsh Maricold (Calt/ia pnlustris).
.Ar> 'v.
^ ^
1
W
I
i
/F//.A OR iXAini. ri.OWERS.
iNrnAN Tobacco — l.obtlin iiifltUa, (i,.)
y?
This plant is imich sought after bv the old settlers, and by the
Indian medicinemen, who consider it to be possessed of rare virtues,
infcdlible as a remedy in fevers, and nervous diseases. At firht it
has the effect of i)roduring utter prostration of the nervous system, and
is known to be of a poisonous nature. It is, I suppose, a case of
"kill or cure."
A decoction of the dried plant relieves fever through the pores of
the skin ; but though used by some of the old settlers, it should not be
administered by any one inexperienced in its peculiar effects. The
Indians smoke the dried leaves, from which fact the common name is
derived- Indian Tobacco. They also call the plant Kinnikinik, which
I su])pose means good to smoke, as the word is also applied to one of the
Cornels, and also to the aromatic Winter-green— the leaves of these
plants being used as a substitute for the common Tobacco, or to
increase its influence when smoking the " weed."
The Indian To';acco is a small branching biennial, from nine to
eighteen inches high ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, light green ; seed vessel
inflated ; flowers pale blue, veined with delicate pencilled lines of a
darker hue ; soil, mostly dry woods or open pastures ; nature of this
innocent looking herb, a virulent poison.
Indian Pipe — Monotropa iiniflora (L.).
This singular plant has many names, such as Wood Snow-drop,
Corpse-plant, and Indian Pipe. The plant is perfectly colourless from
root to (lower, of a pellucid texture and semi-transparent whiteness.
There are no green leaves, but instead, broad and pointed scales, clasping
the rather thick stem, which is terminated by one snowy white flower.
The flower, when first appearing, is turned to one side, and bent down-
wards, but becomes erect as it expands its silvery petals, these are five in
number; stamens from eight to ten; stigma about five-rayed; seed vessel,
an ovoid pod, with from eight to ten grooves ; seed small and numc'^MS.
Though so i)urely white when growinj. , the whole plant turns i)erfectly
black when dried ; even a few minutes after they are gathered, as if
shrinking from the pollution of the human hand, they rapidly lose their
silvery whiteness and become unsightly. To sec this curious flower in
its perfection you must seek it in its forest haunts, under the shade of
Beech and Maple woods, where the soil is black and rich ; and there,
among decaying vegetables, grows this flower of snowy whiteness.
There are two species of the family. In a Hemlock wood I
found the equally singular
\
I
I
I
IVI/.D, OK XATll'E FLOH'F.KS.
Pink Sai- Monotropn Hyf<of>it\i,(\..)
A tawny-roloiircd, s( alcd, Icatlcss species, with several llovvers, covered
with soft, pale yellowish-hrown wool, fragrant, and full of honey, which
fell from the (lower cups in heavy, luscious drops. I'his plant is of
rather rare occurrence, and only found here in i'ine or Hemlock woods,
though dray s[)eaks of it as common in Oak and I'ine woods.
(iKNTIANS.
"Ami llic liliic (K'lili.in IIdwit that in tlio Uri'c/c
NiMJs lonely ; of l>cr iK-aulctms race iliu lasl." — Ihyaiil.
This interesting floral family takes its name from dentins, a King
of Illyria, who is said to have been the first to discover and be
benefitted by its .sanative properties. The root used in medicine, is, I
believe, a native of Spain. The .Mpine dentian- so often spoken of by
tourists is of low stature, with very large, intensely-blue upright bells;
"a thing ot beauty and a joy for ever," even to have beheld it growing in
its serene loveliness on the edge of the icy glaciers and rude moraines
of the Swiss Ali)S.
Of all our native flowers, the dentians are among the most
beautiful, from the delicately fringed azure-blue (Bryant's flower) to the
fair, pale, softly-tinted. Five-flowered dentian, with its narrow bells and
light-green leaves. All arc lovely in colour and form, but none more
deserving of our attention than the large-belled Soapwort dentian,
known also by the poetical name of
CAi.AitiiAN Vioi.KT — GcntiaiKt Suf'oiiariti, (\..),
This is the latest of all our wild flowers, it comes early in the Fall
of the year, and lingers with us
" Till faiier flowers .iic all decayctl,
And Ihou a| p^arest;
Li!. J joys that lint;cT as thi'v fade,
Wlio.se last are dearest."
On sandy knolls, among fading grasses and withered herbage of
our Oak-plains, we see the royal deep blue, ojjen, bells of this lovely
flower, its rich colour reminding one of a (,)ueen's coronation robe.s.
This species somewhat resembles the pAiropean (r. Piwumoiianthe,
(Linn.), which is also known by the same poetical English name. In
Sowerby's " Engli.sh liotany," under the head of the last named species,
we find : " This pretty little plant is worthy of cultivation, and is
quaintly mentioned by derarde, who says : ' the gallant flowres hereof
bee in their bravery about the end of August,' and he tells us that 'the
i Fall
•
I
/K//.A Oh' .VATIVE FIOIVEKS. 99
later physitions hold it to hoc effectual against pestilent diseases, and
-■
the bitings and stingings of venomous beasts.'"
■
Our (lentians are the last tribute with which Nature decks the
'
1
earth — her lasi '..lightest treasures— ere she drops her mantle of spotless
I
snow upon its surface.
We find our latest tlowering (lentian early in September, and as
]
late as November, if the season be still an open one, it may be seen
'.
among the red leaves of the Huckleberry and Dwarf Willows, on our
dry |)lains, above Rice Lake, and fartlier Northward. I'he (lentians
seem to afTect the soil on rocky islands and gravelly, open, prairie-like
lands, among wild grasses. The finest, most luxuriant plants of (/.
• ,
Aiiiimi'sii, were gathered on islands in our back 'akes, growing in rich
,
mould in rocky crevices. The I'ive-flowered (ientian may be found on
dry banks and open grassy wastes, while again the exipiisite, azure-blue,
single-flowered. Dwarf h'ringed (Ientian, (ii-iitinna detonui (Fries), prefers
the moist banks of rivulets anil springs. In drier places may be seen the
stately, many-flowered, taller, blue I-'ringed (Ientian, G. crinita (Frcelich.)
There is also a charming ■ icrmediate form of G. crinita, about a foot
■
high, with fewer flowers, hut of a richer, fuller azure tint. It is of the
Fringed (Ientian that the poet, Hryant, writes : —
,;
Thou lilo.ssdin hriglil wilh .\iitiinin dew,
'
And coloured with hccwcn's own Muc,
i
That ojjenest when the quiet light
t
Succeeds the keen .md frosty nii;ht.
1
Tliou I'onu'si not when \'iolets lean
11
1
Oe'r wandering brooks and springs unseen :
Thou waitest late, and coniest alone
When wiiods are hare and Mrds are tlown,
And frosts and shortening days portend
The aged year is at an end.
Then doth thy sweet and ([uiet eye
i
!
Look through its fringes to the sky ;
ISlue, blue as if the sky let fall.
ik
A tUiwer from its cerule.nn \sa\\." Bryant.
i
But bewildered among so many beauties, I have wandered away
1
from my first love. The large dark-blue or open-belled Clentian
1
Genlicvin Saponaria (I,). The leaves of this sijecies are somewhat
I
clasping at the base, and pointed at the end, at first green, but assuming
1
a purplish-bronze hue ; the smooth stem is also of a reddish purple,
p.
with the large open five-cleft dark-blue corollas terminal on the summit,
generally three blossoms, and between the a.xils of the leaves three
!
loo
WILD, OR NATIVE FLOWERS.
or more somewhat smaller bells may be found at intervals clustered on
the flower stem. The beautifully-folded, dee]) purple buds are sur-
rounded by the pointed bracts and leaves.
This species is 1 ss marked than G. Andrewsii (Griseb) by the
toothed appendages between the lobes of the flower ; the absence of
these plaited folds gives our plant a wider, more open flower, which
renders it more attractive to the eye of the florist. There is something
almost disappointing in the closed sac-like blossom of the
CLOsiiD Gentian- -6^(7/ //(///()' Andre^usii, (Griseb.)
Lovely as it i one would like to jieep within the closed lips, which
so provokingly conceal the interior. The tips of the corolla are white,
but the sac-like flower is of a full azure-blue, striped in some cases with
a deeper colour. There are often as many is five buds and blossoms
clustered at the summit of the flower stem, and in the axils of the deep
green, smooth and glossy leaves.
On parting the lips of the closed corolla we see at the narrowed neck
some toothed and sharply jagged appendages, which also may be observed
in many others of the Gentians, in greater or lesser degree. This handsome
species is about eighteen inches high, with flowers more than an inch
in length, and loves rich leaf-mould near water on rocky islands.
Fringed Gentian — Gcniiana crinita (Frtel).
Of the Fringed Gentians, we boast three forms, all charming and
attractive, and it seems strange that such beautiful flowers should not
have found their places long ere this in our gardens. The seeds would
not be difficult to obtain from the tallest plant G. crinita, as it blooms
earlier and ripens its pods before the heat of the Summer has entirely
given place to frosts.
I have generally found the tall Fringed Gentian on dry, rather
gravelly soil, and river banks. The buds of this flower are beautifully
folded, almost twisted, and are terminal, growing singly, on long foot
stalks ; the corollas rarely unfold fully; the plaited folds are inconspicuous
or absent. The colour of the flower of this tall species is light blue,
and white at the base ; the upper edges of the corollas are elegantly
fringed and cut. Though taller, and the bells more abundant, the lower,
deeper coloured fnnged varieties are more lovely.
There is a bitter principle in the roots of most of the Gentians :
especially is it strongly develojjed m the Five-flowered Gentian
■ — G. (jiiiii(jiitjh>ra, (Lam.) This bitter principle is one of the character-
WILD, OR .\ATIVE FLOWERS.
lOt
istics of the fiimily, and probably our native plants might prove as
valuable as tonics as the foreign root, were they tested. 'I'he Five-
flowered (ientian is very unlike the bright and more showy blossomed
species described above. Tlie flowers in fives, are narrow bells of a
delicate pale lilac-tiiit; clustered in the axils of the narrow, light-green
leaves ; it is found sometimes on dry, grassy l)anks, and in the angles of
fences by roadsides.
I have a specimen closely resembling the above species, sent from
Iowa, the chief difference being that the tips of the slender fl(jwor-tubes
are of a deep dark blue our Canadian flower being only sligiitly tinted
with very i)ale lilac. I have never found any of the (Jentians growing
in the forest, though several species seem to flourish in partial shade in
open thickets.
With the (lentians I have brought to a close the floral season of the
Canadian year. A few stragglers may yet be found amongst late Asters
and Golden-rods, in sheltered glens and lonely hollows, but the glory of
the year has departed : gone with the last deep blue bell of the loveliest
of her race, the ("alathian \'iolet, the solitary flower of the Indian
Summer. All that now remains for us is the bright frosted foliage of the
I )warf Oaks and the scarlet tinged leaves of the low Huckleberry bushes ;
the brilliant berries of the leafless Winterberr\-, Ilex rcrticilhita (Cray),
and the clustered garlands of the climbing Bitter-sweet, Cclastrus scaiidetis^
which hang among the branches of the silver barked Birch and other
forest trees, or near the margin of lake, or stream ; and the crimson fruit
of the frost-touclied High-bush Cranberry Viburuimt Opulits while on
dry, stony hills and rugged rocks the Bearberry covers with its creeping
branches of dark green, shining, leaves and gay scarlet fruit, the scanty
soil from which it springs. Let us prize them, for from henceforth till
the tardy Spring revisits the earth, its treasures of leaf and blossom will
be to us as a sealed book bound uj) in ice and snow. No more are we
tempted by verdant wreaths of glossy leaves or gaily tinted-flowers. We
must be contented with wintry landscapes, snow-flakes and frost-flowers,
and the crystal casing that covers the slender branches of the Birches
and Beeches, or hangs in diamond drops on the tassels of the Si)ruces
and Balsam Firs.
Tread softly, traveller, lest the transient glory of our Frost-flowerS
dissolve at your feet. Emblems of earthly beauty, earthly riches and
earthly fame. But there are brighter gems and fairer flowers of
heavenly growth that fade not away, but which will flourish in the
Paradise of God more glorious than the fairest beauties of our earthly
home.
]\\l
loa
IV/LD, OA' i\A7IVE FLOWERS.
Grasses.
" And God said let the earth bring forth grass,
The herb yielding seed."
' And the earth brought forth grass.
And herb yielding seed." — Gen.
I,ri-i2.
In drawing this little volume on the native plants to a conclusion,
though many have been left unnoticed or unknown by me, I must say
a few words respecting the ( irasses. Not indeed to add a botanical
description of this most beautiful and graceful tribe of plants, which
deserves a volume frutn the pen of one who has given great attention to
the subject, and which seems to me to require the knowledge of a
scientific botanist. To do justice to that I must confess I am not
competent ; any knowledge that I possess is simply that of an observer
and a lover of the beautiful works of my Creator.
The student of botary will not be content merely with my
superficial desultory way of acquiring a more intimate acquaintance with
the productions of the forest and the field ; and to such I would
recommend a more particular study of our beautiful native Wild Clras'^' j,
including the Rushes, and the Sedges. At present the field has not
been entered upon lully, if even its very borders have been gleaned,
unless by that industrious and indef;Uigab!e botanist, Professor John
Macoun, whom we might well call the Father of Canadian Botany.
But though I cannot venture to treat the subject of the Classes as
a botanist, I cannot pass them by, without introducing a few of the
lovely graceful things to the notice of my readers. And if my remarks
should prove rather desultory in their range from I'rairie to Forest, and
from Field to Lake, or from swampy bank of Creek or Marsh, I beg my
friends to bear with me a little while.
Drooping gracefully in wide branching panicles, we find on our wild
plains a soft pale-flowered grass, known by the Indians as Deer-grass,
Sori^/iiiiii nutans, (Cray.) in 'le herbage of which the Deer found (for it is
a thing of the past) both food and shelter. The husk or glumes
of this beautiful grass are hairy or minutely silky, which gives a
peculiar soft greyish tint to the bending pedicels of the pale spikelets.
The culm is from three to four feet high, the leaves hairy at the
margins. Another grass, Andropogon lurcatns(}\w\\\.) more showy but not
so graceful, being more upright in its habit of growth, differs very much
from the above. This grass is tall, jointed, stiffer in the stem, leaves of
a brighter green, heads of flowers spiked, but also branching ; glumes of
a rich red-brown, made more conspicuous by the liright golden yellow
anthers. This grass is also a Plain grass, and known by the same
WILD, OR XATIVE FLOWERS.
103
familiar name as the former ; the Indians say "Yes, both Deer-(kass ;
Deer like that too." It was to increase the growth of this grass that the
Indians, at intervals of time, set fire to the Rice Lake Plains on the
high plateau of land to the eastward, where there was a great feeding
ground for the Deer and their fawns. For many years this tract of land
was covered with Oak-brush, with only a few old trees that had escaped
being injured by the fire. Now, indeed, we have noble Oaks of many
species, fine branching, well developed trees of AVhite, Black, Red,
Scarlet, and Over-cup Oaks, that adorn the Plains and form avenues of
the concession and side-lines, most ornamental and grateful to the eye
of the traveller. It must have been nearly a century ago since these
Plains were last burnt over — not within the memory of the oldest settler
in the Township of Hamilton. Yet deep down, some six or seven feet
below the surface, the charred remains of Oaks are found to i)rove
the truth of the Indian name, " The Lake of the Burning Plains." Indian
names have always some foundation ; adopted from peculiar circum-
stances, they have acrjuired a sort of historical value among the i)eople.
The name of "Rice Lake" is derived from the fields of Wild Rice
Zizania aquatica, (L.) which abound in the shallower waters of this fine
inland sheet of water, and give the appearance of low verdant islands
clothing its waters. When tlie Rice is ripened, and the leaves faded, a
golden tint comes over the aquatic field, and the low Rice islands as
they catch the rays of the sun take the form of sands glowing with
yellow light. Where the water is low, these Rice beds increase so as
nearly to fill the shallow lakes and impede the progress of boats,
changing the channel and altering the aspect of the waters.
In the month of June the tender green spikes of the leaves begin
to appear ; in July the Rice begins to push up its stiff, upright stalk ;
sheathed within its folds are the delicate, fragile flowers ; from the
slender glumes, the beautiful straw-coioured and purple anthers hang
down, fluttering in the breeze which stirs the grassy leaves that float
loosely upon the surface of the water, rising and falling with every
movement. The plant grows in lakes, ponds, and other waters, where
the current is not very strong, to tlie deptii of from three to eight feet or
even deeper. The grassy or ribliand-like flexible leaves are very long. I
remember a gentleman who was rowing me acros-; the lake drew up one
at a chance on his oar and measured it, the k iigth being eleven feet ;
but with ihe culm and flower it would h:ive measured twelve or thirteen
feet in length.
The month of September or later, in October, is the Indian's Rice
harvest. The grain, which is long and narrow and of an olive green or
I,
i
tr
m
104
^ry/A OA' XATIVE FLOWERS.
brown tingt-, is then ripe. The Indian-woman (they do not like to be
called sijuaws since they have become Christians) pushes her light bark
canc'> or skiff to the edge of the Rice-beds armed not with a sickle, but
with a more primitive instrument -a short, thin-bladed, somewhat
ciHved, wooden paddle, with which she strikes the heads of ripe grain
over a stick which she holds in her other hand, directing the stroke so as
to let the grain fall to the bottom of the canoe ; and thus the Wild Rice
crop is reaped, to give pleasant, nourishing and satisfying '' d to her
hungry fLxmily.
There are many ways of preparing dislies of Indian Rice : as an
ingredient for savoury soups or stews ; or with milk, sugar and spices, as
puddmgs ; but the most important thing to be observed in cooking the
article is steepmg the grain — pouring off the water it is steeped in and
tlic first water it is boiled in, which removes any weedy taste from it.
It used to be a favourite dish at many tables, but it is more difficult to
obcinn now.
The grain nil collected, it is winnowed in wide baskets from the
chaff and weedy-matter, parched by a certain process peculiar to the
Indians, and stored in mats or rough boxes made from the bark of the
Birch tree — the Indian's own tree. Formerly we could buy the Inuian
Rice in any of the grocery stores at 7s. 6d. per bushel, l)ut it is much
more costly now, as the Indians find it more ditificult to obtain. Confined
to their viHiges, they have no longer the resources that formerly helped
to maintai , them. The birch-ba'^k canoe is now a thing of the past; the
Wild Rice is now only a luxury in their houses ; by and by the Indians
also will disappear from their log-houses and villages and be known only
as a people that were, hut are not. I am not aware of any other edible
grain tiiat is indigenous to Canada. The Fox-tail,. SV/rt-^w 7iri(/is, (Reauv.)
indeed, has hard s.vds, but it is utilized only in some places where it
abounds (to the farmer's great disgust) as food for his hogs and fowls.
The marsh-growing Red-top or Herd-grass, Ai^ros/is 7<!ili:;ivis, (\Viih.)is
used as hay. We have many other wild, coarse grasses also that are
harvested ; and 'the i)rairies abound with nutritious plants of this Order
which are a great resourci- for the su[)port of the cattle during all seasons.
What would become of the settler's beasts in the North-West Provinces
but lor the Prairie Hay? \'ery beautiful varieties of the lovely I'rairie-
grasses have been gathered by kind friends and sent to me from this
"Wild North Land."
One, the cruel Arrow Crass, Sfipa sftartea, (Trin.) is a great nuisance
to the settler, the barbed shafts and curiously twisted stipes piercing hands
and feet or insinuating their hard points into the flesh or clothing. The
long, twisted arrows of this grass have a curious fashion of winding
IV/LD, OR NA7IVE F/.OlVF.h'S.
105
themselves together, forming a sort of hard rope ; th'j barbed seed lies
below, attached to these twisted arrows. There is also on the prairies a
wild grass known by the descriptive name of Porcupine (Irass ; possibly
the Arrow Grass maybe the same plant with another name, lint turning
from this uninviting I'rairie Pest, as the settlers call it, I would rather call
attention to the useful and sweet-scented Indian Grass, whicli supplies the
poor Indi.'iU-woman with the material which she weaves into such lovely,
tasteful, ornamental baskets, now almost her only resource for materials
for her basket-work, by which industry she can earn a small addition
to her scanty means of obtaining food and clothing. Were it not going
beyond the bounds of my subject I might plead earnestly in behalf of
my destitute, and lOo much neglected, Indian sisters and dwell upon
their wants and trials ; but this theme would lead me too far away from
my suljjei:i. The Indian Grass, so called Hicrocliloa Iwivalis, (Rocm. vV' Sch.)
is little known in its native state, as it is only the Indians themselves who
know where to seek for it. This is among lonely lakes and forest haunts.
The soil where it grows is low, sandy flats, especially on shores where
the soil is composed of disintegrated friable rocks, reduced to gritty,
coarse sand, where it can send up its slender, white, running roots most
freely ; and there it sends up early in May its culms and light panicles of
shining flowers : tlie glossy straw-coloured plumes and purple antlicrs
make tliis grass a very lovely object. The leaves, too, are of a shining
bright full green. It is the earliest of any of the grasses to push up its
pointed blades above the ground ; and, as far as my knowledge of the
plant goes, for I have had it in my garden for many many years, it is
the earliest to blossom. Only when dried, or rather withered, does it
e;ive out its sweet scent, which it retains for years.
I have braided the long ribband-like leaves and made dinner-mats
of them, and also chains tied with coloured ribbon, after tiie Indian
fashion and sent them to friends in the Old Country to lay like Lavender
in their drawers. One thing I must observe of tlie Indian Sweet-grass,
although it grows readily, and flourishes in any odd corner of the garden
in which you plant it, it rarely puts forth a flowering stem, nor can I
account for this unless it may be the absence of some speciality in the
native soil that is lacking, and for the need of which it may grow
luxuriantly as to leaf but brings no fruit to perfection.
Among the common wild grasses we have many kinds kn(;wn by
such expressive names as Red-top, Blue-joint, Herds grass, Beaver
Meadow-grass", Wild Oats, Wild Barley, Fox-tail, Squirrel-tail, Poverty-
grass, Cock"s-foot, Couch or Spear-grass, Millet, with many others, named
or unnamed, that are peculiar to certain localities, in open fields, in the
shade of the forest, the thicket, the banks of creeks, in water, or on
*
I
11
ly/LD, OA' XATIVE FLOWERS
dry waste lands ; there is no spot but has some Grass, or Rush, or Sedge,
or Reed ; they spring up by the water-courses, on the dry parched sands
of desert places, and in our path by the way-side ; thus we find this lowly
herb, under some distinguishing form, wherever we go. Is it not intended
as a silent monitor to remind us of the frailty of our earthly being, by
bringing back to us the words of the Psalmist : " As for man his days
are as grass, as a flower of the field so he flourisheth, for the wind
passeth over it and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no
more." — Ps. 103.
How often in the inspired words do we find similar allusions made
to the grass in language alike practical and touching.
" The voice said Cry 1 And he said What shall I cry ? "
" All flesh is grass and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower
of the field."
" The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, * * * * l^ut the
word of our Ood shall stand for ever."^ — Isaiah XL, 6-7.
Thus the grass that we tread beneath our feet, as well as the
fairest flower, has alike a significance and a teaching to lead us up to
the throne of Him who makes the grandeur of the heavens above, and
the lowliest plant on earth, to si)eak to us of His goodness, His wisdom
and His fatherly care for all. Let me close with the lesson of faith that
Christ the Lord himself gave to his disciples : " If God so clothe the
grass of the field, * * * * shall He not much more clothe you,
O ye of little faith?"
A FAMILIAR DESCRIPTION
— OF THE-
Flowering Shrubs of Central Canada.
" Hie to haunts right seliloni seen,
Lovely, lonesome, cool and green.
Hie away, hie away,
Over bank, over brae,
Hie away." — IVaverlcv.
Le'-atherwood — MoosEWOOL) — Dirca paliistris, ( L. )
C^OHE Leatherwood or Moosewood is one of the very earliest of
il^^ our native shrubs to blossom ; little clusters of yellow, funnel-
■iNrf^ shaped flowers appear on the naked, smooth-barked bionches
early in April ; three or more buds project from an involucre of as m-xny
scales covered thickly with soft, brown, downy hairs. The leaves, which
expand soon after the falling off of the flowers, are smooth, of a bright
light green, oblong, entire, and placed alternately along the stems.
This pretty, shrubby bush seldom exceeds five feet in height, but is often
much lower. The bark is of a pale greenish-grey, very tough, and
while fresh and young not easily broken : it becomes more brittle when
thoroughly dried, losing its useful pliant qualities. The bush settlers
used the tough bark in its green state as a substitute for cordage in tying
sacks and for similar purposes. This hardy shrub is, I believe, the only
native representative in Canada of the Mezereum family ; it his neither
the fragrance nor the dark glos.sy foliage of the Daphne or Spurge Laurel
of the English gardens ; but, nevertheless, forms a pretty addition to our
garden shrubberies ; the early blossom, abundant foliage, and light
scarlet globular berries are very attractive. The New England people
call the plant Moosewood in allusion to the hairy covering of the flower-
buds. The Canadian's Leatherwood, and the Indian's Wycopy meaning a
thong, on account of its tough leathery bark. The specific name,
paliistris, would imply that it was more particularly a marsh-loving
V i
1 08
1' LOWER lA'G SHRUBS.
plant; but the Lealherwood may be found fre(|uentl) growint^ on dry
gravelly ground, and is by no means confined to wet, marshy soil.
Dr. (Jray .says : " The name of ^ fountain near Thebes was applied by
I-inn;tus to this North American (lenus for no imaginable reason, unless
because the bush fretjuently grows near mountain rivulets.
This shrub is found all over the Eastern and Western parts of the
Dominion and has a wide northerly range. I know of no especial
uses excepting the one already named among the settlers in the back-
woods and the Indians, who use the bark as loose handles for their bark
baskets used in rough work.
]''Evi:K-iiisn— Spice-bush— Z/W<'/-<7 Benzoin, (Meisner).
This highly fragrant shrub is commonly found growing in low, wet,
marshy ground, and is sought for by the Indians for medicinal uses ;
the bark and twigs (for it is in them the aroma is contained) form one
of their luxuries, mingled with tobacco. The spicy, sweet-scented wood
long retains its flavour, even when dried, and is most agreeable. The
bush is about four or five feet high ; the bark of the older branches
grey and smooth, but the young twigs and leaf-stalks are blackish. The
flowers in this, as in Leatherv/ood, api)ear in umbel-like clusters in
April before the foliage is developed ; the blossoms are yellow, or
honey coloured ; the leaves entire, very smooth, darkish green, oblong
and ])ale underneath. This shrub belongs to the Laurel tribe, and is
nearly allied to the Sassafras. The natives make a fever-drink of the
twigs, besides chewing and smoking the bark.
TR.vir.iNc; Arbutus — M.\v-i lower— iI/4''""'' repeiis, (L.)
(PLATE II.)
The fragrant, graceful Epigtca repens, the sweet May-flower of the
Northern States, and of our own Canada, is too lovely to be forgotten
in these short floral biographies ; indeed, this pretty trailing ever-green
is well deserving of a place amongst the most cherished treasures of the
conservatory, for few exceed it in beauty, and none in fragrance. It is
to be found within the Pine forests, beneath trees where but a scanty
herbage flourishes ; and on dry, sandy and rocky ground we see its
ever-green, shining, ovate leaves, and delicate pink flowers, covering the
ground during the month of May. The Americans know it i)y the
name of May-flowev, so called from its season ot blossoming ; in
England it is a favourite green-house shrub under the name of Trailing
Arbutus. The leaves rise on long foot-stalks from the somewhat
horizontal branches, they are unequal in size, the largest being
FLOWERING SHRUBS.
109
nearest to the summit ; the leaf-stalks are clothed with clammy reddish-
coloured hairs, which contain an odorous gum ; the flowers are tubular,
divided into five segments at the margin, in colour varying from white
to rosy-pink ; the inside of the long tube is beset with silvery hairs.
The lovely, waxy flowers are clustered at the summits of tlic creeping
stems, and give out a delightful aromatic scent. The classical name of
our pretty ever-green is derived from the Greek, and signifies -upon the
earth — in allusion to its prostrate trailing habit.
Bkakkd Hazki.-nut. — Cotyliis lostrata, (Ait.)
The Beaked Hazel-nut is a small bush, not more than three to four
feet high ; the leaves are large, oval, and coarse in texture, furrowed and
dentate at the edge. The catkins appear in April ; the liglit crimson
tufted pistillate flowers in May. The nut is enveloped in a rough green
involucral calyx, which is undivided and closely invests it, this rapidly dim-
inishes in size above the nut, and is prolonged for about an inch ; in shape
it takes the form of a hawk's hill, whence the specific name rostnita, or
beaked, is derived.
The calyx is closely beset with short, bristly hairs which pierce
the fir.gers, producing an unpleasant irritation ; especially is this felt
when the fruit is ripe, and the enveloping case is withered and dry.
The nut is sweet and well-flavoured, and resembles the common Filbert
more than the Wild Hazel-nut of England. The bush seems to affect
dry open ground and copse woods. There is another native species, the
American Hazei.-nut. — Corvliis Americana, (Walt.)
This is a much taller bush, found chiefly in damp thickets ; the long,
slender wand-like nut-brown branches springing from a thickened root-
stock or stool, and reaching to a height of ten to fifteen feet in damp
localities. The sweet nut is round and thick shelled, the involucral calyx
spreading at the tips and more open than in the former species. The
foliage is round, somewhat cordate, or heart-shaped, coarsely pointed and
serrated. The flowers, which are of two kinds in this genus, come
successively before the unfolding of the leaves. The two si)ecies are
very distinct in their appearance and character. The Beaked Hazel-nut
bearing more likeness to the Filbert, while the present species resembles
ths common Hazel-nut.
The classical name Coryliis is derived from a Greek word, signifying
a helmet, from the shape of the calyx.
II
!$h
if
I
I
in
i
lie FLOWERLVG SHRUBS.
Red-iikrrikI) Y,\.\w.9..—!:iainhitci(s piihens, (Michx.)
The rcd-friiited Kldcr is often confoundeu by ignorant persons with
the Rhus Toxicodendron, to which the names of I'oison Klder, I'oison
Oak, and I'oison Ivy have been given, thus transferring the evil ([ualities
of the poisonous Rhus to a perfectly harmless shrubby tree, which
deserves to be redeemed from such slanders. 'I'he Red-berried Elder
is widely distributed over the Dominion of Canada.
In every waste i)lace ; on old neglected fallows which have been
subjected to the ravages of fire ; in corners of fences, and even in
gardens, if care be not taken to ruthlessly root out the intruder, this
hardy native may be found. 'I'he panicles of greenish white
flowers may be seen in the month of May, among black and
burnt stumps, and girdled Pines, enlivening the coarse verdure of the
dull-green, pinnated leaves, and grey warty branches ; the flowers of this
species, as well as those of the Black berried Elder, S. Canadensis, (L.)
emit a faint but sickly odour. The flowers of the latter species are
whiter, borne m much larger and flatter cymes, and do not appear until
June.
The embryo blossoms of the Red Elder are formed soon after the
fall of the leaf in October, and may be distinctly seen in the large
globular buds which adorn the bare branches in Winter ; they are
closely packed within the protecting cases, like hard-green seeds, each
flower-bud perfect as if ready to unfold in the first warm sunshine ; but
not so, for the embryo flower must He dormant in its cradle till the next
Spring, when the warmth of the May sunshine opens it out to life and
light. The blossoms are succeeded by an abundance of small berries,
which, during the monthof June, ripen, and adorn the landscape with their
brilliant scarlet hues. The juice of the ripe fruit is a thin acid, slightly
partaking of the peculiar flavour of the wood, not agreeable, but perfectly
wholesome. The gay berries are a favourite food with wild birds, which
soon strip the trees of their ornamental clusters.
TwiN-Fi.owERKD HoNEV-sucKi.E. — Loniceva ciliata, (Muhl.)
Though we have not, in Canada, the sweet-scented and
graceful Woodbine of the bowery English lanes and hedge-rows — the
theme of many a poet's lay — from Shakespeare and Milton down to
Bloomfield and Clare— yet we have some charming flowering shrubs
that are too lovely to be disregarded by the lover of Nature. Among
our wild native species, there is not one more elegant than the Twin-
flowered Honey-suckle, or Bush Honey-suckle. It is one of the earliest
of our shrubs to unfold its tender light-green leaves. A few warm days
■
1
i
FI.OWERLVG SIlRUliS. , i i
1
in April — if the season he mild and we may perceive tlie slender sprays
\
\
\
assuming a welcome tint of verdure the glad promise of Spring.
The ovate leaves, of pale green, are delicately fringed with silken
_ 1
hairs, at first of a slight purplish ''nge. i'he flowers ai)pcar in pairs,
connected twin-like from the axils of the leaves ; in colour, something
between a pale primrose and greenish-white, often tinged with pur|)le.
The elegant drooping bells nre divided at the edge of the corolla, into
five pointed segments, slightly turned outward, showing five stamens.
and one style, which projects a little beyond the funnel-shaped llower.
These graceful flowers united at the ovary, hang beneath the leaves on
slender thready pedicels so sligiit that the least breath of air swings
their light fairy bells. One might almost be tempted to listen for some
sweet music to is.sue from their hollow tubes. The twin berries, when
ripe, are of a semi-transparent rui)y-red, but like the fruit of all the (lenus.
they are tasteless or of a sickly sweet flavour. They form a feast for
birds and numerous species of flies, which feed upon the pulp and juice.
The country people give the name of " Fly Honey-suckle " to this shrub
— doubtless from having noticed how attractive the fruit is to the insect
tribes.
i
The Hush Honey-suckle thrives well in the garden under a
moderate degree of shade, and in black vegetable mould.*
'
The general habit of this shrubby Honey-suckle is upright, not
climbing ; the branchlets are slender, with a pale greyish-green bark^
and liend outwards, which gives a light and graceful aspect to the bush.
The crimson, juicy berries are oblong, united at the base, and contain
several yellowish, bony seeds.
Smali.-fi.owkrko Honkv-sl'cki.e. — Lonicera parviflora, (Lam.)
This pretty clustered trumpet Honey-suckle is also a native of our
Canadian woods : a climber, but not often ascending to any great
height, sometimes low and bush-like. It might be termed a dwarf
climbing Honey-suckle. The flowers are showy and clustered in loose
terminal heads ; the tube very slender, and the segments of the corolla
narrowly pointed.
This shrub seems to accommodate itself to circumstances, as it
i
does not attemjjt to climb when transplanted to open ground, but forms
a compact bush.
The abundance of its pale red and yellow flowers in light, graceful.
clusters, and bluish-green foliage, make it a pretty ornament to the
garden, to which it takes kindly when transplanted ; the only dis-
• It is claiiiieil to lie a Viiluiiblc U'lncily in Ciises nf Dropsy.
■
J
l!$
i I
^
advanta^^cs nrc the cvanesience of its l)lossoms and its hricf flowering
season. 'I'lie berries, however, are abundant, and arc of a pretty lit;ht
reddisli-orange colour.
H.MKV Ni ii.ow-i'i.owi.KMi ]loNK\sv{.Ki.y. /.ii///irnr hiniita^ (Maton.)
This is a large, robust species ; the leaves lar^e. ovate, and downy
underneath ; the upper pair perfoliate, forming a l)oat-Hha|)ed involucre
to the large, hairy, honey-coloured clusters of flowers, which are terminal.
'I'hi stem of this rather handsome but coarse species is woody, branching
and slightly twining ; the hairy, yellow trumpet sha|)ed (lowers exude a
clammy, sweet dew, which attracts numbers of flies which hover about
them, with tliose honey-loving vagrants the numming-l)irds. 'i'his
species is chiefly found in open copses and on rocky islands. There
are several other native Honey-suckles. (Mosely allied to the Loniaras
is a i)retly (lowering shrub known as
I'Ai.sK HoNKV-siCKi.K — DiiTi'iUa trifidiu (.Nfiench).
This shrub is often found on upturned roots in the forest, but it
also flourishes in more airy situations, as the edge of open, cleared
ground in the corners of rail fences, where it has access to sun-light and
freer air. It seldom grows higher than two or three feet, forming a low
leafy bush ; the leaves oblong, slightly toothed, in opi)osite pairs ; the
branches arc covered with a smooth, red bark ; the foot stalks of tlic
leaves are also red ; the flowers fuiuiel-shapcd ; the slender
corolla divided into five lobes, the lower lij) trifid. The flowers on
slender peduncles, mostly in threes, spring from the axils of the leaves.
The small seeds are contained in a hard two-celled, two-valved woody
pod. The colour of the flowers varies from straw-colour to tawny
yellow. Under cultivation the Dicn'illa increases in size and abundance
of the flowers ; it is very hardy and will thrive in sunnier spots than
the more delicate Twin-flowered Honeysuckle, which recjuires shade.
SNow'-iiicKRV. --SympJioricarpus racviiiosits, (Michx.)
Everyone is familiar with that pretty, ornamental garden shrub, the
Snow-berry, so often seen in English shrubberies, as well as in our
Canadian gardens ; but everv- .xdmirer of it does not know that it is a
native of the Dominion and may be found growing in uncultivated
luxuriance on the banks of streams and inland waters, on the rocky
banks of rapid rivers and lonely lakes, whose surface has never been
ruffled by the keel of the white man's boat, spots known only to the
Indian hunter or tlic adventurous fur-trapper. There, bending its flexile
branches to kiss the surface of the ;;till waters, its pure white waxen
I l.0n'l:RI.\G SIIKIBS,
",5
l)crrics may be hcci., looking ns if some cunning luuul had niDiildcd
them from virgin wax and lumy them among the dark green foliage for
very sport.
The Wossi ms of the Snow berry are snnll, rod and white bells, in
clustered loose bonds along the ends of the light, flexible sjjrays; during
the flowering soason the bran( hes are upright but droop downward in
Autumn from the weight of the large round snow-white berries. The
brown, bony seeds lie embedded in the granular cellular pulp Though
fpiite innoxious, the fruit is insijiid and more useful for ornament than
for any other purpose, as far as man is corcerned, but forms a bountiful
supply of food to many of the birds that remain with us late in the
Autumn. The plant multiplies by suckers from the roots and by seeds.
The leaves are small, oval, slightly toothed, of a dull, dark bluish-green.
'I'his shrub is a native of all the Northern States of .\merica, extending
northward and westward in Canada. It belongs to the same Natural
Order as the Honey-suckle, that lovely creeping plant the 'I'win-flower,
and the l^lders.
Swket-Fern. — G^w/Zt^/z/fr (Upknifolia, (Ait. )
I'he popular name by which this shrub is known among Canadians
— .Sweet-Fern is improperly applied and leads to the erroneous
impression that the plant is a species of Fern. It is a member of the
Sweet-dale family and belongs to the Natural Order Myricaciie.
'I'he Sweet- I'ern grows chiefly on light loam or sandy soil, in open
dry uplands, and on wastes by roadsides, forming low thickets of small,
weak, straggling bushes, which give out a delicious aromatic scent —
somewhat like the flavour of freshly grated nutmegs — but the smell is
evanescent, and soon evaporates when the leaves have been gathered
for any length of time. The twig-like branches are of a fine reddish
colour; the leaves are long, very narrow, and deeply indented in
alternate rounded notches, resembling some of the Aspleniums in
outline, whence the s|)ecific name. The flowers are of two kinds :
the sterile in cylindrical catkins, with scale-like Imicts, and the fertile
in bur-like heads.
SwKEi-CiAi.E. ' Myrica Gale, (L.)
This sweet-scented low shrub may be found l)ordering the rocky
shores of our inland Northern lakes in great abundance, and may be
readily recognized by its bluish dull green leaves, and the fine scent
of the plant. The leaves when stirred or crushed giving out a fine
aroma of higher flavour, but resembling that of the Sweet-Fern,
Coniptonia asphnifolia. The sterile catkins, closely clustered, appear
amtSBSSimL
114
FLOWERING SIIRinS.
before the leaves ; the seed is contained in rough scaly heads ; the
leaves are toothed at the edges, broader at the upper end and narrowing
at the base. The .vhole bush scarcely exceeds four feet in height, but
throws out many small branches, and forms a close hedge like thicket
near the margins of lakes and ponds ; those lonely inland waters, where,
undisturbed for ages, it has flourished and sent forth its sweetness on
the desert air — "Just for itself and God." Vet the (jualities of this shrub
have not been quite overlooked by the native Indians, and by some of
the old inhabitants of the back country, who use the leaves in some of
their home-made diet drinks and in infusions for purifying the blood.
As she luxuries of civilization creep in among the settlers, they abandon
the uses of many of the medicinal herbs that formerly supplied the place
of drugs from stores.
The old Simplers and Herbalists arc a race now nearly extinct. I
am inclined to agree with a statement I once heard, to the effect that
hot stoves and doctors' drugs have fostered or introduced many of the
diseases that carry our young people to an early grave, and have rendered
the old ones prematurely infirm.
Nkw Jkrskv Tka — Red-root. — Ceaiiot/iits Aineriainns, (I,.)
There is an historical interest attached to the name of this very
attractive shrub which still lingers in the memories of the descendants
of the U. K. Loyalists in Canada and in the State of New Jersey, where
the leaves of the Ceanoilu s were first adopted as a substitute for the
Chinese 'i'ea-i)lant. Even to this day Americans will cross to Ontario
in Summer, to gather quantities of the leaves to carry back from our
plains, where it is found in great abundance. And while they commend
the virtues of the plant, they no doubt recount the tales of war, trouble and
privation, endured in the old struggle waged by their grandfathers and
great-grandfathers for independence, when, casting away the m.ore costly
tea, they liad recourse to a humble native shrub to supply a luxury that
was even then felt as a want and a tfecessity in their homes.
The leaf of the New Jersey Tea resembles that of the Chinese
very much, and if it wants the peculiarly fragrant flavour thai we prize
so highly in the genuine article, yet it is perfectly wholesome, and if
prepared by heat in a similar way might approac-h more nearly to the
([ualities of the foreign article. Indeed we are not sure but that it really
does form one of the many adulterations that are mixed up with the teas
of commerce, for which we are content to pay so highly. Many years
ago I was applied to by persons in Liverpool to supply their firm with
large quantities of the leaves, no doubt it was for the pur[)ose of
p.dulterating the foreign teas in which they dealt. Of course the proposal
was declined.
FLOWERING SHRmS.
"5
An old friend, one of the sons of a U. E. Loyalist, told me that for
some years after leaving the United States (the family were from
Vermont) that the genuine Chinese Tea was rarely to be met with in the
houses of the settlers, especially with such as lived in lonely backwoods
settlements, that for the most part they made use of infusions of the
leaves of the Red-root, or Now Jersey Tea, as they had learned to
call it, of Labrador Tea, Ledum latifolium. Sweet-Fern, Comptoiiia
asplcnifolia. Mountain Mint or other aromati; herbs, or even of tht>
sprigs of the Hemlock Spruce. Many of the old folks still retain a
liking for the teas made from the wild herbs, and use them as diet-drinks
in the Spring of the year with great benefit to their healths.
The light feat!iery clusters of minute white flowers of the Ceaiiothus
have a charming appearance among the dark green foliage, and adorn
the hills and valleys of the grassy Canadian j.'iain-lands. Where the
soil is light loam the shrubs are lower, and the flowers somewhat smaller,
but very abundant, and give out a faint sweet odour. In damper, more
shaded spots, the flower-clusters are larger and borne on long footstalks.
The leaves of the shrub are ovate, oblong, ribbed, and toothed at the
edges. The root is of a deep red colour, astringent and used medicinally.
The flavour of the leaves is slightly bitter and aromatic. I consider
this pretty Ceanotlius to be one of the most ornamental of our native
flowering shrubs, and well worthy of introduction into our gardens.
Abundant clusters of delicate white flowers, that cover the bush during
the months of July and August, have the appearance of the froth of new
milk at a little distance. The flowers are slender, the petals hooded,
spreading, on slender claws longer than the calyx, which is five-
lobed, coloured like the petals. The seed-vessel is three-lobed,
splitting into three parts when dry ; the seed is round, hard and berry-
like. The branches and woolly stems wither and die down in Autumn, to
be replaced by new shoots in the ensuing Spring. In height the shrub
varies from two to five feet.
Wild Smooih Gooseherry — Ribis oxyacanthoides (L).
Our woods and swamps abound . with varieties of the widely
diffused Gooseberry and Currant family, and though at present neg-
lected and despised, they no doubt could, by proper treatment, be made
valuable and serviceable to man. Of the Wild Gooseberries, there
are several kinds. The best and most palatable, being the smooth
skinned, small purple Gooseberry, Rihes oxyacanthoides ; this is the least
thorny ol the Genus, and by cultivation, can be rendered a nice and
serviceable fruit for preserving and other table uses.
ii6
FLOWER IXG SHRUBS.
It grows in low ground or on the borders of beaver meadows and
damp thickets, and seems to be found in every part of the Dominion.
The bush is low, not more than three to four feet, or less, with not
very prickly stems, and smooth berries, generally in pairs ; the calyx of
the flower purplish, and fruit when ripe of a dark purple colour ; leaves,
smooth and shining, and pale beneath.
Thornherry — Prickly Goosei!errv — Ribes Cynosbati, (L.)
The fruit of this Wild Gooseberry is perfectly rough and spiny, and
troublesome to gather, but in old times, was sought for by the sclllers in the
backwoods as a welcome addition to their scanty fare. By scalding and
rubbing the berries in a coarse cloth, much of the roughness was
removed ; in its green state the berries were used in the form of pies
and puddings, or, when softened, mixed with sugar and milk. ^Vhen
ripe, it was made into preserves, but the harshness of the bristly skin
was not very easily overcome, especially if the fruit was over-ripe. Still
it was one of the cheap luxuries that found a welcome place at the
shanty table. This is a tall bush from 4 to 6 feet in height, which grows
in dry rocky woods, and bears a profusion of greenish bells, from one
to three on each slender pedicel, in the month of May.
Another of our native Gooseberries is not so wholesome nor so
useful ; this is the
Small Swamp Goosei!Errv. — Ribes lacustre, (Poir.)
Very pretty in flower, but very bristly, and the fruit small, not
larger than peas, in slender racemes, of a pale red-colour, and
unpleasant flavour. The blossoms are pink and hang in graceful
bunches on the weak and very prickly branches. This small bristly
species resembles the
Trailing Hairy Ox'scblk^-v.— Ribes prostratum, (L'Her.)
This is the least desirable of the Currant family — being far from
wholesome. The whole plant is weak and reclining on the ground
often rooting from the joints. The leaves are rather large, smooth and
5 to 7 lobed. The small, round, very pale red berries are hairy,
glandular, and of a very unpleasant taste and odour. I have known
persons made very ill by eating tarts made of the Hairy Currants..
It is easily distinguished by its trailing habit and hairy berries, and
erect racemes of flowers. I have found it cliiefly growing in low lands
and thickets, near swamps. A larger bush and of common occurence,
in swampy ground, is the
' i
-i
FL O WE RING SIIR I 'ns.
Wild Black Currant. — R. floridiim, (I-.)
117
When in blossom this Wild Black Currant is an ornamental object.
The flowers, of a pale greenish-yellow, are larger than the common
garden species, and droop in long, graceful flowery racemes from the
branches. The leaves are of a greyish-green, sharply lobed ; the bark
grey and smooth ; berries very dark red, deepening when ripe to blackish-
purple ; they are large and somewhat pear-shaped, in flavour not
unlike the garden fruit. I should think it possessed of a na,i-cotic
quality ; certainly it is not very agreeable, though some people like it,
and it is extensively used as a preserve. The bush takes kindly to
cultivation but is, I think, more ornamental than useful.
Wii.n Red Currant. — Ribes riibrum, (L.)
Is said to be identical with our cultivated (iarden Currant. In its wild
state the fruit is small, very acid, and not unpalatable or unwholesom.e,
but has a flavour of the astringent bark. This woody taste is common
to many of our fruits in their natural state, but seems to be much
reduced by v,are and cultivation.
JuNK-i?ERRV — Shaij-hush. — Amelaiickicr Canadensis, (T. & Ci.)
The June-berries are not only very ornamental shrubs but their
fruit is very pleasant and wholesome, especially when mixed with acid
berries, such as Currants and Cherries. The tallest of the Genus is the
Shad-hush, which is so called from the flowers appearing when the
Shad-flies first rise from the water in the month of May.
The elegant white flowers of this pretty tree (for it rises to the
height of twenty feet) adorn the banks of our rivers and lakes and
enliven the surrounding woods, breaking the monotony of their verdure
by the contrast of its snow-white pendent buds and blossoms. The
branches of the Shad-bush are somewhat straggling ; the leaves of a
bluish-green, ovate and serrated, white underneath ; the fruit of a dark
red, sweet and pleasant. This tree loves gravelly banks, and may usually
be found near rivers. It is the tallest of the June-berries ; it thrives
well under garden culture and is a pretty object when in flower, but not
so much so as the next variety, Amelauchier Canadensis, var. oblongifolia
which is a tall, upright, slenderly-branched pyramidal bush, rarely
exeeding twelve or fifteen feet in height ; it is very symmetrical in its
growth, forming a fine compact pyramid, covered early in the month of
May with an abundance of drooping racemes of elegant white flowers,
sometimes tinged with pink ; the l)lossoms come somewhat before the
tender silken leaf-buds unfold. The foliage is delicately and sharply
Ki'Hl''
i.u
ii8
FL WE R INC SHRl 'BS.
cut at the margins of the thin, ovate, oblong leaves, which are soft, silky
and folded together ; at first they are of a reddish-bronze, but they
take a bright tint of green when more mature. The flowers are on
slender foot-stalks, petals narrow and wavy. The calyx remains
persistent, as in the Pear and Apple. The fruit of this pretty June-
berry is small ; when ripe it is of a pink or rose colour ; sweet and
juicy but somewhat insipid ; not so nice as another f©rm which is known
in some places by the name of Sheep-berry. This forms a handsome
bush about ten feet high, the flower and fruit larger than the former,
the berries dark red, almost purple ^-hen ripe in July, with a pleasant
nutty flavour. Open thickets on the sides of ravines on the Rice Lake
plains were favourite localities for the Sheep-berry. Another dwarf
June-berry, not more than five or six feet high or less, grows in the
sandy flats on these same plains. This is a pretty low shrub with green-
ish-white racemes of flowers and oval leaves, fruit dark purplish-red, sweet
but the berries are small, not larger than currants; the bark of thebranchlets
of this little June-berry, is dark red, and the leaves are very downy
underneath, the fruit is ripe in July and August about the same time as
the Huckleberries.
ivwARF Cherry — Sand Cherry. — Primus puiiiila (L;.
The Dwarf Cherry, more commonly known as Sand Cherry, is
chiefly found on light, sandy lands ; it is a low, bushy shrub, from
eighteen inches to two feet in height : the slender branches are inclined
to trail upon the ground, sometimes rooting ; the centre stem is more
Upright. This little cherry has a pretty aijpearance when covered with
the clusters of small, white, almond-scented blossoms, which on short
slender foot stalks spring, in twos or fours, from the base of the small
pale-green leaves that clothe the reddish-barked branches ; the fruit,
not exceeding the size of a common pea, is purplish-red, without bloom
on the surface. The Sand Cherry abounds on light plain-lands ; it is
the smallest of the wild Cherries, and is far more palatable than the
fruit of some of the larger trees of the Genus. In flavour it partakes
more of the nature of the Damson or Plum. Possibly under cultivation
the fruit might be greatly improved in size and quality : and the plant
is so pretty an object, whether in flower or fruit, that it would repay the
trouble of cultivation in the garden as an ornamental dwarf shrub. So
eagerly is the fruit sought for by the Pigeons and Partridges, that it is
difficult to obtain any quantity even in its most favoured localities.
Choke-Cherry. — Prunus Virgitiiana (L).
Very tempting to the eye is the dark-crimson, semi-transparent
fruit, when fully ripe, of the Choke-Cherry, and not unpalatable, but so
FLOWERING SHRUBS.
119
very astringent that it causes a painful contraction of the throat if many
berries are eaten at one time, though some ])ersons are not much
affected by them, and will take them freely without any ill consequences.
The bush is from eight to ten feet high, flowering abundantly and
forming a pretty object from the profusion of long, graceful, pendulous
racemes of greenish-white flowers which have an almond-like scent when
fully blown. The leaves also have a pleasant, aromatic, bitter flavour
like those of the Peach and Almond, and form a good flavouring,
resembling Ratafia ; when boiled in milk for puddings and custards one
or two are sufficient, and may be removed when the milk has boiled.
This flavouring is harmless and pleasant, and easily obtained.
The Choke-Cherry never reaches to the dignity ot a tree like the
Wild Black and Wild Red Cherry oi che woods, but forms a pretty
flowery shrub of straggling growth. It blossoms in June and ripens the
fruit in August. In both stages, of flower and fruit, it is very
ornamental, and may be introduced with advantage to the shrubbery —
but so tempting are the ripe berries to the smaller fruit-loving birds that
it is soon stripped of its rich crimson load of pendent fruit. The Cedar
or Cherry-Birds are sure to find out the bush and visit it in flocks till
they strip it entirely, leaving the ground below strewed with the berries
that have been shaken off : possibly the Ground .Squirrels and Field-mice
thus come in for a share of the spoils.
Pricki-V k^n. — Xaiit/wxyliim Amencaiutm^ (Mill.)
This is a handsome shrub with glossy pinnate leaves, the valuable
qualities of which are hardly sufficiently known and appreciated by those
who know it only for its ornamental appearance, when the crimson cases
that envelop the black shining seeds appear in clusters between the
bright green leaves. The leaflets are in five pairs, with one terminal,
from an inch to two inches in length, serrated at the edges, pointed, of
a lively bright green, very glossy on the surface. The stem and branches
straight, covered with whitish grey bark ; the branches set with stout
woody prickles, which also extend along the mid-rib on the underside
of the leaves. The flowers are yellowish green, in close set clusters,
appearing before the leaves. The fruit is a round, hard, shining bead-
like berry, on a little thready stalk, two in each pod, at first a bronzed
green, deepening to deep crimson when ripe, opening and shewing the
dark glossy seeds. The whole ))lant is highly aromatic, especially the
cases that enclose the seeds, which, when rubbed between the fingers,
emit a strong pungent odour, like the scent of Orange-peel.
The root, bark, leaves, and fruit, are bitter, pungent and aromatic.
The root and bark are used in dyeing yellow : they are also used
medicinally in extract for Agues and Intermittent Fevers.
v^£iMmii>i:H^i-m^
i :!
mi»
FL WEKL \ Y; .V//A' 1 7!S.
'J'liough its most usual locality is on the banks of streams and in
low wettish ground, it will also thrive and increase rapidl)- on dry soil,
and on account of its stout woody stem it seems well suited for hedges.
Tlie Prickly Ash will grow both from seed and by shoots sent up from
the roots. The fruit is ripe in .\ugust and .September. The dry seed-
pods are in great retiuest by smokers, who mix them with tobacco and
regard the fine spicy scent as a great luxury when they can obtain the
berries from the Indians.
The following valuable remarks on the medicinal uses of this
interesting shrul) were copied^for me by my late much-valued friend,
Dr. Low, of Bowmanville, from the Journal of Materia Medica, No.
XII., December 1859, by Dr. Charles Lee, on the Medicinal Plants of
North America : —
" The ' Prickly Ash ' is known also'^by the name of 'Yellow-wood.'
The bark contains a fixed volatile oil, resinous colouring matter ; gum and
a crystalizable substance. The berries contain a large amount of oil,
one pound yielding four fli.M ounces when treated with alcoholic ether.
The Prickly Ash is employed as a remedy for affections of the spine,
marrow, and vascular system. The active properties consist of an
ethereal oil, like oil of turpentine, it is decidedly stimulant in languid
cases of the nervous system.
'• In Asiatic cholera, during the years 1848-50, it was used with
great success by American physicians in Cincinnati ; it acted like
electricity, so sudden and diffusive was the effect on the system.
" In the vSummer complaint of young children it is also used with
great success. The following is an excellent receipt for that disease
among children : —
" Rhubarb root, Colombo, Cinnamon — of each i drachm : Prickly
Ash Berries, 3 drachms : Cood Brandy, half a pint. Add the bruised
articles to the brandy, shaking them for three or four days occasionally.
The dose for a child of two years old is a teaspoonful thrice a day in
sweetened water. Where any swelling of the body is apparent, equal
parts of the tincture of Prickly Ash Berries and Olive Oil is of great use
rubbed in over the abdomen. In typhus and typhoid fevers, the value
of this tincture is very great. A teaspoonful diluted with water may be
given, in cases of great depression and prostration, everv twenty minutes ;
it is also used most successfully in chronic rheumatism."
I make no apology for introducing the above, thinking it may
prove a valuable receipt.
Another of our lovely creeping forest evergreens is the
FLOWERliXG SHRUBS.
121
Cri:i;i'ix(; Snosv-hkrrv. — Chio^eiu's liiipidula, (T. & (1.)
This interesting little plant forms beds in the sijongy soil of the
damp cedar swamjjs, spreading its matted trailing branchlets over the
mossy trunks of fallen trees. The foliage is dark green — very small—
and myrtle-like in texture, hard and glossy. The flowers, which are
solilary in the axils of the leaves, are not very showy ; they are bell-
shaped and four-cleft at the margin, greenish-white in colour. The berry
is pure white and waxy, and lying on the deep green mat of tiny
evergreen leaves, has a charming eflect.
C/iiogencs liispidida belongs to the Heath family, and grows in
cool peat bogs and mossy mountain woods, in the shade of evergreens ;
the whole i)lant has the aromatic flavour of the Teaberry or Aromatic
Winter-green, Gaultlieria prociDiibens.
HuCKI.KIiKRRIKS — BlA'KHERRIES.
Several varieties of this useful and agreeable fruit are spread all
over the country, even to the farthest Northern and Eastern portions ot
the now widely extended Dominion. Many of the species are hardy,
and will bear the severity of almost Polar cold, and will flourish in the
poorest soil. The commonest to be met with are the large Blueberries,
Vacdiiiuiii Fi'intsylvaiiiciiin, l^. Cana dense and V. coryinbosiDii, which
abound in the Oak-openings, in swamps, and on the stony islands of
our back lakes.
Dwarf Bi.UEiiERRV — Vacciiiiiiiii Peiinsylvanicum, (Lam.)
Is the earliest to ripen its large sweet berries. The flowers, which are
delicate waxy bells, appear early in May, and are with the young leaves
pinkish in colour. The leaves are lanceolate with serrated margins,
smooth and shining on both sides. The berry is ri|)e early in July,
and is the earliest Blueberry brought to the market.
This is a low bush, one to two feet high, found growing in woods
and on the borders of swamps.
C.\NADA Bluederrv. — Vacciniiaii Ca/iade/ise, (Kalm)
Is a low shrub with downy branches and leaves, very similar to the
above, but generally smaller, and with shorter greenish flowers, striped
with red ; the leaves are not serrated at the margin, and the fruit is not
quite so early. It generally grows in damper situations.
Swamp Bi.ueherrv. — I'acciniuiii corynibosHiii, (L.)
This is a large handsome shrub, five to eight feet high, found in
many varieties growing in swamps. The corolla is larger than either of
(.:.
m
133
FLOWERING SHRUBS.
the above and of a purer white. The leaves ovate and entire, and
slightly pubescent. The rich berries begin to ripen in August, and are
the latest of the season.
These pretty shrubs, loaded with their luscious berries, may be
found on all dry open places. The poor Indian squaw fills her bark
baskets with the fruit and brings them to the villages to trade for flour,
tea, and calico, while social parties of the settlers used to go forth annually
to gather the fruit - pr'^F' ig, or for the pleasure of spending a long
Summer's day an' -nv romantic hills and valleys; roaming in
unrestrained freedoii; a.rsi.ji .» wild flowers that are scattered in rich
profusion over those i, . trails if land, where these useful berries
grow.
These rural parties would sometimes muster to the extent of fifty
or even an hundred individuals, furnished with provisions and all the
appliances for an extended pic-nic.
Many years ago, when the beautiful Rice Lake Plains lay an
uncultivated wilderness of wild fruits and flowers shaded by noble, wide
spreading Oaks, silver Birches and feathery Pines, an event occurred
that excited great interest in the neighbourhood, and for miles around,
the excitement even penetrating to distant settlements on the Otonabee,
then the border-land of civilization, North of the Great Lakes.
It was in the month of July, 1837, that a large party of friends and
neighbours near Port Hope agreed to make a pic-nic party, to gather
Huckleberries and pass a jileasant ISummer day on the Rice l>ake Plains.
They made a large gathering in waggons and buggies and on
horseback. Among the children belonging to the party was a little girl
about seven years of age, a bright, engaging child, By some accident
this little one got separated from her family among the bushes, and they,
supposing that she had gone forward with some of their near neighbours
and friends, started for home, feeling no uneasiness until it was
discovered that little Jane was not among the returned party, and that
no trace pf her could be found.
Then came the stunning conviction that the child was lost — left
alone to wander over that pathless wilderness in darkness and solitude,
perhaps to fall an unresisting prey to the Bear or the Wolf, both of
which animals at that distant period roamed the hills and ravines of
those plains in numbers, unchecked by the rifle of the sportsman or the
gun of the Indian hunter.
A few cleared spots there were : but these were miles apart, and it
was not likely that the timid child would find her way to any of the
distant shanties, so that no reasonable hope of the child finding shelter
FLOWERING SHRUBS,
i»3
for the night could be entertained. Under so sad a loss, the distress of
the bereaved parents may easily be imagined. Their agonizing suspense,
their hopes and their fears, found a ready response in every kind and
feeling heart.
No sooner was it known that a young child was lost, than hundreds
of persons interested themselves in the discovery and restoration of little
Jane Ayre. The people came from their farms ; they poured out from
towns and villages, from the borders of the forest ; wherever the tale
was told came men in waggons, on horseback, and on foot, to scour the
plains in every direction.
The Indians, under their Chief, I'ondash, came under promise of a
liberal reward if they found the child. Day after day pas? without
tidings of the lost one. As night came on each party return, d, <■: 'y to
say the child was not found, and hope began to fade away 'n all .i^ rts.
It still lingered however in that of the father.
It was now Thursday, and it was on the evening of tl:/^ previous
Saturday that the little girl had been lost. The chances were indeed
remote that she would he found, or if found, that she \\ Id be a living,
breathing child.
However, about noon on the Thursday a horseman was seen
riding at full speed towards the farm, followed by a crowd that thronged
the road. The lost child was f(jund ! Alive or dead ? 1'hcre was a
stop, a pause, in the i^ulsation of the woe-worn heart of the mother.
Could it be that after five days of famine and wandering, exposed to
the rain and dews, and the sun's hot rays, that she should behold her
child alive once more ? Yes, it was even so, and He who tempers the
rough wind to the shorn lamb and shelters the unfledged nestling of
the wild birds, had been her guard by night from the wild beasts and
her shield by day from the elements. No harm had befallen the young
wanderer, save what naturally arose from exhaustion and fear in her
unusual position.
Each night she had lain down, and, sheltered by a fallen Pine
tree, had slept as soundly as if on her own little bed at home. The
first night a drenching thunder-shower had wetted her clothes, and she
had lost her shoes in the grass and she had not cared to seek for them ;
her face was much sunburnt, and she said each day she had heard
voices in the distance, but her fear of strangers, and especially of
Indians, had made her conceal herself One thing was remarkable —
hope and trust in her father had never deserted her young heart. She
said, she knew that he would never cease to look for her till she was
found. It was with the hope of seeing that dear face that she came
■j'^
'
124
FLOWERING SI INC US.
Irom her hiding place and stood ui)on thu log and looked about her,
and was fortunately discovered by one of the searchers whom she knew
by sight -and then what a cry of joy arose, such as those wild plains
had never echoed before, "The Child I The Child !"— it reached the
father's ears, though distant far from the spot, and he scarcely believed
yet, for joy, till she was placed warm and breathing in his arms. The
crowd instinctively drew back for a space and left the father and child
clasped in each other's arms. Many a manly cheek was wet that day
when they saw the childish face, thin and wan as it was, nestling in the
father's arms, her thin browned hands clasped about his neck as if no
power on earth should, part them again.
Surely the father might have cried out in the fulness of his heart
" Rejoice with me, my friends, for this my lamb was lost and is found !"
Years have passed away, and little Jane has long been a wife and
happy mother, and no doubt has often told her children the tale of her
being lost on the Rice Lake Plains, and pointed them to the gracious
Father in Heaven, who kept her under the shadow of His wing during
those days of danger, fear, and famine.
The plains are now cultivated in every direction: the Huckleberries
are fast disappearing and will have to be sought for elsewhere.
P'rost (JRAi'E — Viiis cordi/olia, (Mx.)
Those deep, embowering masses of foliage : those verdant draperies
that fall in such graceful, leafy curtains from branch to branch, roofing
the dark shady recesses of our wooded lakes and river banks : those
light feathery-clustered blossoms that hover like a misty cloud above
the leafy mass, giving out a tender perfume as the breeze passes over
them — like sweet Mignonette — those are our native vines, our Wild
Grapes.
Von tall dead tree, that stands above the river's brink, is wreathed
with a dense mantle of foliage not its own. The changing hues of the
leaves, the deep purplish clusters of fruit, now partially seen, now
hidden from the view, have given a life and beauty to that dead
unsightly tree.
The ambitious parasite has climbed unchecked to the very top-
most branch, and now flings down its luxuriant arms, vainly endeavouring
to clasp some distant bough ; but no, the distance is beyond its reach,
and it must once more bend earthward or in lieu of better support,
entwine its flexile tendrils in a tangled network of twisted sprays,
leaf-stalks, and embowering leaves and fruit.
The fruit of the Frost-grape — our Northern grape-vine — ^is small.
The berries, round blue or black with little or no bloom, very acid, but
FLOWER I. \G SHRUBS,
US
edible when touched by the frost, and ( an be manufactured into a fine
jelly and good wine of a deep colour and high flavour. \Vhole i'ilands
in the Trent and Rice Lake are covered with a growth of this native
drape. 'I'here is not a lake in Canada but has its " (Irape Island," and
many persons cultivate the i)lants about their dwellings over light
trellis work, under which circumstances they will yield an abundance of
fruit. It is also very useful to conceal unsightly objects, as out-houses
An old pine stump can be converted into an ornamental object, by
nailing cedar poles — fastened at the top—round it, and planting
grape-vines around it, having first prepared a bed of good earth and
large stones, to bank the lower jjart ; a few plants of the Wild
Clematis intermixed with the Crajje-vine and a sprinkling of Morning
(llories, make a lovely i)yrainid and convert a defect into a charming
object, during many months of the year.
The Wild Grape seems to flourish best, in its natural state, near the
water, but will grow and flourish well in gardens where it is given the
support of a trellis or in any suitable position where it can climb. I
have even seen a dead tree si)eiially planted for such a purpose.
Fox Gr.M'K — Vites Lal>rusca, (L.)
This is the original of the cultivated Isabella Crape, which has
long been introduced into our gardens and vineries as worthy of the
attention of fruit-growers.
The leaves of this species are very densely woolly, covered, esi)ecially
when young, with tawny, silky hairs ; the fruit is of a dark purple, of a
musky flavour, whence its common name. Fox Crape.
This Wild Grape is found on the shores of Lake Erie, and to the
Westward. From the improvement made by cultivation, in the size and
ijuality of the Wild Fox Crape, we may perceive how much might
possibly be done with others of our wild fruits, which, when introduced
into our gardens would have the advantage of hardiness in bearing the
severity of our climate, beyond that of exotics.
It seems reasonable to suppose that plants that are indigenous to
a country, could, by due care, be brought \.o a state of higher perfection
than when under a foreign sun and soil, and that the culture of wild
plants would amply repay the cultivator. Attempts of this kind are
rarely made or persevered in, so that the result is not often satisfactory :
either the process is thought to be too slow, or we despise as common,
that which is within our reach, valuing that which is more costly above
what is easily obtained ; whilst we eagerly spend our money to obtain
a foreign species, which may possibly have been originilly taken from
■ff-^
*l!
1,; ,
II
ft6
FLOWER IXC, SIIKIHS.
our native woods and wilds to a forcinn country, there cherished and
cared for, im|)rovcd by cultivation, and returned to us increased in
value. It would greatly enhance the pleasure of cultivation if we were
ourselves, ahle to show native llowers and shrubs and fruits, rendered
equal to the imported kinds by our own ( ulturc.
We might comiiare these wild i)lants to the neglet ted < liiidren of
our poorest (lasses. In the degradation arising from their uncared for
state they become as moral weeds in the great garden of life, neglected
and passed by, left to run wild, and shunned ; but remove these cliildren
to a more genial atmosphere ; let them be taught the value of their souls,
for which so great a price was i)aid by their Redeemer ; let them lie
clothed and fed, and cared for, made to feel that they are not desjiised
in the eyes of their fellow men : then their useful (lualities brought into
action, and their vices and evil passions controlled, like the wild
plants, they will rise in value, and beauty, and usefulness, becoming
precious trees bearing fruit to the glory of Almighty (lod sought out
and desired of all men. Who will cultivate and imjirove this garden of
human growth ? Must it continue a wilderness, rank and injurious, full
of deadly jioisons and unripe, crude and bitter fruits ; while within it,
choked and hidden from view, are the germs of usefulness, beauty, and
hajipiness, that only re(iuire the better soil, the fostering care, and
gladdening sunshine of christian love and kindness, to make them what
their Creator would have them all to be ? Truly " the harvest is great
but the husbandmen are few."
Allusions to the grape-vine and vineyards are of freciuent occurrence
in Scripture. Many and beautiful are the passages where the ancient
church is symbolized by the poetical figures of the vine and the vine-
yard. How touching is the appeal made by the projihet to the rebel-
lious and idolatrous people in the fifth chapter of the book of Isaiah.
"And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and ye, men of Judah,
judge 1 pray you betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been
done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it ? Wherefore when
I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes."
Tieautiful are the allusions made in the song of Solomon, in his
invitation to the beloved to go forth to the garden he had planted.
" The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vine with the tender
grapes give a good smell. Arise my love, my fair one, and come away."
" Let us get up early to the vineyards ; let us see if the vines
flourish, whether the tender grapes appear."
Probably the culture of the vine was among the earliest labours of
the husbandman, and must have been of most ancient usage, the first
FLOW EN IXC, SllKUBS.
127
work enjoined by the Alminhty Creator when he jdac ed man in tlie
(larden of Kden which was most likely a large and fertile tract of
country already enriched with every tree, and herb, and (lower, that
would prove useful for the support of life and enjoyment. Adam was
instructed by his Maker to till the ^-round and dress it and keep it.
This employment was ordained for health and pleasure, not for toil
or weariness. 'I'his last condition aro.se when sin had marred the fair
beauty of (lod's world and the sin-smitten earth no longer yielded its
spontaneous fertility as in the day when sinless man first stootl in
his inno( ence on the then unpolluted earth, a fearless being in the
presence of a holy (lod.
The vine which might have formed a delightful portion of man's
food in the Kdenic garden, must from henceforh yield its luscious grapes
only by care and labour. 'I'he wild vines must be jiruned and trained
and kept free from noxious weeds and hurtful insects ; they were no
longer the fruit of the Lord's vineyard. Who can tell but that our wild
Canadian Krost and Fox Crapes may not be the degenerated seed of the
wild vines of that land of the east, into which Adam and Kve weie
banished.
Travellers in Palestine still speak of the lu.xuriant (jrape-vines
flinging their clusters of fruit and sweet-scented blossoms over the
terraced stee])s of rocky ravines, filling the air with perfume ; but the
vines are all wild now and uncultivated. They want the careful hand
of the vine-dresser and husbandman to train them. lype of the wasted
inheritance of the ancient people, and of a degenerate priesthood.
Has the Christian church no careless vine-dressers ; are there no
vines bringing forth wild grapes ; no briars and thorns that come up to
choke the Lord's vineyard, till it becomes an unfruitful wilderness?
Black Hawihorn — Pkar Thorn — CraUegus tomeritosa, (I,.)
Canada has many species of Hawthorn ; but not the fragrant
flowermg May of the English hedgerows, associated in the minds of
Old Country people, with the pleasant Spring days and bowery lanes
of theii hildhood, when, as old Herrick tells us " Maids went maying."
But even now in Merrie England, the May-queen's reign is over, in
spite of po( ' s' songs.
Lamknt for tmk Mav-(.iiiek\.
No Maiden now with glowing; brow
Shall rise with early liawn,
And hind her hair with chaplets rare
Torn from the blossomed thorn.
,28 FLOWERING SHRUBS.
No lark shall sprinc; on dewy wing
Thy matin hymn to pour,
No cuckoo's voice shall shout " rejoice I ''
Vox thou art (^ueen no more.
ISeneath thy Hower-encircled wand,
No peasant trains advance ;
No more they lead with sportive tread,
The meiry, merry dance.
The \'iolet l)looms with modest grace
Beneath its crest of leaves,
The Primrose shows her paly face ;
Her wreaths the Woodbine weaves.
The Cowslip bends her golden head,
And Diisiesdeck the lea ;
Hut all, no more in grove or bower.
The Queen of May we"ll see.
Weep, weep then virgin (^Jucen of May,
Thy ancient reign is o'er ;
Thy votaries now are lowly laid,
And thou art (,)ueen no more.
The Pear Thorn is one of the finest of our native species, it often
rises to the height of froi\i fifteen to twenty feet with a stout rough-
barked stem. When in flower it forms a fine ornament to our open
woods and thickets, for it is not found in the depths of the forest ; but
at the open edges of woods, more especially it will be found along the
banks of rivers and creeks. The flowers are much larger though less
delicate in scent than the English Hawthorn. The leaves are thick
and tough, but smooth and shining, unequally toothed, ovate-oblong ;
thorns, long sharp and slender. The white cup-shaped flowers with
dark anthers grow in handsome corymbs, many-flowered on the summits
of the sprays. The fruit is large, round and of a bright scarlet or
orange.
SCARLET-KRUITED ThORN — CratcCgUS cVCCilU'd, (L.)
Is no less ornamental than the former, it also forms a fine liigh
flowering bush ; the fruit is of a pleasant acid and of a fine bright scarlet,
the leaves are thin, partly lobed and sharply cut at the rounded margin.
This thorn grows tall and slender in close thickets and shade, but
seems to prefer open ground and plenty of sunshine, when it forms a
lovely small, compact, tree and flowers abundantly ; the fruit is not
so large as in the last species, and is of a deeper red colour.
The English White Thorn, Crafu-gus oxyacwif/ia, (L.) in some
situations grows beautifully, but is ajit to dwindle and become mossy
and gnarled in unsuitable places where it is neglected.
Plate V.
1. I'"ai,sk Foxca.oVK {(/in/nf/d r///f/ri/ii//\i).
II. I,ESSEK FoxmovK. [Gerardia pediculana).
1 "■■ ■
t
1
■$.
Ml:
I
I
Fl. OWERIXG SlIRl 7>\9.
A most perfect specimen of the English White-thorn may be
seen at Port Hope on the lawn at the residence of C. Kirkhoffer, Esq.,
at the western side of the town ; it was in full flower when 1 saw it, and
formed one of the most beautiful objects I ever saw, it was worth going
miles to look upon it, and to inhale the sweetness of its abundant
white blossoms.
There appears to have been little attempt made to cultivate our
Hawthorns as hedge plants, though one might naturally suppose that
such would have been adopted in places where the difficulty and expense
of obtaining rail-timber is now being sensibly felt by the farmer. The
■Cedar and Hemlock are largely used for garden enclosures. Why not
try the Hawthorn also ?
Smai.i. CKANnERRV — Vacciniiiiii Oxycocats (L.)
There's not .t Hower Uul sliews some touch
In freckle, freck or stain,
Of His unriv.iUed pencil.— /Av/ww,!-
There is scarcely to be found a lovelier little plant than the
common Marsh Cranberry. It is of a trailing habit, creeping along the
ground, rooting at every joint, and sending up little leafy upright stems,
from which spring long slender thready pedicels, each terminated by a
delicate peach-blossom-tinted flower, nodding on the stalk, so as to
throw the narrow pointed petals upward. The leaves are small, of a
dark myrtle-green, revolute at the edges, whitish beneath, unecjually
distributed along the stem. The deep crimson smooth oval berries are
collected by the sfjuaws and sold at a high price in the l-"all of the year.
There are extensive tracts of low, sandy, swamjjy flats, m various
portions of Canada, covered with a luxuriant growth of low ("ran-
berries. 'I'hese spots are known as Cranberry Marshes, and are
generally overflowed during the Spring ; many interesting and rare
plants are found in these marshes, with Mosses and Lichens not to be
found elsewhere, low evergreens of the Heath family, and some rare
plants belonging to the Orchidaceiv such as the beautiful Crass
Pink ( Calogogon pukhellus) and Ca/y/^so borcalis.
Not only is the fruit of the low Cranberry in great esteem for tarts
and preserves, but it is considered to possess valuable medicinal
properties, having been long used in cancerous afifections as an outward
application. 'I'he berries in their uncooked state are acid and power-
fully astringent.
This fruit is successfully cultivated for the market in many parts of the
Northern States of America, and is said to rei)ay the cost of culture in
a very profitable manner.
I
itiii;
W*U
■.?o
H.OWERINC SIlRt lis
So imich in recjucst as Cranberries are for household use, it seems
strange that no enterprising person has yet undertaken to supply the
markets of Canada. In suitable soil the cro]) could hardly prove a
failure, with care and attention to the selection of the plants at a proper
season.
The Cranberry belongs to one of the sub-orders of the Heath family
( Ericaccic ), nor are its delicate pink-tinted flowers less beautiful than
many of the exotic i)lants of that Order, which we rear with care and
pains in the greenhouse and conservatory : yet, growing in our n^'dst
as it were, few persons that luxuriate in the rich preserve that is made
froui the ripe fruit, have ever seen the elegant trailing-plant, with its
graceful b'ossonis and myrtle-like foliage.
The botanical name is of Greek origin, from oxiis, sour, and coccits,
a berry. The plant thrives best in wet sandy soil and low mossy
marshes.
Wii,i,ow-i.EAvi;r) Mkadow-swkki'. — Spinca scilici folia, (L.)
Frederic Pursh, in his North American Flora — a valuable work
but little referred to — gives no less than seven different species of this
(lenus Spir;ea as natives of Canada ; the description of two or three will
be sufficient for the present limited work on the indigenous shrubs of
this portion of the Dominion. Of the white (lowered species, Spinca
S(i/itifo!i(i, the AA'illow-leaved Meadow-sweet is the most commonly met
witi and is often found in gardens and shrubberies. It is a pretty,
graceful shrub, with clustered feathery panicles of white or pale waxy-
pink flowers, which are terminal on slender branches ; the leaves long,
narrow and thin, of a pale green, serrated on the margins. Our Spinvas
will not onl)- bear removal to the gfarden, but flourish luxuriantly under
cultivation. The only objection to their introduction to our borders is
that the)' are apt to become too intrusive, by throwing up many suckers,
which have to be rooted out.
A very slender variet\-, with simple wand-like stems and terminal
s[)ikes (jf small white flowers, may be found growing among the cracks
and fissures of the rock\ shores of Stoney Lake and its numerous islets,
rooting in sterile spots among the few wild grasses that find nurture in
the scanty mould that is lodged in such crevices. This delicate little
shrub may be found in flower all through the hot months of July and
August. The Spira-as belong to the Rose family. The popular name,
Meadow-sweet, seems hardly appropriate to our pretty shrub, as it has
very little fragrance. Rut this name for the whole ( lenus is taken from
the beautiful and odoriferous British species, Spiraa U/iiiaria.
ly met
irctty,
waxy-
long,
)ir;\.'as
undor
rders is
;ucker«,
FI.OWEKIXG S//RIBS. 131
Hard-hack — Rose Coloured Spir.i-:a. — Spinea tomentosa, (L. )
Of the several jirctty shrubs belonging to the (!enus Spinra, which
have been introduced into cultivation, none deserve a place in our
gardens more decidedly than tiie above. It is a beautiful shrub,
growing in wild ])rofusion in swamps and on the rocky sliores of our
small inland lakes. It is about four feet Iiigh, with slender, wand-like
stems that rise from a woody root-stock, clothed with dark gre>.;i, serrated,
leathery leaves, which are smooth aliove, but very downy underneath.
The flowers are of a fme rose-pink, in closely-flowered panicles, a little
branching in the larger heads. The iiark of the stem is red, and covered
with whitish down.
While this elegant shrub is chiefly found near water, it seems to
prefer a gravelly or rocky soil for its habitation.
I'UKi'i.E Flowkkinc; Rasimiekrv. — Riibiis odoralus, (L.)
In English gardens our beautiful sweet-scented Raspberry is deemed
worthy of a place in the shrubberies, but in its native country it is passed
by and regarded as of little worth. Yet what can be more lovely than
its rose-shaped blossoms, from the deep purplish-crimson bud wrapped
in its odorous mossy calyx, to the unfolded flower of various shades of
deep rose and paler reddish lilac. The flowers derive their pleasant
aromatic odour from the closely-set coating of short bristly glandular
hairs, each one of which is tipped with a gland of reddish hue, containing
a sweet-scented gum, as in the mossy envelope of the Moss-Rose of the
garden. These appendages, seen by the aid of a powerful microscope,
are objects of exquisite beauty, more admirable than rubies and diamonds,
living gems that fill us with wonder while we gaze into their marvellous
parts and glorious colours.
All through the hot months of June, July and August, a succession
of flowers is put forth at the ends of the branches and branchlets of our
Sweet Raspberry —
"An odorous chaplet of sweet summer Inuls."
•
The shrub is from two to five feet in height, branching from the
woody perennial root-stock ; the leaves are from three to five lobed, the
lobes pointed and roughly toothed. The leaves are of a dullish green,
varying in size from several inches in diameter to mere bracts. The
blossoms are often as large as those of the Sweet-Briar and Dog-Rose,
but when first unfolded are more compact and cup-like. The fruit,
which is popularly known by the name of Wild Mulberry, consists of
many small red grains, somewhat dry and acid, scarcely tempting to the
s J.'
^1
lit'
\f
'32
FL OlVK/ilXG S//A'C /y'S,
palate, but not injurious in any degree. 'I'he shrub is more attractive
for its flowers than its insipid fruit. We have indeed few that arc more
ornamental among our native plants than this A'n/>us. Canada pos.sesses
many attractive shrubs that are but little known, wiiich flourish year
after year on the lonely shores of our inland lakes and marshy Beaver-
meadows, unnoticed and uncared for in their solitary native haunts.
Closely resembling the Purple Flowering-Raspberry, is the White
I'lowering-Raspberry, A'. A^ittkoiiits, (Mocino), the chief difference being
in the colour of the flowers and tlie shape of the petals, which, in the
latter species, are of a lovely pure white and oval in shape. Tiie whole
plant is slightly smaller and less bristly. The fruit is very similar in
both s|)ecies.
Wild Rkd Rasi'berk\. Kii/'us strigosiis, (Michx.)
The wild Raspberry springs up spontaneously all over Canada. In
the forest, in newly made clearings alter the fire has passed over the
ground, on every upturned root, in the angles of the snake-fences, and
on every waste and neglected spot, the Raspberry appears and takes
possession of the land. Truly this useful and palatable fruit proves a
blessing and a comfort in various ways to the poor, as well as a wholesome,
welcome luxury to the richer inhabitants of our towns and villages. During
the fruiting season the women and children are enabled to supply many
household wants by the sale ot the red and black Raspberries ; even the
little ones are made to contribute their small mite of labour, and may
be seen in large parties going out with tins and sundry small vessels to
the Raspberry grounds. Wild rugged spots that have been abandoned
by the farmers ; worthless for the growth of roots and grain. He cannot
look beyond and see that with Our bountiful Provide' there are no waste
places. He who fed the wandering multitude with Manna in the thirsty
desert, and brought forth springs of water from the flinty rock, can give
fruits to satisfy the wants of his children in the Canadian wilderness. The
wild berries are shared by Cod's humbler gleaners the small animals,
and flocks of birds ; and even the insects all come to this table that is
spread abroad for them and us ; " and sometliing gathers up all
fragments and nothing is lost."
The fruit of the common Red Raspberry begins to ripen early in
the month of July, just about the time that the Strawberry ceases to be
plentiful. The flowers are not very ornamental, whitish, but not clear
white, rosaceous in form. 'J'he berry ripens very soon after the fading
of the flowers.
'I'he colour of the fruit of the common Raspberry is of a light red,
changuig with maturity to a dark crimson. The bush is upright — not
FLon'ERl.Wi SIIRL US.
'35
night red,
jghl — not
very prickly. 'I'hc leaves have from tliree to five leaflets, greyish or dull
green, wrinkled and veiny, whitish underneath ; leallcts serrate, une<iually
lobed, pointed ; the fruit is juiry and acid, not as sweet as that of the
IJi.ACK RasI"Iikru\ Riihus occidentalism (I,.)
This species is distinguished from the above by its long archini
flexile branches covered with purplish red bark, strongly huokcd prickles
and blackish fruit, very rich, firm and sweet. It loves to grow on hilly
banks and upturned roots in the shade of the forest where it can send
down its long fiexible branches, which bear an abundance of berries long
after the Red Raspberry has tailed to yield a supply. (Iray calls this
Black Ras[)l)erry by the familiar name of 'i'himbleberry ; but it is the
fruit of the Blackberry Riihits villoms, (.\it. ) that is commonly known
by this name. The berries of the Blackberry are not hollow, nor do
they, like the last, separate from the receptacle ; they are conical, sweet
and luscious to the taste, in cpiality astringent, but not unideasantly
flavoured. The berries ripen in August ; the foliage is veiny, coarse,
with strong red prickles, the stems strongly armed and covered with a
dark-red bark, which with the root is highly astringent and used both in
the form of a tea and syrup in cases of Dysentery and Summer-
complaint. The fruit in syrup is also considered medicinal and useful
in similar complaints. A very pretty, ornamental, low, creeping, shrubby
plant is the
Swamp Blackherrv — Riibus /lispiJin;, (L.)
The branches, very strongly armed with hooked prickles, are long
and slender, extending two or three feet over the ground, leaves of
three leaflets, bright varnished green, rounded at the ends, more in form
like those of the Strawberry ; flowers rather large, very delicately tinted
with pinkish or else white, like a small, single. Briar Rose. This low-
Blackberry seems to love rocky ground, creeping among stones and
rooting in the black mould in the crevices ; the fruit is blackish-purple
and pleasant to the taste.
The Swa.mp-I!KRR\- — Rulu/s trifionts, (Richardson.)
Is a pretty low trailing plant bearing somewhat insignificant white
flowers, and ruby-coloured juicy acid fruit ; it ripens about the same
time as the wild Strawberry, and the plants are seen running among the
wild grasses and Strawberry vines, conspicuous by the lighter green
leaves, which grow in compounds from three to five, coarsely, doubly
serrate, and sharply pointed ; the flowers in small bunches of three. Like
that of all the Genus, the fruit is perfectly wholesome.
!t
▼^ r
..«.>
^ \r ii^
■>
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
1.0
1.25
■^ lii 12.2
UUt.
■*»
vg
/2
%
V
Hiotograpiiic
Sciences
Corporation
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, N.Y. MSSO
(716) •72-4503
>^
"H
\
iV
<^
•>^
.v^.
>.\
i\
^^^
^
.»*
^4^'
^
11 ?
1 r
134 FLO WEKING SHNUBS.
Kari.y Wild Rose — Rosa blanda, (Ait.)
" Nor (lid I wonder at the Lilies white,
Nor praise the deep verniillion of the rose." —
" The kose lof)ks fair, l)ut fairer we it deem,
Forihat sweet odour which in it doth live." — Shakrspean:
The Early Wild Rose, Rosa Nanda, is hardly so deeply tinted as
our Dwarf Wild Rose, Rosa lucida, but both possess attractions of
colour and fragrance ; (jualities that have made the Rose the theme of
many a poet's song. In the flowery language of the East, Beauty and
the Rose seem almost to be synonymous terms. The Italian poets are
full of allusions to this lovely flower, especially to the red Uamask Rose.
A popular song in the days of Charles I. was that beginning
with the lines —
" (jather your Roses while you may.
For time is still a flying.
And that same flower that Idooms to-doy,
To-morrow may he dying. "
The leaves of Rosn blanda are pale underneath ; leaflets five to
seven ; flowers blush-pink : stem not very prickly ; fruit red and round ;
the bush from one to three feet in height.
DwARK Wild Rose — R. liicida, (Ehrh.)
Is widely diffused over Canada ; it is found on all open plain-lands, but
shuns the deep shade of the forest The bark is of a bright red, and
the young wood is armed with bristly prickles of a greyish colour.
When growing in shade, the half-opened flowers and buds are of deep
pink or carmine, but where more exposed in sunny spots, the petals fade
to a pale blush-colour. This shrub becomes somewhat troublesome if
encouraged in the garden, from the running roots, which send up many
shoots. In its wild state the Dwarf Rose seldom exceeds three feet in
height ; it is the second and older wood that bears the flowers ; the
flower-bearing branches become alm.ost smooth or only remotely thorny.
The leaflets vary in number from five to nine ; they are sharply serrated
at the edges, and smooth on the surface ; the globular scarlet fruit is
flattened at the eye and is of a jjleasant sub-acid taste.
This beautiful red-barked Rose grows in great profusion on the
plains above Rice Lake, clothing large tracts of hill and dale, and
scenting the evening air at dew-fiill with its delicate fragrance.
The Swamp Rose, Rosa Carolina^ (L.) is not uncommon ; it is
often seen growing at the margins of lakes and rivers, and at the edges
of stony islands ; it will climb, with the aid of supporting trees, to the
FLOWEKIXG SIIRLBS.
135
height of eight and ten feet. The numerous and showy flowers are of
a somewhat purplish tinge of pink and are borne in corymbs ; the leaves
are whitish underneath. This rose is armed with stout hooked j)rickles
below, on the old woody stem, but is smoother above ; the flowers are
more clustered than in the other species.
The Sweet Briar is often found growing in waste places, and in
thickets near clearings — no doubt the seed has been carried thither by
those unconscious husbandmen, the wild birds and the Sc^juirrels that
feed upon the heps as they ripen. The leaves retain for some time their
sweet fragrance, that is so delicious.
There is a delicate, pale-flowered Sweet Briar Rose, Rosa inicrantfia,
(Smith) having small foliage and numerous blossoms ; stems low and
branching and covered with hooked prickles, which has been found
growing on the high Oak-hills in the township of Rawdon ; and which,
I am informed, is not uncommon in similar localities in Western Canada.
Wax-work — Climbin<; Bittersweet — Celastrus scandens, (L.)
This highly ornamental climber, with its clusters of conspicuous
berries, is a great adornment to open woods during the late autumnal
months, and indeed all through the winter, twining round the stems of
slender saplings of White Birch, Cherry, Ash, and Elm, not unfreciuently
clinging so closely to its supporter as to form an intimate union with
the bark, its own smooth, slender stem, in serpent-like coils, forming
graceful volutes round the column of the unfortunate tree which suffers
from the close embrace that stops the free circulation of the sap in its
upward ascent to the branches. The Climbing Bittersweet is a rapid
grower, and consequently a bold enemy that takes forcible possession
of any young sapling which comes within its reach ; a very Old Man of
the Sea that, once fixed, no blast of wind can shake off. But while we
take the liberty of railing at the unconscious intruder, we must not omit
to dwell upon its good qualities. Its brilliant scarlet arils (coverings of
the seeds) and orange fruit that in profusion ornament the tree about
which it twines, enliven the dull woods at a season when bright tints
have ceased to charm the eye, and all the glories of Maple, Cherry,
Birch, Ash and Beech lie mouldering on the ground at our feet, we may
then look upwards to some slender silvery- barked Birch or grey Butternut
and admire the gorgeous scarlet festoons that hang so gracefully among
the naked, leafless branches. The plant, too, is very attractive in its
spring verdure. The delicate leaves are ovate-oblong, narrowing towards
the point, finely serrated, alternate ; the flowers in raceme-like clusters
are yellowish-green, followed by round, smooth, berry-like pods which
deepen, as the summer advances, from yellow to orange and from
136
ilo\vi:k/xg siiNUiis.
, a
orange to bright scarlet. When the seeds arc ripe tiie pod divides, and
the segments curl hack and disclose the throe-celled thrcc-valvcd berry,
which has, in each cell, one or two hard yellosv seeds, ■:overed with a thin
coating of scarlet pulp which is called the aril ; this is acrid and burning
to the taste. The Indians make use of the acrid juices of this i)hnt,
from the inner hark of the root and the bruised berries, to compound an
ointment which is stimulant and healing for old sores, chilblains, and
disorders of a similar nature. In country places in Kngland, I have
seen the lierrics of the Black Bryony boiled down with lard, for an
application to chilblains which had a similar effect to the Indian Bitter-
sweet salve. The Indians also apply this remedy to hums. The inner
bark also is used as an orange dye by the natives.*
There are several species belonging to this Order found in Canada ;
but though very ornamental in cultivation as shrubs, none are climbing
like our forest Bittersweet, or give such enduring winter ornaments to
our houses. Mixed with the branches of Spruce, Hemlock, and Balsam
l"ir, it forms a substitute at Christmas in our churches for the bright,
glossy leaves and red berries of the English Hoily.
The (Ireek name of this ornamental shrub is derived from a word
meaning, — latter season, on account of the fruit remaining persistent
through the winter.
If the Bittersweet were planted in shrubberies, or among trees in
plantations, it would become an enduring ornament and enliven the
dulness of our Canadian landscape with its bright colours, during the
long months of winter.
LAHRADOR-Tr;A. — Ledum huifolitim, (Ait.)
This is another of our medicinal shrubs, and was held in great
repute among the lumbermen and the old backwoodsmen for its sanatory
qualities, as a strengthener and purifier of the blood, and as being good
for the .system in various inward complaints. Some of the old settlers
used a decoction of the leaves as a substitute for tea, approving of the
resinous aromatic flavour. I was induced to try t..e beverage, but did
not find it to my taste, though it was on the whole preferable to Hem-
lock tea, another favourite beverage among backwoodsmen. As a
medicine no doubt it deserves the commendations bestowed upon it.
Though I did not care for the decoction of the leaves, I was charmed
with the beauty of the plai'.t, when I first saw it growing on the banks
of one of the lakes north of Peterborough. The whole aspect of this
remarkable shrub is most interesting. In height it varies from two to
I
• Till" noiiui Hittoi-swci'l is tiikcn fii)iii tlic (imei'ful EiiKlish I'liiiiliiT SnlmiuM iliilfitmari
I..), fiiiiii n I'liii'io.l ii'scmbliince iK'twi'cU tlie two |ilaiit«. Tin- Kiijjlisli Bittei'HWct't is sninrtimi.'*
Diinil In Cnimilii uli thr IninliM's of swainps mid ill low WihxIh, liiit is an iiitrtiilint'il [ilalit.
'reat
FLOWERING SHRUBS.
I3T
four feet, it is bushy in habit, but somewhat open and spreading ; the
leaves are lanceolate, entire, very decidedly revo.ute at the margins, and
clothed with a dense rust-coloured woolly felt beneath. The leaves are
of a thick leathery texture, and dull brownish-green colour. The
flowers are white, forming elegant umbel-like clusters at the summits of
the slender sprays. As the heads of flowers are very abundant, this
shrub forms a striking object, when seen growing in numbers, along the
banks of lakes or in low flats, for it will flourish both on wet and dry
situations, nor does it refuse to flower when brought into garden culture.
It is a very ornamental object, deserving to be better known than at
present seems to be the case. The leaves when bruised emit an agreeable
resinous aromatic odour.
The roots of the Labrador-Tea are wiry and covered with a bitter
astringent bark. Professor I.indley also mentions, in his Natural System
of liotany, the astringent qualities of another member of the family
Ledum palustre, (L. ), a slightly smaller shrub vith narrower leaves and
oval instead of oblong pods ; the stamens too are uniformly ten instead
of five and seven as in this species. Z. palustre is found in the north
of Europe and also in the far north in Canada.
Wild Roskmarv. — Andromeda polifolia^ (L.)
is another of our native shrubs which grows in peat bogs, and on the
swampy margins of lakes, associated with Labrador Tea, the Pitcher
Plant and the elegant Low bush Cranberry. The stems are from three
to eighteen inches in height, and bear on the summits of the branches
of the previous year the light purplish flowers, which are three to eight
in number, on rather long pedicels and drooping in a one-sided raceme-
the stamens are ten in number and remain persistent on the dry berry-
like capsule. The leaves are shining green above, glaucous-white
beneath and have the margins so strongly revolute as to appear almost
linear. This plant is said to have astringent and narcotic properties,
and to give into.xicating qualities to liquids in which it is infused.
Silky Cornel— Kinnikinnic.—C(?/*«w5 sericea, (L.)
This species is the true Kinnikinnic of the Indians of Central
Canada, the leaves and bark of which they use in the place of
tobacco, or mixed with it. I have been told it is of an intoxicating
quality. The bark is also used as a tonic and febrifuge. The
berries are pale blue ; the flowers form flat cymes, and are greenish-
white, the young bark is purplish. The bush grows to the height
of eight to ten feet, in low damp rich ground forming dense
thickets. There is a fine white silky fibre in the leaves, which may
4'
' . 1.
s
138
FLOWERhVG SHRUBS,
be seen by breaking the mid-rib across. The thread is as fine and
as frail as the delicate web with which some spiders envelop their
eggs — too fine to be turned to any use.
The silken thread is not confined to this species alone, it exists
in many other trees and plants. In the nerves of several of the
Dogwoods it is seen (juite as conspicuously as in C. sericea.
Panicukd or Privet-leaved Cornel. — Cornus paniculaUi, (L'Her.)
This is a very pretty species of Dogwood, found abundantly on
the Rice I^ke Plains, on the high dry hills between the hamlets of
Harwood and Gore's Landing. The bush is not more than four
or five feet high, with light branching sprays. The pretty white
flowers are borne in convex cymes or sometimes in panicles and are
followed by snow-white berries. The foliage is dark-green, often with
a purplish-bronze tint ; the leaves are long and narrow ; the nerves,
whitish, and the light veining distinctly marked ; the surface of the leaf
is very smooth, but iiardly shining. This pretty shrub would be well
worthy of being introduced into our shrubberies.
There are many other species of Dogwood which are common to
our swamps and thickets, some reaching to the height of small trees>
as the Flowering Dogwood, C. florida, which is held in great esteem in
the United States, for certain medicinal qualities ; it has been used as
a substitute for Peruvian bark in low fevers. The Indians are said to
extract a red dye from the roots. The fruit of the Flowering Dogwood is
scarlet : the flowers, with their showy creamy-white involucres, three
inches across, are very handsome, and are produced abundantly in the
month of June. This very handsome shrub grows in Western Canada,
where it sometimes becomes a tree and reaches to the height of twenty
or thirty feet. A great contrast is this stately species to the dwarf
herbaceous creeping plant of our woods, Cornus Canadensis.
Red-Osier Dogwood. — Cornus stoloni/era, (Michx.)
There are few of the native species of Cornel that are more
ornamental than the Red-Osier Dogwood ; the bright, crimson wand-
like branches of which, even when stripped of their foliage, are an
enduring ornament Their rosy shadows mirrored on the surface of
the smooth waters of lake or forest streiim, enliven the landscape and
delight the eye, when the beauty of the foliage of the surrounding trees
and shrubs has been swept away before the autumnal frosts and wintry
winds.
In Spring, and early Summer, the white, fragrant flowers, in crowded
• flat heads, adorn the low shores. Later in the Fall, the blue berries on
FLOWERING SHRUBS.
139
the bright red sprays are hardly less attractive. The fruit is unpalatable
for man, but is eaten by some of the water-fowl that have their haunts
in the lakes and inland waters. This species is the Kinnik'.nnic of
the western and prairie Indians.
Partriikik-hkrrv — TR.MiJNt; WiNTER-GREKN. — Mitchellii repens, (L.)
Another of our pretty red -berried creeping forest-plants, is the
Partridge-berry ; the flexile branchlets of this little plant spreading from
the joints of the trailing stem, form a mat of dark green foliage, covering
iinsightly patches of decaying wood, roots, and stones with many a
graceful wreath, as if Nature kindly placed them there to veil the rugged
ground with grace and beauty, in the same way as the green Ivy clothes
and adorns the mouldering ruin with its enduring verdure.
Each slender leafy spray of our pretty Winter-green is terminated
by tubular, star-shaped, twin blossoms, which are divided at the margin
into five sharply pointed segments ; white, sometimes slightly tinged with
pink. The ovaries are united at the base of the flowers, and form one
double-eyed round berry for each pair of flowers ; the interior of the
flower-tube is hairy. The scent is sweet, faintly resembling that of the
White Jessamine.
The berries remain persistent a!l through the Winter. They ripen
to brilliant scarlet in the Autumn, and so continue till the return of
Spring. Thus we may find fresh flowers, newly set fruit and the ripe
berries all on the same plant. The small round leaves are veined with
white, which gives a variegated look to their dark green surface.
The berries are mealy and insipid, but are eaten by the Indian-
women and children as a dainty. These berries form food for the
Wood-Grouse, our Canadian Partridge, and for the Woodchuck and
other small quadrupeds that have their haunts in our forests and cedar-
swamps. The elegant wreaths of dark variegated leaves and scarlet
berries are sometimes used by Canadian girls as ornaments for their
hair ; and I have seen white muslin evening dresses, trimmed with the
sprays of this pretty evergreen, which had a charming effect, besides
showing good taste and economy combined, in the fair wearers.
High-bush Craniierrv — American Guelder-Rose —
Viburnum Opulus, (L.)
This fine shrub, with its large, loose cyme of white flowers, makes
a goodly show during the month of June, mingling its snowy blossoms
with the surrounding foliage of dark evergreens on the wooded banks of
forest streams, and along the low shores of inland lakes and islands.
i
t
1
ji
140
FLOWEKIXG SUKVRS.
Not less attractive is it, when the full bunches of oval berries begin to
ripen, first turning to amber, then brilliant orange-scarlet, and lastly,
when touched by the frosts of Autumn, to a transparent crimson. All
through the winter you may see the bright ruby fruit u|)on the bushes,
among the snow-clad branches, sometimes encased in crystal ice and
magnified by the magic touch of hoar frost ; nor is the fruit of the High-
bush Cranberry altogether useless to the Canadian housekeeper. An
excellent jelly is often made from the acid juice and (uilp of the ripe
fruit, when strained from the flat bony seeds, and boiled w'lh sugar ;
and though somewhat astringent, it forms an excellent sauce for roasted
mutton or venison, and is useful as a fever drink mixed with water. ,
As a garden shrub this Viburnum is considered very ornamental,
from its abundance of flowers and beautiful fruit. It is no other Mian
the fertile plant of the American (luelder Rose. The cultivated Snow-
ball Tree of our gardens is the same species, in which the fertile flowers
have been sujipressed and the showy sterile ones, which only appear in
sniill numbers round the edge of the cyme in the wild plant, greatly
increased in number by the skill of the horticulturist. The /'. Opultis
is also indigenous to England ; and I remember finding the same
flowering bush on the banks of a lonely pond in Reydon Wood, Suffolk,
and recognized the High-bush Cranberry on the shores of the Otonabee
River from its likeness to the shrub that had attracted my notice in my
woodland rambles in England.
The foliage of the High-bush Cranberry takes a bronzed-purple hue,
turning to a deep crimson in the Autumn. The leaves are large,
three-lobed and pointed. The flowers are borne on widesjjreading
peduncled cymes, having the central flowers very small but fertile ; the
marginal ones are imperfect, being destitute of both stamens and pistils,
but the corollas are disproportionately large and give the beauty to the
flower clusters of this fine shrub.
The name Cranberry has been improperly applied to Viburnum
Opulus, as it has no affinity with the low creeping Marsh Cranberry
that most elegant and charming little plant, with its delicate graceful
flowers, myrtle-like leaves, and pear-shaped ruby-coloured fruit. Those
persons who use the fruit as a preserve know little of the exquisite
beauty of the plant itself. To be admired, it should be seen in its
native haunts growing among the soft jjeat-mosses of our marshes and
bogs. The wreaths of fine dark foliage, bearing the delicate pink waxy
flowers on slender thready foot-stalks, and the large berries in every
stage of progress— green, yellow, deep red and purplish led, resting
upon the grey lichens and lovely cream-coloured peat mosses — produce
an effect worth looking at.
FLOWKKING SUKIRS.
141
[uisite
in its
:s and
waxy
every
esting
oduce
The name of the (Icnus is supposed to be derived from the Latin
word r .';v, to tie, on account of the flexibility of the branc hes of sonie of
the s|)ecies. 'I'he word \'ibunia^ in the plural, seems to have been
applied by the ancients to al' plants which were used for tying.
HoiiHi.K-iiLsH — Viburnum lantanoiJes, ( Michx).
'I'his shrub would apjiear to be ty|)ical of the denus, for the branches
twine and twist most irregularly, and the lower ones are i)rocun)bent,
often taking root where they touch the ground, whence the popular
name. The flowers of this species somewhat resemble the last ; but
are more cream-coloured, and appear earlier. 'f'he large hand-
some leaves are round ovate, heart-shaped at the base, and, together
with the young branchlets, are covered underneath on the veins and
veinlets with tufts of brown down. The ovoid fruit is crimson, turning
blackish, and although edible is not very pleasant.
MAPLK-MiAvto DocKMACKiE — Vibumum accii/oliuiii, (1.).
is a low pretty shrub, not uncommon in open thickets and damp woods.
The flowers are n.ore delicate and not so conspicuous as those of the
preceding ; but it would make a i)retty border shrub, bearing some
resemblance to the Laurestinus, with which it has been compared ; the
foliage, however, is very unlike, being of a light-green colour, veiny,
and lobed, coarsly-toothed and slightly downy underneath. The fruit is
dark purple, or black, hard and flat, not edible. 'I'here is a larger
species which is known as the Larger Dockniackie or Indian Arrow-wood,
V. dentatum (L.) The Indians used the long, straight, wand-like branches
of this shrub, when seasoned by the smoke of the wigwam, for the shafts
of their arrows ; but since they have been able to obtain rifles, the flint
arrow-heads have fallen into disuse, and are found no more in the
Indian wigwam. This primitive weapon (formidable it must have been)
is found only on old battle-fields, or by chance the settler picks up one
in turning the soil on his new burnt fallow, wonders at the curious
shaped flint, and perhaps brings it home ; but more likely casts it away.
It is a type of the uncared-for race, whose forefathers shaped the stone
with infinite care and pains.
There is another Viburnum,
ShEEP-DERRV — SWEET-HERRV, V. ''.sfitago, (L)
This species is found in rocky ravines, and on the sides of dry hills.
The fruit is sweet and pleasant, and when cooked with the addition of
red Currants, forms a very nice preserve, pudding or pie. As the work
of settlement goes on, many of our familiar wild shrubs and flowers
142
iLon'i-.NiXG Slim -lis.
disappear from their old localities, and in time will he exterminated.
Many too that might be introduced into cultivated grounds, and prove
floral ornaments in gardens, or useful lor kitchen purposes, are doomed
to be lost or utterly neglected.
Is there no wealthy botanist, with ample meaiis to do so, who will
form a garden on a large scale, and gather together the forest flowers,
shrubs and ferns of Canada. It would be a work of great interest.
BunoN-itusH — t\phalant lilts occidtiitnlis^ ( I ,. )
.\ pretty shrub about five feet high, belonging to the Riibiacta' or
Madder family, with light-green, smooth leaves, and round heads of
closely set whitish-green flowers. The corolla is tubular, slendtr ; style
thready and protruding beyond the petals. The flowers have a sweet
faint perfume. This shrub is chiefly found on the bortlcrs of swamps
in low thickets. The recei)tacle remains i)ersistent on the bush in dry
round button-like heads, whence its common name. I .am not
accjuainted with any particular (|ualities possessed by this slimb. It
flowers in August.
Poison Ivv— Poison Oak — Pokson Elder — Rhus Toxicodiiidro/i, (L.)
The Sumac family boasts of two of the most venomous vegetables
yet known in Canada, viz., Rlius venenata or Poison Sumac, and RInis
Toxicodendron or Poison Ivy. The former, R. venenata (DC.) is an
elegant shrub growing in swamps, with shining, smooth, odd-pinnate
leaves, and from ten to fifteen feet high, producing when touched a
violent sort of Erysipelas, in some cases fatal in its effects. The leaflets,
from seven to thirteen, oval, entire, pointed ; the flowers, small,
insignificant, greenish, in loose panicles from the axils of the upper
leaves ; berries green, smooth, of the size of peas. This is spoken of
as the most deadly of the poisonous Sumacs, but foitunately it is of
rare occurrence. The common Poison Ivy, however, is only too
frequently met with ; it grows in low ground or on barren rocky islands,
among wild herbs and grasses, in open thickets, at the roots oi stumps,
•and will often find its way into our gardens. It may be found in
cultivated fields, flourishing on stone heaps — indeed, wherever its roots
can find soil to nourish the plant the Poison Ivy may be found. Of its
injurious effects on the human body I can speak from experience,
having witnessed its baneful influence in many instances. Gray,
describing its noxious qualities, says : " Poisonous to the touch, even
the effluvium in sunshine affecting some persons."
There are various opinions regarding the way in which the virus
is ccnmunicated, and also in what part of the plant it exists, some
d Jihus
.) is an
pinnate
died a
eaflets,
small,
upper
;en of
is of
too
islands,
tumps,
nd in
ts roots
Of its
rience.
Gray,
even
e virus
;, some
H. OlVKKimi StlKL HS,
'43
|)crs()Ms thinking that actual contart is nercssary, others that it is i-mittod
from the leaves when wetted hy dews and j^iven out in sunshine : and
aj^ain it is asserted hy some to be the pollen of the flowers floating in the
air and resting on the skin, which is the cause ; others again say that the
poison is given out in a gaseous vajjour at dew-fall. All these suggestions
may have some foundation. I am inclined to think that the |)oisonous
([ualities of the plant aregiven outin the heat of the day, when the sun's r.iys
are most powerful, and float freely intheatmosphere, as there ore instances
of persons being alTected in daytime when only passing within some
little distance of places where the i)lant abounded, without coming into
actual contact with it in any way.
To some persons the Poison Ivy is perfectly harmless. I, for one,
have gathered it for my herbarium in all stages of its growth, without
receiving from it the slightest injury, while other members of the family
have sufl'ercd si verly from having been near it, or walking among the
shrubs where it wa*; growing. It is during the hot Summer months that
most of the casc-^ nccnr, especially in Jt le and July.
The first symptoms are redness about the eye-lids, ears,
and throat, which (juickly increase to angry inflamed blotches, rising in
blisters, the whoK' face becoming swollen, so as to produce blindness for
several hours or days ; the irritation of the skin is very great. Sometimes
the poison extends over the arms, and body, and legs ; fever, headache
and even delirium will affect the patient, as in cases of severe Erysipelas.
Where the constitution is at all unsound, the effects are worse to
overcome, and it is one of the evils induced by the virus that it produces
in many cases a chronic disposition to break out, year after year, at the
time when the plant is in its most flourishing condition. This has generally
taken place in June and July. Some Homeopathists are said to treat
the case with doses of R/ius Toxicodendron, according to their system ;
others again use BtUadona. Country doctors give alkalies, — soda,
ammonia, and cooling medicines. The old settlers apply the succulent
juicy leaves and stalks of the Wild Canadian Balsam, Impaticns fii/va,
and other cooling herbs, with thick cream ; but I should think that
lime-water, given with milk inwardly, and applied outwardly to the skin,
as in burns, might prove a good remedy. Where the disease caused by
this poisonous plant is so often met with in country places, the most
ready and certain remedies should be made known to the public.
Physicians who have had no experience of the disease produced by the
Poison Ivy are sometimes at a loss how to treat it successfully.
Every one should be acquainted with the appearance of the Poison
Ivy, that it may be avoided when out in the country among weeds and
thickets, rocks and waters.
1(i
■'/■'
,11
I
I
till
144
Fi.oir/ih'/Xi: s//A'f /is.
'Iliis wukccl liulc plant is not without its attrartiuns to the eye ; it
v.irie* in lici^h'. Ironi ahout one foot to two, but will climb when meeting
with su|i|)orl to ten and fideen.
I have seen it against a stone building, growing along with the
N'irginian Creeper, uj) to the windows of a lofty second story building,
no one having discovered the noxious intruder, though very different in
foliage from the ('ree|)er. The leaves are three-foliate, thin, of a dull
palish green, smooth, but not glossy. The leallels are broad at the base,
indented, hardly deep enough to be called lobed, in sonic instances only
a little waved at the margins, pointed, thickened at the junction of the
stem. One of the leallcts is generally larger and more lozenge-shaped
than the other two, but ihcy vary a good deal in si/e and form. Some-
times there is a winged lobe on the larger and outer one. 'Towards
evening the leaves droop downwards, exposing less of the surface to the
air and night dews
The plant spreads by means of the roots, which send up shoots
from beneath the surface; the stem of the plant is woody, thi;;keningat
the joints of the leaf-stalks. 'I'he flowers appear near the tops of the
shoots in little upright panicles ; they are of a pale greenish-white ; the
berries ripen in .\ugust and are of a dead white, yellow, or dun-coloured.
.\bout the time of the ripening of the berries the leaves begin to droop
earthward and turn to beautiful tints of orange, varying to brilliant
scarlet, which, with the white fruit, has a pretty effect.
'the Rhus contains a black dye which is indelible, and which no
washing will remove. It is a pity that it cannot be utilized. Professor
John Lindley says : •' An indelible black dye is produced by the juice
extracted from the plant," and adds, " This appears to be a property in
common with many plants of this order. The Slaginaria vcinicijlua
furnishes the black lac which is used as a varnish in Jap.in. The resin
produced by this tree causes excoriations and blisters on the skin.
'I'he Cashew-nut is another member of the order, all which are more or
less remarkable as dye woods, or for some medicinal uses, or acridly
poisonous."
St.\(;-horn Sumac — Rhus typhina, {\^.)
Though belonging to a very poisonous order of plants, our common
native Sumac is more noted for its useful than its hurtful qualities.
Both the common Dwarf Sumac, R. glabra and R. typ/iiiia^ are to be
found all through Western Canada, in groves, and on old, neglected
clearings, on rocky islets, and by roadsides, the seeds being largely sown
by the birds that feed upon the berries.
■TIiIb Im Uie variety niJiciiiis.
ffi:
■
— \
/■/.oii7:a'/xg s/z/iins. 145
The foliage of the Siimar is very uraeeful and hinhly ornamental to
the landscape in the fall of the year, when its long, drooping, pinnate
\
leaves, from nineteen to thirty-one foliate, assume the most glowing tints
of orange, scarlet and crimson. '!"he flowers are of two kinds or di<e
cioiis, in (lose, conical, n|)right heads, terminating the hranc lies. The
fruit, small round berries, beset with soft crimson acid hairs, \vhic;h
remain persistent on the rece|)tacle, around which they cluster and give
to the tree a strikingly ornamental a|)pc:iran(e. 'I'hesu beautiful < rimson
velvet like cones continue all through the cold wintry weather, forming
a continual feast for the late-going and early coming birds. .X bountiful
provision for those pensioners on (lod's providence who " neither sow
nor reap, and yet our Heavenly Father feedeth them."
The term Stag-horn, I imagine to be taken, not only from the
extended branches, but from the fine brown, downy, covering that
c lothes the branchlets and stems of the leaves and flower-bearing shoots,
resembling the velvety down on the young horns of deer when they first
sprout forth.
The wo')d of the Stag-horn Sumac is of a fine yellow colour, and
the chips and bark are used as dye-woods. The bark is used in tanning
and the root as a powerful astringent and tonic in inter.iiittent fever,
while the acid fruit can be converted into a strong vinegar and is so
used, I am told, in New Kngland. I have, however, never seen the
fruit of the Sumac made use of in this country for any household purjjose.
Smooth Dwark Sumac — K. glahii, {[..)
I'his is also widely diffused through Canad.v It is a pretty shrub
but troublesome, from sending up so many sho its ; it rises from a very
low size to ten and twelve feet high. It is very similar to the last, but
the foliage is narrower, glaucous-white underneath, the eleven to thirty-
one shari)ly toothed and pointed leaflets are veiy smooth on the
surface and taking brilliant orange and scarlet colours before fading.
'Che stem is also smooth and glaucous, like the leaves. There is another
dwarf species, R. copallina, (L.) found in rocky soil, the chief character-
istic of which consists in the winged margin of the leafstalks ; it is a
lower and smaller shrub than K. glabra.
Black Alder — Winter-berry — Ilex verticillata, (flray.)
This red-berried shrub belongs to the Holly family ; but we have
in Canada no tree which takes the place of the British Hulnie or Holly
Tree, with its glossy, prickly-armed, evergreen leaves, green bark, and
brilliant garniture of scarlet berries.
K
( V,
•(
'I
I
146 FLOWERING SHKVliS.
'• It is green in the Winter and gay in the Spring,
And the old Holly Tree is a lienutirul thing.
The Holly among the Romans denoted peace and good will, and
possibly for this cause was chosen by the early Christians as symbolical
of the peaceable character that should distinguish the followers of the
Lord Jesus Christ — the Prince of Peace. The earliest notice of decking
the churches and , dwelling-houses with Holly, is in the reign of Henry
VI, by ^ome pious, but now forgotten writer^ — a chronicler oi old
customs — who devoutly lamenting over the disuse of some observances
in church matters, consoles himself with the remark that "Our churches
and houses are decked with Rosemary, Holly and Ivy, with other
goodlye shrubbes that keepe ever green ; doubtless to reminde us that
the childe then borne was (Jod and man, who shoiilde spring uppe as a
tender flcure to live in oure hartes, and there dwelle for ever more."
Our woody, red-berried Winter-berry is the nearest relation we have
to the Holly in Ontario, but it is not prickly, neither is it an evergreen.
The crest of the Strickland family is the Holly Tree, of the (lordons,
the Ivy. This custom of heraldic bearings, especially the crest sur-
mounting the coat of arms, is very ancient, and may be referred back to
the time when writing was not in use, and formed a sort of pictorial
history as to the origin of the family. We find it here among Indian
tribes, each tribe, and the members of it, being known by its totem, or
heraldic sign. Thus we have the " Eagle Tribe," the " Crane," the
"Crow," the "Snake," i\:c. The figure of bird, beast, tree, or reptile,
being the sign adopted by the heads of the tribe, or chiefs, as the sign
manual to be appended to any deed or treaty ; scratched or figured with
pen, charred stick, or knife, whatever is the instrument at hand, the
totem is rudely drawn, and is the superscription of the tribe, or
their totem.
The individual name is derived from iome circumstance indepen-
dent of the totein of the tribe ; whatever object first meets the eye of
the child is given as a name. Thus we find " Opechee " (robin),
"Omemee" (wild pigeon), "Snowstorm," "Red Cloud,"' "Westwind,''
"Murmuring Waters," and other poetical names among the >.uians,
descriptive of natural objects or events.
The Holly is endeared to us by many interesting associations
connected with childhood and youth up to extreme old age.
It gladdens the cottage, it brightens the hall,
And the gay Holly-tree is beloved by all ;
It shadows the altar, it hallows the hearth —
An emblem of peaceful and innocent mirth.
FLOWER I XG SHRUBS.
147
Sprinjj l>Ioss()in.s arc lovely, and Summer flowers gay,
liut the chill winds will wither and chase them away ;
While the rude Masts of Autumn and Winter may rave,
111 vain round the Holly— the Holly so brave.
Though the hrave old Lnglish gentleman no longer now is seen.
And customs old have passed away as things that ne'er have been,
Though wassail shout is heard no more, nor Mistletoe we see ;
They've lelt us still the Holly green, the bonny lloUytiee.
— (.Ill ('/(/ xoii^' />j' <ut old lady. ) — C . P. J\
There is an old couplet that is common in the North of England
about the Holly : —
" O the Oak, and th.e Ash, and the bonny Holly tree.
They flourish best of all in the North countrie."
The dark green evergreen leaves of the Holly, with their rich
garniture of vivid scarlet berries, which remain i)ersistcnt all through
the Wintt^r and fiir into the Spring, have been so often described or
alluded to in print, that they must be well known to all, even in
the colonies, and from its use in adorning houses and the churches
from Christmas-tide till Candlemas, or the beginning of Lent,
the Holly is much thought of ;ind vali'cd, by yoimg and old, in
England ; but we miss both the evergreen leaves, and the old
associations in our Canadian Holly, and so it is less cared for on
that account. The bush — for it never rises in this country to any
heiglit — is from eight to ten feet high ; it is mostly found in dami)
swampy soil or on the banks of streams and beaver mead<)\vs, partaking
of the habits of the Alder, which it resembles in its love (jf moisture.
The leaves are ovate, somewhat narrowed at the base, serrate at
the edges, thin, and not spiny, rather downy underneath ; the branches
and branchlets dark coloured ; flowers greenish, on very short stalks
clustered in the axils of the leaves ; the bush stiff and upright ; leaves
deciduous : berries bright red, remaining on the brandies through the
winter ; much sought for by the \\\\\ I'igeon and Canadian Partridge.
There is another species of the same order known as the
Mountain Hoi.i.v — Ncniopantlies Canadensis, (I). C.)
which is found northwards in cold bogs. ICarly in May, the swamps
where this shrub abounds, have a warm reddish-brown hue from the
colour of the young leaves, this soon turns to a delicate green, which
again changes as it gets mature to a bluish glaucous green, the rose-
coloured berries are gracefully borne on long pedicels and are some"
times in great profusion, when they present a beautiful effect, 'i'he berries
I
|i
M
148
FLOWERING SHRUBS.
of these hardy shrubs are a great resource for food to the " Wee hopping
things," our late and early birds, and together with the dry seeds of the
Mullein and Rough Amaranth, which harbour many insects in their
husky seed vessels, support them till the Spring returns bringing food
and gladness to the earth, when the Great Father opens his hand and
fiUeth all things living with plenteousncss.
-«eH:
A GLANCE WITHIN
THE CANADIAN FOREST.
a
" Not such thou wert of yore, ere yet the axe
Had smitten the old woods, their hoary trunks
Of Oak and Plane, and Maple o'er thee held
A mighty canopy." — Cullen Bryant.
"A glorious sight, if glory dwell below
Where heaven's magnificence makes all the show."'
LTHOUGH the snow lingers longer within the forest than
on the open, cleared lands to which the sun and winds have
•^"^^ more ready access, yet vegetation makes more rapid advances,
when once the Spring commences, within the shelter of the trees.
No chilling, biting, winds or searching frosts penetrate the woods, —
to nip the early buds of leaf and flower as on the exposed clearings.
Within the forest all is quiet and warmth, when without, the air is cold
and the wind blustering. It is among the low bushes and young saplings
that the first tints of early Spring verdure are seen ; under the kindly
nursing of the shrubbery we fmd the first Spring flowers and succulent
plants. The hungry cattle seem instinctively to know that it is in the
forest they will find food suited to their wants ; leaving the dry fodder
that has been their support through the long winter months, we see
them hastening to the woods, however deep and miry the way, to browse
on the tender, swelling buds of the Sugar-Maple and Basswood, or
searching for the oily blades of the Wild Garlic
Let us go to the forest as soon as the snow has disapiieared from
the leaf-carpeted ground ; we shall see the seedlings of many plants
springing up from among the decaying leaves at our feet.
That prostrate plant, with slender stem and pointed leaves arranged
so prettily in whorls ol fives or sixes, is Galium trtflorum, sweet-scented
like our English Woodruff; and that bright-green, cheerful looking herb,
that spreads in creeping mats over the dead leaves, is the pale-flowered
Veronica officinalis. There are Winter-greens — the Pyrolas, of several
M
1 M
r
;
1
1
}
i
i
irjr, FOh'F.SJ 7k'/</<S. _
species. We find tlicm all fresh and green js when the feathery snow
first hid them from ( .ir view. The foli.''f,'e is of a dark shining green,
which j:ivcs one the idea of-- ' ::...^^ ugamst cold frosty weather; near
by you niaj- see the graceful fronds of the evergreen Wood Fern, As-pidiuin
s/<iiiiil(isinii, ihowgVi i)right in colour, yet beaten down and somewhat torn
from the weight of the snow that has been pressing ujjon it ; and there
where the soil is more rocky, the dark shining fronds of A. acrostic/ioidis,
a hardy, liandsome fern, known by its smooth scythe-shaped leaflets, and
stiff upright growth. The soft parsley-like leaves of the Sweet Cicely,
Osinorrliiza brevistylis, refresh the eye with their bright verdure ; and
as the warmer airs of April are felt, the ground is brightened by the
starry blossoms of Hcpatica triloba, the lovely Snow-tiower, tiiat like
the English Daisy comes with the first sunny days of Spring ; you may
see them in the forest and in the open spaces of groves and thickets,
white, blue and pink; and if you wish to transplant them to your garden
they will bloom as kindly there as in ilieir native woods. Shelley says :
" After the slunilior of the year,
The woodlnnd \'ii)Iet!^ reaiipear. "'
iii
r
\'es, we have Violets of many hues : white, azure, pale blue, lilac,
yellow. Some low and delicately small, others larger, more consj)icuous,
many-branched and tall. There is the pure Canadian Wood \'io!et, a
very lovely species, that in the garden will bloom twice in the season,
with graceful branching stems and milk-white flowers ; but these Violets
come later in May and I una, along with the branching Yellow Violet.
The Yellow \'iolet, like the White Canadian Branching Violet,
loves the leaf-mould and the deep shade of the forest trees. The early
White Violet, a small inconspicuous flower, and the Canadian Violet,
are the only ones '.hat have any scent, and then it is but a faint perfume.
In damp, mossy soil, see those trailing garlands of Nature's own
weaving, the elegant Livtuca borealis, with its twin-bells of pale striped
pink.
Another of our creeping forest plants is the graceful Partridge-berry
(Mitchella repeiis), a lovely fragrant flower with an abundance of small
dark glossy leaves and starry white blossoms. Another tiny-leaved
little Evergreen plant, mostly found in Cedar swamps, is the Creeping
Snow-berry, with trailing branches and white waxen fruit. This is not
the shrubby Snow-berry, but a very low Evergreen creeping plant,
C/it'ogenes hispidulii.
One of the prettiest of our early forest plants is the Smilacina
bifolia, (Ker.) with small white starry flowers ; it is nearly as sweet-
scented as the elegant cultivated Lily of the Valley, which lends its
Te-berry
small
-leaved
Creeping
is not
plant,
mihcina
sweet-
ends its
FORES 7' iHEE!^.
15»
name to our little forest species. Then there arc the Claytonias, with
delicate pencilled pink flowers ; and, just at the edge of the forest, the
pure ivory-petalled IJIoodroot (Saiii^iiiiiaria Camideusii)r>\^cn% its starry
blossoms to the sunshine on bright Spring days.
Mingled with tlieso fair children o{ the deep forest shades are Ferns
— graceful, elegant I''erns - and Club Mosses, like miniature I'ine trees.
A kindly nursing mother is the forest, to these her lowly offspring : the
tncr
e^u
earth their cradle, the^ure snow their coverlet, warm, soft and light, to
shield the tender nurslings from the Winter's cold and biting winds.
Before the shrubs in out gardens have made any show of greenness
in the warmer shelter of the woods, the Fly-Honeysuckle has i)ut foith
its bright green leaves, and the soft brown downy winter-liuds of the
Moose-wood have burst and shown the yellow lunnel-shaped clustered
flowers. How carefully had these little flowers been protected and
guarded from injury on the grey leafless branches through the frosts of
winter in their downy coverings. How little do we understand the
beneficent nature of that Great Greater who careth even for the embryo
leaf and flower.
To those who love the forest and its productions, the continual
destruction of our native trees will ever be a source of regret, even
while obliged to acknowledge that so it must be, for with the change of
soil must necessarily disappear many, or indeed, most of the rare
indigenous plants that are sheltered by the woods and nourished by the
decaying vegetation of the trees and shrubs beneath which they grow.
Exposed to the force of drying winds and hot sunshine, these children
of the soil perish and are no more seen.
That close observer and sagacious writer, John Evelyn, in his
valuable work on " F'orest Trees," writing of the denuding of the
forests in Italy and other European countries says : " We find the
entire species of some trees totally lost in countries where they once
abounded, as if there had never been such planted or growing in them.
Be this applied to Fir, Pine, and several other trees ; accidents in soil, air,
iV'c, which we daily find, produce strange alterations in our woods. The
Beech almost constantly succeeding the Oak, to our great disadvantage."
This author elsewhere deprecates the destruction of the forest
trees in England, and the necessity for planting to replace the more
valuable timbers — the Oak and Pine. Evelyn wrote and published his
" Sylva " during the reign of the last of the Stuart Kings, forseeing the
time would come when the country would have to be supplied with her
building material from other lands.
Circumstances continually re-produce themselves. May not Evelyn's
remarks apply to our Canadian forests ? Espec'ally to the Pines and
I
M
!
'W.
'«!■
FOREST rA'HES.
■Other Coniferte, which are being cut down by wholesale in our woods,
and converted into lumber.
So rapid has been the consumption of our Pines, that there are
townships which have been so stripjied of these trees, that in a few more
years a full grown Pine will not be seen. As the Pine disappears a
change takes place in the atmosphere and in the soil. It is true a new
race of vegetables fakes possession of the ground, but something has
been lost.
The ultimate destruction of our native vegetable productions,
including the valuable timber of our forests, which long series of years
could not replace, is not the only change that arises from the clearing
■of a large portion of our woods. There is yet another and important
result which will in course of time, be felt as an evil — I refer to the
drying up of the inland streams and smaller tributary waters. It needs
but little observation and is patent to the older settlers of the Dominion,
that the creeks and ri\ulets which formerly flowed through their
lands, are disappearing with the clearing away of the woods. The water-
courses are grown up with Sedges and coarse aquatic herbage, and the
thirsty cattle now wander far afield in search of water, unless duly
supplied by the farmer at the homestead, or driven, at the cost of much
time, to springs and water-holes, which are kept open with difficulty
during seasons of drought.
In many cases the sources that give rise to the streams might have
been preserved fresh, and free from drying up, by allowing a growth of
trees and bushes to remain about the head waters of the springs. The
existence of springs is generally indicated by small Sedges, Water-ferns,
Wild Persecarias, Mimulus, Brook-limes, Arums and Marsh Marigolds,
with sundry other water-loving plants " that have their haunts by cool
•springs and bubbling founts, or by the rushy margin of the stream."
The wild animals and birds need no guide to direct them to these
secret reservoirs. With no compass to steer by, they are led by an
inward power which we call instinct, to spots where their needs will be
supplied.
I remember meeting with an old volume in my father's library, and
in the quaint language of old Anthony Horneck were the words, " Doth
God take care for oxen ? " The answer was brief " Yea, God doth take
care ! " That was all — but it was sufficient, because borne out by His
words who could not err, knowing the mind of His Father : " Consider
the ravens," saith Christ, "for they neither sow nor reap, which neither
have storehouse nor barn, and God feedetH them."
It seems now to be an established fact that the climate of many
countries has been materially affected by the total destruction of its
FOA'EST r/ii:ES.
»S3
native forests. If this be so, then surely it behooves the legislators of
this country to devise laws to protect future generations from similar
evils, by preventing the entire destruction of the native trees. There are
large tracts of Crown Lands yet in the power of the Government, and
reserves might be made or laws enacted by which the valuable products
of the soil might be in some measure protected. Let our wise, far-
seeing statesmen see to it.
" A tree is a round volume bound in its own bark. Each page,
from heart to skin, registers a year of age and growth. The botanist
may not only read the record of these leaves, but read the whole
constitution of the tree, the laws that govern its vital functions ; may
study and understand the system of its veins and arteries, the circulation
of its white blood (the sap) and the whole machinery and process of its
nutrition and growth. All this is wriUen by the same finger thpl he
recognizes in man's physical system."- -C/zo'/. rz'/, p. 212 Burritfs '^Cfiips."
There is a quaint remark made by an old writer, on forest trees,
quoted by Evelyn : " Trees and woods have twice saved the world,
first by the Ark, then by the Cross, making full amends for the evil
fruit borne by the Tree in Paradise by that which was borne on the
'I'ree in Ca\\a.xy. " —ETelyn Syh'ti, Book IV, p. joo.
The Canadian Pine — White Pine. — Ftfins S/ro/n/s, (L.)
We paused amid the pines that stood
llie giants of the waste,
Tortured l)y storms to shapes as rude ;
With stems liiie serpents interlaced.
How calm it was, the silence there
Hy such a chain was hound,
That e'en the Inisy Woodpecker
Seemed stiller by the sound . — Shd.ey.
In the brief outline which I propose to give of thi- native forest
trees of Canada, the Pine seems naturally to claim pre-emiiience, both
on account of its noble growth, and its great value as a source of wealth
to the Dominion, whether we regard it from a commercial point of view or
as a means for affording employment to a large portion of the industrial
classes, especially the habitans of Lower Canada. It would require the
knowledge of a practical merchant to calculate the value of our Pine
forests when summed up in all departments. Some idea may be
formed of the importance of this branch of trade by even a casual glance
at the vast piles of Pine boards and timbers, laths and shingles that are
ready at every port along the St. Lawrence and the great lakes, to freight
the vessels that are waiting to bear off the ever accumulating mass to
the destined markets— east and west ; to England or the United States.
To distant islands and foreign lands, our noble trees, in the form of
if
1 1 1
FOREST rA'E/:s.
lumber, find tlicir way. It would be a curious history could wc follow
one of our grand old forest Fines,- - from its first development in the
backwoods a tiny slender thing, of a few threndy-sjjiny leavt s to its
towering height and pillar-like grandeur, lifting its dark ] lumy head
above its compeers, drinking in the light and rains of heaven,- -to the
time when it measures its giant length upon the ground, brought low by
the axe of tlie sturdy chopper. It would be vain to follow out the
destiny even of one such mighty I'ine, or to weave a romnniic history of
its voyagings, its wanderings, and its uses. So, leaving the inuiginary,
we will take up again the sober thread of our subject.
Extensive as is the reign of the Fine tribe in this couiury of woods
and forests, forming a large proportion of the native trees, it has
probably at some distant period occupied a still further range than
it does now. In the hardwood lands where the largest Fine trees are
now found growing, singly or in isolated groups, from three or four to
perhaps a small group—the .resinous substance commonly known as
/of pine is found m larger (juantities and in finer quality than that on
the pine ridges where the trees are more abundant. 'This fat pine is
the residue of concentrated resinous knots, and roots, where the mighty
trunks of which they formed a part have long since crumbled into dust ;
now Oaks, and Beeches, and Maples, in every stage of growth, from the
hoary tree in extreme old age to the tiny seedling, occupy the soil
where once those giant Fines grew and flourished. The decay of the
Fine is a slow process — more than a century, perhaps two or three,
must have passed over before one of the massive trunks, to which those
knots and roots belonged, would have become so complctelydecomposed
as to leave no trace behind, excepting these almost imperishable
portions. Some of the pieces of fat pine are so saturated with the oils
and resinous secretions as to assume somewhat the colour and fragrance
of fat amber, an article that is often found in small nodules and water-
washed fragments on the beach of the eastern shores of England.
The forced marches of civilization have wrought such wondrous
and rapid changes in what used to be the backwoods of Canada forty
years ago, that now it seems almost a thing of the past, to write about
or to speak of such matters. The writer recalls to mind the old time
when in early Spring the waters of the still lake, with its dark Pine-clad
shores used to be enlivened with the canoes and skiffs of the fisher,
stealing out from the little bays and coves, with the red glare of the fat-
pine all ablaze, casting its strec m of light upon the dark surface of the
waters, from the open-grated iion basket or jack, as it was called, raised
at one end of the little vessel on a tall pole. In those days the lakes
and inland waters swarmed with fish, which formed one of the resources
I- ON EST 7 NEKS,
155
for the tabic of the backwoods settler. Hut now, the saw-mills and
saw-logs, the pine-bark and the sawdust, have driven away the fish by
rendering the water unhealthy and poisonous, and the game laws have
told hard upon the i)oo Indian also. The little fishing skiff, and
the fish-spear, like the natives, are ])assing away.
The pine-knots, still however, h^.ve their uses in lighting up the
caboose fires on the lumber rafts, and, may be, in the far backwoods
shanty the settler's wife still performs her evening task of sewing and
knitting by the bla/e of the pine i-nots and roots, which the younger
children have collected before the vvintry snow has hidden them away
under its cold, lleecy covering.
There are still lingering among some of the older settlers, those who
can recall to mind the time when lam])s and candles were hard to
obtain, and the evening light was supplied by these homely gleanings
from the forest. I have seen a cheerful circle gathered round the wide
hearth so lighted up. The litttle ones shared the rugs of the bear and
and wolf skin with the favoured hound and shaggy retriever, while the
glancing light fell on the swiftly plied knitting-needles of the mother
and elder sisters, and the father sat ([uietly enjoying the cheerful scene,
and rest from a day of manly toil, or superintending some rustic work
of his sons. Nor was there any want of pleasant talk or memories and
tales of better days, to entertain us as we sat listening in that log-house
by the light of the pine-knots. Ah, well ! if those days of the old
pioneers in the backwoods had their privations, they also had their
pleasures : they remain as way-marks on the journey of life, and are not
without their uses.
The White Pine generally occupies the ridges of light land above the
shores of lakes and streams, not flourishing on the low alluvial flats and
swampy ground. In wettish soil, such as old beaver meadows, the tree
becomes gnarled, and knotty and misshapen, throwing out many rugged,
twisted branches, and is utterly useless as timber.
On castmg your eye along the border land of any of our inland
waters a distinct series of vegetable productions may be noted, each
belt distinguished from the other.
First, then, we perceive on the ground nearest to the water, rooted
in the deep alluvial soil, dwarf Willows of several kinds, the Red-barked
Cornel, Black Alder, American Guelder-Rose, Poplars, and some
kinds of Hawthorn ; and wreathing these in leafy-tangled masses,
the Frost and Fox Grape vines. Then come Cedars, Black Ash, the
fragrant Balsam Poplar and Balsam Fir. These moisture-loving trees
fill up the lower range. The stately White Pine towering above takes
the high ground, often in a continuous belt, while the deciduous, or
■
I
156
F0RES7 7KEKS.
hardwood trees, which seern ever pressing onward, take the tableland —
a Benjamin's jwrtion — seeming ever bent on encroar*""-:? on the
pine limits, fulfilling their great mission, that of pi for man a
more fertile soil, better suited for the operations of .•> iiands and the
growth of the life-supporting cereals. The decomposition of the leavts,
bark, and woody fibre of the Oak, Basswood, Beech, Maple, Cherry,
and other deciduous trees, is in God's kind providence a source of
fertility, of the blessings of which min is ultin^ately the recipient.
Yet he that receives the gift is often unmindful of the way in which for
unnumbered ages it has been jireparing for him, by agents ai)pointed
for the work. These unconscious labourers have silently been fulfilling
the will of Him " who commandeth and it is done."
A noble object is one of our stately forest Pines rising in one
uninterrupted column. The grander to the eye as it measures it, for
the very simplicity of its outline, and we repeat with the poet : —
" Than a tree — a grander chilil earth bears not."
Looking upwards, the eye follows its massy shaft rising in solitary
majesty -" fit mast for some high admiral;" and such its probable
•destiny if chancing to grow in the vicinity of lake or river shore it come
within the ken of some adventurous lumberman (your Jean Baptiste
has a specially keen eye for a good stick of timber), its fate is sealed.
Soon the lonely echoes of the forest are ringmg with the blows of
the sturdy axeman on the devoted trunk — and many a vigorous blow is
struck before that forest giant inclines its dark-plumed head, and with a
rending crash, measures its length upon the groaning and trembling
earth.
The height of one of these large Pines, varies from a hundred to a
hundred and fifty feet in height, and occasionally reaches a higher
altitude. A lumberman told me that he had cut nine saw-logs, each
measuring twelve feet in length, from one Pine, besides, leaving the butt
end in the ground, four feet high.
Yet even a tree of this size sinks into insignificance when compared
with the giants of Oregon and California. The Wellingtonia gigantea
which reaches the enormous height of two hundred and fifty feet, three
hundred, and even nearly four hundred feet ; or the gigantic Araucarias
of the ancient world.
'Ihe roots of the Pine do not strike so deeply into the ground as
might be supposed, but grow more horizontally, almost on the surface.
This one circumstance accounts for the frequent sight of upturned trees
of great size. The feathery heads of the Pine rise on an average fifty feet
above the tops of the tallest hardwood trees. In the rich and generous
FOA'fiST TK/:/:s.
157
soil of the Hccch and Maple woods, the I'ine attains its greatest bulk
and height. There, straight, tall, and robust, it looks indeed the monarch
of the woods, une(|ualled even by the stately Oak so often called the
King of trees.
When growing in open ground as oh some of our |)lain-Ian(ls where
the soil is light, the I'ine develops an abundance of lateral branches
and a bushy head, which give it so different an appearance, that you
might be inclined to regard it as a distinct species, (juite unlike the Pine
of the forest. 'I'hese branching feathery Pines seldom attain to any great
size and are very handsome objects, with their dark evergreen boughs
clothing the stem even to the ground, but they are only useful for
ornament in the landscape. As timber they are worthless for building
purposes.
In the dense forest it is not till it has surmounted the tops of the
adjacent trees, which have hitherto disputed its right to a fair share of
air and light, that the I'ine is able to develop its branches. Up to this
period of its life its course has been upwards, always upwards— its branches
few and weak and but .scantily clothed with leaves, scarcely give promise
for its glorious future— it has had to work its way under many difficulties,
but having once obtained access to freer air and sunshine, it increases
in growth rapidly. The comparative height of the Pines mav be seen at
a glance by casting your eye along the dark line that divides them from
the hardwood trees, 'i'hey stand in serried ranks, their arms extending
on either side in a horizontal direction like an army drawn up in line.
Each whorl of branches answers for a year's growth. The usual way
in which the age of a tree is a.scertained is by counting the rings of
wood, each ring counting for a year, but this is not a perfectly accurate
method, as in its early infancy these woody deposits cannot be ascer-
tained, and a time may come when the tree, having attained to its
l)erfect maturity, may continue to exist as a tree, long after its vital
functions have cea.sed to add to its yearly substance to any appreciable
amount. There is another way in which we may approach to a knowledge
of the tree's age, this is by counting the whorls of branches which are
added year by year till it has attained its full meridian height. The leaves
deepen in colour till about the beginning of July when they have reached
their usual size. This growth of leaves endures the intense cold of winter
but as the frost intensifies they lose their verdure and acquire a ^ombre
blackish hue. A perceptible change has come over the evergreens, even
these hardy natives of the forest seem to mourn the absence of the warm
sunbeams, and to be sensible of the iron rigours of a Canadian Winter.
In April the rising of the sap is felt in every branch, fresh energy
pervades the tree in every part. A deep refreshing greenness enlivens
i'
I
'5«
FOKI-Sr TKEES.
the dark dull foliage, and llic rinc trihu, i 'toiK lied l)y the hrcath of
returning Spring, stands forth in renewed beauty long before the bare,
lealless trees of the forest have i)Ut fortli one sinj;le green bud. The
new growth of the yearly shoots does not lake plat e till the month of
May ; it is but the refreshing and retinting of the old leaves that conies
to < lieer our eyes thus early in the season ; and as we look ujion the
rich verdure we call to memory those sweet lines of Mrs. Ilemans,
HO familiar and so des( riptive of our I'ine woods, in the " N'oice of
Spring : "
" I have l(Mil,t'il III! tlio iiill.s iif iho storiii) Ni)rih,
Ami till.' L.ircli lias liiinj; ;ill its tasscK torlh ;
I 111.' I'ilii' h:\^ .1 fliiijjc of soflci uri'fll,
And the f.irlli lonUs |iri^;lu wlitri- my .-lips h.ivo lici'ii."
i'he cone of the White I'ine appears a little later than tlu' new
shoots, but near the to|i of the wood of the tbrmer year ; they are narrow,
curved of a deej) or rather bluish green, soft and leathery, slightly pointed,
and often covered with clear droi)s of turpentine, which becomes white
and hartlened in the course of the year. 'I'he winged seeds lie at the
base of the scales, imbedded in the leathery covering, carefully secured
from injury during its embrvo state. The ripened seeds form the food
of a large number, both of our birds and smaller animals. The seedling
|)ine is a pretty, tiny, tufted thing, with a slender stem, and a number of
dark gieeii needle-like leaves. Look at this pigni), can it be the original
form of yonder stately tree ? And yet it is so. I'^very year a new set of
shoots springs from a conical scaly head at the top of the main central
stem of the former year's growth. From tliis head are developed from
five to seven straight upright shoots ; of these the middle one is the
longest and strongest, and forms the leader ; sometimes accident, as
wind or frost, or insects, injures this central shoot, and two of the
nearest and stoutest take its place, so that a double crown is formed.
After a little while the scales that had protected the young spiny
leaves fall away, leaving the leaves in clusters of fives, clothing the
fibrous woody stems of the new growth which hardens as the season
advances. The leaves deepen in colour, and by the latter end of June
and July the cones begin to form in the older trees.
* 'I'he yearly growth of the new Pine shoots measures from eighteen
inches.to fully two feet, in a healthy free-growing young tree ; but in the
dense forest the length of the main shoots is still longer. The bark of
ihe Pine for many years remains smooth and greeii. As the trunk
increa; es from within, rifts in the surface, near the roots, begin to appear,
• Th.a^i' ofii pine tree, till it ifiiflies its iiiciicliim luM^-ht, lias Inrii rccliiuu'il nt a (iiiiod of
frimi line liniiclri'cl to oiu' Imiidivil ami lifty years. This is as if>,':iiils its iijuvar'i ■^rowtli ; but
does not imliide the full lUiratioii of the tive while living.
/■Oh'KSr 7A'A'A.?.
iS'i
trioil of
th ; but
itvr.<winj( year after year as tlie tree conies to maturity. I'lio lurk has
roiij^heiK 1 and divided into ruined masses, deeply «l)annelletl soniewhat
lo/en^e wise, becoming of a whitish grey without, hut of a dce|), hri( k
red within, lying in thin layers one upon the other. In the Ked I'ine the
hark exfoliates, and is thrown off in shell-like jilates in the older trees.
In very old Tines, the hark thi< kens to the depth of some inc hes.
Within this ( rust various insects deposit tlieir eggs - e.n ii trunk
containing a world in itself of insec life.
The great Red-headedWoodpet ker, with others of the trilie, attack
these trees ; instinct teac lies them where they may fuid the hidden food
in the greatest abundance.
i'Vom early dawn till sunset <:alls them to their le-t, the forest
resounds with their noisy labour, tapping, rapping, rendmg, till large
sheets of bark already loosened by the worms beneath, strew i!ie ground
in broken fragments, while the tree, naked and bare and desolate, stands
among its fellcAvs with death and decay stamped upon its pillar like
trunk. It is a curious sight that stately column all graven as with some
curious grooving tool in a thousand fanciful devices- some like a rare
intaglio all deeply cut in curved and wavy lines, as by some cunning
hand, the tracery varying in length, and depth, and breadth according
to the size and nature of the in.sect labourer. There are some forming
the most delicate and elaborate lace patterns, others as if an attempt
had been made to imitate the stem and branches of a tree. 'J'hese
things are the work of the borers and sawyers.
The inmates of a new log house or shanty in the bush are often
startled by the curious sounds that arise during the still hours of the
night, for it is then that they are chiefly noticed, and the wakeful good-
wife wonders what can cause the monotonous creaking, rasping, noise
that she hears for hours together, or what has made those heaps of fine
sawdust lying on the cleanly swept floor below the unbarked walls of her
cabin. 'I'hcse sounds and these heaps of sawdust are the work of the
indefatigable sawyers enlarging their domiciles within tiie bark of the
Pine logs.
These sawyers are large flat-bodied worms of a yellowish colour,
wit red heads and strong jaws ; the ui)per part of the creature's body
which is composed of many flexible rings, is broader than the lower.
The surface of the body is rough and adheres to the finger when you
touch the skin. 'I'he creaking sound is produced by the creature
gnawing the wood upon which it feeds. These insects are among the
countless hosts that make their dwelling in the forest trees and bring
them to destruction by slow but certain steps.
i6o
FORES/- 77iEES.
"In the Pine forests of the Southern States," says Nuttall, "thousands^
of acres of trees have been destroyed by insects in their larval state,
some not bigger than a grain of rice."
The Woodpeckers, which have borne the charge of destroying the
trees in search of these worms, only attack those in which these insidious
enemies have already destroyed their vitality. In the bark of the healthy
tree the bird finds nothing to repay his labour — let us give the
Woodpecker due credit for his sagacity.
" In all labour there is profit," says the wise king, and, depend
upon it, the Woodpecker does not spend his hard work for nought.
Though the Fine tribe, with the exception of the Larch, which is
deciduous, does not lose the foliage of the spring at the time the
hardwood trees cast their leaves, ye. they too throw off their leaves, but
it is of former years, some say the leaves of three years age — certain it
is, that no sootier has the increase of the present year ceased, than a
gradual fall of leaves begins to take place and continues silently and im-
perceptibly all through the summer months. And so on to the Fall,
the dead and useless foliage drops to the earth till a deep carpet of the
pale, golden, thready leaves is strewed beneath the tree, on which the
foot of the passer-by may fall unheard, as if shod with velvet shoes.
How beautiful, how grand are those old Pine woods ! The deep
silence that pervades them I How solemn the soul feels — as if alone
with the Gr<.at Creator, whose mighty i)erson is shadowed dimly forth
in His works 1 There is music, too — deej), grand, solemn music —
when the wind is abroad, and sweeps the tops of those mighty crested
pillars above you ; in softer, lower cadences, it touches those tender
harp-strings, or swells with loftier sound in one grand hymn of praise.
It seems as if one could never exhaust the subject, so much might
yet be written on the Pines of our own Canadian forests.
But we have only entered upon the subject of the Pines and cone
bearing trees, and must proceed to describe our other species.
Rki) Pine — I'iniis resinosa, (Ait).
The Red Pine is distinguished by its handsome foliage, its smooth
red bark, exfoliating in thin plates, after the manner of the Plane and
Shell-bark Hickory trees. The height of the Red Pine is from fifty to
eighty feet, the wood is fine-grained, of much durability, and valued for
its uses in architecture. It never reaches the height and size of the
White Pine. The cones are hard and woody, often clustered several
together, the leaves, which are borne in pairs, are bright green, from
five to six inches long. Where the Red Pine abounds the soil is light
.-'.vV-
i.
I-
I
;i..::.V ' .
in.-
0' \
!■
I
FOKEST TA'El^S.
l6i
and sandy, or rocky. This tree is generally spoken of, but (juitc
wrongly, as the Norway Pine.
Hkmi.ock Si'RUCK — Afu'es Canadensis, (Michx).
" The grnves are God's own temple." — Alton.
" Sprirn^-ilresse-.l in tenderest green, —
There the young Hemlock spreads its fan-like sprays,
To Court the linlmy breeze that scarcely lifts
The lofty Pines that tower above it."
One of the loveliest and most graceful of our forest trees, is a
young Hemlock. As great a contrast does that elegant sapling, with its
gay, tender green feathery sprays, bear in its beauty of form and colour to
the parent tree, with its rugged stiff and unsightly trunk and ragged top,
as the young child in its youthful grace and vigour bears to the old and
wrinkled grandsire. The foliage of the young Hemlock in the months
of June and July, when the Spring shoots have been perfected, is espe-
cially beautiful ; the tender vivid green of the young shoots, at the end
ot the flat bending branches of the previous year, appears more lively
and refreshing to the eye in contrast to the older, dark, glossy, more
sombre foliage, which they serve to brighten and adorn. The Hemlock
does not reach the lofty height of the White Pine, though in some
situations it becomes a giant in size, with massive trunk and thick,
bushy head ; the bark is deeply rifted, dark on the outside, but of a
deep brick-red within ; the branches are flat, the small, oval, soft cones
appear later in the summer on the ends of the shoots of the previous
season. The timber of the Hemlock is very durable, tough, and some-
what stringy, loose-grained, but is said to resist wet ; it is used for
granary flooring, rail-ties and some other purposes in out-door work.
The bark is used largely in tanning. The backwood settlers stack
the Hemlock bark while clearing the forest land and carry it in during
the sleighing season to the tanneries, receiving a certain value per cordi
in money or store goods ; formerly the i)ayment was chiefly made in
leather, when every man was his own shoemaker, but times have
changed since those early, more primitive days, and the wives and
children would now disdain to wear the home-made boots and shoes, that
were manufactured out of coarsely-dressed leather by the industrious
father of the family, in the long winter evenings, as he worked by the
light of the blazing log-fire with his rude tools and wooden pegs.
The old shanty life is a thing of the past ; the carding and spinning,
the rattle of the looms, even the knitting needles are not now so
constantly seen in the hands of the wives and daughters as formerly.
Railroads and steamboats, schools, and increase of population, have
wrought great changes in the lives and habits of the people. Villages
I
Vi
if
162
i-onKsr 7A'/:/:s.
and towns now occupy the spots where only the dark forests of Pine
and Hemlock, Maple and Ueech once grew. The trees disappear
indeed before the axe and fire, from the site where Nature had placed
them, but they rea])pcai: now as ornaments, planted by the hand of taste
in the gardens, and as shade-trees on the streets of the towns and cities ;
and this is good, it speaks of taste and culture. The Hemlock, however,
is less frequently seen about our dwellings, beautiful as it is, for it is
tardy in growth and does not take kindly to cultivation. Its natural soil
is dry, rocky, or gravelly land.
A remarkable hoof-like fungus, of a deep red colour, semi-circular
in outline and elegantly scalloped at the edges, with curved lines like
somt.' large sea shell, hard, dry, and varnished on the surface, is found
ocrassionally growing on the rough bark or big, scaly roots of decaying
Hemlocks. These fungi (Polyporus piiiicola} are found in clusters of
larger and smaller growth on thick stems united at the base. I have
seen a group of these singular parasites, the largest measuring more
than a I'oot in diameter ; it was greatly prized for its elegant form and
rich colcur. The under side of the fungus is of a fine warm buff tint.
Neai') allied to the Hemlock is the well known
Canadian Balsam I"'ir — Abies Imlsainca^ (Marsh.)
A tall, slim, graceful tree, is this beautiful evergreen, distinguished
by its dark green foliage and spire-like form. Rising among the lighter
deciduous trees of the forest, it makes an agreeable figure by force of
contrast with the spreading Beech, and the full-leaved Maple and Bass-
wood. In wet ground the Balsam Fir runs up tall and slender, forming
thick groves of wand-like growth. The timber of this tree is little used,
except for rafters in outdoor buildings. It is the smooth, thin bark of
this Balsam I'ir that yields the " Canadian Balsam " used in medicine.
'I'he clear, resinous juice is obtained by incisions made in the bark, from
which it is allowed to flow into reservoirs. The tree abounds with this fluid,
so much so that the bright, clear, drops may be seen on the green cones,
sparkling like dew in the sunshine and filling the air with a pleasant
fragrance.
The leaves are flat in single file on each side of the horizontal
branchlets, white underneath, the branchlet ends in three slender sprays*
When covered by fresh fallen snow these drooping sprays give the tree
the api)earance of being loaded with lovely white flowers — a sight so fair,
few that have ever entered the forest after a snow storm can forget ; it
is a sight to delight the eye and lift the heart above earthly things to the
throne of the great Creator who has made all things so lovely here,
even the snow, as an emblem of His wondrous purity and Holiness. I
FOKliST TREES.
165
remember the cross-like form of the upper shoots of the Balsam being
pointed out to me one day by an old Irish chopper.
" You see Mistress " he said— touching his ragged najjless hat as
he spoke : " That even in these wild woods the Lord's cross may be
seen pointing to the sky above our heads, to remind us of the Blessed
Saviour's self who died to redeem our souls sure it is well for us to
have something to remind us of Him in this haythenish place."
When growing free, on open dry ground the Balsam increases in
bulk, forming a large sized, regular, pyramid-shaped tree with sweeping
branches of dark glos.sy foliage, attaining a height of from fifty to sixty
feet, and upwards. I never see a group of our beautiful Canadian
Balsams with their excjuisitely symmetrical spire-like forms, rising from a
broad base to the slender pointed apex, but they seem to be silently
pointing heavenward, to remind one of the great Creator who called
them forth and gave them their beauty of form and their enduring
verdure.
Black or Double Spruce — Abies nigra, (Poir.)
This species seems to prefer dry open ground and springs up
spontaneously on old neglected side lines and waste rocky places. The
foliage is sombre in hue, thinner and more wiry than that of the White
Spruce ; the spiny leaves are arranged in brush-like form round the
rough branchlets. The persistent cones are small, the scales thin, and
waved at the edges.
The Black Spruce is used medicinally by the Indians and old
settlers in cases of rheumatic pains, as an ingredient in vapour baths, and
its buds are used for the preparation of Spruce Beer. It is planted as
an ornamental e'-ergreen.* Fine as this tree is it does not equal in
beauty the
White Spruce. — Abies alba, (Michx.)
A charming object is this beautiful evergreen when not crowded
and dwarfed in its free pyramidal growth by the too close proximity of
other forest trees. The White Spruce is seen to most advantage at the
edges of old concession and side lines or similar cleared places. Where
it can have free access to light and aii, there it expands its low horizontal
branches and sends up its strong shoots forming a fine outline, and a
pleasing contrast with its pale glaucous foliage, to the darker Balsams
and Black Spruces that suriound it. The new shoots are of a delicate
• The timber is also valual)le where tlie tree attains to any size ; In favourable Idealities it will
reach a height of seventy and eighty feet, with a corresponding bull< ; the timber i 1 light, strong
and elastie.
7
l64
/■oK/'sr rA/:£s,
light green, and look like tassels appended to the bluish stiff branches
of older growth. The cones are long, from one and a-half to two
inches, and slightly curved, appearing pendent on the last years branches.
The White Spruce differs from the Black, in that the larger cones instead
of remaining persistent on the branches, droj) from the tree as soon as
the seeds are ripe. The spiny leaves surround the branchlets on all sides,
and are stiff and rigid as they get older, but soft in the earlier stage of
growth.
The Spruce firs are rapid in growth and bear transplanting well,
especially if planted in grou|)s, and sui)plied with water when first removed
from their forest soil. By jjlanting several of the young trees near each
other, they shelter one another and retain the moisture about their roots
which would otherwise evaporate too tjuickly.
April is preferred by some persons for transplanting evergreens, before
the sap has started the new shoots. Others prefer July or August, when
the sap is less active, but with watering and care Spruce will move well
at any time during the Spring and Summer months ; when once rooted
they make rapid growth. Hemlo<k and White Pine take less kindly to
change of soil and place. As an ornamental tree the White Pine is
inferior to the Spruce firs unless in extensive grounds where it has ar.sple
space allowed for the development of its branches.
The ti'^iber of the White Spruce is white and light ; it is not valued
so highly as that of the Pine, nor does it attain to so great a height or
bulk. Hurlburt gives it only 50 feet in altitude, and from 12 to 18
inches in diameter.
T.AMARAc. — Amkrican Larch. — Ztiri'x Americana, (Michx.)
■ii "
"And the Larch has hung all its tassels forth.'" — Hemans.
One of the loveliest heralds of the opening Spring is the Larch,
delighting the eye, long wearied with watching the tardy unfolding of
the leaves of the hardwood trees ; its bright verdant tufts of foliage,
bursting from every spray, encircle the rosy, hardly developed, cones, like
a tender green thready fringe. The more we look upon this beautiful
tree the more we find to admire in it. The young twigs are covered
with a golden hued knobby bark ; from this rough bark spring the light
thready whorls of leaves at short intervals, each enveloping a soft cone
of crimson colour — or cluster of staminate flowers — arranged along the
pendent branchlets, which hang gracefully downward, looking as if
adorned with strings of fresh rosebuds — or tufts of golden threads. The
branches of the I -arch grow at right angles with the trunk, and spread
horizontally, slightly drooping at the extremities. The bark is whitish-
grey and scaly, not rifted like the White I'ine. It is a more graceful tree
in its growth than the Pine, Spruce, or Cedar, and deciduous in habit,
like the European species.
The American I^rch is also called Black Larch, hut for what reason
I cannot determine ; and also by the Indian name, Hackmatack. 'I'he
yellow, tough, slender rootlets of the Larch are used by the Indians in
sewing their birch-bark canoes, and are called lVa/ita/<. The outer bark
is removed by steeping the roots in water for some time, when it jjeels
off readily, 'i'he roots are rendered supple, smooth, and very pliant, and
are made u[j in coils for use when reijuired; the walitnp thus prepared is
as strong as any cord, and is invaluable in the manufacture of the Indian
canoe — more suited to the purpose than any manufactured article the
native could adopt —easily ol)tained and without cost, 'i'he Indians
make use of the inner bark of the Inarch as a poultice in drawing hard
obstinate tumours, but it is a strong and painful application.
The timber of the American Larch is much valued, especially in
ship-building, and for railway ties. On dry, hilly land the Inarch attains
to a much larger and finer growth than on low, wet, swampy soil ; the
wood is much better grained and more compact. While the value of
the White Fine is lessened by growing in open spaces, where it can
develop its lateral branches, the Larch seems to improve in ([uality and
attains a larger stature and produces more valuable timber.
While the Larch is one of the first of our forest trees to put forth
its glad green leaves it is one of the last to shed them, and lingers long
with us, brightening the faded woods with its bright golden colours
where all around is sad and grey and dull in the landscape from which
the glory of the Summer has departed.
In low, wet, spongy flats the Larch grows tall and slender and is
little valued, excepting for rafters or such pur])Oses. Formerly a
Tamarac swamp was regarded as utterly worthless, mere waste lands, a
harbour for Bears and Wolves ; but as the country becomes denuded of
its woods even the despised Tamarac is utilized ; and when op.ned out
in course of time the soil is cultivated as grass lands and runs for cattle.
Many of our inland creeks and springs take their rise from, and are
cherished in the deep shade of the Cedar and I'amarac swamps.
When these reservoirs are cut down and destroyed much of the fertility
of the land will be lost. People are only now beginning to learn
the uses and value of the trees that they destroy ; looking only from one*
point of view they regard them as enemies. " Cut them down, root and
branch, why cumber they the ground ? " is the cry of the backwoodsman
But a day comes, when his eyes being opened by education and experi-
ence, he begins to plant a shelter around his bare homestead, and no
.-i-.v-^
166
FOh'/:sr Th'/:i:s.
lc)iij,'cr woiulcrs that the fresh -flowitif^ stream that was so great a comfort
and pleasure, sparkling ns it ran through his pastures, dries up and
disappears : the trees that sheltered it and the leaves that caught the
moisture from the atmosphere are destroyed.
I know extensive farm lands where scarcely a tree has been left,
even as a shelter for the cattle during the hot days of Summer. .\
thriftless thrift this might he called, where even a few acres could not be
spared for the supply of the household fires in future years.
'i'fiK WhitkCehar. Amkrican Armor \i\'.v..—T/iujti otddiiit<tlis,{\..)
Those frecjuently occurring and often extensive tracts of land ( ailed
Cedar Swamps form one of the remarkable features of the low-lying
lands ot the Canadian wilderness : deep tangled thickets, through which
the foot of man cannot penetrate without the aid of the axe, or his eye
pierce beyond the limits of a few yards, so dense is the mass of vege-
tation that obstructs his view of the interior. A secure hiding-jjlace for
the wild denizens of the forest is the Cedar Swamp. Within its tangled
recesses lurk the Benr, the Racoon, the Fox, and when these are absent,
the timid doe and her fawn rest secure from the gun of the wary hunter.
The wily Indian cannot molest them within these impenetrable solitudes ;
and here wild birds of such species as do not migrate to warmer latitudes,
retire during the frosts and snows of the Winter season.
It is from the edges of the Cedar Swamp that the first hollow
drumming of the Partridge is heard in early spring. The rapid ham-
mering sound of the Woodpecker greets the ear of the axe man, or the
whispering notes of the little Tree Creeper, and the p '^'"^ant cry of the
little Chickadees, as they tumble and twirl and flirt am'^ng the evergreens,
chattering to one another, as if rejoicing in the return of sunshine and
bright skies once more, and the bestirring of the insect tribes that lurk
beneath the sheltering bark of the old White Cedars.
A mass of fallen trees, deep beds of mosses, rank swamp grasses,
and sedges, ferns, and low bushes, and seedling evergreens, occupy the
spongy, porous soil, and conceal the stagnant water that lies fermenting
at their roots in those dismal swamps.
Silent as the grave, and damp and lonely as they appear, life —
insect life, swarms here. Let us pause for a few minutes to examine
that huge trunk that lies athwart its fellows, bleaching in the snows and
rains of many seasons. It looks sound, but strike it with \'our axe, and
you find it is a hollow cylinder ; beneath the white and gray shreddy
bark the woody substance is perforated into countless cells and intricate
labyrinthine galleries, the mysteries of which we strive in vain to trace
/■VA'/:s/ 7Av:/-:s,
167
out. The plan to our o>es sceius all confusion. Doubtless if wc could
view the architecture with Ants' eyes, we should perceive —
" Disorder, "rilcr uiiperccivtMl liy ihec ;
All chnnce, diruction which thou c.insi not 4cc."
These long galleries and cells are the work of a large black .\nt. Tliesc
ants are somewhat forinidahlc-looking insects, of a reddish-black colour,
about half an inch in length, 'i'hc female, or winged insect, is the
largest ; then the male ; the workers arc of snialler size. There are
myriads of these last in that old Cedar, and in those prostrate trunks
that lean in every direction above it. These black .\nts arc among the
most active of our forest scavengers ; ever busy, boring, sawing,
l)ounding and tearing ; manufacturing a walled city out of the fragments
of those fallen trees ; silently and secretly do they carry on their labours,
like the sai)pers and miners of a besieged city.
A troublesome colony of black Ants is sometimes introduced into
the log-house of the backwoods settler in the foundation logs, which arc
very fretiuently made of Cedar, being more durable than any of the hard-
wood timbers. These creatures soon find out the housewife's stores of
maple-sugar, and molasses, and preserves, and carry off ([uantities, to
say nothing of what they devour individually ; and very ditficult it is to
dislodge and destroy these depredators. They seem to be omnivorous,
nothing eatable coming amiss to them. I have seen them stop their
homeward march to devour crumbs, dead (lies, and even make a meal
off the body of their comrades. I remember being greatly molested by
a colony of black Ant.s, when living in a log-house, our first residence in
the backwoods. They formed two regular bands, one going the other
coming to my store closet. 1 killed them by hundreds ; but the blac':
brigands never seemed to diminish, till at last I found out their strong-
hold, which was a large Cedar post to which my garden gate was hung.
This was perforated all through by the labours of these insects, and
being close to the walls of the house, they made their entry between the
logs ; boiling water, applied in sufficient (juantities, at last ridded the
house of the nuisance.
The timber of the White Cedar is very light and durable, and is valued
above all other for the sills of log buildings, for rafters and posts and rails.
The Cedar Swamp, which in the early days of the colony was looked
upon by the settler as a useless waste ot land and a loss, has now become
a valuable possession — in many situations a profitable one. In .some
places a thousand Cedar rails will realize from twenty to thirty dollars,
and even more than that sum in parts of the country where rail and
fencing timber is scarce ; which owing to the improvidence of many of
f ' ;
'j.
if
!
1 ■
M
1 ^
1
'
i
1 68
FOREST TREES.
the older class of settlers, is now a common case. I have known Cedar
rail.1 cost thirty dollars per thousand ; and the buyer had not only to pay
this high price, but to cut down and draw home the logs a distance of
seven and even ten miles.
When cleared, these Cedar Swamps make good meadow land — ^the
stumps and roots are easily burned or pulled out — and after a series of
years, if well drained, will produce root and grain crops, and good
p.isturage for cattle.
At one time it was a common practice with farmers, when making
fences about the homesteads, to reverse the Cedar posts, inserting the
upper end in the ground and the butt end uppermost, under the
impression that by so doing the wood was preserved from decaying. I
think the practice was objectionable, as, from the spiral growth of this
tree, the heaviest end of the post was uppermost, forming a lever, which
had the effect of heaving the fence out of the ground, when the soil was
softened by the action of the frost and thawing rains in the Spring of the
year ; besides, the fences so constructed had an unsightly appearance.
If the preservation of the wood were the object in view, charring the end
of the post before inserting it in the post-hole would have been a far
more certain method of ensuring them from decay.
Gray gives the average height of the White Cedar as from 20 to
50 feet, but it sometime exceeds that height. The stem is tall, straight
and tapering upwards to a narrow point. Instead of forming a
branching or bushy head, the branches curve downward, being wider
and more sweeping towards the lowertpart of the trunk ; very often they
are re-curved toward the extremities. The leaves are closely appressed,
or imbricated, lapping over each other irrfour rows on the sharply, two-
edged branchlets, which are flat and horizontally placed The scales of
the cones are soft and blunt ; ihe seeds winged all round ; the flowers
are of two kinds, borne on different branchlets. The Greek name for the
Cedar is derived from some resinous tree — po ibly from the Cypress, to
which it bears a near affinity. In its early gr wth, within the shelter of
the forest or by the banks of lakes and creeks, the bark of the young
Cedar is smooth, and ot a dark shining green ; but where it grows in
open, exposed ground, it is hard, rough, and scaly, and of a greyish
colour ; the foliage is also of a lighter, more yellowish tint of green
than in the forest. When the tree attains to maturity, the bark
splits into long lozenge-like divisions, and peels off in ragged strips.
The long sweeping branches become rough and hoary in age, in the
crevices of which the grey tree-moss ( Usnca) fixes its long pendulous
tufts, and gives to the tree that venerable aspect that has obtained for it
the name of White Cedar, in conjunction with the whiteness of the wood
and outer bark.
When dry, the wood of the White Cedar is highly inflammable,
burning with great rapidity, and leaving only a residue of fine white ashes
which are said to be deficient in the fertilizing salts of the deciduous or
hardwood trees.
The gum of the Cedar is clear and colourless, and possesses a fine
aromatic scent, which is given out after showers and during sunshine.
The Indians regard the gum of this tree as possessing very healing and
medicinal qualities. They chew it as a pleasant luxury ; it excites the
flow of saliva, and no doubt is far less injurious to the system than
tobacco, of which they are so fond. The Indians use the root of
the Cedar as well as that of the Tamerack (or icah-tap) in making
their Birch-bark canoes, and of the inner bark the squaws weave
mats and baskets. The fibrous bark is soft, pliable, and tough, and
is better adapted for the manufacturing of mats than that of the Bass-
wood. The thwarts of the Birch canoes are also made of split Cedar.
The tough silvery-grey paper which forms the outer covering of the
wasps' nests is chiefly derived from the fibrous portions of the \\'hite
Cedar. While watching these industrious insects tearing off fragments
of the silky-thready bark from some old fallen tree, I have thought that
a manufacture of paper, or felt, might be produced from this abundant
material, for which it seems particularly adapted. The fibre is white,
shining, and tough ; it can be beaten to any degree of fineness ; and
moreover, seems to be of a more enduring substance than hemp or flax,
as I have known portions of Cedar bark to lie on the ground for a very
long time, trodden down by the foot, and exposed to every vicissitude
of weather, and yet retain their c[ualities unchanged. It would not be
the first time that man has profited by the example of the lower animals
in his manufactures, or borrowed from them materials for his work.
Who will try to improve upon the paper made by the despised wasp ?
Among its many uses, the Cedar has of late years been adopted for
garden hedges. It is easily obtained ; takes root readily ; is extremely
neat and ornamental when trimmed with the garden shears ; is evergreen,
and does not intrude upon the borders, as it sends up no shoots from
the roots ; is close, warm, and sheltering. Whether it would be proof
against the weight of cattle pushing through it I cannot say, unless
planted within rails or pickets, as is usually done in gardens. The
Hemlock also makes a very pretty garden fence, and possibly the White
Spruce, if headed in, might be rendered equally if not more serviceable
tor enclosures. A very handsome evergreen fence of mixed trees of the
above named species would be very ornamental and more serviceable
than the Hawthorn, which, in our native species, is hard to cultivate,
having a tendency to grow too high and sfaggling to make a close,
compact fence.
i i :l'i
TKliliS.
:!rT
it
On dry soil the AVhite Cedar forms pyramidal groups growing close
and compact from the ground upwards, the horizontal branches bemg
so closely interwoven as to appear like one dense bush, and presenting
a fine mass of rich evergreen foliage during the greater part of the year,
though the severe frosts of Winter change the bright verdant hue to a
sickly yellowish tint ; but, like the Pines, the rising of the sap early in
April renews all its bright colour and reclothes it with fresh beauty.
The fall of the old leaves takes i)lace in the latter end of summer, soon
after the new shoots and fruit have been perfected.
Pursh, our oldest Canadian botanist, writing of the American White
Cedar (or Arbor vita), says : " Its geographical range is from the
northern parts of Canada to the mountains of Virginia and Carolina ; "
but adds, that " in the Southern States it is becoming rare, and is now
only found native on the steep rocky banks of mountain torrents."
The White Cedar takes a more northerly range than the Cypress
{Cupresstis t/iyoides), also called White Cedar. This latter species
prefers a warmer climate, extending southward, whilst our native Cedar
is seldom found south of the AUeghanies. Thus each species maintains
its own special boundary, retreating by almost imperceptible degrees,
and giving place to its advancing rival.
It is not often that the Cedar is found growing promiscuously in the
forest among hardwood trees, and rarely, if there, does it attain to any
considerable size. When a group of these trees is so found, they indi-
cate the presence of springs ; often the head waters or sources of forest
streams are thus made known to the exploring woodsman and hunter.
The Pagan worshippers of ancient times would have deified the moisture-
loving Cedars, making them the sylvan home of Naiads who had their
haunts by cool stream and shady grot, or by the rushy margin of lonely
springs and bubbling founts.
But though the Cedar is mostly found growing on the low-lying
margins of lakes and rivers, yet it is a singular fact that it is frecjuently
found forming dense masses, in detached groups, on high, dry, gravelly
giound, and grassy wastes that have long lain unoccupied save by weeds
and poverty-grass. In such unlikely spots these Cedar bushes take root,
never growing up into tall trees as in the moister lands, yet spreading
continually till they effectually cover the ground, and, by excluding the
sun and wind, convert, in process of time, the soil into a damp one, no
evaporation taking place from the surface through the dense mass of
branches that cover the earth even to the very roots of the bushes. The
snow that falls in Winter, and the rain in Autumn and Spring, saturate
the ground with a superabundance of moisture, which ascends not again
■''uvA .^
('
FOREST TREES.
171
in mist or dew. Rank sedges and other moisture-loving herbs, and
mosses, and fungi, take the place of a more healthy vegetation. A
change is effected, both in the soil and its products, which might lead
us to the conclusion that many of our Cedar swamps have thus been
originated where once a very different order of things existed. Such^
fact.«! are suggestive of the changes that are continually taking place in
the country, and are not without interest to students of the physical
geography of our land.
"This Cedar is the most durable wood in Canada," says Professor
Kalm, a writer of the last century, in his travels in North America who
enters largely into the uses and valuable properties of the White Cedar.
He writes thus : " The enclosures are made of the White Cedar, the
palisades of the forts, the planks, the houses, and the thin narrow
pieces which form the ribs of the bark canoes used here are of Cedar,
being when fresh cut, pliable and easily bent, and very light. The
branches of the Cedar are made into besoms by the Indians, and every-
where used in the houses, and give out a peculiar and pleasant scent."
The writer then gives directions for making use of the Cedar medici-
nally in cases of rheumatism : "The green leaves being well pounded
are boiled down in lard and applied as a plaster, which eases the violence
of the jjains very shortly. An Iroquois Indian told me that a decoc-
tion of Cedar was used by his people as a remedy for coughs, colds and
consumption. This acted probably as a sudorific, also used in inter-
mittent fevers." — Kalm.
Evelyn speaks of the salubrious nature of resinous trees, imong
which he mentions especially the Pine, Juniper, Kirs and Cedars. He
suggests the introduction of Cypress and Cedar wood for sanative pur-
poses into our dwellings in the form of wainscots, shelves, tables, and
other articles of household use, which he quaintly observes " would
greatly cure the malignancy of the air."
It was the custom, possibly adopted from this writer's intluencc, at
the time of the Plague in 1666 to burn large bundles and boughs of all
sorts of resmous woods in the streets of London, to purify the infected
air. Many carried sprigs of Cedar or Juniper in their vests or hands.
I have been told by lumbermen that it is not the choppers and
hewers and other men that work in the Pinewoods that suffer from agues
and intermittent fevers, the resinous exhalations of the Pines being
invigorating, pure and healthy. It is the settlers on newly cleared
hardwood land where the virgin soil is opened to the influence of the
rays of the sun, and it is the gases that are set free from the moist
vegetable mould that are so injurious to health.
^11 t
I
f
172
FOREST TREES.
Common ]vNiPER—J'/(fi!/>erus communis, (L.)
On rocky islands"- and gravelly banks of lakes and rivers, appears to
be the natural habitat of the Juniper. It is a hardy rugged shrub, for it
can hardly be said to arrive at the dignity of a tree. The branches
spread horizontally on the ground but become ascending close and
bushy above. The bark is rough and scaly, the foliage thin and spiny,
of a dark sad green in the older growth, but the more slender pointed
sprays that are liberally put forth in Spring are of a light and tender
green. The flowers clustered on the older branches are greenish,
followed by small round berries covered with a white bloom, the
ripened fruit later in the Summer bluish-purple. The whole bush gives
out a strong and peculiar scent, especially after a hot day at dew-fall.
Like all trees that affect a rocky soil, the roots are strong, tough and
wiry. It is found growing spontaneously far to the North in Canada,
but becoming more dwarfed in the colder regions it spreads closer to
the ground, covering the sterile rocks with its spreading branches,
affording a warm shelter to the wild birds and small quadrupeds that
have their dwelling in such inhospitable spots, where plants of a tender
nature cannot thrive. The abundant berries of this hardy shrub supply
a table in the wilderne.;s to feed
" The wild flock that never need a fold."
The bountiful Father forgets not to feed even the lowliest of His
creatures, " these wait all upon Thee that thou mayest give them their
meat in due season." These denizens of the lonely Northern regions,
that have their haunts among far off lakes and rocky islands, are equally
cared for as those that dwell in more sunny and fruitful lands. He
apportions their food to suit their several necessities — there is some-
thing for all — even the hard dry juiceless berries of the Juniper are
utilized.
" Nothing useless is or low,
Each thing in its place is l>est ;
And what seems i)ut empty show,
Strengthens a. id confirms the rest."
Red Cedar — 'S>\\w— Juniper us Virginiana, (L.)
This hardy evergreen is found native m Canada, growing on bleak,^
dry, rocky, hilly banks, and bare sterile islands, where its tough, wTy
roots insinuate themselves between the crevices, and thus firmly anchored
it will stand the chilling wintry blasts.
But, nevertheless, in these bleak exposures it becomes oftentimes
a stunted and rugged looking tree of small dimensions and scanty foliage
-.-.-^
FOREST TKEES.
'73
without beauty of form, and with little value for any purpose. Whereas,
in better soil and under more favourable auspices, the Red Cedar is a
slender but graceful tree, attaining to a height of from twenty to thirty
feet, and the timber from eigiiteen inches to twenty-four in diameter, but
not often exceeding this measurement. The foliage is of a rich, deep
green on the older branches ; but lighter and of more vivid colour on
the slender rapidly-growing shoots in Spring ; the leaves are pointed,
spreading, in pairs or threes, closely pressed, scale-like, overlying each
other. The wood is much valued for ornamental inlaying and cabi-
net work, on account of its fine pink colour and peculiar grain, and
fragrant agreeable scent. But these rare qualities are very evanescent,
both colour and sweet smell are lessened by exposure to light. The
wood takes the application of French Polish well.
Even the gnarled fantastic roots of the Red Cedar can be made
into useful and ornamental articles by being cut and polished walking
sticks from the knotted branches — rustic hall chairs, and garden seats,
from the twisted roots ; and even shawl pins and brooches have been
fashioned from the resinous knots, which appear when polished of a fine
semi-transparent ruby colour.
These are only a few of the uses that can be made of the wood
and roots of the Red Cedar, but there are others that are weil-known to
the carpenter, such as panelling for rooms and wardrobe shelves ;
where the tree grows in abundance, fencing rails and articles of house-
hold use are al ~o made from the wood, such as tubs, pails and boxes.
The Red Cedar repays cultivation, becoming a very handsome
ornamental tree, thriving well in open ground and generous soil. It is
found both Northward and Southward, becoming more rugged and
dwarfed in barren localities, and colder and higher latitudes.
Amkrican Yew — CiROUND Hemlock. — Taxus Canadensis, (Willd) or
Taxics baccata, (L.) var Canadensis, (Gray).
This pretty little evergreen is found chiefly on gravelly hanks, in
forest land near lakes and rivers, and on rocky islands ; it is of low
stature rarely rising above two or three feet from the ground which it
covers with its low prostrate branches. The leaves of the Ground
Hemlock are of a bright shining green, lighter on the under side, two
ranked and flat on the branch. The fertile flowers green, solitary and
scaly al tlie base, forming as they mature a little hollow waxy pulpy cu])
of a beautiful rosy-red ; within the hollow of this lovely gem-like cup lies
imbedded the dark green seed, The beautiful fruit of this pretty ever,
green, so tempting to the eye like delicate pink coral or porcelain, is
sweet and mucilaginous ; but the central green seed is poisonous. The
\'\
i!
174
FOfiES'I 7A'E/:S.
procumbent branches put forth fibres from *he under side, rooting in
the soil, thus widely extending the plant over the ground. It never
forms an upright stem or woody trunk, like the Yew of Europq.
The (Iround Hemlock is the only representative of the Yew Family,
in Eastern Canada. In British Columbia 7! brevifolia^ closely resembles
the European T. baccata, and forms a small tree. In England, in the
olden time the Yew was valued for its elastic wood and tough roots, of
which the Archers made their bows. Though no longer planted for the
manufacture of this warlike instrument, there are still many noble
specimens of the \'ew to be seen in England, in old parks, and in country
church yards. As the funereal Cypress marks> the resting places of the
dead in the East, so the Yew still may be seen in lonely country church-
yards in England, venerable trees sacred in the eyes of the inhabitants
as associated with the dead of ages gone by.
There is (or fifty years ago there was, to be seen) a very magnificent
old Yew tree growing on an open pasture near an old red-brick house,
not far from Cheshunt Park, once the residence of Oliver Cromwell, or
of one of his sons. A grand lofty spreading tree of picturesque form.
This noble tree was supposed to have existed on the spot, where it grew,
from the time of the early Plantagenets, it was in its meridian glory
during the reigns of the Tudors and Stuarts, and was still green and
vigorous shewing no signs of decay in the year 1831. The noble tree
might even at that late date be said to be enjoying a green old age.
The foliage of the European Yew is a full bright green, lighter on
the under side ; the beautiful rosy wax-like cup, in which the purplish
green seed lies sheltered, distinguishes the Yew from all others of the
Coniferai.
The Oak Family.
" Not a prince in all that proud old world buyond the deep,
E'er wore his crown as loftily as he
Wears the preen coronal of leaves,
With which Thy hand hath graced him." — Bryant.
Whitk Oak. — Quercus nlba, (L.)
When found growing upon open ground where it has space enough
to expand its stout limbs, and form a free rounded and spreading top,
the White Oak presents a noble appearance, not inferior in picturesque
beauty to the far-famed English Oak ; this species will grow on
lighter land than suits some other hardwood trees. Whether the wood
of the Canadian White Oak is equal in grain and durability to the
English Oak, I must leave to the shipwright aud buildd to determine.
'.vV >•■,
FOA'EST TREES.
I know that vast quantities in the form of lumber, and hewn timber,
yearly leave the Canadian ports for consumjjtion in the Old World.
The White Oak is widely diffused throughout Canada, the average
height in the forest being about 130 feet, but on open plains it seldom
grows so high, but throws out wider spreading branches. The
diameter of a fine Oak trunk is from 60 to 84 inches. In the forests
of the western peninsula, the White Oak attains to its largest size.
The wood is much used as staves for casks, spokes, naves of waggon
wheels, railway ties, beams, &c. The bark is largely used in tanning,
the weight of a cubic foot of the wood, when fully seasoned, is fifty
pounds. The ash of the White Oak contains a good amount of potash,
but is not equal to that obtained from Hickory, this last-named tree is
the best for burning, and for the production of potash of any of our
native trees.
The acorn of the White Oak is ovate or egg-shaped, very smooth,
cf a bright reddish-brown, sweet, but astringent. The leaves stiff in
texture, oblong, with from five to nine rounded lobes. When young the
leaves are very white, or reddish-white, and downy, especially in the dwarf
variety, the White Scrub Oak of the plains, or Oak openings as these
open grassy tracts of land are commonly called, many acres of which
are densely covered with a thick growth of dwarf Oaks of several kinds,
grey, white and black. These dwarf varieties spring from thick, knotted
root stocks, which send up several sprouts, or woody stems which never
reach to any great size, but are used by the settlers for firewood and poles
for fencing.
Beside being extensively used in tanning, the bark of the White
Oak is employed medicinally as an astringent. It is also used in dyeing.
The thrifty wives of the country farmers make a black dye for wool and
cloth with certain proportions of oak bark, copperas and log-wood-
The inner bark is chiefly used for such purposes. The squaws manu-
facture strong coarse baskets for farm purposes from' the inner bark of
the Oak, which parts easily into strips after being rendered pliable by
soaking in water and po'* 'ding with a heavy wooden mallet.
The old English poet, Chaucer, has some descriptive lines on
an Oak grove which are curious, and point out a fact that I have
myself taken notice of in my forest walks, i.e., the regular distances that
trees, in their native uncultivated state, occupy in the forest when planted
by Nature's own cunning hand. The quaint and obsolete spelling of
the words will amuse : —
" A pleasant grove
' In which were Okis grete — strait as a line,
" Under which the grass so fresh of hue
" Was newly sprung ; and an eig/it foot, or nine.
.■i]ftli -V
I 76 FOREST TREES.
" Every tree well fro his fellow grew.
" With branches l)ro(ie — laden with leviv new
" That sprengen oute agen the son-shcnu ;
" Some very rede, and some a gladsome greene."
— From Chaucer s poem of " The Flmiiir and the Lea;.''''
The regular distaptes with which the hardwood trees, such as
Beech, Maple and Basswood, grow in the forest from each other, has
often been a matter of sfeculation ; from eight to ten feet appears to be
the usual distance where the trees have attained to any size. You rarely
see the hardwood trees growing in dense thickets ; in the case of the
scrub Oaks, and small scrub Pines, they often do grow in dense masses,
but in such case they never attain to any size and merely form an
underbrush. Among our native Oaks,
Blaik Oak. — Querela eoeeiitea, (Wang.) var. tinetoria (Gray.)
Is one of the most useful and valuable of our native forest trees. In
height it is found from 100 to 130 feet, and from 4 to 6 feet in diameter.
A grand and lofty tree is the Black Oak. The bark, when young, is of
a dark green colour and perfectly smooth, but as the tree increases in
size and age it becomes deeply divided into large, flatish, oblong figures,
and in old trees the bark is deeply channelled and very thick and dark
coloured. The inner bark is the qtiereitron, of the dyers, and is also used
in tanning. From the dark colour of the bark and deep holly-green of the
foliage, the common name of Black Oak has been given to this species.
The wood has a handsome but somewhat coarse <^rain, and becomes of a
deep tint when long exposed to the air and when in household use.
The leaves of the Black Oak are of a splendid shining dark green,
deeply lobed, and sharply pointed. The acorn globular, or nearly so,
harsh and bitter, the cup covering about half the acorn, is rough and
scaly.
The head of this noble tree is more compact and bushy than the
White Oak, the limbs not so large nor widely spreading from the trunk.
This fine species grows to great size on open loamy soil. It is not so
jiicturesques in form as the type of the species, the
Scarlet Oak. — Qiiereus eoeeinea, (Wang.)
This is an exceedingly beautiful and ornamental tree. The foliage
is of a rich dark glossy green, which turns to a brilliant scarlet in the Fall
when touched by the frost. The lobes are deeply cut, and divergent
from five to seven in number, smooth and shining. When growing in
open spaces, the tree spreads and obtains a fine and handsome form.
FONEST TRF.F.S.
'77
'l"he leaves of the Scarlet Oak are set on long slender stalks ; the acorns
are roundish, somewhat deep in the cup, and not so large as those of the
Black Oak.
Thk Ri-.I) Oak. — Qiunits rubra, (L.)
This is a fine large spreading tree, from seventy to one hundred
feet in height, with a diameter of from three to four feet where it grows
freely and in suitable soil. It blossoms in May and bears large acorns
in very shallow, smooth cups (or rather saucers). The foliage is
handsome, with wide-spreading lobes ; the wood is porous and coarse-
grained ; the leaves turn to a dull red when touched by the frost and
remain persistent till the Spring, when they are displaced by the swelling
of the new buds. The wood is chiefly used by coopers for casks,
especially for oil and molasses casks.
The acorns of the Red Oak are eagerly eaten by hogs, and the
smaller wild animals lay up stores of them in their underground granaries.
The wood burns well when it is well dried ; the weight of a cubic foot
is forty pounds.
Dr. Lee says that acorns, roasted as a substitute for coffee, have
been given to young children affected with rickets and scrofulous diseases
with beneficial results. The brown inner coating of the acorn is
also valuable and highly astringent in the form of washes and gargles
for the mouth and throat, especially in relaxations of the uvula and
tonsils — a simple remedy, and easily procured. It is a pity that it is so
little known.
*
I 3
I i ^^!'
Mossv-cup OR Over-cup Oak. — Quercus macrocarpa, (Michx.)
This is a fine large OSk, with handsome deeply lobed foliage and
fringed cups, that grows on the Rice Lake Plains. The cup is large,
coarsely-scaled and woody, with fringed border, by which mark it is
easily distinguished from any of the other Oaks. The leaver' are deeply
lobed, almost pinnate, long and slender and of a bright green, the
bark, grey and scaly ; a fine whitish fringe of awned scales surmounts
the edge. of the cup.
Scrub Oaks.
The Black Scrub Oak is one of the handsomest of our Dwarf or
Scrub Oaks, with dark shining holly green leaves, the lobes are finely
bristle-pointed, in height varying from ten to twenty feet, but where it
springs from the acorn and grows singly it will make a good sized tree
of handsome outline, but this is rare ; the Black and Grey Scrub Oaks
'.v^
.yS
F0KES7 rk'E/iS.
send up several shoots from a thick spreading scaly root-sto( k or stool
forming dense woody thickets. 'I'he Hlack Scrub Oak is of little value,
even for firewood, and here it is curious to observe that in all the Oaks,
those with dark foliage and bark, arc of inferior value for fuel and
produce little potash. 'I'he housewives know this by exiierience : the
green unseasoned Black Oak makes bad ashes for soap-making purposes
and is wretched burning wood unless thorouglily seasoned, while the
grey-barked Oaks burn well and yield more lye from the ashes.
'I'he Scrub Oaks are only found on comparatively light soil and
form one of the difficulties of clearing plain lanils, as the roots pos.sess
much vitality and the shoots must be cut down twice in the season for two
or three years successively. After the land has been cho])ped and the
brush burned — at the end of the third year the exhausted stock ceases
to send up more sjirouts ; and as they have no tap root and are very
su|)erficially attached to the soil, these " Xigger-heads," as they are
commonly called, easily yield to the ploughshare and handsi'ike, and are
then collected in heaps on the ground and burned, or brought home
and stacktjd in the wood-yard for fuel : they make a hot fire heaped on
the hearth, but are awkward and unwieldy for stove use.
The farmers of the plains do not wait to till the soil and sow their grain
till the Oak roots are removed, but make such temporary clearings as
the rough condition of the ground admits of, and are content with small
returns for the first two or three years ; but after that the)' reap good
crops of splendid grain, and soon have the satisfaction of seeing their
fields free from the unsightly .stumps that remain so long an eye-sore in
the forest clearings ; the fields then present an Old World aspect to the
e)c.
'i'he drey Scrub Oak occupies the same localities with the J31ack
\aricty, yet, varies in bark, in foliage and size. It has been said that
the dwarfing of these Oaks arises from the fact that many years ago the
Indian hunters made a practice of burning over tracts of these plain-
lands, to promote the growth of the various grasses on which the Deer
fed. and by dwarfing the young growth of trees made better covert for
the wild game that sheltered there among the hills and ravines; but this
I think is doubtful.
It would be ditiicult, now, to trace the fact from experience, for so
rapidly has the work of clearing the land and the consuiiuent extermin-
ating of the underwood taken place, that in a very few years, not a
specimen of the native Scrub Oak will be found on the Rice Lake
Plains. I'or uj^wards of fifty years we know that no such process of
burning the ground over by the Indians has taken place, and there are
large timber trees here and there mingled with the Oak brush. These
FOh'ESr TNEES.
•79
their
large trees must he ( entiiries olil, judging h} their si/e and aiuient
apiiearaiK e ; surely they wouIJ have suffered from fire as well as the
other trees. I'or when once the hark of a tree is scorched hy fire it
ceases to live, and the fire running over the hrush and long grasses would
have ilestroyed the vitality of most of the larger Oaks. The last t)urningof
this tract of land must have taken place some hundreds of years ago to
have given time lor the growth of the timiier trees still existing. The
Mohawks and Ojiheways had many battles on these plains, the former
claiming the hunting grounds on the Southern shore of the lake. Rice
I,ake is still called in their language "'i'he Lake of the liurning Plains."
The ground is now all under c-ullis ation. The Oaks, like the Indian
race that lumted over these beautiful hills and vales, are disappearing.
The Indians of the village of Hiawatha, on the North shore of the
lake, near the mouth of the Otonabee, ran give no distim t account of
the time when the Inmters burnt the I'lains ovt;r it was not in their
time " Mohawks burnt not us, Mohawks bad Indians." This was all
the answer I could obtain. One thing is remarkable, that you rarely
find any fruit on the Black and (Irey Scrub Oaks, and yet the ground is
.so thicky set with these bushes that it is with difficulty a path can be
forced between the stems.
Though I have only enumerated five species of Oak besides the
Scrub Oaks, there are several other varieties known to the lumberers in
the backwoods. I'ursh names no less than thirty-four si)ecies of
American Oaks, probably many of these are natives on this side of the
(ireat Lakes. The Oak is one of the most valuable of our native forest
trees ; it will grow on lighter land than the IJcech, or Majjle ; it is
widely scattered through the country. Even as far North as Hudscjn's
Bay the "Grey Oak" is fcjund, according to Michaux, if I'ursh (juotes
him correctly. Cowper, the l">nglish poet, in alluding to the longevity
of the Oak, says
" Lord of llic woDtls, the Iuiil; ciuUirin^' <-)aU.'"
'i"hc Oak was considered to be an emblem of strength and vigour.
Mention is made of the Oaks of Bashan in thi Old 'I'estament in many
places.
\V(j read in chapter wxv of Oenesis, that Jacob, when he came
again to Bethel, conmianded his household and people that were with
him to put away their strange gods, or idols, and he (Jacob) " hid them
under the Oak that was by Shechem." A little further on follows the
death of Rachel's nurse Deborah ; " and she was buried beneath Bethe
under an Oak, and the name of it was called AIlon-Bacliiith, or the
Oak of Weeping."
•
i8e
FOA'/:s/- /h'KKS.
The worshipijcrs of Baal raised their altars under proves of Oak
trees ; and the ancient priests of Britain, the Druids, worshipped under
the Oak, which was held sacred by them on that account.
The " Oak of Palestine " is an Ilex. The writer has a small spray
sent from the Holy-land taken from an ancient tree in Hebron, tradition-
ally said to be Abraham's Oak. The tree beneath which the Patriarch
spoke with the Lord and the destroying Angels, and where stood the tent
in which Sara prepared the feast for the sacred trio. " If not the tree so
celebrated," wrote the reverend gentleman who sent the relic, " No
doubt one of very great antiijuity."
The leaves of the Oak were used for the civic crown, with which
Roman citizens were honoured.
The Oak seems to be more subject to the effects of lightning than
any other of the forest trees. Tlip ause possibly may exist in the mineral
matter that enters into the formation of this hardwood tree, or it may be
that the Oak is often left to stand as an ornament by itself, in exposed
places, open pastures, or parks, and is therefore more exposed to the
influence of the elements in times of storm and tempest.
There is a couplet in a poem by Sir Henry W'otton, that has much
significance on this subject —
" I would l)e high, but sco the lofty Oak,
Most subject to the rending thunder's stroke."
The Oak-tree is the crest of the Holy-Oak family, and of the
Camerons.
In some of the country villages in the eastern counties of England
in my younger days, the houses of the villagers were adorned with Oak
boughs and leaves on the twenty-ninth of May, the anniversary of the
restoration of Charles the Second ; while gilded Oak-apples (galls) were
worn by the men and boys as emblems of the Oak of Boscobel, in which
the royal fugitive was concealed after the loss of the battle of Worcester.*
The Weeping White Ei.m. — Ulmus Americana, (L.)
" Under the shady roof
Of branching Elms star-proof ;
Follow me." — Milton,
' " With what free growth the Plane and Elm,
Fling their huge arms across my way. — Jiryant.
The White Elm is one of the tallest of the hardwood trees of our
Canadian forests, where it attains to a great height. Straight as a lance
* Note.— On my uraticliiiDUuT's side my fntlier wiis (lescoinlfd both from tlu loyal Cotterel
fiiiiiily, anil also from that of the Pendrils, of no lesa nohlo jirineiplea, who withstooi' all bribes to
iH'tray their prenerihed defeated Sovereign. Many were tlie tjiles tliat were tolil at o ir fireside, of
•deeds of loyal faithfulness, that are unreconled iu history, to which my sisters and lu .-self listened
f'Vh'Esr 7A'/':j-:s.
iSi
m
it rears its pillar-like stem, often reaching sixty or seventy feet free of
the forking branches ; in diameter frc(iiiently reaching four feet. Of
all our forest trees few surpass it in grandeur of si/.e, and none in
elegance of shape, '''ee of the forest where it grows singly, and with
room to develop its branches, the IClm presents one of the most
charming features in our rural landscape, assuming a variety of
picturescjue forms, not unfreiiuently reminding one of the grotesque
cai)ital letters which are now often adopted to ornament the first words
in our illuminated books — an old fashion borrowed from the ancient
monkish manuscripts.
The branches of the White Elm divide at the crown of the trunk,
and rise almost of uniform thickness to form a level toji. From the
outer boughs hang down slender leafy branchlets, which, like long
loosened tresses, wave with every motion of the wind in the most
graceful manner imaginable.
Sometimes the whole trunk is clothed with leafy sprays, which give
to the tree the appearance of being clothed with some elegant climbing
plant. I have seen these light green sprays mingled with the .ich dark
green foliage of the Virginian CrLi|ier, forming a beautiful mass of light
and shade. In the Kail the magnificent crimson hues of the Creeper
touched by the frosts, harmonize in charming contrast with the fading
lints of the Elm, producing an effect of rare beauty.
The wood of the White Elm is extremely tough and hard lo hew,
and makes very poor fuel ; it will lie for years unde-^ayed. In former
years, before the value of the forest trees was as well known as it is now,
the choppers considered the presence of many of these great Elms a sad
nuisance in clearing the fallows, as the wood is hard to burn, and the
trunks are hard to cut into lengtlis for logging — but now the Elm is
valued and used for many purposes, especially by the wheel-wright, and
the timber is exported to Europe for such purposes as recjuire great
toughness and strength.
Beside the White or Swamp Elm, we have two other kinds — the
Corky-barked or Rock Elm, and the Red Elm. The latter is better
known in Canada by its common name. Slippery Elm, which expresses
its qualities and is therefore well adapted to it.
The Slippery or Red Er.M — Ulmm fulva^ (Michx.)
Is possessed of valuable medicinal ([ualities in addition to its uses as a
timber tree. The inner bark and twigs are mucilaginous, healing and
with onK<!i' t'HM, atiil wliicli iloubtless liail their inHiii'iiii' in after years on the niind.s nf two of those
entiiUHiastii^ nnilitiiis. Yet, strange to say, our fatlier, tliongli desceniU'd from the loyal Ootterels
and Pendils, and the no less loyal Strieklands, was no .laeoliite, lint n great admirer of William
the Third. It might lie that his honse had sntTered from its adherence to the niigrntefnl Stuart
KingB, Charles II and James II, but children are m>t always intlucnced in their historicnl prejudices
by tlie opinions uf their parents, as it (iroved in this case.
\
, ■!
l82
FOREST J'KEES.
softening ; ground up into a coarse powder, it is used in the form of
poultices, and a drink is concocted Irom the inner bark which is given
in fevers, and in complaints of the throat and chest ; it is by no means
unpalatable, and is nourishing and wholesome. Our medical men know
its value, and often rccomr,'' nd its use. The Indian chews the young
leaves and applies them as a healing application for wounds.
The foliage of the Slippery Elm is oblong pointed and doubly
serrate, having an agreeable scent when dry. The bark on the tender
branchlets is downy, as also arethe cases of the leaf-buds which are clothed
with soft rusty brown hairs. The tree is not one of the largest or
loftiest of our forest trees never attaining the height and dimensions of
the gigantic White Elm. The wood is reddish in colour, whence the
name Red Elm, tough ar.c valued for many purposes. \o less useful is
the
Rock Ei.m. — Uliniis raceniosa, (Thomas).
A larger tree than the Red Elm. Of this tree Dr. Hurlburt says :
■"The Rock Elm is found in most parts of Canada, and grows very large
in the western counties, averaging 150 feet in height and 80 to the first
limb, with a diameter of 22 inches. It is abundant in the western part
of Canada ; preferred even to Wliite Ash by some carriage ind waggon
makers, for the poles ami sliafts of carriages and sleighs.
The wood of the Rock Elm bears the driving of bolts and nails,
better than any other timber, and is exceedingly durable when con-
tinuously wet ; it is therefore much used for the keels of vessels, water-
works, piles, pumps, boards for coffins and all wet foundations recjuiring
wood. On account of its toughness it is selected for naves of wheels,
shells for tackle-blocks, and sometimes for the gunwales of ships.
The bush settlers know its uses in making ox bows and axe handles,
it being greatly valued for such purposes.
The branches of this tree are ridgy and winged and the bark is
deeply furrowed. I have noticed that the Rock YAiw in this part of
Canada grows chiefly on waste poorish soil, and the tree is dwarfish,
and has not a free vigorous look.
The European hedge-row Elm is sometimes seen near the roadsides.
How introduced one cannot say, but the trees may be known by the
small leaves and picturesque growth — always beautiful whether growing
by the roadside, on open grassy glades, or copse-wood ; there is not a
more charming object in a rural landscape than an English hedge-row
Elm.
There are (nr were, for I am not sure that they still remain) several
remarkable Elm trees in the suburbs of Toronto, that well deserve the
FOKESJ' TREES.
I -^3
special notice of the lover of forest trees. One in particular, a grand,
lofty, spreading tree, near the Orphan's Home.
A tree of such perfect symmetry of outline that it could hardly fail
to strike the eye of the beholder with admiration. It was probably a
vigorous tree in its meridian beauty before the first log-house was raised
upon the site of Little York. Xow the first city in Western Canada.
What tales could that mute witness tell of toil and privation, among
the hardy adventurous few tliat cleared the forest land on which this
now solitary'giant of the lonely wilderness stands. What strife, political
and physical, has it beheld.
Beneath its leafy canopy tiie Red man reared his wigwam, or ilie
■early missionary from far off I'ranre held up the Cross and jireached
the word to the listening stolid Indian. It may be that the seed fell
upon the rock and brought forth no increase.
The Indian treads the busy streets, where once the Deer stole forth
from its leafy covert in the dense Cedar swamp, where now stands the
lofty church or busy mart. That lofty tree alone remains a memorial
of the Indian's hunting grounds, and he himself stalks along those
crowded streets the shadow of a dying race.
How many over-wrought minds and toil-worn bodies have sunk
into dust ; while still serenely grand and majestic, untouched by decay,
the noble tree stands a good Watchman at his post, looking over the
rising city ; and still may it stand through storm, and wind, and heat,
and cold, a more glorious object than all those stately buildings over
which it casts its evening shadow.
Blue Bekch — A.merican Horni'.kam — Carpinm Aiiuricana, (Michx.)
This tree, commonly known to the backwoodsmen as Blue Beech,
is also termed Ironwood by some writers, though it differs greatly in
appearance from the Hop Hornbeam or Ironwood proper. The bark
is smoother, more like that of the common Ikech ; the wood is whiter
and can easily be divided into long slips, and is much used l)y the
settlers and Indians in the manufacture of axe handles and common
brooms : these are made by boys, of an evening by the fireside, and in
weather that prevents them from out-door work. A clasp-knife and a
straight stick of Blue Beech is all the stock in trade, required for the
producing of one of these homely useful articles. To effect this the bark
is removed and long strips are cut from the wood and drawn down to within
a few inches of the end of the stick ; these are then turned over, bound and
trimmed even at the ends, and the shanty broom is made, supplying at
the cost of an hour or two's labour, a good serviceable substitute for a
If '
II 1:1
m
Vi
■■■fl
•^
!; ei
.V.v% .V
184
FORES'I TREES.
more costly article. It is by such simple expedients that savings are
made in the Canadian backwoods — or it was so in the early days of the
Colony.
The Blue Beech is a tree of small size, rarely exceeding 20 feet,
often not more than 10 or 15. The bark is smooth and grey, most like
that of the Beech, and the foliage resembles that of the Birch. The
little nutlets are borne on large foliaceous bractlets, not so large nor so
showy as in the
Ironwood — Hop Hornbeam — Lf.verwood — Ostrya Virgimca, (Willd.)
This is a well known forest tree, valuable for many uses. The
wood is hard, with a metallic lustre, fine grained and very heavy. The
tree is never very large, seldom more than forty to fifty feet in height,
and from eight to twelve inches in diameter. The bark is divided into
long straight Jines. The wood is used for handspikes, levers, reaches
of waggons, and rafters, and burns well as firewood. When found
growing in open cleared places and copses, it forms a more bushy and
shrubby tree, very ornamental through the Sununer from the elegant
white involucres of the Hop-like seed clusters ; the seed itself is hard,
nut like and bony. These Hop-like appendages hanging from every
spray, have a very pretty effect. The tree is easily raised from seed,
and might be introduced into shrubberies and groves with good effect.
In its native woods the Ironwood is found scattered among the other
deciduous trees, where it grov/s straight upwards, making but small head.
The foliage is oblong-taper-pointed, sharply and doubly serrate, buds
acute, involucre sacs hairy at the base, becoming much inflated by the
month of August, when they become brown and shrivelled as the seed
hardens and ripens.
Americ.\n Beech — Fagus forruginea, (Ait.)
" Where feathering down the turf to meet
Their .shallow iiig arms the Beeches spread."
Of the Beech we occasionally see two varieties mentioned in books
and hear them spoken of as the "White Beech" and the "Red Beech."
We have, however, only one species of Fagus in Canada. The
Blue Beech, commonly so called, not being properly a Beech. To the
NoTK— [^lofessiir Liiullcy, in liis iiiti'iesting work " Natural Systoiri of Hotuiiy,'' places the
IrimwDdil (()sti>i<i) ill tlie same natural order as the Oak, lleeeli and Chestnut, while siinie of tiic
older writers ulnsa it with the Birili, under the gencrie nanu; of Ititnln. ■ The generic name of tjie
Blue Beeeli— C'i'ipi7iH.s- is derived troni the Celtic words nir (wood) ami iniiilo, (head), in allusion
to the lltness of the wood for making head-gear, or yokes for oxen. It is curious to trace the
meaning of some of the classical names given to jdants, which were as fandliar to the ancients in
former times, iiossilily two thousand years ago, as are the simide names liy which we now eail
them. Some, indeed, nf the old Greek or Saxon names, were very fanciful, iiiid jiad reference to
heathen deities or some strange idea or fancied reseml dance to things, the likeness to which wc
'■annot now sec.
FOREST TREES.
185.
Canadian farmer, the Beech is indicative of the best Wheat growing
soil. The decomposition of the leaves, wood and roots of this valuable
forest tree, giving a rich black mould, highly favourable for all
agricultural productions of roots and grain, vifhich yield abundantly in
the soil of the Beech woods ; fortunate is the settler whose lands
consist chiefly of timber of this kind.
Even in its native woods the Beech is a tree of slow growth,
throwing out many horizontal branches. Its slow, upward growth,
tends to promote the hardness and close texture of the wood, and to
give a more symmetrical form to the general outline of the tree. While
yet very young, the leaves remain persistent on the boughs through
Autumn storms and Winter snows. The light, fawn coloured faded
leaves when contrasted with the dark evergreens, with the snow beneath
and the blue cloudless sky above, give an agreeable brightness and
cheerfulness to the forest scenery that robs the dark lonely wood-paths
of much of their gloom.
Growing singly or at the outer edfc of the forest, the Beech forms
a tree of great beauty from the wide aweep of the branches, at first
curving downwards, and then slightly upwards, its slender sprays and
shining bright foliage, in early Spring of a tender green, but darkening
as the Summer advances, give a lively appearance to the woods. It is
a common practice to head in the young trees when planted as shade
trees, but this treatment alters the natural, graceful, pyromidical form,
giving a rounded figure which becomes thick and bushy, and far less
graceful to the eye. The Beech, when in fruit in the months of August
and September, ac aires a russet hue from rhe brown, rough, urn-shaped
involucre, that contains the three-sided nut, which every boy knows is
eatable, and children seek the fallen fruit among the leaves that strew
the ground.
Though three-seeded, there are rarely more than two nuts in one
husk, one being empty out of the three. The swine feed largely upon the
Beech-mast, and become fat upon the oily food ; but nut-fed pork is not
regarded with much favour by the housewife, as it is soft and runs more
to oily fat than good, sound, hard bacon. The timber of the Beech is
used chiefly for such purposes as require smoothness and hardness, it
being very compact and strong. In England the wood is much used for
turning, and also for flooring; in this country it i? ued for many
purposes ; for the handles of Carpenters' tools, shoe lasts, cogs of wheels,
and for common bedsteads, mouldings, picture-frames, and many house-
hold things, beside turner's wares. Hurlburt fays the White Beech
averages 1 10 feet in height, and 50 feet to the first limb of a well grown
forest tree, 18 inches in diameter ; but I think this exceeds the average
M
l^
!i!i
H
l\\
186
FO/^ESr TREES.
height. As firewood, there are few woods better than good dry Beech ;
the green wood is slow to burn, but when thoroughly alight gives out
a strong heat ; it is good economy to lay in a stock of green wood
in the sleighing season for the next year's use.
If the rough, fallen timbers and the under-brush are removed, the
Beech will form a charming home park, beneath the shade of which the
natural grasses spring up, and soon make a fine sward, a delightful, cool,
retreat for the cattle and sheep during the heat of Summer.
The bark of the Beech is smooth and of a bluish-grey tint, richly
variegated in age by the various minute Lichens of many colours that
cloud its surface. These give a picturesque aspect to the trunk and
larger limbs that afford studies for the pencil of the artist. An old
fantastic gnarled Beech is, to the painter's eye, a thing of beauty and of
value ; he would, in the enthusiasm of his art, be inclined to cry out
" Wooilman, spare ihat tree."*
The Birch.
" The fragrant Birch above him hung
Her tassels in the sky."
Of all the deciduous trees, the Birch appears to be the hardiest.
It is found in the coldest climates, in far Northern regions, where even
the hardy Pine and Spruce will scarcely grow, excepting in a dwarfed
and stunted state.
In the .ar Nor "-West, near Hudson's Bay, the Birch, in a low
dwarf form, still may be seen ; it is found m Iceland and Lapland
within the limits of the Arctic Zone. Its uses are as numerous as its
geographical range is extensive and varied. The Reindeer feeds upon
the leaves, which also form a bed for his master ; the twigs and fibrous
roots are woven into baskets and Birch brooms are well known in the
stables and outbuildings of the farm. The sap, in Russia, is fermented
for wine and vinegar ; the aromatic oil of the Red Birch gives the
peculiar scent so pleasant to the Russia leather of the book-binder.
Who, in Canada and the American States, is not familiar with the bark
canoe of the Indian, the embroidered baskets, boxes and mats of the
squaw ?
Nature is never idle. No sooner has the flower and fruit of a tree
arrived at perfection than a new work commences, nay, in many cases
has commenced. New powers are called into action, new leaf-buds are
forming and pushing off the old effete foliage, new material is being
collected to form the lowers and fruit for the ensuing year. Close-
• Tlie clnsslcal imme of tlie Bp.eih is from tlie Greek wnnl wliicli lueaiis " to eat," in allusion
to till' esi'iilMit nuts.
'■.vv .••.•.
1 :
i.
FOREST V'KEES.
187
hidden lie the embryo.blossoms enclosed in cases, sealed and impervious
to the action of wind, tempest, rains, and biting frosts, that might other-
wise injure the precious treasures concealed within their warm, protecting
bosoms. Some of these leaf and flower buds are covered with a
varnished, odorous gum as in the Balsam Poplar ; others lined with soft,
silky hairs as the long, taper buds of the Beech ; some with brown wool?
as the Elm, the Moose-wood, the Willows, the silky catkins of which
are seen in the Winter, and many others.
Take a Small bunch of the common Red-berried Elder, and open
the round knobby buds, that appear soon after the leaf has fallen, and lo!
there within the leafy cradle that encloses them, lie closely packed, the
numerous greenish-white flowers, waiting for the warm breath of May
and June to call them forth and expand the cymes of perfect, closely-
packed, but undevelojied, blossoms, to the sun-light and the Summer
breeze. •
Are not such things worth looking for ? Should they not fill our
hearts with wonder, love, and praise to Him whose infinite wisdom has
ordered all things rightly ; who careth for the creatures he has called into
life, yea, even for the humblest herb and the grass of the field.
In some trees and shrubs the swelling of the new buds is not so
apparent as in those that I have mentioned, but still the process is going
slowly and secretly on, even when hidden from observation.
Paper or Canoe Birch. -Betula papyracea^ (^^'0-
"Where weeps ihe Birch of silver b.ark
With long clishevelled hair."
" Where theMight Birch its loose tresses is waving."
The catkins of the Birch are formed almost as early as the leaves
fall. The little, hard, scaly, close-pressed catkins, in threes, appear at the
ends of the branches, and may be seen all through the winter months
increasing and swelling as the ascent of the sap is felt, till in the months
of April and May the yellowish blossoms appear and the long waving
tassels flutter in the wind, giving an air of lightness and grace to the
slender branches, and making the Birch one of the most graceful and
attractive of all the trees of the forest. The Birch, with its snow-white
bark and branches, when seen among the Pines and Evergreens, forms
a delightful contrast with its airy lighter foliage, to their dark sombre
■colour and stiff outlines.
The White Birch springs spontaneously on neglected clearings and
waste lands ; it is hardy, easy of culture, and truly a great ornament at all
times and seasons of the year.
I^
FOA'EST TKEJIS.
To the North American Indian the Birch is scarcely less valuable
than the Palm to the natives of the Tropics. From the tough, pliable
bark the Indians manufacture vessels of every conceivable size and
shape, from the rude mokowk, or rice and sugar basket, to the most
delicate and richly ornamented work-box, pocket-book, and sheath for
knife or scissors, curiously worked with moose-hair and porcupine
quills ; these materials, humble and apparently of little worth, are dyed
with the brightest of colours, and serve the purpose of giving a gorgeous
effect to the ecjually simple, natural article, the bark, of which they are
constructed. It is of the large sheets of the White Birch that the Indians
form their canoes, and the sides of their winter wigwams are panelled
with the same flexible material. These panels are so contrived as ta
form temporary storing places that answer the purpose of closets and
wardrobes ; bags and boxes in which all sorts of miscellaneous house-
hold articles are kept, clothing, dried meat, fish, rice or sugar, in their
bark baskets, or packs of peltries ; in short, anything and everything is
stowed away out of sight in these primitive pockets. Necessity is the
mother of invention, and teaches the simple children of the forest
expedients at which the white man is inclined to smile, if not to scoff.
The construction of the Birch-bark canoes — thosi light and portable
vessels with which the Indian navigates the lakes and inland streams —
is usually the work of the women, who are as skilful in the art of boat
building as the men. The shape, length and breadth of the canoe is
marked out by upright sharp sticks driven into the ground, thus forming
the outline and supporting the sheets of bark during the process of building.
The frame work (or ribs) is composed of split Cedar ; the sheets of bark
are sewed together with the roots of the Tamarack (American Larch) ;
these roots are steeped in water, peeled and coiled ready for use, and
look like thick cord — smooth and very tough. Over the seams of the
Birch-bark a strong adhesive pitch, made from the resinous gum of some
of the Pine tribe, is plastered, and a strong coat of varnish, also made of
some resinous gum, is painted over the whole. The thwarts are firmly
secured to the edge of the canoe, sewed strongly with the wah-tap, and
when all is gummed and varnished the little vessel is ready for the
launch.
The dry bark of the Birch is very inflammable bemg supplied with
a fine aromatic oil which is readily ignited, and gives out a delightful
aroma while it is burning. The dry bark is sometimes used instead of fat
pine in the fisherman's skiff when night spearing on the lakes. Formerly^
before lucifer matches were in use the very thinly peeled barkof the Birch
was much used as a ready substitute for tinder by the settlers in the
Backwoods, and in kindling a fire a bit of this bark makes it burn up
'■-v^ >\.'.
FOREST TREES.
189
rapidly. I am not aware if the bark of the Birch has ever been used as
•a substitute for white rags in the manufacture of paper, but in its native
condition it can be made use of for writing upon either with pen and
ink or pencil.
The sap is rarely used here as it is in some of the Northern
countries of Europe for making wine and vinegar. Our settlers in the
Backwoods prefer the more generous juice of the Sugar maple for that
purpose.
The extensive clearing away of the forest is a cause of great regret
to the Indians who have to go far back to obtain a supply of the canoe
bark. \Ve no longer see the light canoe dancing on the waters of our
lakes, as formerly. I remember noticing a Scjuaw watching the burning
of a large log -heap, and in answer to some remark made, she observed
with a moody glance at the burning pile : " No canoe now — White mans
burn '.^ Birch-tree. Go Buckhorn-a-lake for bark. Got-a-none here," and
wrapping her arms in the folds of her blanket she turned away sullenly
from the destroying fire, and no doubt there was anger in her heart
against the settler, for the trees of the forest which were being wasted
by axe and fire. Who could blame her .'' Now, indeed, the want of the
Birch-bark is a sore loss and privation to these poor people. They
cannot go into the woods to cut down a single tree, without being liable
to fine for trespassing, and the game laws press hard upon them. The
Indian race is fast fading away like many of the native plants, we shall
seek them m their old haunts, but shall not find even a trace of them
left.
Another of our native Birches is the
Yellow OR Silver-barked Birch. — Betula lutea, (Michx.f.)
The Yellow Birch grows to the height of 60 to 80 feet ; the bark is
greyish with a silvery lustre, but in age the exfoliation of the bark gives
a rough ragrged look to the tree. The wood is hard, capable of a fine
polish, is of a warm yellow, inclining to reddish colour, and is much
used for bedroom furniture. The bark gives out a brilliant gaseous
flame with a pleasant aromatic scent. The timber of this tree is excellent
firewood, and next to the Black or Cherry Birch, is highly valued in
cabinet work.
I;; 111
Black Birch or Cherry Birch. — Betula lenta, (L.)
is the most valuable ot the Canadian Birches. It has been known by
the term American Mahogany, on account of its colour and grain, and
not being liable to warp it is prized by the cabinet-maker among our first-
' l\\
it
190
FOREST TREES.
class native woods. The tree grows to a considerable size ; the bark is
reddish and smooth when young, speckled and bronze-coloured on the
twigs. The leaves of the Black Bit -h are heart-shaped, pointed and finely
doubly-serrate. The catkins thicker than in the White or Canoe Birch.
This tree may be found in rich, moist woods, and the leaves and twigs
are aromatic, and jileasantly-scented when crushed. Pursh enumerates
seven species within the geographical limits of ( 'anada, as known to him,
but it is possible other specie-> exist in our now extended Dominion.
A.MKRKAN MoLNiAiN AsH. -T" o\vAN-TRKK. — Pytiis Aiiicn'caiia, (DC.)
" Thy leaves wore .lye the first in S|)rin^,
Thy tlowcrs the Simmer's pride ;
There w.is no sic ;i linniiie iree
In a' the eountiie's side" O Row.m-tree
" Tlie Miiuntain A.sh
Xo eye can overlook, when mid a giove
Of yet inifaded trees she lifts her head,
Decl<ed with autmiinal lierries that outshine
Spring's richest blossoms." — JVords70ort/i.
A more ornamental tree can hardly be seen in our shrubberies than
the bright-berried Mountain Ash, the hardy Rowan-tree of Scotland.
Our native tree differs from the European species by its slenderer form,
the deeper green, and narrower more ijointed leaflets, and smaller size
of the fruit.
The Canadian species is found growing in the rocky townships north
of Peterborough, among the low flats and ravines of the granite ridge
that intersects that portion of the country where it is found, forming
scattered thickets, conspicuous by the flat cymes of white flowers in the
month of June, and by the bunches of brilliant scarlet berries in the
Autumn months. The berries are eagerly sought b)- birds that still
linger in our woods and thickets -the Robins, Golden-winged Flickers,
and Blue Jays feast upon the ripe fruit, some of the smaller (juadrupeds
of our forests gather up the seeds. These Autumn birds, however,
generally leave sufficient ior those charming visitors whiih come to us
during our cold, severe weather in January and l'"ebruary ; — the Pine
Grosbeaks and the Bohemian Wax-wings, and even then a gleaning
remains for the early Spring birds that come before the buds have
opened on bush and tree.
Closely related to the Mountain Ash are the Apple and Pear, the
Juneberry and Hawthorn. 'J'he common name of the Mountain Ash
has probabl) been derived from the pinnate leaves, which are placed in
pairs of from thirteen to fifteen along the mid-rib. In height the
native tree selcom exceeds fifteen to twenty feet, but in its flivourite
■•'.v^ .■..,..
%
FOA'Esr 7f;/:Es.
191
haunts in rocky valleys, it is often a mere shrub, the stem being only a
few inches in diameter, it can hardly be said to rise to the dignity of a
tree in its growth.
The Highland peasants know the Mountain Ash only by the more
familiar name of Rowan-tree, to them it seems endeared by some
tender home associations, bringing back to them the remembrance of
mountain streams and lonely valleys; nor have their poets been silent in
their songs to the Rowan-tree. Who has not known and heard that
sweet, simi)le lyric of the Haroness Nairne : —
" R()W;in-trtL', O Rdw.in-Ircc. "
Whose eyes did not fill as they listened to words so touching, because
so natural, for it is such songs that take us back to the home scenes of
oui ( hildhood, and awaken memories of the long, long, by-gone years,
when young hearts were as gaj, and hopes as bright, as the berries that
they strung for necklaces, and felt as proud of their ornaments as a
court lady of her diamonds and her rubies.
In Ireland the Mountain Ash is called the Hour tree.
Wiiiri': Ash. — FniAt'iiiis Aiiieriariia, (L.)
'I'he largest and most valuable of our native trees of the Ash family,
common to our forests, is the White Ash, which usually is a tall stately
tree of regular and upright growth, well known !)y its light grey bark,
deeply divided into lozenge-like sections, and i)innated foliage, smooth
and shining leaflets from five to fifteen; flowers in clustered racemes with
keyed, winged, fruit. The wood is very white and light when dry, splitting
readily. It is much used for the handles of agricultural tools, such as
hay-rakes, hoes, forks, iS:c. The wood is much valued for its toughness
and elasticity and is in great recjuest by the waggon and carriage makers,
for the spokes of wheels and shafts. The ^Vhite Ash is a capital burning
wood, easily ignited, and giving out a bright flame and good heat. In its
native woods it attains to one hundred feet ; it is often found from twenty-
six to thirty-six inches in diameter : the si/e varying very little from the
root to the first branches. While the White Ash is chiefly confined to
the forest, being rarely seen in any open situation, the Black Ash —
Fraxiiiiis scvnbiicifoUa^ (Lam.) — is found on river banks and seems rather
to affect a damp soil, wet woods and swamps ; it is of smoother, darker
bark and foliage than the White Ash. The younger saplings are used for
hoops, and the inner bark for basket work. The knots and roots of the
Black Ash are beautifully veined and grained, and are used for inlaying
and other ornamental work.s. Besides the White and Black Ash, the
ill
1^^
I
I
i
•'V-
1
1
i,
L
I
192
FOKEST TA'/iES.
Red Ash — Fraxinus pubesirns, (Lam.) — is a common species, easily
distinguishi.d by its downy, buds, young leaves and petioles. It is a
smaller tree, and is found in similar localities with the White Ash.
Bi.ACK W w.'uvv. —Jugla/is nii^ra, (I,.)
The Walnut family has several noted representatives in Western
Canada, all useful and ornamental, but none so truly valuable as the
Black Walnut. This noble tree is confined to the Western peninsula,
t)eing rarely found in its native state East of Toronto.
The beautifully grained and coloured wood of this tree has
obtained for it a world-wide celebrity since the Industrial Exhibition in
185 1, where it attracted great attention among the connoisseurs in fine
woods, from the rich colours, the feathery waved figures and violet-
tinted shading, and the fine polish of the surface. It is peculiarly
adapted for the manufacture of massive dining-room furniture, for
side-boards, dining tables, book cases and such articles.
Our Canadian upholsterers lo!;e sight of the fact that the rich
heavy Black Walnut wood is not so well adapted to drawing-room
furniture, as the lighter Curled, and Birds-eye Maple, which is more
suitable where lightness and elegance are required.
In its general character the American Black Walnut closely
resembles the European species ; its wide-spreading branches, abundant
foliage, and stately trunk render this tree one of the greatest ornaments
of Western Canada. The pinnate leaves consist of from fifteen to
twenty-one leaflets, which are ovate, pointed, serrated, of a fine, bitter,
aromatic scent when slightly bruised. The sterile flowers form long
drooping catkins of a rich olive green. The fertile flowers, solitary
or in clusters at the ends of the branches, appear in June. The bark of
the young trees is much used in dyeing, as also is the root-bark ; the
nuts are rugged ; the kernels sweet, but not equal in flavour and richness
to the European varieties of the Walnut family.
The heart-wood has a beautiful violet tinge which deepens and turns
to various shades of brown, almost to black, after long exposure to the
air. It takes a high polish, and forms our most valuable wood for
cabinet work. The Black Walnut grows abundantly on the rich soils of
the Western and South-western parts of the Dominion between the great
lakes. Its average height is 120 feet, 70 feet to the first limbs, and
from 3 to 4 feet in diameter; sections of the wood of six feet in
diameter are not uncommon ; it is a fine burning wood, but to use it
-thus seems a great waste of valuable material.
f-i
li
*i ',
Plate Yll
I: h
III
iij
I. BiRP's-rooT Orchis {Calypso horcalis).
II. Ram's-hrad Orchis {Cypripedium arietinum),
III. Grass Pink {Calopogon piilchclhis).
IV. RoUND-LKAVEi) Orchis {Pliitantherii rotuiuUfoIia).
\' . Arethusa [^Ardhusa hulbosa).
t-* r A ri* *' » r*.
'.',.■ '"S
V,: 4
^ 'I
iif
■'-'%
H>i
.V
FLAI
,^^--^
#
:i 4
J'ORKSr 'JREES.
193
The name of the Genus is derived from the (ireek words foiis
^luiis, or the Nut of Jupiter. The next in importance of this vahiahle
tribe is the
Hui TERNi r. — /itg/aiis ducna, (L.)
Like the Black Walnut, this is a handsome, spreading tree, tliougli
not generally so tali. It takes a wider range to the Eastward and
Northward, growing freely in open lands, in colder and more exposed
situations, fruiting aijundantly. All these trees are great feeders, and
indicate good soil : but this species may also be found occasionally, on
jtoor, rocky soil sending its large roots to a distance wherever it can
find nourishment for the support of the large trunk and wide-spreading
branches, which require a great deal of si)ace, light and air for their
development. In height the Butternut seldom exceeds 80 to 100 feet,
and from 24 to 30 inches in diameter. The wood is valuable, but not
so highly prized as the Black Walnut ; it is used in panelling, for
furniture, and carved work. 'I'he Indians make butter troughs, kneading
troughs, spoons, ladles, and such small household articles from the
wood. The bark is grey and rugged, and deeply furrowed when old.
The foliage, like that of the Walnut, is aromatic, and pointed ; but of a
lighter green in colour ; the young bark is clammy, as also the buds,
while a clear, gummy licpior exudes from the fleshy green husk that
contains the nut. The shell of the Butternut is divided into long ridges ;
the kernel is dry, sweet and edible, but not so nice as the fruit of the
Hickory. An excellent warm, brown d\e for wool and woollen goods
is extracted from the bark ; the process is simple, merely steeping the
bark in water till the colouring matter is extracted is sufificient ; the
material to be dyed is then immersed and left to absorb the dye : the
goods should be moved occasionally. This is one of the staple house-
hold dyes of the country jieople, who use it for yarns, sto<kings and
home-spun cloth. The Butternut also possesses some valu;ible
medicinal qualities.
As a shade tree on lawns or ii meadows, it forms a handsome object.
The young nuts are also used for Pickles, in the same way as those (jf
the Walnut. The wood of the Butter-nut is hard but brittle it makes
good fire-wood, but is now considered too valuable for other purposes
to be put to such a use. Another species is frequently found in damp
woods known as
'■'■' '"^ m
Thk Biiier-nui' Hkkorv. — Cana amani, (Nutt. )
Known by the bitterness of the nut and darker wood,
'i'he leaflets are from seven to eleven, dark-green, smooth, serrate
at the edges : the husk of the roundish, thin-shelled fruit, is somewhat
N
'■fu
! I
?! r I
■
194
/■ORES 7^ TREES.
depressed ; the kernel intensely bitter. It is a handsome tree ; but the
timber is inferior to that of the other Hickories. The Oark of this species
is also used m dyeing. The Hitter-nut affects a wetter soil than the more
popular
W'niri-. Hk kORv. .SnKi,i,-i!.\RK Hickory. — Carya alha, (Nutt.)
The fruit of this well-known species is much sought for when ripe,
in the month of October. It is round, hard, and of a light colour ; the
kernel, sweet and pleasant, though wanting the higher flavour of the
Walnut. This tree, like the Plane, sheds its bark, which peels off in
large, flat plates, giving an unsightly and ragged look to the trunk and
larger limbs. The foliage is smooth and glossy, of a full, rich green and
fragrant when crushed, giving out a fine aromatic scent.
The wood of the Hickory is hard, and is considered to be the
heaviest of all our Canadian timbers, not even excepting that of the
Oak ; a cubic foot, according to Hurlburt, weighing in pounds 58 ; that
of the White Oak when fully seasoned 50 : the Black Walnut only 30 ;
the .Sugar Majjle 38 : that of the Ash 40 ; the White Elm 36 ; the
White Birch 32 : Black Birch 46 ; Black Cherry 34 ; while the Bass-
wood is one of tlie lowest, being only 26 when dry ; the I'oplars and
A\'illows range yet lower in the scale ; while the Ironwood again reaches
to 47, and the Tall Dogwood (Cor/ius flon'da) to 50. * These particulars
may not be uninteresting to some of the mechanics and the dealers in
the native woods of Canada. The wood of the White Hickory is highly
esteemed as fuel, and the fruit is an article of ready sale in the stores
and fruit markets.
Tiie wood is much esteemed for its elasticity and toughness, being
used in many manufactures where these qualities are recjuired.
The l)ark yields a yellow dye.
This species is found abundantly in the woods al)out Belleville and
Kingston, appearing to thrive most freely m the calcareous soil of the
limestone districts. It is rare in i!ie woods to the northward and about
the small lakes of the OtonSbee.
BirnoN\\ooD. — Amkrican Pi.ank or Svcamork. — Plataims
occidental is, (L.)
Button- wood is tiie common name given to the I'lane-trec, by
which latter name it is better known in Europe : but by Americans it is
I am iiidclitnl ti> .1. B. Hurlburt, Mi.D., for tlic nccouut uf tlie \vi'l({ht of thf ilifforfut wcuuls
as v\\f\\ iiliino, ami also for iiiany ustl'iil aud rclialilo uotii'i's froui Ids |iaiiiiili!et ou tlif " Pruduits
o! till' Fari'st and Waters of rpiicr Canada."
' '''•' '''1-\
fO/iEST TNEES.
'95
l)eing
'll'llt Will Ills
' I'lUllllltS
generally called Sycamore, the large lobed leaves resembling the
Sycamore or broad-leaved Maple. 'I'he common term, Button-wood, is
derived from the globular heads containing the seeds. These button-
like seed vessels remain attached by long thready stalks to the branchlets
during the winter.
This noble tree is widely diffused through the western portion of
Canada, especially toward Lake Erie and the central townships of the
western peninsula. In the rich and fertile lands between the big lakes,
it reaches to a great height and bulk, its average height being 1 20 feet,
and 60 feet to the spread of the limbs ; not uncommonly 60 inches in
diameter. 'I'he wood is hard to split, laborious to chop, and diffi-
cult to burn until it has been seasoned for a ye?r or more. The huge
trees are cut down and left till the leaves and brushwood are dry enough
to help consume the logs. Settlers that left the eastern and northern
woods to locate themselves on the more fertile lands in the west, com-
plained greatly of the difficulty attending the clearance of the forest,
where these trees abounded, till they learned the necessity of letting
the newly cut trees lie till they were fit for cutting up and burning.
The delay in clearing the land was tedious, but it answered in the
end. As a general rule we see the largest growth of trees in the richest
soil, even the Pine is no exception, as the finest Pines are to be found
on the hardwood lands mixed with the deciduous trees ; of nobler growth
than those that grow on the Pine ridges and sandy lands.
The bark of the Button-wood exfoliates and falls off in large plates,
which distinguishes it from all other forest trees, excepting the shaggy-
barked Hickory which also sheds the bark. The Oriental Plane follows
the same rule as the Occidental, both trees are often seen in plantations
in the Old Country introduced on account of the luxuriant foliage and
singularity of habit.
The flowers of the Button-wood are greenish, in dense heads, on
long drooping stalks. Dr. Lindley, writing of the Plane, says: "The
members of the Plane tribe are natives of Barbary, the Levant and
North America. The white wood is valuable. The bark of the Platanus,
or Plane, is remarkable for falling off in hard irregular patches, a circum-
stance that arises from the rigidity of the tissues on account of which it
is incapable of stretching as the wood beneath increases in diameter.''
The Red Pine, Piniis resiiiosa, also parts with the bark in thin round
l)atches, when growing on poor sandy flats. I do not know if this is a
general habit of the species. Possibly Lindley 's explanation of the
shedding of the bark in the Plane and Hickory, may refer to similar
cases in other trees.
196 FOREST TREES.
B.\SHWO(iD. — \\\\ iTE-wooi). — TUia Americana ( I „ ,
. '■ Anil luimmiiif; liei/s make drowsy music,
In the llowery limes."
'■ Tiu' proves were (ioil's first temples ere man learned
T(i hew the siiaft and lay the architrave,
And sjjread the niof above thein,"
Our Basswood is closely allied to the Lime or Linden of Europe.
It is one of the tallest of our forest trees, and its presence indicates a
rich and generous soil, well fitted for the growth and production of
wheat, barley, and other cereals. When growing in o|)en ground it
becomes a large umbrageous shade tree, forming a magnificent rounded
spreading canopy ; unlike most forest trees, it sends up many strong
shoots, which, clustering round the parent tree, form grt)ups of vigorous
trunks that in course of years bid fair to rival the main central one.
When in full bloom, the scent of the blossoms fills the air with
fragrance, and I might say with music, for they form a great attraction
to the bees, which crowd the pendent cream-coloured llowers from which
they gather an abundant store of honey, murmuring in low bass notes
their satisfaction while they labour. The blossoms of the 13asswood
are of a rich cream-colour, and hang in pendent cymes from the axils of
the large heart-shaped serrated leaves ; the fruit is a round, rough
woody-nut, 1 -celled and 2 -seeded ; attached to the peduncle is a large
foliaceous bract, which acts as a sail in distributing the seed when ripe,
and by aid of which it is borne by the winds and lodged upon some
suitable spot, as if a directing power aci omjjanied the winged wanderer
on its way, and laid it down where it would find a space to grow and
nourisiiment for the support of the young plant. The l>asswood is a
(juick growing tree, but not very long-lived. The wood is light, white
and porous, and though not held in esteem as one of our first rate
timber trees, it is yet much used in cabinet and all lighter works ; the
wood is soft, close grained and not liajjle to warp or split. Hurlburt,
whom I follow in this description of the Basswood, says : " It is used
by musical instrument makers for pianos, also by ( tirriers, shoemakers,
and other mechanics : it turns ( leanly, and is much used in the
manufacture of bowls, pails, shovels, iv:c. The weight of a cubic foot
is 26 lbs."
The older settlers used the Basswood much in fencing, but the
rails are light and subject to decay, be( oming brittle and usele.ss after a
few years standing e.xposed to the action of the elements. Pine, Cedar
and Oak are more weighty and long enduring, and of course preferable
for such ])urposes.
'.v"^ ',:.:.
,
'^v•ri^
FOA'EST TKEES.
•97
Europe,
dicates a
Liction of
;round it
rounded
ly strong
f vigorous
one.
e air with
attraction
:om which
jass notes
Basswood
he axils of
nd, rough
is a large
hen ripe,
ion some
wanderer
grow and
wood is a
ight, white
first rate
orks ; the
Hurlburt,
X is used
oemakers,
ed in the
ubic foot
ig, but the
ess after a
ine, Cedar
preferable
The green unseasoned Basswood hums badly, and when (juite dry
too rapidly to be profitable for fuel ; but if it has its bad cjualities, it has
far more valuable ones to balance them. The inner bark of the tree
abounds in bast cells and the fibrous bark is used for mats, the Indians
braid it into flexible ropes for various purposes ; they use the inner bark
largely in their simple basket work, and have great faith in the healing
([ualities of the leaves and bark — in scrofulous swellings and other
ulcers. The cattle eat the shoots and tender brandies, in the early
Spring time, when green fodder is not accessible : and later the large
tender green leaves in the forest and sprouts thrown ui) at the root of
the stump, form a favourite repast. In remote, newly cleared forest
lands, before grass and straw can be raised for the support of the oxen
and cows, the beasts live chiefly on freshly cut branches of the Maple
and Basswood, or " browse " as the settlers term such food for the cattle.
The average height of a full grown .\merican Basswood is from loo
to 1 20 feet, with an average height from the root to the first limbs of
60 to 70 feet, and a diameter of 25 to 40 inches or more.
The Basswood is found all over the Province of Ontario ; west-
ward, and eastward through (Quebec. Its range extends to tlie Lake of
the Woods, and it is found more dwarfed in stature, as far northward as
I-ake Winnipeg, and Norway House. It also occurs in the Valley of
the Assinaboine, as ascertained by the botanical researches of Professor
Macoun, and from information I have received from friends resident in.
Manitoba and the North-west.
White-'Wood. — Tump Trkk. — Liriodendrou Tiilipifcra, (I..)
The Tulip-tree ojiened in airs of June, her imillilmle
Of polden ch ilices, to harmonj' of birds,
And silken winged insects, of the sky. — B>yant.
The Tulip-tree is only found west of Toronto — not beirg found
anywhere eastward in the Province. It is a noble tree, attaining to
upwards of 100 feet, often 70 feet to the first branches, and 36 inches
in diameter or even larger. The wood is easily wrought and used for
many purposes in cabinet and house carpentry. In the vicinity of the
Great Lakes this beautiful tree is chiefly to be found. There is a fine
specimen of the Tulip-tree growing at Waltham Abbey, in England,
supposed to be of great age. It forms one of the rarities of that place.
The Tulip-tree is so little known by the generality of readers, that
I shall give the botanical description, as it may prove both interesting,
and instructive.
Sepals, 3 reflexed ; Petals, 6 in two rows forming a bell-shaped
corolla ; anthers, linear, opening outwards : pistils, flat and scale-form,
'f
J
i
I
i^i
198
J'OA'Ji.S T TA'EES.
'.v^ ,•..,-.
long and narrow, inihricated and cohering together in an elongated cone,
sei)arating, when dry, from each other and from the long, slender axis
in fruit, and falling away whole like a samara or key ; one to two-seeded
in the small cavity at the base ; buds, flat, sheathed by the successive pairs
of broad, flat stipules, joined at their edges. The folded leaves bent
down on the jjctiole, so that their apex jjoints to the bud. The cla.ssical
name is derived from the (Jrt ek words signifying lily and tree.
A most bea.. f 1 ' ,. sometimes 140 feet high, and 8 or 9 in
diameter, in the ^' . i ■■< -r'tes, (where it is wrongly called Poplar.)
Leaves very smooth, ■ : itcral lobes near the base, and two at the
poiiit, which appears ci.,. off b;- . shallow notch ; the corolla is two
inches broad, greenish-yellow, markcJ with orange, (dray's Manual of
the Botany of the Northern States. )
Hurlburt says, of the 'i'uHp Tree, " it is abundant in the south
western counties of Upper Canada ; weight, 30 lbs. to the cubic foot
much used in building and cabinet work.
In Professor Macoun's Catalogue, ( 1883) the following valuable
information is given : " In rich soil throughout the Western Peninsula
of Ontario. A noble tree in the thick forest west of St. Thomas, and
a beautiful object when covered with its large Tulip-shaped flowers in
the middle of June ; cultivated in Prince Edward County, where it
flowers freely."
SuG.\R Maple— H.\RD M.mm.e — Rock Mai-i.k Acer saccliarinum, (I,.)
" Dark Mnplc where tlie uood-lhnish sings." -Ihyant.
While we regard the Pine as one of the greatest sources of wealth
to Canada, we must not lose sight of the Sugar Maple, the next in
commercial value as respects its uses as timber, as fire-wood, its house-
hold worth in the production of sugar, and as an ornament to the
country by its noble form and rich masses of verdure.
The Majjle bec:mes a beautiful object under cultivation. Xo
longer drawn up to an unnatural height as in the dense shade of the
forest, wliere its outline can scarcely be distinguished from the
surrounding trees, it developes into a grand and sightly object, forming
a finely rounded head, the long rather slender branches curving upwards
and outwards, clothed with rich masses of dark green foliage ; leaves
broad, smooth on the surface, divided into three principal pointed lobes
and two inferior ones at the base. A great boon to the cattle, that seek
the deejj cool shade from tlie noon-day heat of a Canadian Summer
sun, is a group of these noble trees : but it is a i)lessing which the too
greedy farmer often denies to his beasts, grudging the space, that is
occupied by the trees, from the money producing cereals.
ted cone,
:nder axis
vo-seeded
isive pairs
fives bent
B classical
8 or 9 in
, Poplar.)
two at the
11a is two
Manual of
the south
[:ubic foot
5 valuable
Peninsula
lomas, and
1 flowers in
y, where it
■ill Kill, (I..)
of wealth
le next in
its house-
nt to the
ition. No
ade of the
from the
ct, forming
ig upwards
igt;:
leaves
inted lobes
, that seek
in Summer
ich the too
:ice, that is
FOA'ESJ' 7A'/.ES.
199
In its native woods the Sugar Maple attains to a lofty height, often
in rich soil measuring from 100 to 120 feet, with a circumference of 12
feet. Like the Elm, the head is lost in the general strife for room, and
is small in proportion to its great height, wanting the fulness and
roundness of outline, which it readily ac(iuires when favoured with space
and free access u? air and sunlight in the open clearing.
The bark of the Maple is light-grey, smooth, till it attains to the
age of from fifteen to lwent\' years, when it begins to form rifts at the
lower portion of the trunk. ICvery year as the wood increases the bark
becomes more rugged, and in the old forest tree it is thick, bluish-grey,
and deeply furrf)wed. U'here the soil is wettish, unseemly knots and
huge excrescences may be seen on the trunk of some of the old t- „.s.
The disease may be caused by injury during its early stages of grovih,
an interruption of the sap or a puncture in the tissues of the inne: Sark
by insects, but whatever be the cause, while the symmetry of th'" trunk
is deformed, the thrifty backwoodsman, always good at exjjedients, ti. ns
the ugly excrescences to good account and converts these woody lumps
into useful beetles for splitting rails, driving posts, and we 'S, and
similar purposes. A good Hard Maj^le knot is no desjucable instru-
ment in the powerful hand of a Canadian settler in the bush.
The beautiful markings in the grain of the wood of the Mai)le,
forming what is called Rirds-eye and Curled Maple, cause it to be highly
valued for ornamental cabinet work.
The wood of the Majile is hard, finely grained, and takes a good
polish ; it is largely used by the carpenter, the cabinet maker and
machinist. The timlier is used by the wheel-wright and waggon-maker,
when well seasoned, being prized for its duraliility and great hardness
for axles. For firewood the wood of the Maple is second only to that
of the Hickory, but being more abundantly distributed throughout the
Dominion, it is more generally used and is considered the very best of
fuel ; it burns readily giving out a great degree of heat. The ashes
yield the best lye for the home manufacture of soap, and for the pro-
duction of pot and pearl ashes as an article of commerce. The Majile
requires a generous soil, and indicates to the settler good paying Wheat
growing land : where the soil is cold, wet and mossy, the trees when
they do appear are stunted, thin and scraggy, the sap is weak and
watery, yielding a poor return to the sugar maker.
■ Like the Pine, the Maple has many enemies among the insect
borers ; to obtain the larvae, the tree thus infested becomes the resort of
the Woodpeckers ; several species of these hardy birds winter with us,
making their abodes in the thick forests.
X:-
• ■\
I
?'
m
\ l:
-,v^ ,■,<■.«
200
FO/^ESJ 7A'/:/-:s.
It ha; Seen supixwed by some persons that it is to obtain the
sugary juices from the trees that the U'oodpecicer bores the bark, but this
is a fact not fully established, and may be considered as doubtful, as the
bird also carries on its labours at a season when the sap is in a dormant
state, and conseiiuently would not repay the trouble of boring. \\\:
must give our sagacious birds credit for better insight into their business.
I have sometimes noticed one of the small Downy or .Midland
\\ (todpeckers tapping and rai)ping away at an old dry po.st, certainly
where no sap could flow out to repay it for its work. The bird would
stop and seem to listen for a while, and then renew his work. I think
he heard the prey within.*
I once noticed a small black and white, red-crowned Woodpecker
diligently hammering away at a dry stick of wood lying in the yard, but
his exertions were useless. Some time afterwards the wood was split,
and a large grub was found in the middle of the stick.
Bees often fre([uent the sap troughs and regale themselves with the
sweet fluid. I had noticed bees coming and going on sunny days in the
sugar bush, and on mentioning the circumstance to an old V'ankee
.settler's wife, she told me that the wild bees freijuented the troughs for
the sweet sap : " I guess them creeturs like good things as well as us
human.s," she sagely remarked : " I kinder like to see them helping
theirselves, and I say to myself, yer welcome to what you take." She
was an odd looking old woman, but I was pleased with her benevolent
hospitality to t!ie "wild creeturs" as she called the bees.
The northern side of the Maple is generally clothed with a thick
coating of moss and liver-wort for many feet ui)ward ; probably a pro-
vision of the wise Creator for defending the inner tissues of the tree
from injury during the season of intense cold, from without, or to prevent
the escape of heat, from within. On the southern side the sap flows
more readily and earlier than on the northern ; but as the sun gains
more power and the days become warmer, the settler taps the tree on
the northern side and obtains a good flow of sap not inferior to that
which was obtained from the first incisions on the sunny side of the tree.
I'oward the latter end of the sugar-making season, which generally
terminates in the beginning of April, there is a tendency to acidity in
the sap, and the syrup will not " grain " well. The latter boilings are
made use of for vinegar, or syrup for immediate use. A good home-
made wine can be made with very little trouble from Maple sap, and
also a cheap and palatable beer with the addition of a small quantity
of hops and yeast to " set the liquor to work."
* Tilt' only Wiinilin'ckcr, iigaiiist which tin' acciisitii'ii nf liciiij,' ii siiii-sucktr ciiii, with niiy
ir.isciii 1m> liniuglit, is the yi'lluw-bi'llicd Wiiiidin'ckcr, and it woulil aiipuar that tliis really due's'
.-I'liit'tiiiii's '• tiiji" t ices f(ir the snyaiy jiiici's.
fOh'/iST 7A7;A'.9.
301
It is not necessary in this description of tlic .Nraple to enter into
the process of sugar making, as many writers liave descrihed it.*
It might naturally he supposed that by draining off so large a
portion of the juices of the tree, that the vital forces necessary for the
production of fruit and foliage would he greatly impaired, liut the
deficiency is by no means per( cptible : it would seem as though the tree
were endowed with additional strength to meet the emergency, and
repair the waste of the life supporting sap. It does not appear that
the leaf falls earlier from the tapped Maple trees, than from others that
have not been subjected to the same exhausting process, and no
perceptible failure of vigour can be observed ; still in the course of years
the energies of the tree may suffer, and its life be shortened, though
many an ancient Maple stands in the sugar-bush hoary witii age, still
putting forth its coronal of leaves and its slender doojiing pale flowers
and winged fruit, tliough bearing on its rifted bark, the unseemly scars
of yearly woundings from the settlers axe or auger.
The Maple has a wide geographical range on the continent of
North America. It is found Southward in Virginia, Westward in
Wisconsin, and Eastward in the New I^ngland States ; while Northward
of the Clreat Lakes, even as far as Lake Superior, it forms one o( the
grand features of our far-stretching fore.st-Iands. While we consider its
many valuable qualities, we can scarcely wonder that the Ma[)le has been
chosen as the emblem for the Dominion of Canada.
'I'he Maple tree and the Maple leaf, are seen in all our national
ornamental designs — and summing up all this tree's varied claims it
seems worthv of the honour iiestowed upon it.
In every country some favourite tree, shrub or flower has been
selected as a national emblem or as the heraldic crest. We may mention
a few from among many others. Thus we have the Rose, Thistle and
Shamrock, illustrative of the Union of England, Scotland and Ireland ;
long may the national garland remain entwined in our Royal escutcheon.
The Oak is ever spoken of as the English tree,/(rr excdleiict'. The
riniis sylvcstris called Scotch Fir, of Scotland, the Pine of Norway, the
Olive of Spain, the Lime or Linden of dermany, the Laurel and the
Bay of Italy, the Palm of the East, the Lily of France, iS:c. ^\'hile many
a Coat of Arms among the aristocracy of England, bears for its crest or
quartering, such simple emblems as a sprig of Heather, or Holly, or Vew,
of Olive, or Laurel, or Bay. Borne on the helmet, or in the cap, they
were the symbols by which the wearer, and possibly all his clan or
NdTK-Aii exicUciit iniutii'i'il iiccdiint of the ]iriKi'S8, from bej^inniiig to ("iid, iday li • fiiiiiKl in
Mni"i' Stiicklnml's Ixuik " Twontv-scvi'ii years in (jiinaila," alsn in tlie " Female ', migrants lir.i.!' '
liv Mrs. C. P. Traill.
1 -•* »
Ji
m
303
f-OKKST rKF.ES,
vassals, were recof^nized, and very intcrestinj; it would he could we
know the particular liistory attai hed to these old hcraldii bcarinj,;s, now
lost in the darkness of the far away past.
We mij^ht picture to ourselves the parting of some brave warrior,
bound tor the wars of Palestine, with the dear object of his aficctions
reverently jjlacing in his cap, or helmet, a leaf i)lucked by her own hand
from the trysting Oak, or the sprig of I.aurel, which was to ensure
victory to the wearer. The Cross-leaved Heath, gathered from the
Moorland, was a sacred Christian emblem, as also was the Shamrock,
emblematical of the Holy Trinity. I'he Olive leaf betokened peace to
the wearer, and restoration, i'he Molly tree hardihood and endurance.
While the armed Thistle spoke of resistence and defiance
In almost every country some jiarticular species of tree .seems to
hold a sort of pre-eminence and to flourish beyond its fellows. We read
that in Denmark three successive races of forest-trees have held the
soil, -the Pine, the Oak and the Heech, in succession. The natural
conclusion is that the I'ines have exhausted some element in the soil
that was necessary for them ; they retire, as it were, from the land, and
the Oaks take their place and flourish for a long succession of centuries.
The ground again ceases to yield something necessary to supjiort
the Oak, or maybe some change in the climate proves unsuited to its
growth ; by degrees the Oak groves give place to the Beech, and in
some distant future, the Beech in turn will jjrepare the way for the
Maple, or some other deciduous tree. I have, however, already alluded
to this. Let us return to our subject, the generous Maple. We have
dwelt upon its value to the mechanic, the timber merchant, and the
house-wife, for the luxuries it yields in the form of Sugar, Molasses and
Vinegar. !ki\; also of of beauty of its form and colouring to gladden the
eye of taste. Have we exhausted every subject ? No. Yet there is its
value as firewood ; and is this all that we can say? Not quite. Cast
your eyes upon the ground strewed in October with that thick carpeting
of fallen leaves, so lovely to look upon, that the eye wanders over the
beauty of their gorgeous tints, with a feeling of sadness and regret, that
in a few short hours they will vanish from our sight. And is this all ?
No, those heaps of dying leaves, have a lesson that speaks silently to
the thoughtful mind of the decay of all that is bright and beautiful on
earth, and its fleeting possessions ; and yet we may also see how the
fall of the leaf and the destruction of the worn-out fallen trunks and
branches are gradually preparing a rich and fertile soil for man's use and
future maintenance. Therefore, in life and in death, we have cause to
value the Canadian Sugar Maple, and with grateful hearts to thank tlie
Giver.
j-v/^j:s t 7A'/i/-:s.
ao3
There is another variety of this Maple know'nas the .Lrr m\'fu»i ()(
botanists, or Mlack Maple, this tree also yields a sweet sap, and is used
occasionally, but the Sugar Maple proper, takes precedent c of all the
species for the purjjose of sugar making.
Ri;ii M.M'i.i; Swamp Mai'i k — j-lfir nihrnm, (I,.)
" When April «iiiils j;ri.'W soft,
Till- MnplL'S Imrst into a tliish of scarlet lluwir. " /irvniii.
The poet's descri|)tion belongs only to the Red-flowered or Swamp
Maple, '{'he blossoms of the Sugar Ma])le are of a delicate tinge of
yellowish green, in long pendent racemes, very gra( efiil indeed, but
less brilliant in colour than the early lUjwering Swami) .Maple. I'.arly in
Spring, while yet leafless, the branches are adorned witli an abundance
■of bright red flowers on short foot stalks, clustered together. We see
these red-flowered trees by the sidewalks of many of our Canadian
towns, where their bright colours give a cheerful appearance to the streets,
before any green leaves have been put forth on the deciduous trees.
The flowers of the Red Maple are followed by the ornamental winged
fruit which is tinged with |)ink, deepening to iiright crimson as the
season advances. In all stages there is beauty to be perceived. The
large masses of foliage afford a refreshing shade during the hot days of
summer after the bright blossoms have fallen.
The native and favourite haunt of the Red Maple is on th^ borders
of streams and lakes, often I have seen the surface of the waters blush-
ing red, when the ruffling breezes have scattered the red flowers in a
rosy shower upon the lake, and later in the summer, when the pendent
fruit hangs gracefully below the bright green leaves, it is beautiful to
watch the reflection colouring the still waters. What painter's colours
can match the rich crimsons and scarlets of the foliage : any close itiiita-
tion of the gorgeous colouring of those dying leaves, would be regarded
as a gross exaggeration of nature. Vet there we behold them, year after
year, silently falling and strewing the earth with a carpet so richly tinted
that it seems almost a sin to tread such beauty beneath our feet, and
mar its lovel. less.
Not less biillianl are the autumnal tints of the Sugar Maple ; some
few leaves will turn to a vivid scarlet at the end of a branch, while all
the rest are fresh and green, the effect is as if the tree were putting forth
a rare show of bright-hued flowers ; but it is only the fore-runner of
rapid decay.
The Red-Maple sap is deficient in sugary principle, being more
watery ; and is, therefore, made no use of by the backwoods settlers, as
the result would not jxiy for the labour required to obtain the sugar.
I!li
li
^ll
m
I
HI
;ii
204
F0RES7 trees:
IJotaiiiral description of Red or Swamp Ma|)lc ; " 1 -eaves palmate
3-5 lobcd, mostly cordate at the base, incisely toothed, whitish and
nearly smooth beneath ; sinuses acute ; (lowers red crimson, ra'vly
yellowish on sliort pedicels — about five together, pedicels in fruit
elongated and pendulous ; fruit red, wings one inch long ; a handsome
tree common on low grounds and swamps, making a splendid appear-
ance in April, before the leaves api)ear ; often planted as an ornamental
shade tree on account of its red flowers. — Class Bt<i>k of Botany.
Son .\[.\i'r.K — SiLVKR Maim.e — Acer dasycafpnin, (Khrh.)
" Xi> tree in all the grovf liit has it> cliaini,
Thouijli ''ach its Inic peculiar.'
This species has its habitat most commonly by the banks of lakes
and streams, where it forms deep belts along the low hing swampy
shores, and sends up its slender upright branches, to a height of
seventy or eighty feet ; the ends of the twigs are red, the leaves are
darker in colour than the Sugar Maple or the Red Maple : lobes five,
sharply cut and pointed at the ends, and very white underneath, turning
in early Autumn to deep crimson, beautifully blotched, and varied
with shades of yellow, rose, and green. ^Vhen agitated by the wind
the leaves "tuin up their silver linings to the sun," as the poet
beautifully expresses it ; the fruit is tinged with rosy-red with large
diverging wings. There is a strong black dye extracted from the inner
bark which makes good ink, with a small proportion of copperas and a
little sugar to give it consistency. The sap is never utilized in making
sugar. The wood is white and soft, and of raj^id growth, and less
valuable than that of the other Maples. But from the rapidity with
which it grows and its graceful appearance it is the best species to plant
in our towns and cities as a shade tree.
There are several varieties of Shrubby Maples which never attain
to the dignity of trees. The Mountain Maple, Acer spicatuiii, (Lam.),
is common in open thickets, the young leaves are i eddish, and the fruit
light green, the surface of the leaf rough and veined, three lobed, downy
underneath ; the flowers are home in upright terminal racemes, and
appear in June, after the leaves have turned green.
Another of our Shrubby Maples with racemes of showy yellowish
flowers, large three-lobed foliage and green-winged fruit, is chiefl)
found in woods with the preceding, this is ^'.(v/'(7w.vi77v?;//(7cw, (I„)
or Striped Maple.
It is not so commonly found in our woods as the other species I
have mentioned. The bark is smooth, and striped with light and dark
laking
less
with
plant
FOREST TREES.
-^05
lines, which give the tree a very peculiar appearance, and from whi<h
the incorrect name of Striped Dog-wood has been taken. This tree has
a very attractive appearance in Autumn, when the leaves turn to a
delicate creamy yellow.
Ash-Lkavki) Mapi.e. -A^i\^iiiido accroidcs, (.M(ench. )
This tree, which is now grown in many parts of C'anada as a shade
tree, seems in the North-Western Province of the Dominion to take the
place of the Sugar Maple, and the sap is utilized in a similar way for the
making of Sugar, as my son, Mr. \\'. E. Traill, in his letters from I'ort
l^llice and I'ort (^u'.Vppelle, writes of Maple Sugar made from the native
trees — though he adds : "The tree is unlike in foliage and grandeur of
size to our Canadian Sugar Maple. The leaves are more like those of
the .\sh, and from that cause it is known as the '.\sh-leaved .Majjle." It
is handsome tree, and is much \alued ; it grows on the Saskatchewan
River, and Southward, and should the country become civilized at some
future date, it will be valuable for ornamental as well as useful purposes,
as it is easy of cultivation."
These remarks were made many years ago, when the prospect of
the (Jreat Noith-Western country becoming a lleld for agricultural
speculation was very remote in the minds of the Hudson's Bay Comiiany
gentlemen fur traders.
'I'here is a fine grove of these trees on the banks of the river
Humber, near Toronto.
Si'ici'. Wool) — St/ssii/nrs officinale, (Xees.)
■' I \uk Maples wlicrt liic Wood-lliriisli >ings,
.\nj liDwcis of fiagr;\nl Sassafras."
The Sassafras so well known tor its purifying, agreeably medicinal
tjualities and its sweet scented aromatic bark and wood, is a native tree of
the Western jjarts of North .America, and the warmer [)oriion of Canada
that lies between the shores of Lakes ]*>ie and Huron. I do not think
it grows indigenously Ivistward or North of Toronto.
The wood and bark of this tree are highly esteemed by the Indians
and the old settlers^ the former will take long journeys to obtain a
supjjly of the chips and twigs to smoke and chew, the women make tea
of the dried twigs, and the Sassafras is one of the simple luxuries of the
Squaw.s.
.\ friendly Indian woman i^\■\i•^: brought me a small bundle of the
little branches, as an esjiecial token of her regard. The fragrant offering
had been brought all the way from the Credit River in the West, and
i I
i i
;
f
1
1
2o6 FOREST TREES.
i
1
was considered by my old Indian friend as a great gift. She invited me
ll
i. 1
to visit the lodge on one of the islands in the Katchawanook Lake,
jR
w
where they were encamped- -saying — "Come see me drink Sassafras
ii|
U
tea- Paddle you myself." But a report of deer, some miles further up
ill
m
the lake caused a sudden movement among the Indians, and the
1
H
camp was broken ujj for the time, and when I did visit the island the
R
hospitable Stjuaw looked much concerned and said " Husband smoke
U
Sassafras got-a-none." In other words it was all gone- -so my treat
1
ended in smoke.
A diet drink called " Sassafras beer," is considered very cooling
and purifying to the blood in warm weather, but is composed of several
native herbs, roots, and sprigs of trees in addition to the aromatic wood
of the Sassafras tree.
The Sassafras is found in the western peninsula of Upper
■ ;
C'anada. The timber is small and only used in some ornamental work,
i
for its sweet, pleasant scent. The full grown tree, under the most
i
favourable circumstances, rarely exceeds sixty feet in height, and fifteen
inches in diameter. It is from the r(J0t bark that the fragrant essential
oil is obtained.
:
The flowers which are in clustered racemes, on short reddish stalks,
are greenish-yellow, appearing at the same time as the leaves from scaly
1
buds ; the fruit is a hard, blue berry, supported on a fleshy, reddish,
club-shaped pedicel. The leaves are often lobed, but generally ovate
and entire ; twigs, yellowish green, spic)-, mucilaginous, healing, whole-
*^ij
some and purifying.
H
The Sassafras belongs to the same natural order as the Laurel, but
n
j
appears not to possess the dangerous narcotic principle of the I-aurel
H
proper.
i
There is a pretty spicy shrub, nearly allied to the Sassafras, known
1
as Wild Allspice, Benzoin and Fever-bush, much used by the Natives
with their tobacco.
H
Si'iXKi.Ki) \\.\iKK -AIniis iiicdiui, (Willd).
P
.
" The Alders dark thai fringe the imol."
'! ! .
The Canadian Alder is chiefly found on low ground, on the shores
of low-lying lakes and the banks of creeks. It forms dense thickets in
such situations, scarcely reaching to the dignity of a tree. The strong,
thick, knotted roots send up many woody stems, and these thick knots
are noi without their value, being varied and ornamental in the grain,
and are used for inlaying. The hard knobby roots are also used by the
'■.v^
farmers for beetles in their field work, splitting wood and fencing. The
t
»-^-
ihores
;(jts in
strong,
knots
grain,
by the
The
FOREST TREES.
.'0 7
leaves are also used in dyeing black. The catkins of the Alder are
formed in Summer ; the leaf buds may he seen as soon as the old
leaves fall. The fertile catkins when fully grown have a pretty cone-like
form.
Karly in the Spring, often in the beginning of April, before any
other tree or plant has shown a sign of awakening from the long
winter's sleep, gradually the pollen-bearing catkins begin to lengthen,
until graceful yellow tassels, of two or three inches in length, hang
from every slender twig. On account of its early appearance this glad
harbinger of Spring is a welcome sight to all. Closely following iu its
wake come the flowers of the Silver Maple, and then the lovely '{"railing
Arbutu;; follows with many others of our sweet Spring flowers. The
leaves of the Alder are broadly ovate, rounded at the base, coarsely
toothed and downy underneath.
I'OIM..\RS.
'I'he Toplars and ^\'illows are among our most common native trees
and shrubs. We have a great variety of species of both, from the lofty
Cottonwood of the Western peninsula on the shores of Lakes Michigan
and Huron, to the dwarf Willows that form the chief portion of the
vegetation of the lar Northern boundaries of Hudson's Bay.
Little valued as timber in the thickly wooded lands of Eastern and
Western Canada, where hardwood trees abounds, such as the Walnut,
Maple, Beech, and others, yet in the more distant divisions of the
I )ominion, where timber trees are less abundant and in the prairie
bottoms where the Poplar and Birch form the only trees, the Poplar
rises in value and is used not only for firewood, but for building
])urposes where better timber is not easily obtained, unless at a very
great cost. In remote places far from the means of transport, and
where, for the present, saw-mills are not in existence, the Poplar
supplies the place of a more durable wood. The Romans called the
Poplar "the Tree of the People,'' and it was used to decorate the public
walks.
Thk CoriONWooii Nk.cki.ack Poim.ar Populm inoiiilijcra, (Ait.)
Is the finest of all the Poplar family. It is a noble-growing forest tree,
confined in Canada, chiefly to the more Westerly portion of the
Dominion. Between the (Ireat Lakes, .seems to be its i)articular locality.
It loves the margin of lakes and rivers, and moist ground, indicating a
rich vegetable soil, well reijaying the cost of clearing the land of the
trees, which are of great height and girth ; though the wood is very light
Ik
20S
rOA'KST T,\/:/:s.
when dried, yet it is difficult to burn on iiccour.t of the abundance of sap
while green. On this account the settlers do not attemjit to fire the
felled trees until a year's seasoning has rendered them easier to hum-
so 1 have lieen told by an intelligent old Scotch settler who moved
Westward some years ago into that part of Canada where the Pine is
scarcely seen, and the gigantic Cottonwood and other hardwood trees
abound. The wood of the Poplar is used for turning, and carving, and
is made into shavings for thin boxes for millinery g(jods, and for druggists'
purposes, and any work that recjuires very light, easily worked wood.
The foliage of the Cottonwood is smooth, heart-shaped, with
prominent nerves, serrate, slightly h.'iiry teeth, the fertile catkins are
long, with fringed scales ; the seeds are clothed with white cottony
down, from which the familiar name given to the tree is taken. This
is the largest and mo.st important of the Poplars. The specific name,
/uci/i/ifrra. or Necklacc-bearing, is applied on account ot the ai)i)earance
of the fertile catkins which are very long, and have the large fruit-pods
scattered irregularly along them, giving somewhat the appearance of a
necklace, ^'ery common ^\'estward and Northward is the
Tai \MAii\c -l^ALS.x.M Poi'LAR — Popiilus balMiiiifira, (I,.)
¥'
i
In favourable situations, in low ground near the shores of lakes and
rivers, on gravelly banks and low bottoms, the Tacamahac is found all
over the I'.a.stern and North-easterly portions of Canada, filling the air
with its balsamic fragrance. It is not one of the largest of our native
trees, but where growing in free space it fori ir Mne bushy leafy head.
The foliage in shape resembles that of in ; i\Mi tree - -large, smooth,
ovate, i)ointed and serrate, whitish and abunuanliy net-veined beneath.
It is not advisable to plant the odorous Balsam Poplar in the
vicinity of gardens on account of its tendency to throw out suckers
from the roots, or increase, by seeds, which thus become untidy and
troublesome to clear away. I'he catkins of the Balsam Poplar are
from two to four inches long, curving, tail-like, and co\ercd abundantly
with the white silky down attached to the seeds.
.\fter showers, the leax'es emit a fine aromatic odour. The great
peculiarity of the Tacamahac is seen in the resinous leaf buds which
are formed early in the fall and are covered with a fragrant yellow gum
which is (1 a most healing nature. It is used as a styptic for fresh cut
wounds by the natives, also as an ingredient in a healing, stimulating
oinl'.ient for bruises and son i. The crushed loaves are also apjjlied to
«'jair- and Iru'ses. The buds gathered in .Spring and steeped in
FOREST TREES.
209
spirits form a liniment in (juality closely resembling the old well-known
" i-"riar's Balsam," and it is equally excellent as an apiilication for fresh
wounds being styptic and very healing.
A.MKRicAN AsPKN — Populiis treiiiiiloiiies, (Michx. )
'' Which whisper with iho winds iiDne olsc can sec.
And i)OW to Angels as ihey wing liy them." — S/u-Hiy.
" Shuddering ev'.-n wilhoiil a wind
Aspens their paler foliage move,
As if some spirit of the air
Ikeathed a low sigh in passing lln.'re."
The Aspen may be seen in all low wet flats, forming thick groves
of slender growth with greyish smooth bark, which whitens in more
open situations. The wood is of little value : it is white, watery, and
brittle.
On entering one of these Poplar flats, or sii'd/is as the country jieoplc
call them, a sensible change in the air is perceived, the dew seems more
heavily condensed, and a chilliness is felt even in warm summer days,
while the slightest breath of wind sets every leaf in motion, fanning the
air to coolness.
The Aspen is a short-lived tree, subject to a black canker caused
by an insect that destroys the bark, and gives an unsightly aspect to the
larger trees which are usually found growing on waste lands by road
sides, where they spring up spontaneously.
l,AR<;i:-TOOTHEi) .\si'i:n — Populus s^raiididciitata, (Michx.)
The leaves of this species are large and coarseh' toothed at the
margins, especially when young ; very pointed and downy undenieafli
of a greyish tinge of green above. Like the common Aspen, it springs
up on old neglected clearings and waste places. 'J'he long, droopinar,
silky catkins appear before the leaves expand. The growth of the ' 'ee
is rapid, but becomes unsightly in age with black rifts and scars ; the
juices of the tree attract the small black ants, and the W'ood-jieckers
help the work of decay either for the juices contained in the tree, orfcj"-
the inserts that take lefuge in the bark, 'i'he wood is considered of
little worth. The buds of the Poplars begin to form ear. in the
Autumn and slowly advance, till in March and .\))ril they ma) be seen
swelling the gummy varnished cases which protect the immature leaves
and catkins, the bluish silken down peeping out as if to try the
temperature of the early Spring before unfolding. .Vmonjc the low
dwarf >Villows, the leaf buds often appear so green that at Christmas
one might expect to see the bushes clothed with verdure. ()ne i« a[)t
to think these premature efforts of the trees are put forth, while iIm. -,ap
/ i
i'»*'
■'t '*-^
i
2 lO
F0A7:S7 JKKKS.
is yet active, preparatory to the rest tliat takes place durin^^ the winter
months, and yet it is a (jiiestion if indeed the vegetable lifj is not always
active, though the effects are not apparent.
Wii.f.ows.
■' Till.' Willows \v:iUl'cI fiDH! wiiik'i's doatll,
(iive mil a fraRiaiioc liko thy breath--
'Ihc simiiiiLT has ln.'gmi. "
Professor I.indley unites the Poplars and Willows in one Natural
Order : the alliance seems a very natural one. In many particulars
their properties and general habits are alike.
Jksides our native Willows, we have others that have been mtro-
duced and naturalized in this country. The elegant Babylonian or
Weeping Willow, may be seen in many of our gardens and by city
sidewalks, but being an introduced tree is apt to be injured by severe
frosts, when grown inland and to the north and east, and does not
succeed in cold, exposed situations, though it strikes readily from
slips. The ^\'illows that are most common under cultivation are the
(lolden Parked Willow, and the Silver or White \\'illow. 'I'he former
is a tree of ra])id growth and very ornamental, especially to the Winter
landscape, to which its bright golden-barked twigs give a liveliness and
colouring, when nothing but the white snow 'nd dark soml)re ever-
greens meet the cvc.
Like the I.ombardy Poplar, the (lolden Willow marks the habitation
of man ; it ii a familiar and domestic tree, for it is never seen apart from
the homestead. Its rapid growth gives it an early place in the settler's
garden or clearing about the dwelling, or in the village street. Many
magnificent specimen', li this ornamental tree may be .seen in some of
our older towns overshadowing the sidewalks, and making a grateful
shade during the hot hours of the Summer day -cooling the heated air
bv the incessant play of theslender drooping branchlets and silvery leaves.
The ^\'illow has been used as a symbol of grief from its down-
ward drooi)ing huhit. It was worn in token of sorrow by disappointed
forsaken i,)\eis, as v. Ml as by those who mourned for the death of their
beloved. H..'irick, f)ur old English poet, says, addressing the Willow,
'■ Thou art to all Ic-sl love the best,
The Oiily true plant found I
Where vit!i young nun ami maids, distressed
.Anil lett of l( \e are crowned.''
While other i.rees are yet but saplings, the White and Yellow
\\ illow.- ,ill have ati. ined their full height. 'I'he deeply rifted bark of
the til ink and large widely spreading branches, bespeaking premature
old age. 1 remember a farniei pointing out to me two grand hoary
\'cllo\v
bark ot
rcmature
id hoary
FOA'/-:sr TA'/:/:s.
:i I
looking trees — (loldcn-l)arke(l Willows that overshadowctl his house.
He was yet in the prime of middle age, without a gray hair. "'I'hose
trees," he said, " were planted mere slips by me, when I was a boy."
'loan immigrant fresh from one of the crowded, smoking cities of the
old country, where trees are rarely seen in any of the public streets, the
refreshing verdure of the Mai)les, Locusts, Kims and \Villows that
adorn the thoroughfares of our Canadian towns must be a source of
enjoyment, and prove exceedingly attractive objects. We owe this taste
for shading our streets, to the .Xmericans, and thank them for the
example they set us, which we now find followed even in our small
Canadian rural villages. With the exception of such purposes as hat
boxes and baskets, for which the wood of the larger sptcies is used.
The wood of the Willow is not very valuable.
A large number of trees and shrubs of this family arc indigenous
to our country. The two species Salix alba and Salix rilclHita, are
said to be of foreign extraction, they are the largest and most commonly
grown, but there are several very beautiful species that may be seen on
our river banks — Salix liicida — Shining Willow is a tall, elegant growing
slender species, with bright-barked sprays and long, very smooth, foliage ;
there are too, many lovely dwarf Willows, some not exceeding a few feet
in height, remarkable for the light yellow-green foliage and elegant
drooping catkins. Some of these pretty dwarf Willows are found on
rocky gravelly river-banks drooping over the water. It seems to me
that a division should be made between the bright-leaved, bright-
barked '\\'illows, and the grey, coarse, hoary upright-growing species,
which are neither useful nor ornamental, of this class we have several
kinds, as the tall rough-leaved. Grey Willow, with broad, coarse, veiny
leaves, upright branches and very long green catkins with dark scales
and white down, a tallish tree of little beauty and no value for timber
or fuel. Some of these grey-leaved Willows are bushy shrubs from
eight to fifteen feet high, branching out from the root-stock and forming
thickets on low wet ground, while others arc found on dry hills and
open grassy plains. There are dwarf species, such as the dwarf Low-
Bush Willow, Salix hiiiiiilis, which abounds on those open tracts of
ground, known as Oak Openings and Plains. These are rather pretty
little shrubs, even after the fall of the leaf; the green leaf-buds and silvery
catkins give a look of life and promise of better days to come, of Sjiring
and sunshine in store for us. There is a i)eculiarty in this small
shrubby Willow which is the oval leafy cone-like gall which tennmates
the branches, it has a prett)- effect and remains persistent all
through the Summer, and till the Spring, when it hardens, turns grey
and falls to pieces, 'i'hese coties are attriimted by naturalists to the
■t(
I
i^ln
IB
FOREST TREKS.
puncture of a gall-fly, ( Gv/d'rwnvW salicis-strolnloidis, O. S.) as in the
Rose and some other plants. I have opened many of these Willow
fones at different stages of growth, but have been unable to detect any
larvae or fly in any one. The cone seems to be formed by imbricated
leafy scales, growing round a central axis.
'I'here have been attemjjts made to introduce certain species of
Willow into cultivation as hedges for field enclosures, but hitherto the
experiment seems to have failed, for unless the young branches are kept
•ut, the plant runs ui) and becomes too weak to form a trunk, stout and
strong enough to resist cattle, and besides the labour reijuisite to keep
down the yearly sprouts is very great. All the Willow and Toplar tribe
seem to havt ;'reat attractions for insects of various kinds.
There are several species of small Willows that are now cultivated
in Osier grounds for the manufacture of baskets for field work, and also
for ornamental and domestic purposes ; these coarse osier baskets are
taking the place of the Indian baskets that are woven by the Stjuaws,
and which formerly were in great request by the settlers. These Indian
baskets were made from the inner bark of the Oak, Basswood and Iron-
wood, and were cheap and useful ; the Indian women selling them for
flour, meat or vegetables in the way of trade, but now they look for
money for their wares, and the workmanship not being as strong and
good as it used to be, they find less sale for their basket work among
the farriers.
A much stronger, and more durable kind oi Indian basket has
lately bt ,n manufactured by the Indians from the inner bark of the
Oak and Basswood. The men even help in making these heavier baskets,
which will last much longer and bear more work in the field and barn
than the lighter sort.
This brings to a close the description of the more important of our
forest trees. It is to be hoped that the efforts which are being now
made to encourage the planting and cultivation of these valuable pro-
■ducts of the country, will be successful ; and I hope before long that an
Arbor Day will be an established and recognized institution in every
Province of the Dominion.
It is to be regretted that we have no Botannical garden in Canada,
where the i)roductions of the country could be collected and preserved.
Our forests, year by year, are disapjjearing. Our stately native
trees falling before the force of axe and fire ; in a few more years our
noble Pines will be utterly eradicated, and the names of many of our
loveliest wild flowers, and native flowering shrubs, will be their only
memorials to say that the)' once existed on the fat e of the earth.
!i
FOA'ESr TREES.
aij
Our beautiful graceful ferns will no doubt disappear with the forest
trees that sheltered them at their roots, and will i)e lost ; their gracx'ful
forms may still be found in lonely swamps, and on the shores of distant
lake and river banks, by the diligent botanist in his rambles in senfch
of wild plants ; but they will be regarded as rare indeed by those who
see them only by chance, as curiosities, in the herbarium, no longer
growing wild and free in their native verdure and beauty.
In all countries, but our own Canada, there are national parks and
extensive botanical gardens, and it seems a strange thing that with such
vast materials at our command, of soil and vegetation, tliat our countr)
should be destitute of an institution so necessary and so valuable. Will
not some of our legislators see to this, for is it not a fact that our
resources as respects the natural productions of the land, have not as yet
been fully recognized? We have wealth that has never been utilised
in the form of medicine, dye stiaTs, and materials for manufacturing
paper, linen, cordage, &c., to say nothing of adornments for our home-
steads in climbing plants for our verandahs, and lovely flowers for our
garden borders, and native fruits which by culture might be converted
into household luxuries. Men from other lands carry home treasures
for the greenhouse, the uncared-for jjroducts of our plains, our forests
and swamps.
The pride of many a gentleman's garden in England is the
" American border," where are cherished many of our wild shrubs and
flowers. The Canadian can scarcely believe that some of those plants
that are admired and valued by the florist, grew wild and uncared fur
on his own land, possibly trodden down and despised as weeds ; but it
is true in this as in regard to other matters " A prophet is not without
honour save in his own country."
Every plant, however simple, has a history attached to it — a use if
we would but seek it out.
Before our woods are utterly despoiled, and the plants they
nourished and shaded are forgotten, some record should be preserved
of their uses and their beauties.
There are teachings to be gathered even from the grass that we
tread upon. Did not Our Lord, Himself show us this, when he spake
of the Lilies of the field? So little interest has been felt in this branch
of the Natural History of Canada hitherto, that scarcely any of our young
people, children of the educated Canadians, know even the common
local names of the plants seen by them in their daily walks ; they are
cut off by ignorance from many sources of simple unalloyed pleasure, a
stepping stone, as it were, to higher and more intellectual enjoyment.
\;,i-
! I
I
I
Our Native Canadian Ferns.
" I lie ti) haunts, rii^lu siMimi sciii,
" Lovely, loiK'somo, colil, coM. ami ^rccn."
" Where the (■(>iisew(iii(l is the greenest,
" NVliere tlie fiiiinlaiii [.^listens sheeiiest,
'• Where the Lady-fern grows .-.irongest,
" Where the morning dew His longest.
" Hie Away ; I lie Away.
-Siotl.
Under the Natural System ot' botanical classification, the vegetable
kingdom is divided into two sub-kin^^doms, viz., Phienoganiia or !'"lo\ver-
mg Plants, and Cryptogamia or I''lo\vcrless Plants. The latter of these is
again divided into three divisions ; the first of these divisions is distin-
guished by the plant having a regular stem or axis, which grows by the
extension of the apex only ; it is to this division that Ferns belong.
A fern consists of the frond or leafy i)art of the plant on which the
sori or fruit dots are situated ; these sori are made up of clusters of
sporangia containing the spores -the seeds, in other words, of the fern.
The stem which bears the frond is called th.; stipe, /.<•., the naked
portion below the pinna: or leafy part ; the rachis is the continuation
of the stem, which extends to the apex or end of the frond.
The lower part, or subterranean stem is known as the caudex, and
by later writers as the rhizome ; the latter we shall adopt, as the former
term fs usually now confined to the upright stem of the Tree P'erns.
The rhizome is not the true root, but that part from which the
fibrils or roots proceed ; the rhizome is an extension of the axis, and
bears something of the same relation to the roots as the tap-root of a
tree or woody-stemmed plant does.
This rhizome or root-stock is covered in most ferns with a black or
brown bark of bitter astringent nature, with coarse scales, and soft
chaff or hairy wool. This root-stock often extends below the surface of
the ground horizontally, and contains the embryo fronds wrapped up in
} i
Aii^
IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)
k
:/
£'<
4
^
1.0
I.I
11.25
ISO ■^" imh
■^ iiii 12.2
lU 1
2.0
1.4
i
III
IE
1
1.6
m
^
/
"^^'V,'*
*^y
^
V
Photographic
Sciences
Corporation
23 WEST MAIN STREET
WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80
(716) S72-4S03
'^^^^
'9>'-
r
o
z
4
^
2l6
/•AA'.\:S.
cha(T\ or sciilv Ijiids, as ma) easily be seen in most, if not all, of the dorsal
ferns those ferns that have the sori on the bark of the frond, the
As|)idium fomily, Aspleniums, and others. If the ferns of this family be
examined in the Autumn months, the round, knobby, scaly buds will be
seen ( lustering the rhi/ome. On opening or dividing these, the perfect
green frond will be found ( lothed with soft brown scales, closely rolled
up and ready to expand as soon as the warm breath of Spring has
warmed the newly uncovered mould of the forest.
Some ferns that extend a running root-stock along the ground,
have the jmitccting bud sharp and pointed. The frosts of Winter cannot
penetrate these coverings, l-'erns of this .sort are described as being
( ircinate, or folded within the bud in a circular form, and where this
arrangement is not present, other means have been provided for the
I (reservation of the future growth.
In the Moonwort or IJotrychium family, the fronds are wrapjjed in
a thin membranous sheath, like that which is seen in bulbs, such as the
Crocus, Narcissus, and Snowdrops. 'Che roots spring from a fleshy
crown, striking down deejilj' into the soil ; they are stout and fleshy,
covered with a tough brown skin ; in //. teniatum these roots are
furrowed with rings. The sheath protects the young frond till the
Summer is already advancing, and there is no fear of frost nor chilling
winds to injure the tender plant. In the Osmundas, the root-stock is
hard and long-lived ; the same plant enduring through many years,
rooted firmly lo its native soil, and hard to dislodge without the use of
a sharp instrument and strong arm to use it.
'I'he writer knows old plants of the Cinnamon I-'ern, Osiiiinida
ciiinaiiioiiiea, and O. Cluytoiiiaiiu, which she became accjuainted with
more than forty years ago, still growing and flourishing at this date,
O. Cltntoiiinna, with its beautiful broad waving fronds, used to be known
formerly by its descriptive sj)ecific name of Osmutida interrupfa, which
indeed graphically described its peculiar habit, distinguishing it from all
other ferns ; it seems a pity to change a name so suitable for one that
conveys no distinct idea of the character of the species.
'I'he roots of those ferns, which are nearer to the surface, are more
carefully guarded from injury by a clo.se covering of scales, so that no
cold can penetrate within, as in such tender s|)ecies as the elegant U'inged
Polypody, Phegopkris Dryoptcris, the root-stock of which is horizontal,
creeping, and furnished with roundish white scales fine and thin, which
one might think would hardly be a sufficient protection to the tiny,
slender buds that it puts forth ; but there is always compensation in
Nature. This delicate fern is generally found among mosses, under the
shelter of the trunks of fallen trees, and covered bv a warm coat of fresh
FEKXS.
ti7
fallen leaves and decayed wood, so that it needs not the thick coating
of rhafty scales so necessary for the preservation of its neighbours, the
Aspidiums and others, that are circinate, (rolled up in the bud), and
which lie more upon the surface.
In many of the ferns tlie stijie or stem is channelled, and strong
very elastic nerves may be found on either side, leading up to the rachis
and branching so as to form the main mid-rib which supports the leaflets
or pinn;i; of the frond ; all these veins and ramifications of the veins
are extensions of these nerves, while the indusia or membraneous
coverings of the fruit dots which protect the organs of reproduction,
the s])ores, may possibly answer the purpose of the calyx or corolla of
flowering plants. So carefully has been the view of the All-wise mind
to preserve from injury the minute, I might say mysterious, organs of
fructification in the Fern tribes, that we see in many species an addi-
tional covering, provided by the alteration of the margin of the leaves ;
the edges of the lobes being rolled backwards over the sporangia as in
the Maiden-hairs and lirackens, or in the Kotrychiums and Onocka
simihilis and Osmuudas where the pinnules are closely rolled in like a
ball. The fertile fronds of these ferns present a very different appear-
ance to the Polypodies, As|)idiums and Aspleniums. In the Ostrich-
feather Kern Onocka Stnitheoptcris^ the leaflet may be distinctly detected
in old fertile fronds that have borne the battering of the wintry storms,
and the rains of early S|)ring. It is very difficult to detect the appearance
of seedling ferns of the first year's growth, so few persons having had
the curiosity to take notice of the tiny things, to search for them in their
native haunts, or attempt raising the plants from seed. This can easily
he done in a Fern case, or even in flower-pots covered with a sheet of
glass if supplied wi'h suitable mould as from the forest, and not exposed
to the sun. This mode of studying out the life histories of these in-
teresting plants is now extensively practiced by Pteridologists, as those
who make a scientific study of Ferns are called ; but the experiment
would prove interesting to everyone who had time and leisure for attend-
ing to the culture of these charming denizens of the shady grove. The
culture of ferns has for many years past attracted the attention of
Canadian ladies of taste, but it has chiefly been directed towards collect-
ing exotic sj)ecimens, rare and costly ; but few appear to be aware that
our own woods, and swamps, and rocks, afford many beautiful species not
less admirable than those that are sol \ by the nursery-man at high prices.*
Many of our fair Fern-fanciers have little knowledge of the
treasures hidden away in their own neighbouring woods.
• IjiHt HnminiT, In my wiM >tnrilon, I liml twontytwo ilillrii'iil kinds of Ft'riis, lmiii);lit fnuii
tlif wooils mill swiiiii|iy grmmil al I tlir iivlKlilKiiirliniHl, or igliiniltt in tin- Imrk liikt'ii, witliin ii few
niili'H of my Immi',
1:fi
218
/■■/■:kxs.
'I'he vcr) names arc foreign to them ; the- ( iiltivation of lerns lias
become a necessity, l)ecause it is tlie fashion, and the possessors have
great pride in exhibiting the beauties contained in their conservatories,
but really many of them know little of the nature of the lovely jjlants
on which they bestow so much money and attention. They are costly
and are beautiful to the eye, that is all.
" What constitutes a fern and how is it to be distinguished from
any other plant," is a question that is fre(|uently asked. One young lady
brought me a leaf of one of our earliest forest] )lants - Osiiton/iizn bnvi-
stylis, the herb known as Wood i'arsley, or by the i)retty name of Sweet
Cicely. .She thought it was a beautiful fern, and seemed sur|)rised when
I told her she had mistaken the pretty bright green divided leaf of an
Umbelliferous plant for the frond of a fern. While another brought a
leaf of the homely \' arrow, A c/iiV/ai iiiilkfoUuiii, and was mortified because
I rejected it. She had gone through a course of Hotany at school, she
said, and ought to know a Kern when she saw it. I thought
so too. The fart was that my friend had learned the names
of the princijjal organs of a flower, and could tell its constituent parts
by rote, but that was all that she knew or cared to know, and laughed
at me for my love of " Weeds," as she called all wild flowers. My
little boy had a higher appreciation of the beautiful, and indignantly
resented the word " Weeds," as applied to the handful of flowers that
he had gathered for mamma, looking at the lady with wide-opened eyes,
he said " Not weeds, (iod's beautiful flowers." Hut I am digressing
and must return to the description of the distinguishing parts of a Fern.
The roots and fibrils ot many Ferns are clothed with fine brown hairs,
as in those of the Adiantums or Maiden-hairs, and of some of the
Polypodies. These may be easily examined by the use of a magnifying
glass. This fine clothing of the roots may be as a defence from the
frosts of Winter, or a means of conveying nourishment through these
delicate organs of the plant.
By cutting through the rhizome or horizontal root stock of Onodea
st'fisM/is, out Oak-lei.,'ed Fern, a succession of stems and fronds yet
undeveloped may ])lainly be seen. This ugly hard rugged rhizome is a
wonderful repository of beauty and order of vegetable organisms, kept as
in a safely locked store-house, to be produced in due season.
The stipe or stem of a fern is the suj ])orting column. 'J'he rachis,
the portion of the stipe which bears the leafage, branching off on either
side, formmg the mid-ribs and veinings of the leaves or pinna: which
are often again divided and subdivided into leaflets or pinnules.
The rachis may be considered as the supporting frame work or
skeleton of the frond which holds together and supi)orts all its parts.
/•£a:\s.
219
In some species the stipes are clothed with finer or coarser scales,
which have been th' oght to be dead or effete leaves ; in some the scales
extend along the rachis, and even to the mid-ribs of the pinnic and
pinnules. Some of these clothing scales are soft, others more bristly or
hairy ; in sonic ferns they are light fawn brown, in others very dark ;
some are silvery white, as in the early growth of Os)ininda Cloyft'iiinna,
ivnd in the Lady fern, Aspkniuiit Jilix-fainina. Some lose the scales as
they advance to their full growth, others retain them.
As regards their stems or stipes, ferns are found to vary very much ;
in sonic ferns they arc round, smooth and polished. Some are deeply
grooved down the centre. Some are black like ebony, others green of
many shades, red, or of a fine warm brown. That beautiful fern known
as (Jossamer I'ern, Dicksonia pi/osiiiscula, has the stem of a bright
( hestnut colour in the older fronds, or golden brown in the younger.
This is one of the most lovely of our wood ferns.
Hotanists give great ])roniinence to the veinings of ferns, by the
situation of which and the manner in which they fork or branch, and
the positions which they occupy in the leafage, many nice (juestions as
to the sei)aration of Species, and sections of (ienera may be determined.
liy spores we must understand what is ecjuivalent to seeds in flowers
for reproducing the parent i)lant. The fern seeds, for so in comriion
l)arlance we will call these sjjores, are very minute, as fine as powder or
grains of dust, and so light and volatile thit they would fly away on the
slightest agitation of the plant. Hut nothing is left to accident. We
find a beaui ''ul provision made by the all-wise Creator to protect these
delicate organs ; the seeds are covered in all ferns by a thin veil or
spore-case known as the sporangium which shields the tender things, and
preserves them from loss ; and in some instances, besides this, a further
protection is given by the indusium, a membranous covering, fortned
either from the reversed margin of the leaflet, as in the Brakes and
Maiden-hair rern«, or a separate scale-like organ as in the Aspidiums
Nature displays a great variety of methods to ensure the safety of her
children.
" Nature .ill licr chihlrcn vicwinj',
(Jcntly, kindly cares for all."
That a very limited number of fern seeds germinate and become
perfect living plants, I think may be inferred from the countless number
that are produced on the fertile frond of a fern, compared with the few
seedlings that become living plants. A single fertile frond of one of
our stately Osmundas or Asijidiums, one would suppose produced
sufficient seeds to stock an acre of ground, and yet we perceive no such
fi
230
/•£A'XS.
increase. Some necessary check must take place to keep these plants
within proper limits or they are borne on the wings of the winds to far
distant places.
The most prolific of our Fern f.^mily appears to be the Oiioiien
sensiMis, which produces vast numbers of seedling jjlants year after
year, and as ;his fern grows in great profusion in my neighborhood 1
have been able to pay close attention to it and its mode of growth.
Our native ferns seem to be divided by their peculiar habits into
three groups : i, those that love the deep shade and rich leaf-mould of
the forest, with its cool glades and sheltered hollows, as the Aspidiunis
and Aspleniums ; 2, those that delight in wet, sjrongy soil on the banks
of streams and low-lying swampy lake shores, as the Osmundas and
Onocleas ; 3, those that find a congenial soil in rocky ravines and
rugged, mountainous ridges. Few ferns can live on the open, sunny
plains like the hardy Bracken, Pteris aijuilina, which bears, uninjured,
the full glare of the mid-summer sun.
As a general thing the fern shuns the glare of sunshine, turning
brown and scorching under the influence of heat and drying winds ;
heat and moisture are essential to the healthy development of this
beautiful tribe of plants. Therefore it is that we find the finest
specimens in damp ground and in warm sheltered woods, while for
beauty and rare grace of form, the rock ferns are peculiarly interesting,
presenting on a smaller scale features more attractive even than the
larger and more luxuriant ferns of the forest and the lake-shore, grand
as they are in their development of graceful form and richness of
verdure. It is as if Nature, to comjiensate these rare plants, the rock-
ferns, for the rude soil and rough elements, had shed over her nurslings
additional charms.
Among our native rock-growing ferns the most noticeable are the
Rock Polypody, Polypodium vul^are ; Rock Cystopteris, Cystopteris
fragilis, a most lovely, graceful, drooping fern ; Rock Brake, Pelhea
gracilis, a very small but very lovely species which chooses the crevices
of the limestone rocks on the banks of rapid rivers as its home, in steep
ridges, almost inaccessible to the foot and eager hand that covets the
tender green fronds with which it veils the perpendicular rocky face of
its cliff-like abode.
The VVoodsias love the clefts of rocks where the soil is black, and
into which their wiry rootlets can penetrate and withstand the force of
winds and rain. The Holly Fern and Evergreen Rock Fern, our finest
I'olystichums, flourish in stony forest lands.
From the far distant Hudson's Bay Go's Posts of I-ac la Biche and
Lesser Slave Lake, I have received specimens of several ferns : a very
/•/:a'xs.
231
Ijretty Cystopteris ; a very small evergreen fern, a miniature likeness ot
As/<uiiiiiii mar^imxU\ size four irches, with fruit dots very distinct ;
root-stock very thickly coated wi'.ii pale, chaffy scales. 'I'he same fern
was also given me from Lake 'i'emiscamingue, and also a small beautiful
frond of Phe^^optoris polypodioides, and JVoodsia Ihensis, from the same
place ; this last resembles the VVoodsias that were found on the rocks at
l"'airy Lake, on the borders of Stoney I^ke, where, however, this fern is
rare, and not so large as the fine s|)ecimens that were kindly sent to me
by J. Watt, Ksq., and by the late Mr. Barnston, Hudson's Bay Co.,
Montreal. And here I must remark that Nature seems, by the force of
a secret sympathy, to draw together those that take an interest in the
same pursuits and tastes, creating a kindly and generous feeling even tc
the unseen and unknown individual, making the Naturalist eager and
willing to communicate to such, their treasures and knowledge. 'I'he
Botanist and Naturalist seem to me, of all men, the most liberal and the
leist given to jealousy or envy ; any new discovery seems to be a source
of pleasure to all ; they rejoice with them that do rejoice, and regard
the happy finder of a new species of plant as a general and public bene-
factor. Such, at any rate, has been the fortunate experience of the
writer, to which she gladly bears testimony. Much moie might be said
on this interesting subject, but having, to the best of my ability, described
the peculiarities of ferns as to the general characteristics of the order,
I will now introduce to my readers the native species which have come
under my own observation.
Rock Voi.wouw. ^-Polypodimn vulgare, (L.)
The Rock Polypody is found in considerably extensive beds on
some of the rocky islets, and along the shores of Stoney Lake, and similar
places in the North-east and North-west townships, bordering upon that
interesting chain of inland waters, known familiarly as the Back Lakes.
It is also found in many other similar localities throughout Canada, but
generally in rocky and undrained places, where swamp and rocks
abound.
It is not usually a forest or wood fern. The rhizome is yellowish,
thick and creeping, to a certain extent scaly, sending up stiff u])right
stipes, smooth and green, rootlets strong and wiry. In its outline this
fern is narrow-lanceolate, simply pinnate, veins straight, forked ; sori
large, round, destitute of the thin membranous covering, which the
botanists term the Indusium, such as distinguishes the fruit-dots ot the
tribe Aspidiea;, and some others of th« dorsal ferns.
These fruit dots or sori in the PolyiX)dies are the distinguishing
characteristic of the group. In P. vulgare or Common Polypody, they
222
/■/■:a:vs.
arc lar^'f, round, and prominent, of a lively !)rown, or almost orange
colour, and l)eing abundant though (iiiite separate, they ^ive a ri( li and
handsome horderinj; to the tleej) j;reen fronds ; the sori ranged like
beads alonj^ the pinme, have a striking and lively appearance. The veins
are biat kish and prettily waved ; the colour of the frond is of a very
rich, dark green, smooth and glossy, but bright green on the underside.
.Some of the fronds bear fruit at an early stage of growth. I have found
tiny fronds of three inches in length with fruit dots on the upper pinnules.
'I'his spec ies is not very scaly, a few large, loose ragged scales, which
soon disappear, may be found on the early developed fronds, and at the
junction of the sti|)cs with the root.
The Summer heat curls up the fronds but rain soon refreshes them
and revives their verdure. I )uring the heal of the Summer of 1 864, large
beds of this fern were seen drooping and fading on the rocky soil, but
revived again rthen the showery weather came. The fruit dots are ir^
greatest perfection in the month of September.
As yet cur native Polypodies are confined to four distinct species,
and some varieties ; but there is little doubt but that this number will
be increased as the knowledge of the fern tribe becomes more general.
Already, even in remote inland villages, 1 find persons eager to know
something more of ferns and native plants ; and collections are being
formed among our young ladies ; and even school children bring
handfuls of ferns and flowers to ask their names, and be told how to
preserve and arrange them.
This is cheering and pleasant, and should be encouraged among
our rising population of a// classes.
Such knowledge is good and innocent, purifying the mind, enlarging
it and leading it upwards from grosser thoughts, and lower tendencies.
How seldom do we see a rea/ lover of Natural History, especially
cultivators of flowers, a drunkard or a profane swearer ? Where the
mind of man is thus fed and occujjied there is little taste for sensual
pleasures. Let us then encourage the study of ferns, and the cultivation
of flowers, with an interest in all the productions of the soil, as much as
possible among our people. These things are good for the happiness of
the young, they lay the foundation for enquiry, and finally they are
serviceable to the country, as tbey tend to develop its resources in
vegetable productions, minerals, and animals — for one study leads to
others — and as yet there is a large field open to discovery, and it is open
and free to all who choose to use their eyes and exercise the powers-
with which dod has gifted even the weakest among us. .
/■/:/:. vs.
Maii>KNII\ik K\ik\ I-i k\ Ailitvitmn /•ti/atiim (\.)
313.
among
This truly tlLU'T't f*^'" '"^ widely (liflTiiscd over our forot lands.
\'ou nitcl with it in tin- ilfLp, rirh Ifafinould of the iiicrli and Maple-
woods ; you sfL- its j^raicful Ironds trembling with tlic li}ihte>t l)rLC/c on
the l)ank> ol inland ( recks, or j;rowinj; in tufts at the side, an<i near the
shelter of, half derayinn trunks of trees and mossy roots. It languishes
and fades in open sunny exposures, loving' cool shades and the sheltering
houghs of forest trees hetter than the glare of sunshine and withering
winds, so deli< ale and so fragile are the young fronds.
When I lirst saw this lovely fern, I gave it the name of l-airy l-ern,
never having even seen at that time the ilritish .NFaiden-hair, its
l)rototype ; and the name, so ap])ropriate, has sine e hei ome pf)pular, and
as we court nationality for our pretty (Canadian fern, we are unwilling
to confound it with the foreign s|)ecies, nd so continue to call it Fairy
I'ern, a name so well suited to its graceful form. One cuuld almost
fancy that Oheron and his 'I'itania had held their moonlight revels
beneath its polished stem and verdant shade, that is if we were disposed
— as of course we are not to believe in the existence of the tiny elves,
or " the good people " as I have heard some of our Irish settlers call
the fairies. A large full grown frond of Adiantunt pedotuin will some-
times measure a foot across and two feet in height, but more commonly
they do not attain to more than half that si/.e.
The round polished stijie is forked at its upper part, dividing into
two eijual branches, these are again sub-divided into long slender shafts
decreasing in length, so as to give a semi-circular outline, or rather tv.o-
thirds of a circle, to the frond ; each of the slender divisions bears
numerous almost horizontal pinnules set upon very short footstalks ;
in some fronds these little footstalks are very short, so as hardly to be
observed, when the pinnules appear more crowded and almost sessile, in
others they are longer and give a more expan.iive appearance to the
frond. The upper edge of the pinnule is cleft or cut into by straight
gashes : these again are toothed ; each little pinnule or leaflet is thus
sub-divided into three or four sections, which in the fertile frond are
rolled back and form an indusiate border over the crowded .sori. At
first this border looks white, but later in August it takes a very light
yellowish-brown tinge. The older and fertile fronds are larger, stouter,
and usually of a fuller green than the barren fronds. The root is black,
and fibrous ; the fihre^ finely clothed with a very delicate soft brown wool,
which may be seen even vithout the aid of a magnifying glass. The
frond is circinate in vernation ; all the delicate leaf-stems and leaflets
being rolled up when they first shoot up from the root, after a few days'
exposure they flutter out, as a newly hatched butterfly shakes its wings.
234
/■TiAWS.
11
and very soon expand their delicate leafage to the action of the air. At
the base of the stipe and a little way ii|» the glossy stem are thin, ovate,
light-brown scales, but these soon disap|)car as the young plant gains
hardihood, and we see no more of them. The very young fronds, those
of the plants of a few years' growth, are exa«t miniatures of the older
fronds, and lovely fairy-looking things they truly are. I think that fow
of our |)vrennial rooted ferns bear fruitful fronds before the thirri season
at the very soonest, some prol>al)ly still later, which I think is the case
with the Osmundas and Onocleas. Klegant as is the Knglish Maiden-
hair (Adianfiim CopHliis- remris), it is not nuro i)cautiful in colour or
graceful outline than our Canadian s|)ecies.
Adiatitum aipillaire is the Amerit.an name for our I'airy Kern,
which is given under the supposition that it is the plant irom whidi the
old French settlers extracted the famous Capillaire, used as a pleasant
cooling drink, though now almost out of use.
The classical name is derived from a dreek word, signifying with-
out moisture. 'I'he surface of the frond is njvcr wet, as neither rain nor
dew will lie upon it. The seed of the A. f>edoluin is difiticult to obtain ;
it is shed as soon as ripe, being as fine as the finest powder ; if cultivated
1 should think it should be, by taking up young jjlants of the first or
second year's growth, with a sufficiency of the black leaf mould in which
it delights to grow. 'I'he only variety I have found in this fern is one
where the pinnules are shorter and broader, and the colour deep sad
green ; the foot-stalks very short and closely set, so as to give a crowded
over-lapping aspect to the frond ; the outline is more arc-like or hemi-
spherical, and the main stem shorter. I have gathered several specimens
at difTerent times, but the form is not common : the age of the toot-
stock, and variety in the soil, will give a difference in colour and growth
— but, generally s])eaking, there is more constancy in the appearance of
this charming fern than in many others. Professor I-awson, sjieaking
of the Canadian Adiantum, says, fine as it is in Canada he has seen
sjjecimens from Schooleys Mountain where the semi-circular frond
measured two and a half feet in the radius.
" In the days of the old herbalists," says 0, W. Johnson in his
work on British Ferns, " the true Maiden-hair Kern was considered not
only efficacious in many diseases, but especially potent in promoting the
length of ladies' tresses, and to this attributed power it owes its name
both among the Latins and the moderns." He gives the following
recipe for making the celebrated syrup called ('apillaire :
" Maiden-hair leaves, 2 ounces ; Liquorice-root, peeled and shred,
2 ounces ; boiling water, 5 pints. Let them stand for six hours, strain
Plate VIII.
IP
I. ScARiKi l.iirtKiiA (Li'/'iliii uir,/init/is).
II. A R ktJW -H i:a u ( Sa^^it/iiriti viiriiil'ilis).
li I:
I
I ill i
■ii
1
! i )1
';./i . !■: '.'•■•
!!ti
•.v^
FERNS.
-25
and add thirteen pounds of loaf sugar and one pint of orange flower
waXex."— Johnson's British Ferns, p. 11-12.
It appears more probable that the familiar name " Maiden-hair,"
given by the gallant old herbalists of former times, was derived from the
black-shining hair-like stripes, or from the soft brown covering of the
young rootlets, than from any imaginary virtue in the plant for promoting
the growth of the human hair. That singular and beautiful little plant
Spiranthes gracilis, owes its pretty name of Ladies' Tresses to the spiral
arrangement of its delicate pearly-white flowers, on the twisted stalk,
which suggested the idea of the ringlets of hair on a woman's head.
CoMMOX Br-^kk — Bracken — Pteris aqnilina, (I..)
Though found growing so abundantly on dry, sunny wastes, and,
therefore, considered by many persons indicative of a poor, sterile soil,
this fern may also be seen flourishing exceedingly, in richly-wooded
thickets, and even penetrating within the interior of the forest ; proving
the fact that though it will live and grow in light and poor soil, it thrives
far better in a more generous one, where its rank, deep green, widely-
expanded fronds attain three times the width and height that they do
on that which is sterile.
Were it less common it would excite our warmest admiration, from
its finely developed branching or fan-like outline, rich colour -nd
abundance of fine coffee-brown sori. There is, too, a great variety,
both in colour and shape, of the fronds ; some are of the most delicate
tender tint of green, others dark and glossy with purplish stems of
various shades, while some are of a rich grass-green, or again, a yellower
tint or bronze prevails.
The usual form of a full-grown frond is almost triangular, divided
into three spreading bi-pinnate branches, in some the lower pinnules
of the pinnte are tw'ce or thrice deeply toothed, and then terminate
in a long blunt, narrow tail-like end ; in others the divisions are crenate
or simply lobed ; and in occasional plants the pinna; and pinnules are
crowded on the rachis and mid-rib, crisped tnd standing forward,
bluntly toothed at the edges ; the whole frond wider than long, slightly
pubescent beneath, and the stipes either short and thick, or the
divisions on long stalks, wide and spreading. This variety seems to
correspond in some particulars with the form decipiens of Professor
Lawson. I have found it in fruit as well as in the barren state. Also
another form, simply lanceolate, not branching ; the fruit confined to
the lower halves of the pinnules — not extending to the ends of the lobes
— probably merely a chance variety, though not very rare, as I have
226
FE/iNS.
f •
found it in several localities, 'rhough the Bracken appears to be
sjircad over a great portion of the globe, it is singular how few know of
the benefits man can derive from it. The beasts of the field even leave it
untasted ; it affords indeed shelter to many of the smaller (juadrupeds,
the Hare and some others, and the Partridge, Ptarmigan and Quail find
a hiding ])lace for their brood among its sheltering stems, in their wild
moorland haunts ; even the insect tribes seem to leave it untouched.
'J'he gardener however, avails himself of the leaves for packing and
storing fruit, but still the supply far exceeds the demand. Formerly
its nauseous astringent roots were concocted into an un])alatable dose
for children supposed to be troubled with worms, but even that has
been abandoned for other more efficacious medicines. As litter for
cattle-yards, it has sometimes been gathered, and the country folk in
one of the English counties make a washing lye from the ashes of the
stalks and roots, which they use as a substitute for soap or soda. A
bleach I iL^' alkali might very probably be obtained from the burnt ashes
of this plant that might be found valuable to the manufacturer.
A species of Bracken is u.<ed by the New Zealanders as food, as has
been asserted by travellers, and the young fronds and root-stocks of our
own species can also be used in the same manner. Though so stout
and rigid, the Bracken is one of the first of our ferns to succumb before
the influence of early frosts ; its verdure departs even before the winds
and ra'ns of October have scattered the leaves from the forest trees.
The classical name Pkris (hjiiilina, is said to have been derived
from the fancied resemblance that the rpot, when cut transversely, bears
to the heraldic figure of the spread eagle — from ptcrou, the Greek
word for a wing, and aqutla, an eagle.
But country maids, when I was a child, read yet more interesting
symbols in the cut fern root, and many a time have I seen them poring
over the cut portion to decipher the initial letters of their sweethearts'
names or their occui)ation, and wonderful indeed were the auguries they
drew. Here were a swarm of bees, and a hive, that denoted plenty ;
a plough, that was his calling as a labourer ; a bill- hook, or a grove of
trees, a hedger and ditcher, or a wood-man ; a man casting seed into
the ground was a master former, and various other devices were
conjured up by the learned in such sort of fortune-telling -at all events
it was as satisfactory as laying out the cards, or tossing the grounds in a
tea-cup, and somewhat more picturescjue.
Rock Brakk — Pelhca gracilis, (Hook).
Of this genus we have in this part of Canada two sjjecies, P.
gracilis and P. alropurpurea, both of which affect a rocky soil, more
4f
F£A\VS.
227
'I 1"
particularly that of limestone rocks. In the mountains of British
Columbia and (Quebec the rare Pelliea denm is found.
The first of these beautiful ferns, /'. gracilis may be found on the
western bank of the Otonabee, close to the village of Lakefield, North
Douro ; its short, tufted, wiry, roots, closely wedged within the crevices
of the limestone, from which it is difficult to dislodge them, witiiout
destroying the delicate foliage of the plant.
The chief nourishment of the i)lant must be derived from the moist
atmosi)here in which it grows ; watered by the ascending sjiray and
mist, from the fast flowing river below the rocks where it makes its
home.
This species of Rock-Brake is the smallest and most fragile of all our
native ferns. Clraceful in outline and almost semi-transparent in
texture, of a light and tender green colour, it may be seen by a close
observer, early in the month of June, clothing the otherwise barren
surface of the rocky wall that bounds the river in t"ront of Strickland's
saw-mill, and enlivening it with its delicate verdant tufts of foliage.
The fertile frond is somewhat duller and sadder in colour, and
stands upright above the drooping sterile fronds. The tallest of these
upright fruitful fronds rarely exceeds nine inches, oftener from four to
six. The yellow, creeping and tufted root-stock throws out a vast
number of fronds. The thread-like stipe of the sterile fronds is so lax
that it is scarcely able to support the thin leafy frond and thus causes
its drooping habit. The fruit-bearing frond is more substantial, the
pinna;, irregularly, bi-pinnatitid, from five to six or seven pairs, the upper
pinnule longer than the two lateral ones, blunt, and bearing the sori
in a marginal row, terminating the tips of the forked veins, the margin of
the pinnules forming a protecting indusium, at first white, then turning
to a very light-brown. The seed seems to come to perfection early
in July. In August the plant withers with the continued Summer heat,
sheds its fine yellow dust-like spores and dies away.
This very lovely little fern is rare in this part of the country. I
have only found it in one locality, but it appears, not unfrequently, on the
banks of the rapid Moira, above Belleville, at Ottawa and Quebec, and
probably in other similar localities. Truly it well deserves its specific
name gracilis from its drooping fragile nature and slender habit.
:cies, P.
)il, more
Clifk Brake — Pelliea atro/>urpurea, (Link.)
Like the former this fern grows in rocky soil. The specimens
that I saw came from the vicinity of Hamilton, and also from the rocks
below Niagara Falls. The largest of these specimens did not exceed nine
inches, the smallest four. inches.
\%
I
"lit"
328
FEKA'S.
!
The stipes of PelUta atropurpurea are of a fine dark purplish
colour very smooth and finely polished, a few broad loose scales appear
at their junction with the rhizome, and, when very young, along the stipes,
but these soon drop away. The fibrils are black and wiry. In colour this
fern is of a dull dark green, very pale underneath. The fronds are leathery
in texture. Divisions of the frond broadly linear or oblong, blunt at the
end ; simply pinnate, but the lower pairs of^en eared or bluntly lobed.
The sori abundant, forming a continuous line ; edge of the pinnae rolled
back so as to form an indusiate cover to the crowded sori. The lower
pair of pinnte are often deflexed so as to give a somewhat heart-shaped
form to the frond. The evergreen fronds remain persistent through the
Winter, but many of them turn rusty-brown towards the Fall. I should
think this plant rather rare ; it is nowhere to be seen in my own neigh-
bourhood, though possibly it may be met with in limestone ridges near
rapid water in other localities than Niagara and Hamilton.
Chain Fern — Woodwardia Virginka^ (Sm.)
This tall handsome fern is found only in wet Peat bogs where it
throws up its large stiff fronds in the month of July.
The fertile and sterile fronds are alike in form, being as a rule from
two to three feet high ; pinnate, with numerous lanceolate pinnatifid pinnae;
the segments long. The fertile fronds beat an abundance ot fruit and
have a very handsome appearance. The fruit dots are oblong and
linear, and are arranged in chain-like rows parallel with the mid-rib, and
close to it. At first they are all distinct and separate, but after maturity
they all touch and the chain-like appearance is lost. This fern is rare
in most parts of Canada. From the nature of its habitat it is not an
easy fern to cultivate. The root-stock is large, yellow and creeping
beneath the mosses and other bog plants, amidst which it grows.
Lady Fern — Asploiium Iniixftvintna, (Bernh.)
There is something of poetical beauty in the familiar name. Lady
Fern, which will always possess attractions for those who associate its
drooping, tender loveliness, with shades and streamlets, woodland glens,
and dingles in Britain How naturally do the wild, sweet lines of Scott
return to one's memory, when we name the Lady Fern. How, in
imagination, do we
" Hie to haunts, right seldom seen,
Lovely, lonesome, cold, cold, and green ;
\Vhere the Lady-fern grows strongest,
Where the morning dew lies longest.
'.v^
'■'•> T<
i-EnArs.
229
purplish
, appear
e stipes,
lour this
leathery
It at the
yr lobed.
102 rolled
le lower
t-shaped
ough the
I should
n neigh-
ges near
where it
. rule from
fidpinnje;
fruit and
ilong and
d-rib, and
maturity
rn is rare
is not an
creeping
vs.
ime, Lady
ociate its
and glens,
s of Scott
How, in
The 1-ady Fern of our forest haunts, is a graceful, lovely, fern of a
bright tender tint of green and delicate of texture, withering quickly
after being plucked ; not bearing to be roughly handled or exposed to
any sudden change of temperature, which soon robs it of its freshness
and elasticity. In height, the largest fronds vary from one to three
feet ; the root-stock is thick, black, and knotty, the stipe blackish at the
root-stock, perennial, chaffy, and the frond circinate. When it first issues
forth in the month of May, the underside of fhe tender frond is
whitish, from numerous minute silvery hairs, which disappear after the
plant is more fully developed.
In the var. molle they are seen giving a soft and somewhat silky
look to the pinnules. This form is more lax and drooping than the
common typical form.
The fruit dots of the Lady Fern are placed slantwise on the back of
the veins, nearer to the mid-rib than the margin ; indusia at first white,
turning reddish brown in maturity, long, narrow, sac-like, and pointed at
each extremity ; slightly curving inwards ; the pinnne are numerous,
long pointed ; pinnules oblong, toothed at the margins ; the margins
of the fertile pinnules are slightly concave ; the rachis is pale green,
slightly channelled. The habitat of this elegant fern is in dam]) woods,
at the roots of old trees, often associated with Aspidiuin spinulosum, or
at the margin of forest creeks among other moisture-loving ferns.
Several varieties of the Lady Fern are met with in the Douro and
Smith woods, about Lakefield, and are common in other townships
North of Lake Ontario.
The Narrow-leaved Lady Fern — A. Filix-fceinina, var. angiisium^
is a distinct form. It differs in many respects from the type of A. Filix*
faviina. The colour is a dull deep green ; the stipe is nearly double
the length of the leafy frond, the pinnae are more distant, narrower in
outline, much divided ; sori very abundant, so much so indeed as to cover
the entire inner surface of the fertile frond, and contract the pinnules
considerably. From its narrowed, contracted, appearance, this species
has got the name of Skeleton Fern. The rachis and stipe are strongly
nerved and channelled ; not very chaffy at the root-stock, but hard and
black. This attains to the height of three feet, in wet spongy ground.
There is a great tendency to assuming a tasselled form. Sometimes
whole plants will present this appearance, the upper pairs of pinncc
being gathered into rosettes, so as to shorten and alter the form
of the frond. In a beaver meadow, near Preston's Woods, Lakefield,
I found numbers of fronds thus deformed, and it appears to me
that it is caused by a diseased condition of the rachis, probably from
' I'
I'll
m
•%
•30
F£/^XS.
the puncture of some insect, which contracts the nerves of the mid veins
of the pinnae.
Anotlier variety of ^/. Filixficmina occurred on a waste, wettish piece
of ground near Lakcficld. The fronds were short and somewhat broad,
stipes very short, black at the lower portion, near their junction with the
stock ; pinnules much toothed, slender-pointed, very pale green, and the
small light brown seed dots covering only the lower half, < lose to the
mid-rib, leaving the upper i)orlion entirely free. The pinn;e are confluent
on the rachis. The young, or rather early, fronds are white and silvery on
the underside.
On the same ground I i'ound repeatedly a form of var. an^mtum, the
pinnules of which were folded together so that only one-half of each was
seen ; this occurred both in the fruitful and also in the barren state of the
frond. I have also noticed the same thing in plants of Cystoptcris
hulhijera, but less commonly — probably in both cases the alteration may
be referred to accidental circumstances.
The texture of the leaf in A. Filix-Jamina is very thin and delicate,
and the plant seems to be more attractive to the insect tribes than many
other ferns — towards the latter end of the Summer it is difficult to meet
with perfect fronds free from the mutilation of the leaf-cutters — for I
imagine the depredation to arise from some of the small bees
that make use of the leaves and (lowers for covering their tapestried
cells. I am not certain, — I think so, from noticing that occasionally only
one, two or three leaflets are neatly cut off, as with a clean, sharp
instrument ; whereas, if bitten for food, the ragged and uneven edges
would have been left, or the nerves and veins, as most insects reject them.
It is possible, however, that this depredation may have been the work
,of slugs.
There is a very handsome variety of the Lady Fern occasionally met
with in our woods, in which the distinguishing feature is the lengthening
of the toothing division of the lower pinnules, forming a sharp, rather
prominent lobe, nearest to the rachis.
Proscssor Macoun has a very fine specimen of this variety in his
herbarium.
Silvery Spi.kex-wort. — Asplcniitm t/ielypteroides, (Michx )
This species is rather rare in our northerly townships of Smith and
Dcuro, but occurs more freely in Hastings and other easterly places.
I found a vigorous plant of the Silvery Spleen-wort growing in an old
?narshy meadow at the root of a stump, among a wilderness of Onocleas
and Ostrich-feather Ferns and coarse wild grasses, on the shores ot the
Otonabee River. It is a coarse-growing, robust fern, with stout stipe
and root-stock ; pinnules blunt ; veins free, as in other Aspleniums.
'lis .
lEKXS.
aj»
The white linear indusia and silvery hairs are the distinguishing
features of this species. It appears to love marshy soil, or rich, damp
woods where, among shrubs and coarse herbage, it grows to about two
feet in height. 'I'he colour is deep green, leaflets blunt, fruit dots, of
silvery-white lines, long and narrow, giving a striking effect to the under
surf;ice f i" the frond. The fertile fronds are taller than the barren.
EiiONY Spi.ekn-wort. — Asplenium ebcneum, (Ait.)
The Ebony Si)leen-wort is found on the Laurcntiar. rocks, near
Sham nville station, where it was found by that diligent botanist I'rof.
J. Macoun. It is a rare fern, and one of great beauty ; well suited to
green-house culture. The root-stock is bla<'k, fibrous and matted ; the
tufted stipes short, and, with the rachis, blackish, shining and pliant ;
the frond tapering in outline both below and at the apex ; the pinn;y
being much larger towards the centre of the frond ; pinna' 20 to 40,
blunt, slightly auricled, toothed, or minutely serrated at the margins,
lower |)airs very short but increasing upwards. Sori placed slantingly
nearer to the mid-vein than the margin, on the straight, simply-forked
veinlets. Indusia at first white, but when \'\\>q of a light brown, linear
in shape , colour of the frond, of rather a darkish green ; varying in
height from four to ten inches ; simply pinnate ; habitat chinks and
clefts of Laurentian rocks ; never occurring, that I am aware of, in woods
and forests, but probably will be found among the rocky districts
northward of Belleville and the rocky ridges in Madoc, Marmora and
the more north-easterly parts of Canada, at present a tract of country
not much explored by the Pteridologist.
Black Si'[.KEN-\\ORi.—As/>/eNii/m Trichoinancs, (I,.)
This rare little Rock-fern also belongs to the Laurentian formation.
The specimen now before me was found in rocks near Shannonville ;
this place appears to be rich in the rarer species of Aspleniea^.
In habit and general appearance Asplenium Trichomanes resembles
the British fern of the same name, and is considered to be the same
species. In height it varies from three to nine inches ; possibly fine
luxuriant plants may exceed this standard. It is narrow in outline,
upright or slightly curving, simply pinnate, pinna; roundish or irregular,
oval, slightly crenate, some of the lower j^airs unequal, but hardly so
much so as to be lobed, attached to the rachis by a very slight petiole
or hair-lil(e foot-stalk, m some cases hardly perceptible. Rachis, purplish-
brown or black \ stipes, below the leafage, short ; pinnae extending almost
to the root-stock, which is matted, black, and fibrous, as in A. ebeneitm ;
sori few; indusia flattisli, pale brown, ripening late in July or early in
August.
•it i
li
•$•
FKKm.
The Rev. David R. McCord, in his notes on Canadian ferns gives
the locality of A. Trich<- /«,— Chatham on rocks in large ciumps,
observed in no othi ly in Lower Canada. Since this record,
however, it has been ...and in many places in Canada extending from
the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Grkkn Si'I.ekn-wort. — Aspkniiim vin'df, (Huds.)
' This delicate, lovely little fern has been found at Owen Sound by
Mrs. Roy, and at Caspe by John Hell, M. I). In general features and
habits it seems to differ very little from Asplcniuin Trkhomanes. The
chief difference seems to be that the rachis is green instead of black,
the pinna; are ovate, deeply crenated, and the sori are more abundant
Narro\v-lp:avkd SpLKENWORr. — Asplenium angusti folium^ (Michx.)
This handsome fern is found in rich woods ; it is simply pinnate,
pinnn; two to three inches long, very slightly petioled on the rachis,
minutely toothed, narrowly tapering to a point ; texture thin and delicate ;
veins straight ; sori numerous but distinct, arranged in slanting lines
close to the mid-vein at the base of each vein ; indusia narrow-pointed
whitish. Specimens of this beautiful fern were lately sent to me from
Ottarto. The pale, thin leaves, almost semi-transparent, are elegantly
contrasted with the rich lines of sori slanting from the base and sides of
the midrib, and are of a bright rufous brown ; the fruit-bearing pinnules
are simple, broad at their junction with the rachis, tapering to the point,
the fertile frond being much longer than the sterile. The whole frond
varies in height from one to two feet ; roots black and fibrous. This
delicate fern is of a very light green colour, and from thejfineness of its
texture early succumbs to frost. Its habitat is shady, damp woods ; in
some localities not rare.
The Hartstonoue — Centipede Fern — Scolopcndrium vulgare^
(Smith.)
It is but few who have had the pleasure of seeing this handsome
fern growing wild in Canada. Until quite lately, only one locality had
been discovered in North America — at Owen Sound— ^where it was
found growing in damp crevices of limestone rocks. The evergreen
fronds are very different in appearance from most ferns, being elongated,
undivided tongue-shaped leaves, from a few inches in length to two feet.
The stipe is generally about one-third of the length of the entire frond.
The blade of the frond is in large specimens, about two inches across
at the widest part, which is the middle, from which place it tapers to a
point at the apex, and narrows towards its base. At the base of the leafy
^''"■P:
■■V
J^/iA'XS.
»35
;rns gives
clumps,
s record,
ing from
Sound by
itures and
nes. The
of black,
bundant.
[Michx.)
y pinnate,
he rachis,
i delicate ;
iting lines
)w-pointed
) me from
; elegantly
id sides of
g pinnules
the point,
lole frond
)us. This
ness of its
woods ; in
ulgare,
landsome
jcality had
ere it was
evergreen
elongated,
o two feet.
itire frond.
hes across
apers to a
of the leafy
jKirtion, where the rachis begins, are two car-shaped expansions, one
on each side. The rachis is very prominent, and from it run towards
the margin of the frond several free veins, once or twice forked. It
may not be amiss to state that the term, free, as applied to a vein means
that after it leaves the mid rib however much it may itself become
forked — it does not run into any neighb<)urin^ veins, but runs free to the
margin of the frond. The veins run somewhat closely together and
slant upwards a little ; on some of them, on the under side of the frond
arc the lines of fru( tifiration. These are very conspicuous, they are
generally about an eighth of an inch apart and are elongated (lusters
of sporangia, covered by indusia, which, when the spores are ripe,
split down the centre and cuil back, exposing the abundant sori.
The elongated clusters of sori vary in length according to the width
of the frond ; they cover about two-thirds of the space on each side of
the rachis and are borne on the upper part of the frond and al)out mid-
way between the rachis and the margin. It is to this peculiar mode
of fructification that the genus owes its name. Scolopemira is the
Latin name of a kind of Centipedes, the many legs of which the dark
brown parallel lines of fructification, on each side of the rachis, are
sui)posed to resemble. The stipe is of a dark purplish colour and in
large luxuriant specimens, this colour is freijuently carried on along
the rachis. The Canadian specimens are generally of a lighter green,
and tht fronds thinner than the English. The plant, too, is smaller.
In England, where it is a very common fern, there are a great many
varieties, some of which are crested and cut up into many lobes at the
end of the frond, or waved and crimped along the edges. 'I'his fern
takes kindly to cultivation, and grows luxuriantly in a fern case or
cool conservatory.
W.Ai.KiNG Leaf — Wai.kino Fern — Caniptosotus rhizopfiyllus, (Link).
In many respects this rare Rock-fern resembles the Hartstongue
very closely, in fact it has been described by some botanists as belonging
to the same genus. It has evergreen, entire fronds, with auricled or
hastate bases ; the apices, however, of the fronds are very much atten-
uated and elongated, and when fully mature curl down and take root at
their tips. It is from this characteristic that the popular name of
Walking-Fernis taken, because the fronds, rooting at the tips, develop
into new plants, which again throw out fronds, which go through the
same process, and in this way the plant " walks " farther and farther
away from its original source. I have sometimes found plants of three
generations all joined together in this way. The fronds grow out in all
directions from the crown of the tufted root-stock, and are more or less
•S^kA
'i4
/■/•:a'.vs.
'A
|)ru('umbcnt o np|)rcssc(I to iho rocks on which ihc plant yrows. 'I'ho
fructification conHistK of oblong or linear sori, irrcmilarly scattered on
cither siile of the netted veins of the fronds, lh')se nearest to the nud rib
single, the miter ones generally in pairs, whii h run together at their ends
and form c rooked lines. The ( lassical name is ilerived from two (Ircek
words, which mean curved and aheap or fruit dot, in allusion to the
manner in which the exterior fruit dots run together. This fern, although
rare, is pretty generally distributed over Canada, and is not at all un-
toujuion on the limestone abcut Ottawa, and at Owen Sound.
Hkixh I'i rn. Haikv Poivi'onv. /'/i,ji;o/>/frts /><)/y/>oi//oiJfs, (Vei.)
The distinguishing characteristics of this fern are its triangular
outline, creeping root-stock, and brown, pointed, ( halTy hairs, which may
be seen on the rachis and on the veins and veinlets at the back of the
frond. Sometimes the lower pairs of pinnie are much deflexed, but not
so decidedly so as in the next species, /'. /i(Xtrj,'<ini>/>/t'ni, which is less
chaffy or hairy on the rachis, and the two lower pinn;e droop lower than
the ujiper ones. Sometimes, however, it bears theti on the left sidi of
the rachis, ujiright or slantwise as if held up. In a large bed of these
triangular sha|)ed fern.s, this peculiar arrangement occurs in a remarkable
manner. It is only a frcijuent variation from the more usual form, as it
occurs indiscriminately on the same root-stock with fronds with the
dellexed pinnie. The same variation is also, though more rarely, found
in the Beech Fern now under consideration.
The pinnules oi P. poly/^odioidt's are lanceolate, blunter at the points,
bluntly toothed, confluent on the mid-rib ; pinna: not so long as in
P. hi'xa^onoptera, but sharply i)ointed, colour of the frond a rather dull
green, somewhat downy on the surface. The sori small, abundant, but
not confluent ; pale brown, when mature, which is in July and August ;
situated at the base of the lobes of the pinnules, in lines of twos or threes.
In large-sized fronds, which vary from a foot to eighteen inches in
height, the pinna; form about eighteen or twenty pairs ; the stii)e, which
is slender and brittle, is nearly double the length of the frond. The root-
stock is rather slender, creeping, young fronds very white and downy
when they issue from the soil and unroll ; this takes place late in May
or early in June. The usual habitat is in rich black vegetable mould
in tracts of Maple and Beech woods. I have found this fern near
Lakefield, in the Township of Smith, about a quarter of a triile from the
river Otonabee, on some waste, half-cleared woodland.
A few years ago this spot was run over by the fire, and only a few
starved scorched i)lants remained, but the following Summer they
appeared again in great numbers, but very few fertile fronds in the large
/•AA'iV.V.
»iS
l)C(l were to he found. The clianne of soil caused hy ihe actioii of the
fire and want i>( shade seemed to affei t the texture of tlie fronds ; they
became thicker in suhstancc and leathery, darker and duller in culour,
and dwarfed in size.
I have seen specimens of this s|ie( ies differing j^reatly in outline,
si/e and general appearance, from our I,akefield fern, heinj; nun h
coarser, lar^^er, more lanceolate than triangular ; the lower wings rather
curvinj, upwards th in depressed, with the sori nun h larger and more
crowded and numerous. Protiably difference of soil pioducetl the
change in the habil of the fern.
IIkomi llh.i ( II I'KKN — IVit'^of'terii /iexa>^onof>tera, (Tee).
'I'his species bears a string resemblance in outline, and some of its
more general features, to /'. poiypodioidcs, but difTers from the latter in
the lighter, thinner fronds, and the nu)re scanty, hairy scales on the
rachis and veins. The sori are round, situated at the base of the loiies
of the i)innules. The lower pairs of pinna- are usually nmch dellexed,
or are both borne on the left side of the rachis at a slanting angle. In
this position they have somewhat the appearance of a bird's wings
raised for llight. The root-stock is black, ( reeping and scaly, sending
up from i)ointed buds, at intervals, fronds which arc closely rolled u|),
and covered with a small soft greyish-white down, which after a few
days disappears.
This fern forms extensive beds in the soil of rich shady Beech and
Maple woods ; height of the stipe, about a foot to eighteen inches. The
triangular, wide-spread frond, is about as wide as long ; lobes of the
pinnules bluntish ; pinnie sweeping, curved and pointed at the ends,
confluent near the apex, both at the summit of the frond and of the pinnx*.
This is a very handsome <'ern, but soon yields to the withering
effects of early fro.sts. It dries well, keeping its colour tolerably bright,
if not pressed at too early a stage of growth. The root-stO( k is peren
nial as in others of the genus. By far the most attractive fern of the
group, is that charming fern,
VViNCiED PoiAPODV — Oak Fern — P/ie;^i>ph'ris Dryopkris, (Fee.)
This is also termed Triangular, and Ternate Polypody The rachis
is divided into three parts or branches, which are again pinna tely
divided ; pmna;, lanceolate, spreading ; pinnules, crenate or bluntly
lobed ; stipe and rachis dark coloured, smooth, brittle, with a few loose
thin pale-coloured almost transparent scales, which are not very ap-
parent as the plant increases in size ; fruit dots at the base of the lobes
of the pinnules.
i
'
The texture of this elegant fern is thin, and it is of lovely shades of
green, varying from light bright green to a deeper hue: some of the larger,
older, and fruit-bearing fronds being almost of a bluish-green. The exten-
sively creeping root-stocks are black, and fibrous, sending up fronds from
buds at the spreading angles of the roots ; the young fronds are clothed
with thin, white, loose scales, which are easily dispersed. The fruit dots
are at first a pale whitish-green, but deepen to brown, and in some old
strong fronds are almost black. This last form may possibly rank as a
variety ; it certainly differs in size and colour : it has larger, stouter,
darker fronds ; the stipe not less than a foot from the base to the lower
divisions of the leafy portion of the frond ; the long slender stipe is
greener, and the whole plant coarser and more spreading ; the pinnules
more oblong and bluntly crenate at the edges.
It is the smaller fronds that are so very attractive from their bright
vivid colour, dark stems and triangular form. This fern is found in
woods among mossy roots of old decaying stumps and rotten wood,
among which it sends out its slender running* root-stocks and loose black
fibrous rootlets. I should think this beautiful fern would be rather
difficult of house or pot culture, unless its peculiar soil could be provided,
which would be difficult to introduce on a limited scale, but it would
grow well out of doors in a wilderness or grove, especially if indulged
witii a rotten log or stump.
Shield Ferns — Woon Fkrns.
This interesting and hardy family contains many distinct species
with numerous varieties, some of which have as yet hardly been
recognized by the Pteridologist. The Aspidiums are mostly confined
to the forest or swamp ; some seem to rejoice in the deep shade and
soil of the thick Pine-woods, while others are to be found in wet spongy
soil as Beaver meadows, Cedar swamps, and boggy, spongy soil among
tangling weeds and bushes. In such situations we shall find the
Marsh Fern — Aspidimn Thelypteris, (Swz.)
It is especially a moisture-loving l''ern, and may be seen forming
thick beds in low lying ground, which is often over-flowed, in open
marshy spots, especially where shallow springs gush out among grass
and sedges ; in such places it is sure to be found sending up its light
green, rather broadly lanceolate, fronds, which are stiff and upright ; the
stipe, dark coloured, often twisted, but not bending ; the pinnas
horizontal, but slightly bending downwards ; pinnules a little revolute
at the edges ; root-stock creeping, sending up the fronds from buds at
intervals ; rootlets black, very fibrous ; the fertile fronds are twice as
■.v\
shades of
he larger,
'he exten-
ands from
re clothed
fruit dots
some old
rank as a
r, stouter,
the lower
er stipe is
e pinnules
Pieir bright
found in
ten wood,
oose black
be rather
; provided,
!l it would
f indulged
ict species
rdly been
y confined
shade and
wet spongy
soil among
the
n forming
d, in open
long grass
ip its light
)right ; the
the pinnrc
e revolute
)m buds at
twice as
FEA'iXS.
237
long as the sterile ; stipe nearly double the length of the leafy ])orti()n
of the frond ; pinnne narrowly pointed, distant on the rachis ; pinnules
narrowly contracted ; soii forming a line partly protected by the revolute
edges, terminating the upper forking veinlets ; many fine, white, shining
glandular hnirs may be seen at the revolute edge of the pinnules, which,
in the early stage of the fruit dots, nearly cover them.
A very different appearance is presented by those plants Hiiich grow
in the dense shelter of Cedar swamps : the sterile fronds are lax, almost
drooping, of a dark green colour ; jiinnules blunter, distinct ; stalks of a
very dark colour ; pinnules farther apart ; fertile frond from three to
four feel high ; stipes very nearly three times the length of the frond,
narrowly contracted, dull and dark ; root-stock extensively creeping ;
the pinn;x; drooping from the apex of the frond, sometimes again
curving upwards.
Another form of A. Thelypteris is found in swampy s|)ots, the pinniu
wider, very much deflexed and thinner, light green ; stipe slender,
green. This fern is found on Long Island in Rice Lake, it was named
for me as a form of Aspidiuin Thelypteris : it is rather fragrant. I have
never been able to procure one of the fronds in a fruiting state, 'i'he
lax drooping pinnit, and oblong blunt pinnules, with their pleasant sweet
scent, distinguish this fern from the common forms of the Marsh I'ern,
New York. Fkrn. — Aspidinin Noveboraccnse (Swz.)
Is closely allied to A. Thelypteris, but is a decidedly more elegant
Fern. It is narrowly oblong, lanceolate, pale green ; the lower pairs of
j)inn;i; small and deflexed, very scantily developed ; the upper pairs
very sharp and pointed, giving a narrow ijointed outline to the fern,
which, in the delicate young fronds, is peculiarly graceful. '1 ae fronds
grow from a circular crown and bend outwards ; the root-stock is
prolonged and slender, creeping and fibrous, throwing up the clusters of
fronds at intervals. The fertile fronds are generally about as tall as the
sterile but arc rigid, and the pinnules narrowly contracted, opposite •
sori of a deep rich coffee-brown, becoming confluent so as to cover the
underside of the frond ; indusia kidney-shaped. The soil where I
found an extensive bed of these very graceful, jilum)' ferns, was rather
sandy, at the edge of a wood known as Preston's \Vood, not far from
the Village of Lakefield. The pinnules of this fern are narrowly
oblong, sometimes serrate at the edges. In the month of October the
fronds fade to a delicate buff, when the sori are distinctly seen on the
pale ground forming a distinct border.
This fern is [ileasantly fragrant when drawn through the hand or
slightly bruised. In colour, it is yellowish-green where growing in
W.
1>i
lii
S?:
k
\>" iLh
a38
FEA'NS.
light soil and exposed to the sun, but becomes darkened in the shade
and more lax in habit ; it is a remarkably elegant gracefully growing
species, very narrow in outline, and finely diminished to a point at the
apex of the frond, and is a valuable addition to the fern-garden.
Evergreen Wood Fern. — Aspidium spiuiilosiim^ (Swz.) van
intermedium, (D. C. Eaton).
'I'his handsome evergreen fern forms one of the greatest ornaments
of our Canadian woods, where it exists in great abundance, and in
several v-rious forms. Not only is it one of the earliest, but one of the
hardiest and most enduring of its tribe. We find its refreshing verdant
fronds, as soon as the snow wreaths have disappeared from the forest,
brighter and greener than any other herb or tree that has borne the
pelting of the pitiless storms of Winter.
Our Wood-fern affects the soil of the Pine and Hemlock woods,
in which many other species of plants refuse to grow ; but it is also
abundant in hardwood lands, where, however, we find it m.ore usr.ally
growing at the foot of Pines or Hemlocks, as most congenial to its
nature.
The large, green feathery fronds are from one to two feet in the
full grown plant, sometimes exceeding this measure in favourable
situations, and varying in colour from a lighter to a deeper green. The
stipe is rough, channelled, stiff and scaly, both in the bud and up the
stalk, but the scales are less abundant in some plants than in others.
The fruit dots are round, kidney-shaped : at first pale, but deepening to
dark brown, almost black, and shining. This last appearance seems
peculiar to very large spreading vigorous fronds, which may be another
variety of the typical form of A. spimdosum. The pinnules much
divided almost tri-pinnate ; wide-spreading, upright, and of a deeper
green than the more common form, which is narrower ; the pinnte
curving upwards, the fruit dots covered with a pale brown indusium.
A more delicate narrower fern, with pointed scales, shaded with
darker brown in the centre, not more than a foot in height, the pinn^-e
elegantly curved upward, fruit dots smaller, of a very light brown, may
be the Lastrea coUiiia of Moore. There are other not less attractive
varieties, which may be found in our Pine forests, intermediate between
the Evergreen i"'ern and Aspidium dilaiatum, which also has its own
varieties uniting it to A. cristatum. Many of these gradations among
our Aspidiums are yet un-named, unless by such a fanciful name as seems
approjiriate from some peculiarity in outline or colour. One of the
most beautiful of these varieties we might call the Lace-I'"ern, from the
graceful appearance of the deeply divided pinnules, thinness of texture
,L i
fEKAS.
n9
e shade
growing
t at the
'ar.
naments
and in
le of the
verdant
»e forest,
jrne the
c woods,
it is also
e usually
ial to its
et in the
avourable
|een. The
up the
others,
jening to
ce seems
another
es much
deeper
e pinnai
isium.
ded with
le pinnre
)wn, may
attractive
between
its own
s among
as seems
e of the
from the
f texture
and bright green colour of the frond. One form of Lady Fern very
narrow in outline, pinntc very distant, and pinnules almost folded
together, is known as Skeleton Fern, and this last name is very well
suited to the starved aspect of the plant. While one of the Beech
Ferns* has obtained the singular name of Mendicant Kern, from
the deflexcd lower pair of pinnte, which have a sort of supplicating look.
The elegant Adiautiim pedatniu, is known everywhere in this district as
Fairy P^ernf ; nor can we reasonably object to common names liy which
our plants may be recognized by common people, who would only
provoke a smile were they to call them by their scientific names, the
meanmg of which they could not comprehend nor even pronounce
properly.
The fruit dots of the Evergreen Wood I'ern may be perceived on
the back of the pinnules as soon as the frond unrolls ; at this early
period they have a whitish look, and the kidney form is easily distin-
guished. In July the colour deepens, the indusia shrivel and the ripened
sori give a rich brown look to the back of the frond ; in August the
spores begin to be shed abroad.
What a world of wonders does the magnifying glass reveal to our
eyes if we examine the fruit dots through it. Truly those who never
look within the book of Nature, lose a thousand pleasures that they
never dream of, in their eager pursuit after worldly amusements. Even
the fine transparent pointed hairs that terminate the toothed divisions of
the pinnules are most beautiful to look upon ; the fine veinings and the
scales that clothe the root and stipe of the frond, are worth our closest
attention and admiration. Very closely allied to A. spinulosuin var.
intermedium is the
Broad Shiki.d Fern-
-Aspidium spimilosum, (Swz.), var. diiaiatum,
(Horneman).
This differs from the preceding by its more triangular outline, the
oblong divisions of the pinniv;, the more leathery texture and yellower
green of the pinnules and the paler, smaller, fruit dots, which are very
abundant on the full-sized fruitful fronds. Where this fern is found,
in exposed situations, the colour is a very yellovv green, rusty on the
stipes, and the pinnules contracted, so as to appear concave beneath.
The rachis is thickened and a little swollen at the base of the mid-ribs
of the pinnai. These differences evidently are caused by soil, and more
sunny exposure, from which all our wood-loving ferns seem instinctively
to shrink, nor do they long continue in situations so uncongenial to their
* I'heijiiiilcris hc.iiujonitiilcm.
t Tlii'St' iui' merely local iinmes nut widi'ly kiiuwii.
34°
/•ERNS.
nature, for they dwindle away and disappear after the second year Like
the var. intermedium it seems to prefer the Pine woods, and is also found
very frecjuently in Cedar swamps among rotting wood; it then assumes a
bright glossy green, and has the pinnules larger and more dilated.
This very handsome, hardy fern dries well, especially the young
fronds, which retain their bright colour and are extremely attractive. The
sori on the fruit-bearing fronds, do not (or very rarely) extend to the
two lowest pairs of pinnae. Like other ferns of this tribe, the frond is
circinate in the bud, the root-stock very scaly, and the rootlets strong,
black, and fibrous.
Marginal Shield Fern — Aspidium margiiiale, (Swz.)
Of this fine hardy fern we have three distinct varieties besides the
more common normal form, known as the Marginal Sliield Fern, and
described by Gray as of a light-green colour. This is not the colour of
our Canadian fern which is decidedly dark, or very full green.
The fern described in the Manual agrees perfectly with fine specimens
found growing in a swampy, rocky, bush road, near the banks of the
river Otonabee, about a mile south-east of the village of Lakefield, but
differs from the more common dark-lcived evergreen fern of the l^ine-
woods in the same neighbourhood, which is of a fine shining holly-green
colour, densely chaffy at the root-stock ; stipe, and rachis green,
and smooth, about two to three feet high in the larger fronds which are
pinnate ; pinnules crenate ; veins, waved ; sori, abundant, marginal,
leaden coloured, but turning brown when fully matured ; indusia,
depressed in the centre, kidney-form as in other Aspidiums. This is a
stately evergreen fern, common in rich damp woods, especially where
Pine and Hemlocks abound in rocky woodlands.s
A very interesting small sized fern resemtjling the above, only of a
miniature growth, I have found in the rocky woods near the Otonabee ;
and also on a bit of wettish waste-land two miles north of Peterboro',
among rotten logs and limestone boulders. Stipe slender, smooth, very
chaffy at its root-stock, from four to ten inches in he'i^ht. Many of the
fronds were fruitful at six inches in height, but usually the fruiting fronds
were the largest and strongest. The veinings were forked, and the mid-
veins blackish and waved; sori, distinct and formed at the upper fork of
the veinlets; colour of the indusia, at first whitish then of a leaden hue;
the scales at the junction of the stipes with the root-stock of a pale fawn-
colour, soft and thin pointed, and over-lapping as in the typical form.
The favourite soil appears to be decaying wood, as it was chiefly found
growing on decayed logs, between the chinks or sheltered on the ground
below. The pinnules slightly crenate, oblong, blunt, and the whole plant
of a dark glossy-green.
fENXS.
Ml
ir Like
so found
ssumes a
;d.
e young
ive. The
d to the
frond is
ts strong,
)
isides the
;'"ern, and
colour of
,pecimens
iks of the
;field, but
the ]'ine-
olly-green
lis green,
vhich are
marginal,
indusia,
This is a
Uy where
only of a
)tonabee ;
eterboro',
Doth, very
uiy of the
ing fronds
the mid-
ler fork of
iden hue ;
ale fawn-
ical form.
elly found
le ground
hole plant
Mrs. Traill's Shield Kern — A. mar^inak, (Swz.) var.
Traillce, (I-awson).
.\ more remarkable form of .4. iiiari^inalc was found near the village
of l^akefield, on a vacant town-lot, still only partially cleared from the
forest trees and brushwood. Rearing its noble dark-green fronds among
the broken piled up branches of a brush-heap, I found the fine tall fronds
of the dark-green fern to which Professor Lawson has given the name
TrailliCy in compliment to the finder.
From a hard, woody, chaffy root-stock, standing some inches above
the soil, close to the roots of an old Beech stump, sprung up some six
stout fronds of a deep-green colour ; pinnre long and narrowly pointed,
curving upwards ; pinnules c'eeply crenate so as to form wide sinuses
between the lobtv>; pinnte distinct on the rachis nearly to the upper pairs;
indusia pale-green, kidney-form, one on each lobe, for with the exc .; jn
of one or two smaller fronds, they were all fruit-bearing ; veining strongly
marked, twice-forked, and waved, so ag to form an elegant sort of shell-
like pattern on the upper surface of the leaves. The height of this stately
fern was from two to four feet. The root-stock was evidently many years
old. The only second plant of this fern that I have since found was at
the side of a piece of corduroy road at the foot of a hill near Mr. (i.
Strickland's, but it was in a mutilated condition, having been bitten by
cattle ; nevertheless it was not so much injured but that it could be readily
identified with the former specimens, which fact was very satisfactory.
These plants grew nearly two miles apart, but fire has destroyed the
one, and the other has disappeared beneath a newly erected fence, to my
sorrow and disgust.
'I'his fern is so distinct in its features that I think it may be con-
sidered a species rather than a mere variety. Prof. Lawson's description
is as follows; "Fronds very large (^^i feet long), bipinnate, all the
pinnules pinnatified." He further states that this variety has the same
relation to the type of A. Margiuale as var. iiicisa has to typical FiliX'
mas.
Crested Shield-Fern. — Aspidium cristatiiiii, (Swz.)
We meet with the Crested Shield lern in great abundance growing
in the Cedar swamp in the rear of the village of Lakefield, Noith Douro,
This very handsome, though somewhat coarse fern, grows freely in wet
boggy grouhd, among fallen timbers and rank herbage ; often on rotten
logs or at the roots of stumps. 'I'lie young bright green fronds are
extremely pretty, Sometimes the roundish lobes of the pinna) are crowded
iind stand forward on the rachis, so as to give a full crisp look to the
Q
i;:H!.'
; I
i:
I li:
-I! If!
i
-A
343
FE/iA'S.
)
plant. I have also found an abnormal form of cristatuni, where the
pinniu were upright, clasping the rachis and twisting round it : the pinn;v
were very narrow, as also the lobes ; the sori flatter and the indusia much
thinner and paler in colour ; the fronds of a very light green, and the
lower part of the stipe of a reddish brown. ^.
I have also met with a chance form where the pinniv; were forked
at the lower pairs, but accidental varieties occur in most of the forest
ferns.
I have also found specimens of Cystopteris hnlbifera and ot
Dicksonia /<ilosiusciila, handsomely forked at the apex.
The fertile frond of A, cristatuni is much taller than the sterile
frond. The stipe is of a rich reddish brown colour ; a few large, thin,
pale-coloured scales may be observed on the stipe and rachis. The
pinnx' are broad at the base, slightly petioled, near the lower part tri-
angular, the lobes divided within a little of the midrib, toothed, and
tipped with sharp points, whence the specific name cristatuni is doubt-
less derived. In growth this fern is upright, rigid and stiff, but when in
full maturity has a very rich appearance, frorii the abundance of ripe sori.
These at first are pale-green, then they deepen to a dull leaden colour,
and finally are rich brown, abundant, but not often confluent. The
barren fronds are usually of a darker green than the fertile, which become
of a light yellowish colour towards August, and finally are rusty and
discoloured. The sori are ripe in August and September.
■"■
Larcier SniKi.n Fkrx. — Aspidiiim Goldiatiutiiy (Hook.)
'i'his is nearly allied to A. cristatmn, but is a much larger species,
more triangular in the arrangement of the long curved pinna;, of a darker
fuller green, less spmy and chaffy ; the blunt pinnules are slightly
toothed ; the large brown fruit dots are arranged in a distinct row (not
confluent), nearer to the mid-veins than to the margin. The pinnre are
long, sometimes in fine fronds from four to six inches from the rachis
to tile extrciuities, while the height of the larger fronds will be from, two
to four feet, where the soil is rich and damp. Like all the Aspidkic
this fern is circinate in the bud ; the frond for the ensuing season being
green and ready to be unrolled earl)- in June, or in warm Springs late
in May, protected by a hard scaly covering from the inclemency of the
Winter's cold.
The pinnules on the divisions of a fine robust specimen of
Aspidium Go/diiiiiiiiii, now before me, are twent}-eight in number, each
of the largest pinnules three-quarters of an inch from the mid-rib to the
blunt extreme end, while there are no less than thirty-eight pairs of
>*.<■
I
/•lEKAS.
a4*
here the
he pinnx'
isia much
1, and the
re forked
:he forest
7 and of
;he sterile
arge, thin,
his. The
r part tri-
Dthed, and
is doubt-
ut when in
jf ripe sori.
ien colour,
lent. The
ch become
; rusty and
ok.)
Ter species,
of a darker
lire slightly
ct row (not
pinna; are
the rachis
)e from, two
e Aspidieic
ason being
prings late
ency of the
jccimen of
mber, each
drib to the
;ht pairs of
])innie, exclusive of the last few, which become confluent at the apex of
the frond. Though the stipe of this fern is very stout and upright,
it is easily broken and yields to the influence of weather, and later in
the season may be found bent and bruised, splitting into long strawy
threads. The stipe is of a pale colour, smooth and shining, not
channelled as in others of the tribe, where the strong nerves are more
apparent.
'Jhis fern seems, like A. cristatttm, to grow most lu.xuriantly in
damp woods, Cedar swamps, and beside creeks in thickets.
The young fronds of A. Goldiaiium are beautifully veined ; veins
and veinlets dark and finely waved.
On the whole, though coarse, it is a grand and stately fern,
especially when the sori are jierfectly ripe. It is a hardy species, but
the fronds wither down in the Autumn.
HoLi V Fkrn. — Prick i,v Shiixd Fern. — Aspidium {Po/ystic/iuiii)
Lonchitis^ (Swz.) «
This is a somewhat coarse, robust fern of stiff upright figure, from
a densely, hard, chaffy root-stock. The young fronds lie closely rolled
up during the winter months, protected by the brown scaly covering, a
characteristic mark common to all the hardy species of this order of
ferns — the Aspidiene — many of which are of an evergreen habit, remaining
healthy and bright through the storms and snows of our Canadian
winters. The name Holly-Fern no doubt is derived from its dark green
colour and the rough spiny appearance of the fronds. The whole plant
is clothed from root to apex with pale, golden-brown pointed scales and
hairs, even the veins and mid-ribs are thus clothed in old strong-growing
plants. The stipe is short, thick, channelled, and clothed with coarse
broadly-ovate scales. The divisions of the pinn?e are auricled or lobed on
the upper side, somewhat hollowed or curved towards the centre, and
pointed at the apex of each one, sharply serrated and finely bristle-tipped;
veins free, bearing the round, rather small fruit dots in a regular line, not
quite at the margin of the pinnule, and the fruit-bearing pinn;e seem to be
confined to the upper portion of the frond. The pinnit on the lower
part of the frond diminish in size and extend nearly down to the root-
stock. Though not one of the most elegant of our native ferns, the
Holly-Fern is yet ornamental, from its fine dark-green colour, evergreen
habit and hardy nature, which makes it eligible for out-door culture in
artificial rock-work. The habitat of the Holly Fern is in the crevices of
rocks, and it is found abundantly at Owen Sound, in the same locality as
Scolopendrium viilgare. It is not so tall growing a plant as the
i
:
m
«44
f£AWS.
Christmas Fern.- Evkrcrekn Rock Fern. — Aspidium ( Polystichum )
iicrostic/ioiiies, (Swz.)
This handsome dark glossy fern is abundant in our northern town-
ships ; it is of a full deep shining green, lanceolate in outline, the height
varying in some of the old plants from one to two feet ; the upper portion
of the fruiting frond is contracted, and closely covered with the confluent
fruit dots ; the whole of these narrowed pinna; have a fine brown felted
api)earance from the abundance of the indusia. The edges of the pin-
nae are strongly revolutc, which gives a hard and rigid look to the frond ;
but these contracted pinn?e only occupy about a third of the leaf. They
are long scythe-shaped, auricled, or very destinctly lobed, che margins
sometimes toothed and tipped with fine silvery hairs. But there is a
great diversity in this fine evergreen Polystichum ; the edges in the
younger barren fronds are often quite smooth, while in others they are
bluntly notched, or again finely serrated, and fringed with shining hairs;
before unrolling the fronds arf densely clothed with white silvery scales,
which give a soft woolly look to the rolled up frond ; but the white
scales disappear very soon, or take a browner hue as the plant increases.
I consider A. acrosticlioides is much finer as an ornamental fern than
A. Lonchitis ; this last is much coarser in texture, the pinnules are short and
sharply cut at the edges, and grow along the whole length of the rachis
from root to apex, the sori are small, round, dark and do not contract
the edge as in A. acrosticlioides : the whole plant is more upright, stiffer,
anf? wanting the rich, smooth, glossy surface of the Evergreen Rock P'ern
of our woodlands. There are several handsome species of the genus
enumerated by the British botanist, but they do not appear to have our
handsome Christmas Fern in England.
Haikv WooDsiA.-- ff^(7d''.f/V7 //rw/i7,y, (R. Br.)
We must not seek for this pretty fern in our rich ^Voodlands, it is
a rock-loving plant, and chiefly found in the black-friable soil that lies in
the crevices of rocks, into which its black fibrous roots can easily
penetrate. It may also be seen in grassy places near water, but always in
rocky localities.
I'rom a thick clump of matted black roots arise a number of rather
slender stipes, terminated by narrow lanceolate fronds of a leathery
texture, and deep green colour ; the pinnules are closely sessile to the
mid-rib, the pinnas also closely adhering to the rachis ; the fruit dots
arc abundant on the slender tapering fertile fror^ds, covering the obtuse
about thre^-lobed, pinnules with the pale brown hairy indusia, which are
early disrupted, and lorm thin pointed scales, surrounding the fruit dot
almost resembling the persistent calyx of a flowering plant.
'itichum)
;rn town-
le height
:r portion
confluent
wn felted
f the pin-
he frond ;
if. They
J margins
there is a
es in the
3 they arc
ling hairs;
ery scales,
the white
: increases.
fern than
e short and
the rachis
)t contract
It, stiffer,
iock Fern
the genus
have our
ands, it is
that lies in
can easily
It always in
er of rather
a leathery
isile to the
fruit dots
the obtuse,
1, which are
le fruit dot.
FERXS.
•4«
In length the tallest fronds of this i)retty fern do not exceed twelve
inches ; the barren and younger growth of fronds vary from a few inches
to six or seven. The fronds are circinatc in vernation, being closely
rolled in, and when first breaking the ground tiie whole of tlie frond
is covered thickly with white silvery hairs, which assume a fine light,
shining brown after exposure to the light and air, as the season advances.
Very fine soecimens of the Hairy Woodsia were sent to me by the
kindness of Mr. Watt, from the neighbourhood of Montreal, and also
by my much-esteemed botanical friend. Professor Macoun. Though not
uncommon in some localities near Montreal and eastward, it was
unknown to our forest settlement at that time ; but it is found among
the rocks that form the western and southern barrier, that surround
that little gem-like lake, known by the settlers in Smith and Hurleigh as
Kairy Lake, a little tarn of some acres in extent, sejjarated from Stoney
Lake by a wall of rocks. This lonely spot is known chiefly to the
hunter and trapper, but latterly its loneliness has been invaded by
pleasure seekers, and sought out where it lies,
" 'Mid circling rocliS th.-x' hiiie it from the WDrltl."
To some such, it may appear rugged and savage in its wildness of
rocks and trees, and tangling underwoods ; but not so to the Botanist
and Field-Naturalist, who will find in it many flowering shrubs and ferns,
such as the noble Osmunda regalis and the small but interesting
Woodsia, one of the most charming of our Rock-ferns, and well worth
the attention of those persons who delight in artificial rock-work in their
gardens or pleasure grounds. One would think it would be easy of
culture, as it seems hardy in its natural condition, where, with Alpine
hardihood, it braves the cold of our Canadian Winters and rocky heights
unhurt. Many of our ferns once little known or valued, have been
sought out and brought into notice by the labours of the intelligent
members that form the Botanical branch of the Field-Naturalists' Club of
Ottawa. All praise be due to the men who have made known,
by their industrious researches, the riches that have been so long
unnoticed in our forests, our rocks and our waters.
To a certain class of minds these things appear trivial and of no
value ; they do not see that the power of a nation does not consist only
in trade anc". what arises from its commerce alone, but in the intelligence
of its people, and in the natural productions of the soil, which, being
sought out and made known, are — through the mechanical skill and
inventive genius of others — the source of a nation's wealth and greatness.
GossAMKR Fern — Dicksonia pilosiiiscula, (Willd.)
Gossamer Fern, a charmingly appropriate name for one of the most
beautiful and graceful of our native ferns, more delicate in the fine
■41
*'
I
I
'lifll
f ill
1
346
FEhNS.
texture of its frond than the Fairy Fern (Canadian Maiden-hair) or the
slender Cystopteris. From the delicacy of the finely divided pinnules of
the pinna', which terminate in i)oints so fragile that a breath disturbs
them, it is very difficult to preserve this lovely fern in perfection when
drying, and its symmetry is destroyed unless great care is taken not to
ruffle or move the tender thing till it has been some days under pressure
and has become sufficiently dry to change the drying sheets of paper.
The ( lossamer Fern is the latest of our wood ferns to expand and
unroll, the uj.-per end of the fronds remaining curled up until the month
of June, unless the season be warm and moist. The stipe or stalk is
very stout, hard, and at first of a bright rosy tint, especially in the young
growth ; in the older fronds the colour becomes of a rich golden brown>
smooth and glossy. The scales of Dicksonia are few, round or blunt,
thin, and pale in colour. There is a fine, minute pubescence on the
surface of the very light green pinnules. The pinnate divisions of the
frond are set close upon the rachis, crowded, opposite or alternate. I
have numbered from forty to sixty ])airs in one frond ; the pinnules are
deeply divided to the mid-rib, finely toothed. The fruit dots are small
and round, placed at the point of the full forking veins in cup-like
involucres. The outline of the fronds is pyramidal, broad, and wide
below, and narrowing to the most delicate point at the extreme apex
and also of the pinna;. The root-stock is slender, running below the
surface and sending up many fronds at intervals, forming extensive beds
where the soil is light and the ground shaded.
It was in a wood known as Preston's woods, Lakcfield, that I
met with the beautiful Gossamer Fern growing in two large beds which
had been divided by a road passing through them.
A more lovely sight than these beds of light green feathery ferns
presented to the eye I had never seen. So fair, so fragile they looked,
contrasted with the dark sombre shade of the great rough-barked
Hemlock trees beneath which they grew ; their delicate forms, so fairy-
like, just stirred by the least breath of summer wind, gave one the idea
of the utmost frailty ; yet these slight fronds bore the effects of the early
nipping frost more hardily than the coarse Bracken and some of the
stouter herbs around them.
Later in October I found the delicate green of the Dicksonia
changed to a fine buff" or creamy-white colour, shewing the ripened
fruit dots distinctly on the li^ht, faded frond, as beautiful in that faded
state as in its summer verdure.
The (iossamer F'ern appears to increase more by the extension of
its creeping root-stock than by seed. F"rom the strength and stoutness
r) or the
mules of
disturbs
an when
;n not to
pressure
pajK-r.
pand and
le month
)r stalk is
he youni^
;n browni
or blunt,
ce on the
ms of the
;rnate. I
inules are
are small
1 cup-like
and wide
erne ajjex
below the
isive beds
d, that I
eds which
lery ferns
J looked,
gh-barked
I, so fairy-
e the idea
the early
lie of the
Dkksonia
le ripened
;hat faded
itension of
stoutness
/•/;A'.\'.V.
HI
of tlie older fronds bearing the sori, I should think that this plant re(|uires
the growth of several successive years before producing them. 'I"he root-
stocks of many of the ferns I believe to be of consideiable age, having
known the same plant year after year growing on the same spot.
The vernation of J)iiho/iui is different from that of the Aspidiums,
the fronds being enca.sed in shari)ly pointed buds, not rolled in the same
way, and covered by the brown chaffy scales that protect the iiardy wood
ferns from the frosts of winter.
.Sknsitivk Fern — Oak-leavkd FKKs~Ofi<>c/t'ti .u'/isiM/t, {\.).
This fern abounds in low wet spots, marshy flats, ami on the low-
lying banks of lakes and slow-tlowing streams, where there is shade
and the soil is suitable ; it grows to the height of three feet and
upwards ; much depends upon the age and strength of the thick, black
root-stock, which extends horizontally, .sending up stiff upright stipes,
and large triangular fronds, which vary considerably at different periods
of growth, and are circinate or rolled when they issue from the bud ;
being at an early stage, covered with fine white velvety down, which
afterwards disappears.
The seedlings of the Oak-leaved I'ern, Onodea sensibilis differ
with succeeding years ; at first a tiny, delicate, little club-shaped, three-
lobed plant, semi-transparent of a very light-green colour ; the next
year it has made a great start in size and darkness of colour. We next
find it a strong vigorous fern with the divisions of the frond, long, waved at
the margin, and having veinings distinctly marked ; rhizome, thickened,
extending under the surface with strong, black, wiry roots and buds ready
for the next year's growth; for the next few years the leafy fronds increase
in size and substance, but still make no attempt at forming fertile fronds.
When full grown it is no longer like the original seedling ti at we
noticed among the damp, spongy, peat soil of the Ic v swampy river
bank ; but a large robust plant spreading abroad its coarse, wide-expanded
frond. After a time, from the crown of the rhizome rise some shorter
fronds, having smooth stipes, and instead of being foliaceous the pinnules
are short, rolled up and converted into berry-like involucres, forming a
one-sided panicle.
The sori are round and borne on the back of the veins, and are
quite concealed within the berry-like involucres.
Later in the season the normal fertile fronds turn dark-brown, and
remain persistent till the following year.
The age of the lOot-stock of this fern appears very considerable
indeed we know not how long it endures, sending up by extension new
/ !
'^'
148
FF.K \S.
\i
m
fronds, year after year. Where it j^rows in shady spots, l)y river ami
lake shores, the growth is rank, the texture coarse, and the colour a very
dark sombre-green. 'I'he sterile fronds are sonietinies very large, occa-
sionally attaining to the length of two, or even three feet ; tiiu horizontal
root-stock extends a considerable distance ; this last may be said to have
l)ecn the cradle of the undeveloped fronds, for years past. Ky dissect-
hig the rhi/oine the embryonic green frond can plainly be seen. Not only
can the process of preparation for the coming year's growth be seen in
the ferns, but the .same thing is observable in the leaf-buds of the
deciduous trees and shrubs, where, as soon as the leaf begins to decay,
a new one is forming, ready to burst forth from its winter casing in the
ensuing season.
In the occasional form found growing in low ground, \vhi( h is
called var. obtnsilobata^ and whi<:h has the pinnules extended as in other
ferns, instead of being rolled up in the usual berry-like manner, and where
the sori are much less abundantly i)roduced, it can be seen that each
sorus is protected by a very thin hood-like indusium fixed at its lower
side.
!rhis form occurs in large beds of the normal fern not unfrequently,
but a])pears to be accidental. It is pro<oably an imperfect state of
the fertile frond. Several very |)retty specimens of another abnormal
slate of 0)H>dca sfiisilnlis occurred on the shore of Rice Lake. These
fronds were of small size, not more than six to eight inches in height,
and were distinctly bi-pinnate ; the rounded, blunt pinnules were
crenate, and each pinnule petioled. The veins were straight and
then forked, and being of a deeper colour than the leaves, gave
a beautiful variegated '■ to the frond. This was an intermediate state
between the normal 'orm and the so-called var. obtiisilobata. I have
since met with several specimens of similar appearance, and one or two
of these shewed a few fruit dots on the margin of the ui)per divisions,
which has induced me to conclude that by some accidental cause
the perfect fruition of the frond had been prevented.
It is very gratifying to an amateur Botanist to imagine that he or
she has found a new species, or even been the means of establishing
the identity of a doubtful one ; but it is more to the advantage of the
science of Botany that one truth should be established, than many new
species added to the list of those already known. I think that the variations
in the appearance of Onoclea seiisibilis, arising from the increasing age
of the plant, have led some persons to conclude that there are two or
more varieties. It would be presumptuous in one, with such limited
knowledge as I possess, to assert that there were no other permanent
forms of this fern than one common one, but I know that every year
;%'..
FEKXS.
I4<>
vcr and
ur a very
;e, occa-
ori/ontal
1 to have
dissect-
Not only
seen in
Is of the
() de<:ay,
g in the
\vhi<h is
i in otliei
nd where
that each
its lower
rc<iiiently,
t state of
abnormal
_>. These
in height,
es were
ght and
cs, gave
iate state
I have
ne or two
divisions,
tal cause
hat he or
tablishing
re of the
nany new
variations
asing age
ire two or
h limited
)ermanent
very year
makes o diflerencc in the outline and texture of the frond that might
easily deceive a casual observer.
The fertile, or fruit-bearing frond, like that of Oiiudta Shiithiof'krh,
is distini I from the sterile or foliat eous oie. It does not appear till late
in the month of August or the beginning of September, and the seeds do
not ripen till October. It remains persistent through the winter, and
old stalks will continue through the following summer, till, battered and
worn, they decay and disappear. These fertile fronds seem to lie the
production of the root-stock of several years' growth, certainly not less
than three, and |)robal)ly the perfect condition may not be arrived at
under four or five years' growth. I have noticed large beds of Onocleas
continue year after year without a single fruit bearing frond, while in
beds of oilier and stronger plants the seed-bearing plants were abundant.
The appearance of the fertile frond of Onoclea is very handsome
and remarkable ; the stiff, upright, rigid stipe is surmounted by rows of
round berry-like spore-cases, formed by the contraction and altered
condition cf a foliaceous frond. This may be observed both in the very
early and immature states of the fertile frond, and later when the spores
are shed and the ragged, worn envelope shows whence it had its
origin. .\t its first appearing the colour of the seed-vessels is of a
bluish green, but as the season advances they become of a dark
chestnut-l)rown, and have a pretty round bead-like appearance, forming
a close, upright, compound spike, each branch being fornfed by a
pinus, and each berry-like jirocess by an altered lobe. Perhaps we
have not a more interesting fern among our Canadian species than
Onoclea seinibilis, as a study, from the tiny little club-shaped seedling to
the old and perfect plant.
Ostrich-Fe.\thkr V'E.Kti- -Onodea Struthiopteris, (Hoffm.)
In wet, marshy ground, on the swampy flats of low lying lakes and
boggy meadows, or on the banks of shaded creeks, we meet with the
fan-shaped, coarse, but grand looking Ostrich-Feather Kern. The lat-ge,
strong fronds rising from a central caudex form a circular crown slightly
bent outwards, making a graceful plume-like figure, whence its popular
name has been derived, and which is well suited to the picturesque
arrangement of the fronds.
This fern is recommended as being easy of growth, bearing removal
from its native soil even when the fronds are well developed, provided
the pot, or box, or place in the rock-work be kept well-watered and
somewhat shaded from the sun. There is a great difference between
the plants growing in open and exposed places, and such as are under
the shade of forest trees, the latter being more luxuriant, deeper coloured.
ti
II.
-:■■. h' :f'
250
FEAWS.
and attaining to a far handsomer, more plume-like form ; the fertile
fronds are very dissimilar from the sterile. They are the production of
plants of several years' growth from old, woody, root-stocks, on short,
stout, deeply-channelled, strongly-nerved stipes ; the fruit dots are round,
on the free veins and veinlets of the contracted pinnules, which are
rolled back, forming a rigid bead-like object, the two opposite lines
meeting together on either side of the mid-rib, and forming a covering
to the numerous clusters of sporangia, which by their thickened
substance they effectually guard and conceal. At first these singular
fruiting fronds are green, but assume in maturity a rich coffee-brown
and take the semblance of the quill-feathers of a dark plumed bird. So
perfect is the deception, that at first sight you marvel how these stiff
brown feathers got stuck into the heart of the tall, graceful, waving circle
of Ostrich-Feather fronds that surrounds them. These fertile fronds
remain persistent all through the Winter and late into the Spring of the
following year, but the winds and rains ot Autumn and the frosts and
snows of Winter begin to wear the surface and tear the cover that was so
tightly secured, and then you may detect the leafy substance and
nature of the pinnules, and perceive the veinings of the leaves ; and
the secrets that were so carefully concealed, within the now torn and
ragged outer coating, are laid open to the curious eye of the Naturalist.
The stipe and rachis of the Ostrich-Feather Fern are, as I observed
before, deeply channelled, and the sides rendered convex by two stout
elastic nerves on either side of the stem. Near the root-stock the stipe
is flattened like the handle of a spoon, but tapers to a narrow point at
its insertion with the root-stock. The flattened part is smooth, slightly
hollowed, black, and polished like whalebone, and finely fringed with
short, stiff, glandular hairs.
The fronds for the ensuing season are circinate in vernation, early
shewing the hard, round, rolled up contents beneath the thick covering
of pale, mem! inous, chaffy scales ; the roots are strong, black and
wiry. The roDt-stock attains to a great age, and becomes very hard,
black, and woody.
Brittle B i.adder-Fkrn — CystopterU fragilis^ ( Bernh).
This truly graceful fern affects the chinks and crevices of lime-
stone rocks, under the overhanging shelter of bushes and long grass,
where it is shaded from the ardent rays of our July and August suns.
It was in the limestone rocks in the quarry at Lakefield, near the
Otonabee rapids, that I first discovered tufts of this charming fern.
There, nourished by the moist atmosphere from the river, almost hidden
from sight, it adorned the rude rock with its drooping slender fronds of
of lime-
mg grass,
just suns,
near the
ing fern.
St hidden
fronds of
FENXS.
251
tender green. The stipe is about a third the length of the frond, of a
dark chestnut colour at the lower part, smooth, shining and lax, in
young fronds almost thread-like. The rhizome is tufted, throwing out
an abundance of drooping fronds from small buds collected into a crown.
The rootlets are black, delicate, and numerous ; rhizome running, but
not extending to any length. The brown sori are numerous, but not
often confluent, situated at the base of each veinlet which terminates the
toothing divisions of the blunt and somewhat rounded pinnules. The
lower pinn«; are smaller than the next three or four pairs, these last are
distant, curving upwards, becoming closer towards the summit of the
frond, but scarcely confluent on the rachis. On a fine specimen now
before me there are eighteen pairs of pinnaj ; the whole length of this
elegant frond, from the root to the apex, measures eighteen inches, the
brown, shining stipe being about a third of the length of the foliaceous
portion.
In the variety angitsiaia, the frond is more upright, of a darker
green ; from the narrowness of the pinnre and pinnules, the fiuit dots
are closer, and form an almost continuous line, of a rich, dark brown
colour ; the closeness of the sharply toothed divisions gives an elegant
pale green fringed edging to the pinnules, the effect of which is very
graceful. The covering of the fruit dots soon breaks away, and the seeds
are ripe early in July. The extreme delicacy of texture in C. fragilis,
causes it to wither earlier than most of our ferns, especially if the
summer be very hot and dry ; it generally disappears early in August.
The seedling plants are very delicate, lovely little things. The root-stock
does not appear to increase much till after the third year, producing no
fruiting fronds till after that time. Thus, at least, I have concluded, after
close observation of the plants for several years past.
There are many variations in the form of this fern, some fronds
being broader at the base, the pinna: closer set, and fruit dots more
distant, the stipe greener and shorter, and the toothing divisions more
sharply cut ; but I think it is merely a variation whirh may be found in
many plants rising from the same root-stock,
I believe that a number of specimens lately gathered in the lime-
stone rocks on the Smith side of Lakefield may be referable to C
dentata ; but as the plant presents distinctive characters I shall describe
it more particularly :
Root-stock tufted, fibrous ; fronds circinate ; stipe and rachis.
bright, reddish-brown, smooth and slender, the stalk rather waved than
drooping ; colour bright light-green ; pinnae horizontal, opposite ;
pinnules bluntish, toothed, but not so much divided as in C. fragilis,
consequently the fruit dots are more distant, the veinlets being less
j:|
252
FERA'S.
i\
forked. The hood-like indusia are of a pale colour ; the stipe much
shorter than the frond, which is long and lanceolate ; the pinns; are
distinct to the last pairs, which are very minute. One of the most
remarkable features in this fern is the presence of bulblets, (which I have
never seen on the true C. fragilis.) These bulblets are of a deep green
colour — not thrice cleft and mitre form as in C. bullnfera, but more
like the swelled lobes of a bean — one being nearly twice as large and
overlapping, the other. These bulblets are paitinlly covered with
broadish, thin white scales, which probably in an early stage enveloped
them, but now appear disrupted and scale-like.
In C. hitlbifera the thrice cleft bulblets stand upright, but in my
newly found fern they lie horizontally on the upper pinnules.
The root is blackish, fibrous, wiry, imbedded in the crevices of the
limestone rock, above the river. The whole plant is from six to nine
inches high. I think that it is nearer to C. bulbifera than C. fragilis.
It is altogether a very graceful and interesting little plant, and would be
very suitable for rock or parlour cultivation.
The larger fern, C. bulbifera, with the variety flagelliformis, grows
in vast quantities in our damp woods, where it trails upon the ground
or climbs over fallen timber and brush-wood, sometimes stretching its
weak attenuated stalk to the length of three and even four feet, and in
several specimens I have detected delicate white fibrous rootlets put
forth at the extreme end of the frond, as if to clasp the bark or lay hold
ol the surface of the stump, or branch, that was nearest, for support.
This fern might be called the Trailing Fern, from its lax habit.
When young it is bioader at the basal pinnaj, of a vivid green, but
becomes much lighter, almost yellowish-green, in the fertile state of the
frond. The stalk is red, smooth and brittle : the few loose scales that
appear early in the season soon drop off and disappear ; the lower
pinnte are longer, wider at the base, and curve upwards, they are distant
from the next pair, and so continue till about the third or fourth pair,
when they are more horizontal on the rachis and opposite, continuing
distinct, however, to the end. The sori are whitish at first, but become
of a dark brown colour as the indusia shrivel up. In one form, it may
be the variety named by Dr. Lawson, /lorizo/italis, the fertile frond
is almost folded together, the pinnules being contracted so as to show
but one side. There is a form of very frequent occurrence, the whole
frond being stiffer, more leathery in texture, and of a duller colour ; the
fruit dots very dark brown. Further observation may throw more light
upon this plant to determine whether this appearance is constant or
accidental. If distinct, it might be called variety rigidus from its stiff
rigid habit. The continual changes that are being effected on the face
FERNS.
253
le much
mx are
le most
h I have
:p green
It more
Tge and
ed with
iveloped
jt in my
es of the
: to nine
fragilis.
would be
lis, grows
e ground
xhing its
:t, and in
)tlets put
lay hold
port.
ax habit,
reen, but
ite of the
cales that
le lower
re distant
urth pair,
ontinuing
become
11, it may
ile frond
to show
the whole
our ; the
nore light
nstant or
m its stiff
the face
of the country, render accurate attention to the peculiar habits of our
native plants daily and yearly more difficult. To-day I go forth into
the woods and discover some interesting plant, which I desire to see
unfolded in perfection ; a few weeks pass, and lo 1 the axe of the
chopper has done its work, the trees are levelled to the earth, the fire
has passed over the ground and the blackness of desolation has taken
the place of verdure and living vegetation. I must seek my plant in
more distant localities, and it may be it is lost to me for ever, and I
console my disappointment by the consideration that such things are
among the " must be " of colonial life, and so it is useless to grumble.
The (Ireek name Cystopteris, is derived from two words, signifying
— a bladder, and — a fern, from the inflated indusia or hood-like coverings
of the seed.
RovAF. FtDWEKiNd Kern — OsiiiHuda regalis, (I,.)
" l-nir ferns and flowers, nnd chiefly that tall fern
So stately, of (jueen Osmunda named." — Ji'ords-a'ort/i.
The name Osmunda, in the Anglo-Saxon tongue, means "Peace" or
" House-peace " ; so says Moore, an English writer on Ferns. A sweet
feminine name, worthy of being borne by some gentle maiden in her rural
home, as well as bestowed upon the noblest and most attractive of the
Fern Family, or, as it has been styled by a modern author, the " flower-
crowned prince of ferns."
The old and long-recorded legend of the origin of the name
Osmunda, given to this fern, is simply that Osmund, a prince, some
say a waterman — possibly both (for the prince might have owned a boat,
in which he amused himself on the waters of Loch Tyne) — is said to
have secreted his wife, or a fair daughter, during an incursion of the
savage Danes, among the tall fronds of these ferns, whence the name
was given by the people in remembrance of the safe shelter afforded by
the tall, shadowing fronds to the fair "House-peace" or the lady
Osmunda. Now the story may only be a pretty fanciful romance of
Anglo Saxon days, but we like to indulge in a bit of poetical fiction
when we can, in regard to the names of our pet plants ; there is some-
thing in the name and its attributes — Royal Flowering Osmunda —
surely it sounds better than such Latinized or Greekified names as we
find in our Botanical Catalogues. What of such names attached to some
of our Sedges as Carex Shortiana, C. Hitchcockiana, C. Sartwellii, C.
Schweinitzii, C. Muskingumenis, C. Wormskioldiana, and a host of
others; but I am on dangerous ground, or I shall get into disgrace with
my Botanical friends, who will hardly forgive my impertinence and
presumption, or ingratitude to the dear professor, who named a doubt-
I
'■■?!
254
fEA'JVS.
fill fern after myself. But to returii to my Osmunda ; the root-stock of
the Osviunda regalis is very hard, stout and knotty in age, often standing
many inches above the surface of the ground and sending up many
slender stipes, which are circinate in the bud, but not so warmly clothed
with chaffy scales as the Aspidiums and others. The stii)es of the
young, and also of the sterile fronds, are of a rosy red tint, deepening
into blackish brown near the root in the old and fertile fronds. I
know not a more beautiful api)earance than a grove of these stately
ferns makes in their bright, lively green, summer dress, above which
is seen the rich cinnamon brown tufts of the fruit-bearing pinnaj,
bending their graceful foliage over the brink of some lonely lake as if to
kiss the reflection mirrored on its surface. The pinnated divisions of
Osmunda are opposite, or nearly so ; the pinnules of the older, stouter
fronds are an inch in length and half an inch in width, not very close on
the mid-rib ; those of the younger and sterile fronds slender and paler in
colour. There is a great variety in the foliage of this fern ; sometimes
the pinnules are eared or auricled, the margins waved, notched, crenate,
or finely serrate (saw-toothed), or in young ones quite smooth, small and
delicately thin ; the stipes red, slender and drooping gracefully
downwards.
The indusia appear to be lobes or parts of the pinnules transformed
into berry-shaped masses that conceal and cover the sori, and open with
a slit, when the seeds are ripe, to let them escape from their carefully
sealed prison. What wondrous care, what consummate wisdom is here
displayed by the Creator in the protection of the life-containing germ of
a simple fern. It is as if a sort of maternal instinct had . ,cn imparted
to the parent plant to shield the embryo from every possible injury and
to insure its safety through all the mysteries of its infant state, till the
time should come for it to be launched forth to find a home and
nourishment in the bosom of the earth. Our fern is, by some authors
supposed to be a distinct variety from the British, but as the description
given in Moore's " Handbook of British Ferns " describes our's exactly,
I cannot do better than reproduce it :
" The fronds are circinate in vernation, and when young, delicate
and very tender, shooting up with rapidity and attaining in some places
a height of ten or twelve feet in damp ground, in drier situations from
two to four ; they appear in May and are destroyed by early frosts.
The stipe is stout, smooth, without scales, tinged with red while young ;
fronds, lanceolate, bi-pinnate ; iiinn^ arranged in opposite pairs with
opposite or alternate pinnules, often lobed or auricled at the base,
stirrated or otherwise ; the veration very distinct ; each pinnule has a
prominent mid-vein : the veins from this are forked, and the venules
stock of
jtanding
p many
clothed
i of the
lepening
nds. I
c stately
c which
pinnie,
e as if to
•isions of
r, stouter
close on
1 paler in
jmetimes
, crenate,
small and
jracefuily
nsformed
jpen with
carefully
m is here
y germ of
imparted
ijury and
till the
ome and
authors^
;scription
s exactly,
delicate
ine places
ions from
irly frosts.
e young ;
>a'rs with
the base,
ale has a
e venules
J-ERNS.
255
are again forked in parallel lines to the margin. The fructification
consists of the upper pinncu, changed from a leai'y to a soriferous state,
and forming a panicle of spikelets, covered over with spore cases attached
to the veins of the altered pinnules.
I'he spore cases are sub-globose, reticulated, two valved, opening
vertically, these valves being supposed to originate in the ei)idermis of
the frond.''
In its faded state, when touched by the withering power of
Autumnal frost, the Osmunda is not less beautiful in its warm buff-
colour, and with its darkened plumy crests consisting of the ripened
panicle of sporangia which are borne aloft on the summits of the
main stems. I have seen a grove of Osnumdas towering above that
remarkable plant, the Sarmcciiia purpurea, with its dark crimson-veined
hollow cup and ewer-shaped lip. The Pitcher Plant itself, springing
from the midst of a deep bed of creamy peat-mosses, the myriads of soft
leaves and rose-tinted ca])aules of which were alone a sight to charm the
eye of the lover of nature, not less lovely because untouched by
artificial culture, and fresh in all their native grace and beauty, adorning
the waste places of the earth, wild and free from God's hand.*
Water Fern— -iNTKRRUi'TEU YKYca—Osmntida Claytoniana (L.)
Water Fern is the name by which this fern is known among country
people, from its being indicative of hidden springs. Where these ferns
are found, evert on high ground, there is every chance of water existing
below the surface, so the old settlers used to say : a more satisfactory
way of discovering springs than the far-famed mystery of the Wych-
hazel wand of the v>ell-diggers which many persons put implicit faith in.
The old name Osmunda hiterrupta, or I'->terrupted Fern, given by
Michaux and older Botanists, is so expressive of the peculiar character
of this remarkable plant, that I like to preserve it, as it has a distinctive
reference to the arrangement of the pinna;, which is peculiar to this fern,
and by which it can l)e recognized by any observer of the plant.
The fronds, when they first appear above the ground in May, are
densely clothed with light-brown woolly hairs ; as they unroll, the fertile
contracted pinn;v: are seen, like a cluster of brownish-green cater])illars
ranged in pairs, from three to four or five, occupying the middle of the
At the riBlitliiiiiil CDniiTor Fairy Ijikc, iiiii iiicci' of Wliitc IViit Moss, ^iphtvimnn fiiml ijhiiiim,
aliTiuly ilrsci'iln'il, tliis IVni tdWi'iTil ii]i fill' liiglicr tliiin tlic heml of tlii' writiT, niiil iiIidvc t'.iilnf tlii'
liiiiitnmn, II. .Stone, wlio was a mail aliove tlic miildli' lici^tlit.
At till' siilc of a wati'i'-coiiisc lu'ar Uice I.aki', fniinls of 0. (Vaylni^idiia, above tlie lii'ijilit of
the lady wlio natliered tlieiii, were lirouKlit t'liiie, and slie was five feet six iiielies.
W Will wi I III id I'lrgiiiii'ii is also a tall fern ; on a rocky ravine at tlie north side of Ka),'h' Mount,
on the Diiinoiu's side of Stoiiey Lake, there is ,1 lai^e thiiket of this fern, in wliieh were tirowiiiK
many fronds, whieli exi'eeded in measurement llie statnri' of my eoiiipanion,,who was a person
very little under six feet. These examples show that the above statement of the liei);ht of the
Osiiiiiiiild reiji'lis was no exa(,'t;eniti(m, thongli jiossdiiy above the average.
i i
I ;
i!
! -il
i*
256
FEA'XS.
rachis, or rather nearer to the base ; the lower pairs of sterile pinna;
below these curious rolled up ones, are smaller than the upper leafy
pairs which expand into a fine ovate foliaceous frond.
There is an interruption in the outline of the frond, caused by the
closely contracted fertile pinnae. At a first glance you would really
imagine that you saw a number of hairy caterpillars feasting on the
green frond. As the season advances, these narrowed contracted pinniB
acquire a deep brown colour, still bearing a strange resemblance to
some predaceous insect; by the end of July they begin to shed the
spores and shrivel up, but cling for a while to the rachis till they finally
drop off, leaving a naked vacant place on the stalk between the upper
and lower leafy portions of the frond. The saft, woolly covering
that we first noticed has almost disappeared ; it had fulfilled its part in
the economy of the plant : like a warm and comfortable great coat, it
had guarded the young plant from injury during the capricious season,
when it made its first appearance, and now is cast off as no longer
needed. The usual colour of our Osmunda, during its earlier stages of
g'-owth, is a very light yellowish-green, but as the fronds increase in
size and the summer advances, the now largely developed fronds (and
truly it is a stately plant) become of a deep, sad green. I have
measured full-grown fronds of Osmunda Claytoniana five feet six inches
in height, and I have been told that many are found still higher.
The usual habitat of this fern is the dry beds of old water-courses,
swampy places and wet meadows. The stipe and rachis are yellowish in
old plants. The root-stock survives to a great age ; I knew a plant
growing in one spot just below the orchard at Oaklands, Rice Lake, my
old home, for more than forty years ; when last I visited the spot
the same old root was still sending up its annual cluster of noble
fronds, as fresh and as grand looking as when first I noticed the plant,
in the year 1840.
The age of some species of ferns, especially that of the Osmundas
and the Onocleas, appears almost to reach that of a tree, for, having
paid much attention to these interesting plants, I have known the same
old standard root-stocks for a number of years past, unchanged in their
character, unless it were that they became more vigorous in sending up
larger and more fruiting fronds.
The subject seems to have excited little attention hitherto, but is
a fertile field for investigation, which I recommend to my readers.
In olden times the early settlers made use of the young, tender
heads of this fern as a pot-herb, likening its flavor to that of Asparagus.
One point in its favour may be noticed, that the vegetable is quite
harmless and may be used '■ "thout fear of its being poisonous.
lie piniiiC
per leafy
ed by the
lid really
g on the
ed pinni\3
ilance to
shed the
ey finally
he upper
covering
•
ts part in
It coat, it
s season,
lo longer
stages of
crease in
nds (and
I have
ix inches
T.
r-courses,
lowish in
V a plant
Lake, my
the spot
of noble
he plant,
)smundas
r, having
the same
1 in their
nding up
to, but is
ers.
5, tender
sparagus.
is quite
Plate JX,
'11
:
I. l,\K(;i, KvKN'iNG-l'KiMKosK {G^nothcra bicnuis \z\. grandifloro).
II. Twin Fi.ovvkk (Liniucu bnrcalis)
ir. grandiflorn).
,A"
/■7:kns.
(!iNNAMON Kkrn OsihiihJh diiiKiDiomi'ii, (1. )
257
This fern is so ( allfd from the reddish l)r(i\vn wool tliat (lollies the
fronds in their early sta^e of growth, and also from the colour of the
sori of the fertile frond which occupies the central (Town of the root
stock, (inite diflerent, and easily distinjjuished by its reddish colour
and contracted pinniv, from the upright, coarse, foliaj^e of the sterile
fronds.
The Cinnamon I'ern is found in wet, grassy places, growing in large
clumps, sometimes from very large, hard, (leshy root-stocks, whi( h are
occasionally eaten raw and are said to resemble some nuts in tlavour
The singular-looking red-brown fertile fnjnd rising from the mid^t of
the plant, soon perfects its seeds, and the long weak stipes fall and lie
prostrate on the grounil, curled up an<l withered. 'I'hough the sterile
fronds are coarse and less elegant than those of any of the Osmundas
the very young leaves are remarkably handsome. The pinnules whit h
are roundish and blunt arc usually entire and crowded, nearly over-
la[)ping on the short chaffy s'ipes, the free forked veins easily discerned.
Adpi-.k's ToNdUK Ophioglossiim riilgatuni, (I„)
'I'he Adder's Tongue in general appearance hardly realizes the idea
of a fern, although in reality it is one. Closely allied to the Adder's
Tongue, and belonging to the same Natural Order, are the Nfoonworts.
This order which Hotanists name 0/</iioi:;ltissciceiL\ includes those ferns
whose leaves instead of being rolled are folded up in a straight or
inclined manner. The sporangia are formed of tlie interior tissue of the
frond, and are spiked or panicled. The copious, sulphur-coloured spores
are discharged through a transverse slit which divides the spore case into
two valves. The roots are fleshy and instead of sending up several
fronds produce one double frond every year, which is divided into a
leafy barren portion, and a fruitful portion, which is simply a spike or
cluster of sporangia. The Adder's Tongue is not very common in
Canada, it is found in open spots, among grasses, near woods. The
leafy portion of the frond is simply an undivided, entire, egg-shaped,
fleshy frond of a light green, and is beautifully veined. The fertile spike is
borne above this expansion on a slender stem, and consists of two rows of
spore cases, one on each side of the stem, forming a double row about
an inch long. When the spores are ripe these cases split open and have
the appearance of a double row of teeth ; it is from this state of the plant
that the name Adder's Tongue, which is a translation of the classical
name, is taken. The height of this strange little fern is about six inches.
There is generally only one frond from the same root ; but occasionally
two may be found.
R
i
til!
^t
i
258
fKN.V.S.
Flow 1; KING Wood-Fkrns Rattiksnakk Fkrns — Graimc Fkrns.
The Hotrychiums differ from the Adder's Tongue in having the
barren portion of the frond divided into a series of stalked pinnules, and
have the fertile portion made up of alternate clusters of sporangia. The
Moonworls are pretty j)lants, with much more of the appearance of ferns
than the Adder's Tongue ; but possessing many distinctive character-
istics which distinguish them from the Dorsal Ferns — as the Polypodies,
Aspleniums and Aspidiums- - for instance, the forked fronds dividing the
stipe into two distinct parts : the sterile or foliaceous,and the fertile or fruit-
bearing portions ; the smooth, fleshy stipe destitute of scales ; the berry-
like, rolled up sporangia that contain the spores, and the thick, fleshy
roots, covered with a tough, leathery, brown skin, which, in the older
plants, is marked with indented rings, and from which, doubtless, the
name of Rattlesna'KC Fern has been derived. Anc . ler distinctive mark is
the collar or crown from which the bundle of thick roots springs ; the
central bud contains the single foliaceous frond, which is not circinate or
rolled up, as in the Dorsal Ferns, but is folded in a thin, white, mem-
branous sheath, similar to those that enclose the flowers of bulbous-
rooted plants. The sporangia, the coverings of the spores or fern seeds,
are on an upright slender stipe, much longer than the sterile frond,
which is sessile, or closely adhering to the main stem. These spore
cases are formed of altered i)innules, which are contracted and closely
rolled up into tiny balls, opening, by means of a slit, into two valves,
■which allows the fine yellow or pale brown seeds or spores to escape
when ripe. Of this interesting family we have sev. \1 distinct species
and several varieties. In Britain, I believe, the oni) representative of
the Botrychiums is B. Lunar ia, the Moon wort, a small, singular looking
fern, with semicircular, thickish, crenate pinnules and slender fertile
spike. Respecting this curious plant many incredible legends existed
in the days when that worthy old herbalist (lerarde wrote, but which
he disclaimed as not proven.
The English peasant, though far from imaginative, is credulous
when once imjiressed, and readily accepts the marvellous, only it must
have the sanction of ancient custom and oral tradition, handed down
from father to son ; this sanctifies and gives weight to any legendary lore,
however improbable. It must have been a hard trial when purer faith
replaced the legends of the church with simple Gospel truths. Botry.
chiutn Ltaiaria, (Swz.) has been lately found in several localities in the
Provinces of Quebec and Ontario, but is very rare. The commonest
species is
Kkrns.
laving the
nules, and
gia. The
ce of ferns
character-
'olypodies,
ividing the
ile or fruit-
t!ie berry-
lick, fleshy
the older
ibtless, the
ive mark is
irings ; the
;ircinate or
hite, mem-
)f bulbous-
fern seeds,
;rile frond,
hese spore
md closely
wo \alves,
to escape
ict species
entative of
ar looking
ider fertile
ds existed
jut which
credulous
nly it must
ided down
ndary lore,
lurer faith
Botry-
ities in the
ommonest
FE/iXS. 259
RATJi.tSNAKi': 1-'i:rn' — Botrychiiim Virginianiiiii, (Swz.)
This fine fern may be found in the rich vegetable mould of our
hardwood forests, and can be easily distinguished by its broad bright
green, much divided, barren frond of thin texture, with the veins free
-and forking ; pinnules slender and jjomted ; the upright, fertile frond
much taller, slenderly branched, bearing the small round seed vessels of
a. dark green colour, ripening to a bright reddish-brown or yellow, and
shedding the spores in the month of July, or early in August. In some
s])eciniens the leafy frond may be found placed obliquely, giving a more
graceful air to the fern.
The variety known as B. gracilc I take to be plants of the first and
second years' growth. Having cultivated this fern for many years in a
wild shady sjjot in my garden, I have watched it during its
different stages from the first seedlings as they came up, just
simple miniatures of the larger growth, at first small, with leafy
spreading surface, cut and di\ided as in the older plants, but
not forking into two divisions. The second season these plants
became fruitful : though the fertile spike was very delicate, the
whole size of the fern not exceeding six inches ; as it increased in
age it became stouter in the scape and larger in Ijreadth, corresponding
to the description of (iray. My observations were not confined to one
or two specimens, but I grew and examined a large number, and was
convinced that I had formerly been mistaken in supposing that there
were two or more distinct varieties, age only being the cause of the
difference. I had also thought that this fern was one of annual or
biennial growth, but this also was a mistake, as I have learned by
experience and observation that the root-stock is of longer duration.
In very damp, rich soil, B. Virgin inn 11 in attains to a large size -
from one to two feet in lieight, and from twelve inches and upwards in
breadth.
The thick, brown, fieshy roots strike far down into the soil, but
though difficult to dig up uninjured, the plant is not hard to cultivate, as,
•with water and shade, in good mould, it grows and thri\ vs well in the
garden, and the seeds spring up early in the following Sj 'ring — ^though
it seems to me only a very few of the thousands of fern seeds shed
possess tlie life i^rinciple within them ; jjossibly a wise provision in
nature to keep these plants within proper bounds, has restricted them
from vegetating freely.
The name Botrycliiitni is derived from the (ireek Ixitrys, a bunch
of grapes, from the clustering of the spore cases.
I (
, : f
ii'i'
ii
260
FjEAWS.
MooxwoRT — Thi; True Rai tlesnake Ferx — Botrychiitm
tenia til III, (Swz.)
This is a very distinct species from 1\ I'li-giiiiaiiiiin, differing in
colour texture and shape of the pinnne and in the general outline of
the plant. The thick dark-green colour and fleshy consistency of the
frond, with the blunt eared or lobed form of the pinnules, the thicker mid-
ribs of the sterile, divided frond, and tall fruit-bearing portion, two to
four pinnate, presents a ver)- different aspect to that of the above men-
tioned fern. The old year's frond remains, persistent and evergreen,
until the new one makes its appearance, breaking its way through the sod
from its enveloping sheath. I found this fern in grassy Pine groves, just
appearing above the ground m the month of July, on the banks of the
Katchawanook Lake.
One of the forms of this species was formerly called />'. liiiiarioidcs
(or lunaria-like) on account of a resemblance it is supposed to bear to
y>'. Liiiiaria — but it, with several other forms, is now included in the
t) pe of the species B. icriiatiiiii (Swz.)
The light brown fleshy roots of this fern are tough and deeply
ri.iged, whence its name Rattlesnake Fern nc doubt has been derived.
Another very striking form of this species I discovered in the Oaken
glades of the Rice Lake Plains ; it difi'ered in some particulars from the
above. In height, not exceeding nine inches ; the stipe very thick and
stout, very smooth, and when wounded emitted a thick juice which gave
a white starchy crystal when dry. The last year's leaf remained,
sheathing the stem and falling prostrate as soon as the new frond
appeared, and began to expand its thick leaflets and forking fertile
frond. The colour of the whole plant was of a light yellowish-green ;
the sporangia yellow; the spore duU sulphur yellow, shedding
abundantly when ripe, which was in the hot month of August. The
outline of the fronds was nearly circular ; the fertile frond very little
higher than that of the leafy or sterile portion, which is closely sessile
lij the column-like fleshy scape, and spreads in a fan-like manner.
As the l-!nuse in which I lived was on a sloping bank, above the
valley where 1 tuund my ferns, I had a good opportunity ot observing
their peculiai ii.ibits and progress from day to day ; and marking the
difference from those that grew in the Oak brush on the open plain-
lands and the plants that grew among the Pine scrub. The soil of the
Oak-lands was sandy, or light loam, while that on the banks of the
Katchawanook was gravelly ; the difference of soil might account for
the difference in the growth and colour of the foliage, the one being of
a deep sad green, the other very light, of a yellowish tint ; the one tall,
the other very low and stout. I think it was a distinct variety from
JEA'NS.
261
Grays Hgure of B. lunarioida. The mucilaginous juices of this fern
would lead one to suppose that it might be of a softening and healing
nature. Ihe Bnt.sh plant B. Lnnaria was reputed to possess very
heahng qua hties, and I can readily believe that our native Botrychiums.
rom the soft mucilaginous juices of the stem when broken, would be
found softenmg and healing when applied to wounds or tumours.
rjfi
r'
V^^'i.
CANADIAN FERNS
-SriTAUI.K FOK-
Cultivation in the Old Countrv
fT frequently happens that Canadians are applied to, by their
friends in the Old Country, for roots of our native ferns for
cultivation in Ferneries and Conservatories, and it is not in-
frecjuently the case that these requests are not complied with, either
from a lack of knowledge as to what species would be acceptable,
or from the mistaken notion that, because a fern is exceedingly
abundant here it must also be so in Great Britain. As a guide to
those who may be anxious to delight the hearts of their Old Country
friends, by sending them living roots of Canadian ferns, I append lists
— First — Of those which are not found growing indigenously in Creat
Britain at all ; and Secondly — Of those which, although found there,
are very rare, or which present differences in appearance from our forms,
in consequence of which they would be acceptable to all Fern-growers
and Collectors for comparison.
In the cultivation of ferns there are one or two points which must
always be borne in mind. First, it must be remembered that ferns,
unlike most other plants, shun the sun-light and court the shade and a
moist atmosphere. Although some species may be occasionally found
growing in open spots, it will generally be found that they are more
luxuriant when in the shade and under the shelter of trees. Many
ferns will succeed well in flower-pots ; but they recjuire constant care
and attention. One of the most important requirements of ferns is
perfect drainage ; and this can only be attained at the risk of allowing
"0
M
264
FEhWS.
the roots to become too dry, unless regularly watched. A liberal supply
of drainage, in the shape of broken i)ots, pieces of old mortar, or bricks,
should be placed in the bottom of the pot, and on the top of this a thin
layer of moss, to prevent the fine mould, which is necessary, from running
down into the drainage. The mould should be light, and finely sifted.
A useful mixture for most ferns is the following : Fibrous Peat, I.caf-
mould. Loam and White Sand, in ecjual proportions. The roots bear
transplanting better in the Autumn than at any other time, but should
not be forced to grow at once on arrival in Britain ; they should be put
by in a cool place until the next Spring.
The facilities for the transmission of small parcels to Britain are
now so great, that there is no excuse for our not sending large numbers
of these lovely plants, many of which, although common with us, are,
nevertheless, highly prized on the other side of the Atlantic.
li '!!
Ferns Indigenous to Canada, East of the Rocky Mountain
but not found Growing Wild in Great Britain.
Fairv Fkrn — Adiantum pedatum, (L.)
An exceedingly desirable species, of great beauty and easy culture ;
there is, perhaps, no species of the large family of Maidenhairs, from
all the different parts of the world, which surpasses our native species
in grace and elegance.
Rock Brakk — Pellcea ^racilis^ (Hook.)
This charming little species has yellow, fleshy root-stocks, which
contain much oil, and it is doubtless this character which renders it
capable of withstanding drought for a long time. Its natural habitat is
in crevices and under overhanging ledges of limestone rocks, where it
shouis out its delicate fronds in the month of June. At this time of the
year the rocks in such localities as it frequents — on river banks and lake
shores — are constantly wet from the snow water, which has not yet dried
up in the woods ; but is constantly trickling down over the surface of
the rocks, and which, penetrating into the little cracks and crannies,
gives the moisture which is necessary, with the warmth of Spring, to
quicken into life the lovely rock ferns which grow there. After the end
of July the fronds dry up and the plant again lies dormant until the next
June. This fern could be moved easily when in the dormant state, and
should be cultivated with ease.
Cliff Brake— /W/^cff atropurpuna, (I.ink)
'is
A very attractive plant of small size, found in the crevices of dry-
rocks and cliffs ; it should transplant easily, and, with care, would suc-
ceed in artificial rockwork where there was not too much moisture.
Chain I'Krn— Woodw'ardia Virginica, (Sm.)
This would perhaps hardly succeed so well in cultivation as many
of our other ferns, as it is a vigorous-growing, coarse plant, with large
and long root-stocks, which grows in peat-bogs and Tamarac swamps.
Its fine appearance, however, makes it worthy of a trial.
Ebony Sim, kkn wort — Asplenhim ehcneum, (Ait.)
Great care must be taken in the removal of this and all the Spleen,
worts of the same class from their native rocks. These rock-loving
Spleenworts will, however, generally succeed well if their roots arc taken
up intact, and if they are planted in crevices of rock-work, or even in
flower-pots if well drained. In rock-work they should have an upper
position, but should not be kept too dry. They generally succeed
better if planted in a horizontal manner between two stones ; when
grown in pots, the soil should be a light sandy loam mixed with leaf-
mould, and among this, about the roots, should be placed some pieces
of old mortar or sandstone.
Narrow LEAVKi) Si'i.KKNWoRr — Aspleniuin afgustifoliiiiii (iMichx.)
This is an exceedingly handsome fern, well suited for conservatories.
It requires good rich leaf-mould or peat and plenty of moisture, when
the large, delicate, light-green, fronds would be produced in abundancg
and ionii a charming contrast with the darker hue of other ferns. The
name of this fern is perhaps a little deceiving. Although narrow-leaved
it is one of our largest Spleenworts, the fertile fronds frequently
exceeding two feet in length.
Sii.VKRV Si'i.KKNWORi --^j//t«/V/w tliehpteroides (Michx.)
This is another of the large-fronded moisture-loving Spleenworts
Its natural habitat is in the deep forest or in swampy wood.s. It is well
fitted for conservatory and greenhouse culture, and like the precedi' j
should have deep leaf-mould and plenty of moisture. The fronds are
very handsome, of a deep green, and, as the name implies, the plant has
much t'e appearance of the Marsh Fern ,{Aspidium Thelyptcris) and
grows much in the same maniiLT, throwing up clumps or clusters of tall
graceful fronds.
266 F£A'XS.
Wai.kino Ferns — Camptosorus rliizophylliis (I -ink.)
This is a particularly acceptable species, found on shaded limestone
r ii.ks. It is an Evergreen, is easy to cultivate and has a very
distinct appearance, (juite different from any British fern. It will
transplant at any time of the year, and if given a shady corner with
good leaf-mould, plenty of moisture, and sufficient room to spread out
its fronds, will grow luxuriantly, and increase rapidly by taking root and
making young plants at the tips of the frondj.
MENnic.'VNT Fern — Broad Bkkch Fern — Phegopteris
hexagonoptera (Fee.)
This resembles the British Beech Fern {Plugopteris pohpodioides)
very closely, but is a larger and handsomer plant with fronds of a
delicate light green. It is easily cultivated, but must have good deep
leaf-mould and shade.
Christmas Y^v.'h -Aspidium acrostirlwides (.Swz.)
This is a dark handsome fern, of a deep full green. A very
desirable species, hardy and easy of culture, and has a very effective
appearance among other more delicate ferns. It is always to be
obtained without diflficuity in rocky woods, growing in clumps or small
beds, it has somewhat the appearance of the Holly Fern, but is more
showy.
New York Fern — Aspidiuin Ntroehoraceiise (Swz.)
A delicate and attractive species, not difficult of culture. Should
have light soil and plenty of moisture ; but must be well drained. This
fern is always acceptable, both from the delicacy of its foliage and its
soft green colour.
Goldie's Shield Fern — Aspidiuin Goldianum, (Hook.)
A large, rich and handsome species, with dark foliage, that has
lighter shades down the centres of the pinnse, which give it a pretty^
variegated appearance. It is easy of culture, and well suited for the
back of a rockery. It succeeds better when supplied with a liberal
allowance of peat and leaf mould, but is very hardy, and will grow in
almost any soil, with shade and moisture ; it becomes stunted, and
seldom produces fertile fronds unless provided with good soil, moisture
and shade. There is no fern in Britain that has the same appearance
as this ; and this fact makes it a desirable species.
mestonc
a very
It will
ner with
read out
root and
bodioides)
ids of a
ood deep
A very
effective
^s to be
or small
t is more
ed
Should
This
and its
) ■
that has
a pretty,.
;d for the
a liberal
11 grow in
nted, and
moisture
)pearance
1
' 1
FEk'XS. 267
Mar(;in.\i, ShieM) Kkrn — Aspidium margimik, (Swz.)
I
A handsome fern, but bearing too close a general resemblance to //.
Filix-mas to make it a desirable species for transmission to Britain.
A. Filix-mas, although so rare on this continent, like Scolopetidrinm
viilgare, is one of the most abundant species all over (Ireat Britain.
j
EvERGRKEN VVooD Fern — Aspidlum spinnlosuin, (Swz.) var.
intermi'dium, (Clray).
This common variety ot A. spimilosum which is found everywhere
in our woods, is not among those which grow in England. It is the A.
Ai/iericaniini of Davenport, and is a graceful plant, which should be
included in all collections of ferns sent to Europe. It is hardy, very
easy of culture, and easily obtained. The fronds are evei: reen and ot
a bright colour.
t
Boott's Wood VKKN—As/i/d/um spinulosum, (Swz.) ■.ar. Boottii {V,wf).
This is a much rarer fern than the precetling, with thicker and less
cut up foliage, sometimes resembling A. cristatnm as much as A,
spinulosum in appearance, and much more like the British form of A.
cristatum than the Canadian ; it is considered, however, to be a variety
"I
of A. spinulosum. It requires a good depth of leaf-mould, shade, and a
'1
liberal supply of moisture.
Clinton's Crested Shield Fern — Aspidium cristatum, (Swz.) var.
ij
Clintouianum (Gray.)
\\ '
This handsome fern is quite unlike any European form of A^
1
cristatum, and in some respects bears a much closer resemblance to our
I
own A. Goldianum. Its habitat is wet swampy woods and in the deep
forest, where it sometimes grows to a large size. It is a very desirable
species for European collectors to compare '.villi their own forms of
(1
A. cristatum.
f
j
Scented Shield Fern — Aspidium fragrans, (Swz.)
<
1
There are few of our native ferns more attractive than this ; the
deep blue-green fronds hang in rich clusters from the crevices of rocks
1
■1
where it glows. It is considered one of our rare species, but is generally
■i
to be found in abundance where it occurs. The Lake Superior region
1
seems to be the centre of its distribution ; there it is most abundant^
i
growing on trap rocks. The close compact growth of the plant and the
"1
abundance of the sori with their lead-coloured indusia, give this fern a
•
.1
368
/'ENA'S.
.»\
I >l
very rich appearance, and its agreeable scent makes it still more a
flesirahle species. It would probably be rather shy of cultivation, but
might be treated in the same manner as the Rock Spleenworts.
'rKAii.iN(i Vkrn -Cvsio/Zfris hidhifera, (Bernh.)
No collection (jf Canadian F""erns would be complete without this
common, but charming species. It is undoubtedly one of our most
elegant ferns ; the slender, elongated fronds of light-green, with their
ruddy, semi-transparent stipes, render it most valuable for contrast. It
is very easy of culture, and will flourish luxuriantly if planted on a wet
wall, or near a waterfall. It grows easily in a flower-pot in a conserva-
tory, but cannot bear sunlight. It should have a light peaty soil, and
plenty of moisture, both in the atmosphere and at its roots. It would
probably grow better it small pieces of r;ck were placed among and
about its roots.
().\k.-Lkaveii 1''ern — Onoclea sensibilis, (L.)
There are few of our ferns which are greater favourites in Europe
than this common species. It has long been known there as a green-
house plant, where it is prized as well for its graceful foliage as for the
ease with which it can be cultivated. With light soil, shade and moisture
it grows well in Europe and increases rapidly, but seldom produces
the fertile fronds so abundant here. It is always acceptable.
Ostrich-Fkathkr Fkrn^ — Onoclea Stnithiopkris, (L.)
This stately plant is valuable for the back of a rockery. If supplied
with a good depth of leaf mould it grows easily and throws up its lofty
plumes to the height of three or four feet or even more. There is no
fern which resembles it in (Ire.u Hritain. It bears transplantation well,
and will grow vigourously in a flo\ver-])nt in the house, when it becomes
a useful and graceful ornament for a drawing room.
Northern Woodsia — IVooJsia Iiyperlwrea, {K. Br.)
All Woodsias are welcome additions to a European collection.
Unluckily, however, all of our species with the exception of W. Ilvensis
are very rare. W. hyperborea is only foun(j on high cliffs and near
waterfalls. The culture should be the same as for the Rock Spleenworts,
the chief essential being perfect drainage, together with plenty of moisture
and light soil.
Smooth ^^'oc)OSIA — Woodsia i:;lalh-lhi, (R. Br.)
This species is found in similar localities with the above, and should
be cultivated under the same conditions.
■'■yi< v
more a
tion, but
houl this
our most
vith their
trast. It
on a wet
conserva-
soil, and
It would
nong and
in Europe
IS a green-
as for the
d moisture
produces
•)
f supphed
|p its lofty
'here is no
lation well,
It becomes
)
I collection.
r. I/re/tsis
and near
ileenworts,
)f moisture
xnd should
f/':a'A/s.
/lOssAMi R 1''ern — Dicksoiiia pilosimcula, (W'ilid.)
269
This lovely scented fern, with its delicate fronds of tender K''«-'cn, is
a charming object as it grows in its native woods, wh^Te it is generally
found oil a cold, sandy loam. It is, however, rather shy of cultivation.
The root-stocks are very wide-spreading, and in transi)lanting specimens,
small and young plants should always i)e taken. .\ sandy loam, with
abcMt one-fourtli leaf-mould, is the best soil for this fern. Although
difficu't to grow, its beauty well repays any troui)le expended ujjon it.
iNii'.RKl'i'TKii KKkN OsiniiiiJo Cl(i\toniaiia, (1,.)
This fern and the next are always welcome additions to European
collections, not only for their own beauty, but because they are so
different from the Royal Flowering I'ern, Osiiiiiiida /rt^ir/is, which is well
known there. The Interrupted Eern is well suited for planting in
fountains and on the borders of ornamental ponds, where its curious,
graceful fronds are shown off to great advantage.
Cinnamon Fkrn -Osinii/idti diinaiiioiiica {\..)
This is another handsome fern, generally found in slightly wetter
places than the preceding, but it is hardier and may be grown under the
same circumstances. The foliage is not so handsome, but it is always
an acceptable plant and grows easily.
K..\rri.KSN,\KK I'KRN — Botrychiuiii Mrgiiiiauiim (Swz.)
This is a great favourite with British collectors. It is very different
from the European />'. Lnnaria, grows easily, is of convenient size and
compact growth. I .ight soil, about half leaf-mould, is the best for this fern.
It succeeds well, when single plants are grown separately in flower pots-
CiRAi'E Ekrn — Botrychium simplex (Hitch.)
This rare fern has more the appearance of B. Lunaria than any of
cur American representatives of the genus. It, like Botrychium
matricariccfoliiim and B. laiiceolatiim, is difificult to cultivate, and the
only way to succeed with these species is to remove a large quantity
of the soil with them from their native haunts so as not to disturb the
roots. When growing in turf in meadows this is not difificult, but
when in the light leaf-mould of the forest it is not so easy
Ternaie Moonwort — Botrychium ieruatum (Swz.)
This is a very handsome, dark green, fleshy fern, found in open
grassy spaces near woodlands. It has thick fleshy roots, but is rather
^
lA
J70
/■/•:a:vs.
difficult to move unless a piece of sod h taken u|> with the plant. The
fertile frond is large and consi)icuous, and is a great ornament to the
plant when the spores are nialurc. It is an I'>erj{reen, and takes a rich
bronze tinge of colour from the winter's frosts.
Ferns Indigenous to Great Britain and Canada but Rare in
in the Former country, or which present such Dif-
ferences in Appearance as to make them desirable
for Comparison.
Common Hrakk P/tn's iri//i/Vi//(i (]..)
The different aspect this plant bears in Canada, to the tall,
luxuriant fern of Kngland, attracts the attention of all visitors from the
Old Country. The chief differences consist of the smaller fronds and
much heavier and more conspi<;u()Us fructification, 'i'he two are
considered to be identical, hut it would be interesting to grow them
both together and observe whether the differences remained constant.
l,Ai)V I'ERN Asplcniiiiii Fili.x-fainina (Hernh.)
Under this name are grouped many widely separated varieties, all
of which would be interesting for comparison with the Mritish forms.
The beauty of all the varieties of this fern, however common they might
be, would always render them acceptable to fern growers.
Bi.iXH VvM.'A—Plu^opkris polypodioides (lee.)
This fern which grows so abundantly in most of our woods, is
much less common in (Ireat Britain, where it is also known under the
name of the Mountain Polypody. Our plant differs somewhat in
appearance and habits from its British representative. The habitat of
the Canadian plant, in Ontario, is on rather dry knolls in woods, and the
fronds are almost of a leathery consistency : while in England, the
Mountain Polypody is found in deep shade on the margins of mountain
streams or in damp woods ; the fronds too, are of a much more delicate
texture and colour than in our plant.
Oak Fkrn — Phcgopteris Dryopteris (Fee.)
This lovely, delicate species, which is found everywhere in our
woods, is quite uncommon in England ; it is more abundant in
nt. 'I'he
nt to the
Its a rich
Rare in
ich Dif-
lesirable
the tall,
s from the
"ronds and
two are
ijrow them
1 constant.
ricties, all
ish forms,
hey might
woods, is
under the
lewhat in
I habitat of
[s, and the
;land, the
mountain
re delicate
;re m our
indant in
Scotland, hut is very rare in Ireland. It will always he acrt-ptahlc when
sent to Mritain, and is of very easy culture, throwing out in every
direction its slender, creeping, S( aly, root stocks, which hear a profusion
of lovely yellowish-green fronds. It rtquires plenty of moisture and
shade, hut will grow readily in pots in the conservatory or in the open
air. 'the frond is distim tly divided into three divisions, from which it
is sometimes < alleil the Ternute I'oiypody, Ihis trifoliate character of
the frond is distinctly .seen in the yoimg fr<»nds hefore they unroll, when
the three divisions appear as three little halls on slender stems at the
summit of the stipe. This distinguishes it easily fpim the
l,iMi>ioNi. I'oi.vioDV /'Jii'^npttiis cahana,, (Fee.}
This is an exceedingly rare species in (lanada, having been found
only once by i'rof. Macoun, on the islands of Anticosti in iXi*.^ and by
Messrs. Hell and Dawson at the Lake of the Woods. It is a much
less rare fern in I'.ngland than here.
.Marsh I-'krn Aipidimu TlulyptiHs, (.Sw/..)
It may seem strange to Canadians that this fern should be induded
in the list of desirable species to be sent to ICurope ; because, being
found there at all, it might naturally be .supposed that its rapid growth
and hardiness, which make it so abundant everywhere here in low»
swampy ground, would also have the same effect in ( Ireat Britain.
This, however, is not the case ; and although pretty generally distributed
over England, it is by no means common, while in W \'ps and Irelaiid
it is rare, and in Scotland very rare, only one county so far having pro-
duced it. It can be grow n with the greatest case in pots, whi( h may
even stand in water. It is a most graceful object in cultivation, the
lovely, delicate, almost semi-transparent sterile fronds being i>roduccd
in the greatest profusion. In this, as in some others of our wild ferns,
when cultivated in the conservatory, the fertile fronds are seldom
produced.
Crkstko Shield Fern — Aspidium aistafuiii, (Swz.)
This plant, although appearing on the British lists of ferns, is
exceedingly rare, and should !;y all means be included in all collections
of Canadian terns sent to Europe, not only because of its relative rarity
there, and abundance in this country, but because our fern bears only a
very slight resemblance to the British fern which goes under the same
name. Our plant has long, narrow fronds, of a thick, leathery, almost
coriaceous texture, while the British plant bears a closer resemblance to
some of the forms of A. spi/iulosiiin, and, strange as it may appear to us
here, where these two species have aspects .so dissimilar, in England
ill
I-
272
FEh'XS.
1<M
botanists are sometimes at a loss to know to which of the three species,
A. cristafiiiii, spinulosmiii or dilatatiiiii, certain specimens should
he referred.
'i'homas Moore, the author of a magnificent volume, entitled
"The Ferns of (Ireat Britain and Ireland, nature printed" even going
so far as to say " Indeed, so closely do these merge into each other by
means of transition forms of frond, tliat we are forced to the conclusion
that they are all three in reality mere variations from one specific type."
^\'hat we call A. cristatiaii, is an abundant species in low, wet woods
and swamps, easily obtained, and grows readily, the root-stock throwing
out lateral extensions not found in var. dilatatinii.
\\'ooi> Fern — Aspidiiim spinu/osiiin, (Swz. )
This species is so variable, that it, with its many varieties, would
alone furnish sufficient material for a sfjccial study. We have several
forms in our woods more or less permanent. They would all be
interesting to conip.ire with the English forms. One of the handsomest
varieties, var. diiatatiiin, presents characters which would almost claim for
it the rank of a species. The most important difference is that the
root-stock of var. dilatatiiin is large and tufted, and the crown is often
raised somewhat above the surface of the soil, forming a short caudex,
while in A. spimilositw the root-stock has a creeping habit, so as to
become branched or multiplied in time into several tufts and clusters
with crowns, as in A. cristatuvi.
This is an easy fern to cultivate. It requires a good depth of leaf
mould or peat, plent}- of moisture, and if favoured with a shady nook
will produce fronds of great beauty.
BRinLK Bladder ]""ern — Cysinptcris fragilis, (Bernh.)
This is another fern which will always be acceptable to British
collectors. It is not at all common in Europe as compared with its
great abundance in North America. It is an exceedingly variable
species, so much so that the name may almost be said to cover a group
rather than a single species. It is a very desirable species for green-
house or out-door cultivation, growing rapidly and with little care.
Being a rock fern, it should have pieces of old mortar or limestone
l)laced in the mould about its roots, and will grow luxuriantly if supplied
with plenty of water, and at the same time kept well drained. It is
easily multiplied by division of the root.
Or.i.oxc. WooDsiA — Woodsia I/i't'f/s/s {R. Br.;
This fern, which is abundant in Canada, being found from the
Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, is exceedingly rare in Great Britain
species,
should
entitled
;n going
other by
inclusion
ic type."
at woods
throwing
;s, would
'e several
d all be
ndsomest
claim for
, that the
1 is often
t caudex,
so as to
d clusters
;h of leaf
ady nook
I)
:o British
tl with its
variable
|r a group
For green-
Ittle care.
Ilimestone
supplied
;d. It is
from the
It Britain
J-EAWS.
-'73
and for this reason is particularly acceptable to collectors. It seems to
be rather shy of cultivation, and curiously enough, seems to flourish
best when taken least care of. On our Canadian rockeries it can be
grown easily, and probably would succeed better in England in the
open air than in the conservatory. It should have an upper position in
the rockery where it gets complete drainage. It is a plant of compact
growth and great beauty.
I'LOWERixd Fkrn — Osmunda rcgalis, (L.)
The great beauty of this common species would always make it
acceptable, even in parts of England where it grows. Nowhere, how-
ever, is it so abundant as it is here, in our low meadows and swamps.
Our plant, too, has somewhat a different aspect from the British,
being smaller, and more ruddy in the colour of the young fronds. The
Canadian form has been called O. spectabilis by some botanists ;
but we occasionally find large specimens in Canada which cannot b<-'
distinguished from the British form.
This is a moisture loving fern, and nni.->t have a good depth of leaf-
mould. It makes a grand ornament for the back of a rockwork, and
will produce gigantic fronds if planted in a large pot and placed in the
basin of a fountain or on the edge of an ornamental pond.
^>
11
i
I
t
Abies alba 163
Abies balnamea 1C2
Abies Canadensis. 161
Abies nigra 163
Acer dasifcarpiiiii 204
Acer nigrum 203
Ac-r fennsylvanicnm 204
Acer rnbrum. 203 |
Acer sacchurinnni 198 I
Acer spicatiim 204 j
Achillea millefolium 218 ;
Acorns, medicinal uses of 177 :
Actma alba .5
Ackea spicala, var. rubra 25
Adder's-Tongue 26-257
Adiantnni capillaire 224
Adiantum Capillus- Veneris 224
Adiantum pedaium 223-26 I
Agrostis vulgaris 1 04
Allium iricoccum 36
Alnits incana 206
Alpine Gentian 98
Alpine Ranunculus 82
Alum-root 42
Amaranth 95
Amaryllis Intea 19-56
Amelanchier Canadensis 117
Amelanchier Canadensis var. ob-
longi/olia 117
American Arbor Vita 166
American Aspen .. 209
American Beech 184
American Brook lime 41
American EcleclicSchool of Phar-
macy 11
American Guelder-Rose 139-155
American HazeUnut 109
American Hornbeam 183
American Larch 160-161
American Mahogany 189
American Mountain Ash 190
American Plane 194
American Snake-Root 16
American Sycamore 194
American White Cedar 170
American Yew 173
.4 ndromeda poll folia 137
Andiopogon furcatus 102
A nemone cylindrica 17
A nemone dichotoma 17
Anemone nemorosa 17
Anemone patens var. Nuflalliana. 18
A nemone Virginiana 18
Autennaria dioica 77
Anirnnaria margaritacea 68-7S
Antennaria plantaginifolia 77
Antirrhinum 96
Ants 167
Apocgnum. androscemifoUum 70
Apocynum cannabinum 71-72
Apocynums 67
Apios tuberosa 66-76
Aquilegia Canadensis 29
Aralia midicaulis 65
A ralia qui nqu eft ilia 65
Aralia racemosa 64
^1 ralia trifolia 65
Araucaria.s 156
Arbor Diiy 212
Arbntus 81
Avctostaphijliis Uva-ursi 82
Arethusa bulbosa 73
Arisama Dracontinni 20
Arisaima purpurnnn 20
Arisa:ma triphylhnn 13-20
Aromatic Winter-green 81
Arrow Grass 104
Arrow-leaved Violet 7
Arrow-head 63
Arrow-root 21
Arum 20
Arum maculatum 21
Arum family, valuable medicinal
properties ot 22
Asarnm Canadense 33
Asclepias Comnii 67
Asclepias tuberosa 66
Ash-leaved Maple 205
w
V
u
.![
276
JNDEX.
PAdRi
A.scli'pia.s fuberosa, ineJiciiial use
of GG
Asphodel Lilies 27
Aspidium acrostic hoides . . 150-2 14-2G()
Asjiidium crhlutuin 23S-2I1-271
Anpidium crislatum var. Cliuioni-
aiiutn 2G7
Aspidinm dilatatiim 2.'i8
Aspidiiiin fiaijrans 2G7
Anpidium Guldiaiunn 242-2G(i
Asjiidium Lonchitis 24:i
Aspidiiim niarginale 221-240-2G7
A.sjii dill III margiiKde var. Traillcc. 241
Aspidinm Novcboraeense ... . 2;i7-2G(!
Asjiidiiim spinulosiim 2211-272
A -y lid ill III spiiiidosiiin var. Boottii 2G7
Aspidinm spinulosiim var. dila-
tainm 2.')9
Aspidinm spinulosum var inter-
medium 1 50-2.'58
Aspidinm Thehjpteris .... 2HG-2G5-27 1
Aspleninm anijustifolinm .. ..2;i2-2Gr)
Aspleninm theneiim 231-2G5 ^
Aspleninm i^ilix-fa'mina. .219-228-270 ■
Aspleimim Filix-ficmina var. an-
(jnstum 22. •
Aspleninm Filix" fwmina var.
mulle 229
Aspleninm t/ieli/pteroides 230-200
Aspleninm Trichomanes 2.'U
Aspleninm viride 232
Aster a'sMrus .... 80
Aster cordifolins 79
A.'itcr mnltifloiiis 79
Aster ]nniicfus 79
Asters 7G-93
A yre, J aiie 1 2.'i
Baliyloiiiaiv Willow 210
Bal.sari) Fir , 155
Basswood 149-196
Bay 201
Bal«am Poplar 15.'')-208
Balaam Poplar, iiicdicinal uses of 208
Barnston , Mr 221
Barren Wild-Strawberry. 77
Biiiatas cdnlis 63
Beaked Ila^.eliiut 109
Bear 16G
I'AOR
Bearberry 82-101
]}eard-tonjfne ^ 95
Beaver Meadow-grass 1 05
Beech 184
Beech, succeeding the Oak. 151
lieech Fern 234-239-270
Belladonna 143
BelhVort... 25
Benzoin .... 20G
Betulii lenta 189
Betulalntea 189
Belnla papyracea 187
Bindweed 72
Birch 186
Bird, Dr. 0. G 92
Bird's-eye Maple 199
Bird'fi-loot Orchis 73
Birth-Koot 28
Bishop's Cap 13
Bitter-nut tiickory 193
Bitter-sweet 101
Bitter-sweet, medicinal uses of.. 13G
Black Alder 14,)-lo5
Black Ash 155-191
Black-berried Elder 110
Bla(tkberry ()8-1.33
Blackberry, medicinal uses of . . . 133
Bhick Birch 189
Black Bryony 136
Black Hawthorn 127
Black Lurch 165
Black Maple 203
Black Oak 176
Black Raspberry 133
Black Scrub Oak 177
Black Spleen-wort 231
Black Spruce 163
Black Walnut 192
Blazing Star 93
Bliinin Bonus Ilenricus 95
Blitum. capitatum 94
Blitiim capitattim, uses of 94
Blood ll-ot 11-151
Blue Beech.. 183
Blueberries 121
Blue Cohosh.... 24
; Blue Coliosh, medicinal uses of.. 24
\ Blue Jays 190
Blue-joint 105
IXDEX.
277
■■A<iK
...82-101
1)5
105
184
151
4-239-270
... .. 143
..... 25
20'>
18!)
189
187
72
18()
92
199
73
28
13
193
101
ivsof.. 13R
... ]4.>-155
|.., 155-191
... 110
.68-133
sof... 133
.. 189
.. 13G
.. 127
.. 1G5
,. . 203
... 170
... 133
... 177
. . . 231
... 1(53
... 192
... 93
... 95
... 94
... 94
.11-151
... 183
,. .. 121
.... 24
esof.. 24
.... 190
.... 105
I'AdRi
Blue Lnngwoit , 74 1
Blue Lupine 36
Blue Violet 77
Boliuinian Wax-winga 190
Boneset .... 85-86
Butrychinm gracilc 259
Botrychiiim lanceolahim 269
BotrijvJiium Liinana 258-269
Botrychinm lunavioides 260
Botrychium inatiicarke/hlium — 269
Botrychinm simplex 269
Botrychium ternatum — 216-260-269
Botrychiv-ii Virginianum 259-269
Bour-trce , 191 '.
Box-leaved. Winter-gicen 82
Bracken 220-225
Branchiii'' White Wood Violet.. 7
Britiali Beech t'eru 266
Brittle Bladder Fern 250-272
Broad Beech Fern 235-266
Broad Shield Fern 239
Bryant, Cu lien 17
Bunch Berry 38 !
Burritt,Elihu, Definition of a tree 153 1
Busli Honey-suckle 110
Butterfly Flower 66 j
Butternut 193 !
Button-bush 142
Button Snake- root 92
Button .vood 194 1
Calathian Violet 98-101 j
Calopogon jmhhdlns 73-129 |
Calthapalustriif 13 i
Calypso borealis 73-1 29 j
Campamila A mericana 57
Campanula aparinoides 57 !
Campanula rotundifolia 57 \
Camptosorus rhizophyltus... .23'.i-2(iG '.
Canada Violet... 7-150
Canada Blueberry 121
Canadian Balsam 28 59-1 62
Canadian Balsain, uses of 59 j
Canadian Balsam Fir 162 '
Canadian Holly... 147 '
Canadian Mannot..... 88 j
Canadian Pine... 153
Canoe Birch...... 187'
Capilluire,, recipe for 224
I'AiiF:
Ciinliiial Flower. . . .., 96
Cure. , Bishop ... 27
Ciirfiinus Americana 1 83
Caryaalha 194
Carya amara 193
Castilleia coccinea 30-36-96
Cashew-nut 144
Cassava 22
Catnip 90
Canlnphyllum, thalictroi'les 24
Ceauothus Americanu.i 114
Cecidomyia salicis-strobiloides . . . 212
Cedar 155
Cedar, medicinal use? of. 169
Cedar-Birds 119
Cedar Swamps 166
Celastrns scandens 101-135
Centipede B'ern 2.12
Cephalanlhus occidcntalis 142
Chain Fern 228-265
Chamomile 79
Checker-berry 81
Chelune glabra 95
Chenopodinm album 95
Cherry Birch 189
Cherry- Birds 119
Chestnut-crowned Sparrows 91
Chickadees. 166
Cliickweed VVintergrecn 43
Chimaphila umbellata 48
Chinese Tea-plant 114
Chiogenes hispidula 121-150
Clioke-Ciierry 118
Christmas Fern 244-266
Chrysanthemums 79
Churches, decoration of 146
Cinnamon Fern 216-257-269
Oirccea alpina 70
Cislus 53
Cladonias 53
Clary 32
Claytonia . Qaroliniana 19
Claytonia Virginica 19
Cliff Brake... 265
Climbing Bitter-sweet 135
Clinton's .Crested Shield Fern... 267
Cla.«ed OentiAn 100
Cock's foot ., ,. 105
Colocosiajmicronaium , . 21
!78
INDEX.
Coltsfoot 79
€0111111011 Brake 225-'270
Coiiiiiioii Juniper 172
Coiniiioii Mullein '.U
Common Polypody 221
Com moll Skull-cap (iG
Compioiiia asplenifoUa 1 13-1 1 5
€oiie-flower 80-9.i
Convolcitlns spUhama'Us 72
Coplis trijolia .'17
{Joptis trifoUa, medicinal iiserf of. 38
Corallorhiza inuUiflora 74
Coral-root 74
Coreopsis 80
Corkv-barkeil Elm 181
<3ornel 38-97
Cornus Canadensis. 38-1. '!3
Cornus circinata 39
Cornus floriJa 39-138-19-4
Ci nms fiorida, iiiedicinal uses of. 138
Cornus panicnlalu 138
Cornus sericea 137
Cornus stolonijera 138
Corpse-plant 97
Corij'hilis aiirea 24
Cori/dalis (jluuca 24
Corylus rosirata I(i9
Coryhis Americana 109
Cottonwood 207
Couch-grass 105
Cranlierry 52
Crat.berry Marshes 129
Crane's-l.ill 42
Crata'ifua coccinea 128
Cratdu/us oxyacaniha 1 28
Cream-fruit 71
Creeping Snow-berry 121-150
Creeping Spear-wort 12
Crested Shield-Fern 241-27 1
C.'owtoot "7
Cuckoo-pint 22
Cnpressus thyoides 170
Curled Maple 199
Cusctila Gronocii 75
Cypre.«s 170
Cypripedium acaule 35
Cypripedium arietinnm 34
Gyprijiedium parviflorum 35
Cypripedium pubescens 35-56
Pa (IE
Cypripedium spectahile 34
Cystoptcris bulbifera.2ii0-2i2 -252-268
Cystopferis hulbifera var. _flageltt-
f'ormis 252
Cystopteris bulbijera v&r. horizon-
talis 252
Cystopteris bidbifera var. rigidus 252
Cyskpteris fragilis 220-250-272
Cystopteris fragilis var. angustata 251
Dandelion 80-88
Dandelion Coffee 89
Day Flower 72
Death-tlower 27
Deer-grass 1 02
Dicentra Canadensis 22
DicentraCucuUaria .. 23
DivksoniapilosiusculalX^-lVl-Ub-lft^
Diervilla trifula 112
Diplopappus vmbellatus 80
Dirc'i palustris 107
Dog Violet 8
Dogs-Tootli Violet 26
Dogbane 67-71
Dorsal Ferns 258
Double Spruce ] 63
Douro liilies 27
Downy Woodpecker 200
Downy Yellow Violet 8
Droscra lonyi folia 62
Droscra rotundijolia 52
Dntcliiiian's Breeches 23
Dwarf Blueberry 121
Dwarf Cherry 118
Dwarf Cornel 39
Dwarf Fringed Gentian 99
Dwarf Ginseng ... 0^
Dwnrf Oak 101-177
Dwarf Wild Rose 134
Dwarf Willows 99
Dysentery, remedy for 64
Early Crowfoot 12
Ea- ly-Howering Everlasting. 15-77-79
Early White Violet 6-150
Early Wild Rose 1.34
Easter Flower 27
Ebony Spleen-wort..., 231-265
Echinacea purpurea 81
^lif
, . . . 80-88
89
72
27
102
22
. .. 23
2-245-2(;9
112
80
. . .. 107
8
20
....67-71
258
.. 163
.. 27
.. 200
.. 8
. . 52
.. 52
. . 2.3
.. IJl
.. 118
. . 39
.. 99
.. 05
01-177
.. 134
. . 99
.. 64
... 12
15-77-79
.6-150
.. 134
.. 27
.231-265
.. 81
IXDEX,
279
I'AOK
Eddoefl 21
Edelweiss... 77
Klocharh acknlaris 12
Enclianler's Nightsliade 70
Englisli Dai.sy 150
Englisli Hawthorn 128
EngliKli Maiden-ltair 224
£iigli.«h Oak 174
English Wliitc Thorn 128
Kniblenis.... 201
Upigcea rcpen.i 1 OS
Epilobium anguslifoUiun 68
Erythronium albidum 27
Enjthronium Amerkannm 26
European Hedge-row Elm 182
European Yew. 174
Eupatorium, medicinal upes of. .85-86
Enpatoriuiii ageratoides 85-86
Eupntonum perfoliatum 85-86
Eupatorium purpureuin 85
Evelyn, John 151-171
Evelyn, John, "Sylva" 151
Evening Primrose 69
Evergreen Rook Fern 220-244
Evergreen Wood Fern . ,150-238-:'67
Everlasting Flowers 76
Eye-bright 32
Fugan, Biddy 2
Fagus f'erruginea 1 84
Fairy Fern 223-239-2(14
False Fox-glove 91
False Jloney-suckle 112
False Mitrewort 9 14
False Solomon's Seal 39
Farmer's Wreath 49
Fat Amber 154
Fat Pine. .,.. .,, , 154
Ferns, Native Canat-lian 215
Fever-bush 108-206
Field-Mice ,, .,.,., 119
Filbert , 109
Fire-weed 68-79
Firs ,...,. ,..,, 171
Five-flowered, Gen.tian 98
Five-leavei Sarsaparilla 65
Fleabanes 79
Fleur-de-lis ... 44
Fleur de-Luce . .■ 44
I'AUK
"Flora of North America"
(Pursh's) ;{
Flower of Memory 57
Flowering Dogwood i;!.s
Flowering Fern 273
Flowering Winter-Green 14
Flowering Wood-Ferns 258
Fly-Flower (Dicenira) 23
Fly-Flower (.Pohjgala) 15
Fly lioneysuckle ]5l
Fure-ls, destruction of 151
Fuicsts, ill-effects of destroying.. 152
Forget-me-not .n
t'ox lec
Fox Grape 125-155
Fox-tail 104-105
Firtxiiuis Americana l!)l
Fidjcinus pvbexceiis 1 92
Fraximis sambuciJoUa 191
French Willow 68
Friar's Balsam 209
Fringed Gentian .99-100
Fringed Pink Orchis 74
Frost Grape 124-155
Galium iriflorum 1 ;9
Gall of the Earth 83
Garden Currant 117
Gaultkcria procumbens 81-121
GaiiUlieria procumbens, uses of.. 81
Gay-feather 92-93
Gem Flower 14
Gentian 9.3-98
Gentiana Andrewsii 99-1 00
Geidiana crinita 99-1 00
Gentiana detonsa 99
Gentiana Pneumonanthe 98
Gentiana qiiimpieflora 100
Gentiana Saponaria 9S
Geranium maculatum 12
Geranium nlacttlatum, nu'dicinal
value of 42
Geranium pnsillum 1,3
Geranium Robertianum 43
Gerarde 91
Geranlia 90
Gerardia pedicularia 92
Gerardia purjnirea . 92
Gerardia querci/olia 91
it
28o
INDEX.
Giant-taper !)1
G inseiig 65
Giiaji/iulinm Jecurreiia 78
Gunpliuliwn ludijccphalum 78
Gokkn Barked Willow 210
Golden Dodder 75
Golden Fumitory 24
'toldm Lily of Palestine 50
uoldeii-rod.s 79-93
'iolden-wingod Flicker 190
,ldie's Shield Fern 2(iC
GiM '"hread 37-7G
Gou;. J Lnigi do 8
Gdoihjera pubesccns 60
Gordon family, crest of 146
(fOH&amer Fern ...219-245-269
(iraj.e Fern 258-269
Grape-vine 125
GraHse.s 1 02
Grass Pink 73-129
(ironnd Hemlock 173
Ground-hog 88
Ground Sq^uirrel 119
Green Dragon 20
Green Spleen-wort 232
Grey Oak 179
Grey Scrub Oak 177
Grey Willow 211
Ikihenavia viridis var. bracteata . . 74
Habenaria Jimhriaia 74
Hackmatack 165
Hairy Curraiit 116
Hairx' Moccasin t lower 35
Hairy Polypody 234
Hairy Woodsia 53-244
Hairy Yellow-tlowcrcd Honey-
suckle 112
"Handbook of British Ferns"
(Moore'O 254
Hardback 53-131
Hani Maple 198
Harebell 57-74
Hartstougue 232
Hawk weeds 79
Hawtliorne .■.■.... 12T-190
Hcal-air. ...v.. 90
Heath 81
Jlelianihemum Caiiadense 58
I'AliK
Helianthus .itrign.iun .% 87
Hemlock Spruce ll.')-161
Ilepatica aciifiloba 10
Uepatica triloba . . 10-150
Heraldic bearings 146
Herb Robert . , 43
Herbs, faith in h4
Herd-grass 104-105
Ilieroc/iloa borealis 105
High-bush Cranberry 101-139
Hobble-bush 141
Holly 146
Holly I-'ern 220-243
Holy Dove 73
Hop Hornbeam 184
Hooded Violet 7
Horneck, Anthony 152
Horse-mint 90
Huckle-berry 81-99-101-121
Humming-bird, nest of 91
Humming-bird Flower 59
Hurlburt, Dr 182
Hya-liya 71
Ilex veriicillata 101-145
Imiiatiensftdva ■ . • 59
Impa Hens pallida '; 59
Induin Arrow-wood 141
Ii.dian Bean 66-76
Indian-Grass 105
Indian Hemp t 70-72
Indian Pipe 97
Indian Potato 66
Indian-Rice, uses of 104
Indian Strawberry 94
Indian Sweet-grass 105
Indian Tobacco 97
Indian totems t. ..,,,. . 146
Indian Turnip 20
ludian Turnip, medicinal uses of 21
In terrupted Fern . . . , 256-209
Iris versicolor 44
Irish Sliamrock ....... . , 58
Iron wood <.•...*. 84
Isabella Grape 125
.rack-in-lhe-pulpit ...... 22
Jatmpha mani hot ...... 22
Jewel Weed 59
I
..» 87
11. '.-16 1
... 10
.10-150
... 146
. . . 4;{
.. . H4
104-ior.
.. 105
101-131)
... 141
... 14(1
'220-24S
... 73
... 184
... 7
... 152
... 90
■101-121
... 91
... 59
.... 182
,... 71
,.'. 59
. 141
66-70
. 105
70-72
. 97
. 66
. 104
.. 94
.. 105
,. 97
.. 140
.. 20
of 21
255-2G9
44
58
84
125
22
22
59
INDEX.
281
IMCIK
Johnson, G.W 224
Juijlojis cinerea 193
Juglans niijra 192
Juneberry 117-190
Juniper 171
Junip.erus communis 172
Juttipeiuis Virginiana 172
Kalm, Profesf'Or 171
Kalmia glauca 53
Kingcups 16
Kinnikinii< 97-137-139
I
Labrador-tea 5.3-115-1
Lace t'ern 2.'>5
Ladies' Tre.sses 60- 25
Lady Fern 219-228-270
Lady's Bed-.straw 57
Lady's Slippers :'
Lai<e Erie Moss 37
Lakefield, Settlement of 2
Lamb's quarters !>5
Larjje Blue Flag 44
Large Blue Wood Violet 7
Larger Doekniackie 141
Larger Fringed Orcliis 74
Larger Sliield Fern 242
Large-toothed Aspen 209
Larix Americana 164
Lastrea collina 238
Lai/iyriis pahistris 66
Lathyrus palustris var. myrti-
folitis 6G
Lanrei...... 201
Jjawvoii, Prol'essor 224-241
Leatherwood 107
Ledum latffolium 53-115-136
Ledtim latiJoUiim, uses of 1.36
Ledum ■pahistre 137
Lee, Dr. Ciiarles 28-62
Leontopodium alpinum 77
Lesser-flowered Moccasin Flower. 35
Lesser Golden-rod 75
L-sser Snowy Trillium 27
Leverwood 1 S4
Liatris 88
Liatris cylindracea 02
Liatris scariosa 93
Lichens 129
TAliK
Lilium candidum 55
Lilinm Philndelphicum 55
Lilium pomponium ..t 66
Lily of France 201
Lime ... ir>6
Limestone Polypody 271
Linden ." 196-201
Lindera Benzoin 108
Lindera Benzoin, medicinal u«es
of 108
Lindley, Natural System of 14
Linmva borealis 49-150
Linnnuis 50
; ' lum sulcaluin 69
L 'I's-foot 83
liiriodendron Tulipifera 197
Liver- Leaf 10
Lobelia cnrdinalis 96
Liilmlin iit/lufa 97
Lobelia infliita, uses of 97
Lobelia spicuta 96
Lobelia si/pliililica 96
Lombardy Poplar 210
London Pride 70
Long Spurreil Violet s
Lonicera ciliata 110
Lonicera hirsuta 112
Lonicera parviflora Ill
Loose-strife 74
Lords and Ladies 22
Lotus 62.
Low-bush Cranl)erry 137
Low-bush Willow 211
Love Lies Bleeding — . 95
Lupine 48-56-93
Lupinus perennis 36-48-56
Macoun, Prof. John ..102-198-231-245
Mad-dog Skullcap 65
Maiden-hairs........ 217-22.'
Mandi-ake 40
Maple-leaved Dockmackie 141
Marginal Shield Fern 240-267
Marsh Cranberry 129-140
Mnrsh Fern 2,36-265-271
Mii'sh .Marigold 13
Miiish Pea 66
Miirsh Speedwell 41
Marsh Vetchling 66
u
1^
s
11 I
282
WDEX.
VkUK
Manila Colula HI
Mary-golil .,., 16-60
May-apple 4U
May-flower 1C8
MayQtu't'ii, lament for 127
May Weed 87
McCord, Rev. Daviil R 2.12
Meadow-Hwoet IMO
Merteimu maritima 74
Milktree 71
.Milkweed 4. 67
Milk-Wortj', tonic properties of.. 15
Millet 10.')
Miiindua ringena 65
Mints !I0
Mitc/iella repms 1.39-1 50
.Vilella diphylla \'A
Mitel/a iinda 13
Mitrewort l.T
Moccasin Flowers .34-9H '
Monarda fialidosa 90 I
Monarda fislulosa var. mollia..., 90 j
Moneaea uniflora 47
Monkey-flower 65-96 \
Monotropa nniftora 97 j
Moitofropa Hypopitya 98 ''
Moonwort 216-260 '
Moore, Thomas 272;
M oose- flowers 27 1
.Moosewood 107-151
Morning (llory 72-125
Moss Pink 'M
Mosses 1211
Mossy-cup Oak 177
Mountain Holly 14V
Mountain Maple 204
Mountain Mint 115
Mountain Polypody 270 j
Mouse-root.. 56
Mrs. Traill's Shield Fern 241
Mullein ' 148
Mifoaolis pahistria 41
.l^Wca Gale 5.^-lIH
Kahahia albua . ... ■,■• 8.3
Xahalna albua, var. Serpentaria. 8.S
Nahalua aUisaimits. 8:1
Narrow-lc • .-ed- Ijady Fern 229
Narrow-leaved Spleen-wort. . .232-265
CAtiR
Nasturtiums 58
Necklace Poplar 207
Neglected Everlasting 78
Neijiindo areyoiJea 205
Ntlumbium luteum d'i
NeluinbiiiiH apecioaum 62
NemopantlKiH Canadenaia 147
Ntpeuthea dialillatoria 54
New ,1 ersey Tea 114
New York Fern 2.17-266
Nij:;:er-hcads 178
Noailles, Cardinal de 50
Noiiding Trillium 27
Northern Green-man Orchis 74
Northern Woodsia 268
Norway Pine 161
Nuphar advena 61-63
Xiiphar Kahniatia 61
Nuphar lufea 61
Nymphaa odorata 00
Nympliwa odorata, var. roaea ... 62
Nymphiea tuberuaa 61
Oak 201
Oak-apples 180
Oak Family 174
Oak Fern 2.35-270
Onk-leaved Fern 218-247-268
Oak-leaved Gerardia 92
Oak, Lines on, by Chancer 175
Oak of Palestine 180
Oiik-openin;:!" 76
OMcinjj Woodsia 272
Oi'cidenial Plane 195
(Knolhera hiennia 69
(Knolhera biennis, var. grandifiora 69
(Eiinthera bie.nnia, var. muricata, 69
(Ennthcra pnmila 69
Olive 201
One-flowered Pyrola 47
One-sided Pyrola 46
Oiiocha aensibiUs 218-247-268
OiiocJea aeiiaibilis var. obtuailobnta 248
Oiwclea Strufliiopteria . . .2\'!-2id-2()8
Op/iioglnaanm vulgatnm 257
Ophiogloaaum vulgatnm 257
Ornnfie Lilv .; 56-93
Orchia spectahi' is 33
Oriental Plane 195
INDEX,
283
VAUI
Osior grounds 212
Onmorrhiza brevislyliH 150-218
Osmniida ciunamomea .. .21(I-257--2t>9
OmiiuiiJa Vlayttiniana . . .21t)-255-2(i9
OsuiHiida inlerrupta 216-255
Vsiiiundu regalii .')3-253-273
Oumttiida .tpectahilis 27.1
Ostricii- leather F'ern . ...217-249-2G8
Oxlrya Virginica 1 84
Over-cup Oak 177
Oxalin Acetosella 58
OxaliH stricta 58
Painted Cup 30-3(5
Painted Trillium 29
Palm 201
Piinicled Cornel l.iS
Paper Bircli 187
Papi oose Hoot 24
Partridge 118-1 39-10(1
Partridge-berry 139-150
Pasicjue-llower 18-19
Pearly Everlantinga 77-78
Pearly Wliite Orohif 71
Peat Mose 52
Pear Thorn 127
Pediculavis Caiiadeiinix It
Pelldia afropwpurea 227-205
rellwui densa 227
Pelloia gracilis. 220-22G-2()4
Pencilled Violet G
Pentstemon 96
J'/iegii/ileyin calcarea 271
J'/u'gopkrin Dryopteris. . .216-235-270
Phegopteii.t hexagonoptera- ■ .235-21)6
Phegoiih'ri.sp<i.hjpodioides.'l'l\-'i.'.V{-21Q
Piilox 37
I'lilox dirancuia 37
Pepper-iniiit 90
Pi{;eo.,9 118
Pine ITI
l-'ine-boring insects 159
Pine Grosbeaks 11)0
Pine Sap 9S
Pines, destruction of 152
Pink Flowered Moccasin Plant.. 34
Pi mis resiniisa 1 60
Piinis xylcenlns , 201
Pi:iii» .S7/«t«.i I ">3
I'iuus Slrobus, age of 158
Pip..<i»8ewa 48
Pitcher Plant 52-53-137
Plain grass 102
Plane tree 160-194
Plantain-leaved Everlasting 77
I'lafanl/iera rotundifolia 73
PlaUmus occideiitalis 194
l'od()])liylhim ptltaiiim 40
I'odophylhtm pellatum, medicinal
uses of. 41
Poison Elder 110-142
Poison Ivy 110-142
Poi.son Oak 110-142
Polygahi pmici folia 14-15
t '0 'ygala poly gam a 1 '»
I'dlygala Senega 1 5- 1 (!
I'olygoiialiim hiflorum 39
Polygonum amphihium 64
Polypodium vulgare 53-220-221
f'olyporns pinicola 1 C2
Polystichnm acroHtichoides 244
I'olysiichum LonvJiitis 243
Pondash 123
I'onlederia vordata 63
Poplars 207
I'opulus balsamifeia 208
Populns grandideniata 209
Populits monilifera 207
Popuhis tremuloides 209
Porcupine Grass 105
Portland Arrow-root 22
Portland Sago ... 21
Portnlaca grandi flora 89
Portnhira oleracea ^9
Prairie Haj' 104
i'rairie .Pest 105
Prenanthes 79
Prickly Ash 119
Prickly Ash, medicinal uses o(.. 119
Prickly Gooseberry Il6
Prickly Shield Fern 243
Prince's Pine 48
Privet leaved Cornel 138
Prunella vulgaris 90
Pruniis pumi.la. . ., 118
Prunus Virginiana 118
Ptei-is aquilina 220-225-270
Purple Floweri^ig Raspberry, ... 131
INDEX.
||J !':'■
Ftirple Trilliuii) 28
Purple Trillium, nii'dicinal ubcb
of 28
Pursh, Frederick 2-l:U)
Purnlaiie 80
FurNliuic, u.-cs of 89
P.vroliiH 9;i-l.'.0
Pt/rola fhlnrnntha -17
Pyrola eUiptku 46-56
I'l/rola roliindifoUa, viir. incar-
imta 'Ifi— J7
Pyrola neriiiKid 4<«
ryni.t Amerirana V.H)
Poverty -grasH. 105
Quercitron 1 7(>
QuercHH alha .^ 1T4
QvrcuK corv.inea 1 7<I
Qiii'rciis cdcciiiea, var. tincloriu.. 17(>
QiicrrKu iiiiicrocarjia 177
QuercKH rubra., , 177
Raccoon 16()
Ragweed 80
Rasrwdrts 7i)
RaiuV-iicad Orchis 34
Rannnculun acris 12
Raiinnciilux aqnatiUs 12
lidinoiciilut: Jascintlaris 12
Ramincnlus mulliJidHS 12
Ruintncnliin reptans 12
Ratt lesnaUe Fern 2:)9-2 • 9
Ruttlesnnke Plantain tiO
Riiiilcsiiuke Rout. S;i
Red Asli 192
Red Baneberry 25
R>d-tiarked Cornel 155
Red Beech 184
Red-berried Elder 1 10-187
Red Birch 186
Red Cedar - . 172
Red Cohosh 25
Red Death-tbvver 28
Red Elm 181
Red-headed Woodpecker 159
Re.l Lobelia 96
Reil Maple 20:^
Red Oak , 177
Red-osier Dogwood 138
v.\nv
Rnl Piue I(i0
Red Pine, exCuJiation of bark .... 15!)
Red KaHpberry I:i2
Red-Root , 114
Red Trillium 28
|{ed-Tup 104-105
RheumatiMm Weed t8
liliUK, poifonoUN qiialitieHot 142
Ji/iiin, UH a dye wood 144
Rhnu cnpiillina 145
li/ni.t ijlabra 115
lihus Tdxirnilemlron II 0-142
Rhun Toxicodendron var. radicnna 144
lih UK li/pli ina 144
AV/».v typhi no, as a dye wotnl .... 145
lilius venenata 142
llHicH cynonbaii 116
Ifiben jlnridnm 1 1 V
liibes lacuHtre 116
RUten prostntlnm 116
Riben oxi/acant/ioide.i 115
liibe.i rnliriim 117
Rice Lake plains 103
Richardson, Dr 56
Robins 190
Rock Brake 220-226-204
Rock Cohunbine 29
Kock Cystopteris 220
Rock Elm '.82
Rock Maple 198
Rock Polyp dv 53-220-221
Rock Rone 58
Rock Saxifrage 77
lionu blanda 48-134
Rdtid (. uxilina L14
Rosa lucida 134
Rosa micrantha 1 35
Rose coloured Spiraea 131
Rosemary 146
Rough Amaranth 148
Rough-leaved Belltlower 67
Round-leaved Pyrola 47
Round-leaved Sundew 52
Rowan Tree 190
Royal Flowering Fern 25.S
Rubits hispidus 133
Rubiis Nutkanus ..,,, 132
Rubun occidentalis .,., 1 .!.'>
Rubus odoraius • ■ 131
li m
I'Allf
... I(i0
... !.•)!>
... i:i2
. , 111
. . . 28
104-10.5
.. 48
... 142
... 144
... 145
.. II.->
10-142
111.1 144
.. 144
.. 145
... 142
.. 116
. 117
.. 11(1
.. IK)
. 116
.. 117
.. 103
.. oG
.. 190
26-2C4
.. 21)
.. 220
.. 182
. 198
20-221
.. 58
.. 77
JH-i;u
.. 134
.. 134
.. 1.35
. 131
. 14G
. 148
. 67
. 47
. 52
. 190
. 2.-,.S
. KW
. 132
. l.!3
. 131
/.y/)/:.\:
i8S
J^'lll>UH Hlriij iHiiH 1 32
Jiiilnm tri/loruH 133 '
liuliii^ riltiiMi.i , 1 33
Itiidhevkia kirta 80
UiuUiecK-ia /«/r/a,iiiiMiicirial uHeM of Hi
UiiiilieekiuH 7(i-7lt-HS
RuhIu-h 102
SalizaUxt 211
Sdlij: IntmiU.i 211
ISalix luvida 211
Salix vilellinu 211
i-'dmhuiits ('anadeii.iix 110
Sdinburii.s jtiiheim 110
Sand Cla-iTy 118
Sainiiiiiiiirid Camidc.imn ... 1 1 -2S-1;)I
Sainjiihiiiria CanudciiHin, iiu'iliciil
qimlitieHuf 11
Sa)-r<trc)iia jinrpurea 52-.').3-2').'i
Sui^siili'iiH lU'i"' 2(i(i
HuHnati'ds o//i<:iiiale 205
fisa.s.sdJ'fdK o/llciiuile, in"iliuiii(il
\iHeH ul 205
Satin-flower 10
Savin 172
Scarlet Cup 30-72-!)(;
Sciirk't-lruite<l Thorn 12S
Scarlet Oak 170
Scentel Shield Fern 2G7
ScolDpfiuiriiiiii viil(jdr<: ....... 232-243
Scorpion-jjrasH 41
Scotch Fir 201
Scrub Oakf^ 177
Scnlellaria ijalerietdata 00
Scutellaria lateriflora Go
Sedges 102
Senega 15
Sensitive Fern 247
Setaria viridis 1 04
Shml'bush 117
Sheep-berry 118-141
Sheepdaurel 53
Shell-bark Hickory lGO-194
ShinLig Willow 211
Shield Ferns 236
Shin-Leaf . 45
Showy Lady's Slipper .34
Showy Orchis.. 33
Shrubby Maples 204
I'AON
Shrubby Milkweed 70
Siili-waddle Flower 62
.Siikweed 67
Silky Cornel 137
Silver-burked birch 1H9
Silver Maple .... 204
Silver \Vill<iw 210
Silvery S|)ieen-wort 230-2G5
Skeleton Fern.,.. 239
Slender Lailien' 'I'reHHes GO
Slender I'urpie Milkwort 16
Slippery Elm 181
Small Cranberry 12!)
Smaller Celandine Ki
Smaller Crane's-bill 43
Snuill-tldwered Honey -Hni:kle ... . Ill
Small round-leaved Orchi.t 73
Small Swami) Gooseberry 116
Siiiildciiid hijolia 17-150
Smilin;^ Wake-robin 27
Smith, Sii' .lames 19-5(J
Smooth Dwarf .Sumac 145
Smooth Woodsia 2G8
SiiaUe-bciid 1'5
Snake-Hoot 15
Snap-dragon OG
Snow-bali Tree 140
Snow-berry 112
Snow-flower 10-150
Sno •^-Sl)arrows 91
Soapwort (Jentian 98
Soft Maple 204
Soliddi/o ijigantea 93
Sididaijii latifolia 9.1
Soldier'.s Drinking Cnp 53
Song Sparrows 91
iior<jh\n)i uutann 02
Sow Thistle HO
Spatter Dock G3
Spear-grass 105
Spear-mint 90
Speckled Alder 206
Speckled Jewel 59
Speedwell 41
Sphagnum cymbijolium 52
Spice-bush.'. 108
Spico Winter-gree- 81
Spice Wooil 205
Spignel-root G4
a ]
' ( I
386
INDEX.
I'AliF.
Spikeiiai'iJ ()4
Spinach 04 ,
Spira-a salici'/olia ii.'J-lHO
Spirwa lomeiitona 53-131
Spinva Ulmaria 130
Spirauthes gracilis GO-225 I
Spolt:'d Arum 21
Spreading Dogbane 70
Spring Beauty .. I'J
Spruce Beer 1G3
Squaw Berry 38
S(iuirrel 88
Squirrel Corn 22
Squirrel-tail Id.')
Stag-horn Sumac 1 t4
Stagmaria vernicifliia 144
Stemiess Lady's Slipper 3.j
Stewart, Mrs 3
Slipa xparlca 101
Strawberry Blite 94
Strepiopiis roseus 39
Stricltland family, crest of 14G
Striped Dogwood 2i 5
Striped Maple 204
Striped Orchis 74
Stnjriiina 71
Sugar Maj^le 149-198
Sumac 142
Summer Complaint, remedy for Go-1 20
Sun-dt'W ;j2
Sun-flower 7G~80-93
Swamp-berry 133
Swamp Blackberry 1.33
Swamp Blueberry 121
Swamp Elm , jgl
Swam p Maple 203
Swamp Rose 134
Sweet-Bean (jg
Sweet-berry 141
Sweet-Briar i;55
Sweet Cicely GO-150-218
Sweet-Fern 113-115
Sweet-Gale 53-113
Sweet Marjoram (Jq
Sweet Raspberry 1 ;-ii
Sweet Potato (j;^
Sweet Pyrola 72
Sweet-scented Water-Lily 60
Sweet Winter-green
l^yiiipliorivarpus racemosns
rA<;K
45
112
208
1«
12
194
164
80
88
174
173
174
173
81
269
235
133
17
J'acamaliac
Tall Anemone
Tall Buttercup
Tall Dogwood
Tamarac
Tansy
Taraxacum Bens-leonis
Taxiis huccata
Taxus baccala, var. Canadensis..
Tuxus breci/blia
Taxu.i Canadensis
Tea berry
Ternate Moon wort
Ternute Polypody ,
Tliin)ble-bcrry
Thimble- weed
Thistles 79
Thorn berry II6
Thorough- Worts 83
T/i uja occ'identalis . 1 66
Tiarella cordifofia 14
Titia Americana 1 9(J
Touch-me-not 59
Trailing Arbutus 108
Trailing Fern 268
Trailing Hairy Currant li'6
Trailing Winter-green.... 139
Traill, Mr. W.E 2C5
Tree Creeper.. 166
Triangular Polypody 235
Tiienfalis Ameiicaua 43^
Trilliums 93
Trillium, medicinal uses of 27
Trillium cernmim 27
Trillium erechim 28
Trillium rrythrocarimm 29^
Trillium grandifiormn 27
Trillium nirale 27
True Rattlesnake Fern 260
Trumpet-Weed 85
Tulip Tree 197
Turtle-head 95
Tussihujo Far far a 79
Twin flower 49-1 1.'{
Twin-Howered Honeysuckle lia
INDEX.
287
Twisle.l Stalk 39
UlmuH A mericana ISO
Utmits ftili'tt 181
Ulmun fnlva, medicinal usea of. . 182
Vlmus racemosa 182
Uniti'il Empire Loyalists 84 ■
Usnea IfiH
Uviilaria grundi/iora 25
Uvularia perfoUata 2(j
Vvuhiria .sessilifolia 26
Vitis cordi/'olia 1 2 1
Vitis Labrusca 125
Vacciiiium Caiiadense 121
Vaccininm corijmbostun 121
VacciiiiujH Oxi/coccns 129
Vaccininm Peiinsijlvaiiicum 121
Vevbuncaiii Tlutpaus 91
Verbascnm Tliaps its, uses of 91
Veronica Americana 41
Veronica olficinali.s 149
Viburnum acerifolinm 141
Viburnum dtniafum 141
Viburnum lantanoides 141
Viburnum Lentago 141
Viburnum Opulus — 10 l-l ;)9
Violets 5-150
^'iolets, Lines on 9
Vtola blaiula 6
Viola Camulensis 7
Viola canina var. syloeslris 8
Viola clandesUna G
Viola cucullata 7-77
Viola odorala 5
Viola ovaia 7
Viola pubescvns 8
Viola pub>>.scens var. scabriuscula 8
Viola reni/ola (i
Viola rostrata 8
Viola sayiltata 7
Virginian Creeper 144-181
Wahtap 165
Waldsteinia fragarioidei 77
Walking Fern 23;?-26ii
\Valkin<? Leaf 233
Water Cowslip 13
Water Crowfoots 12
l'A<iK
Water Fern 255
Water Lily 60
Water Persicaria 63-6 1
Water Speedwell 41
Watt, J 221-245
Wax- work 135
Weeping Willow 210
Weeping White Elm ISO
Wellinionia gigunlea 156
Wliite Ash..,. : 191
Wiiite Beech 184
White Hirch 187
While Cedar 166
White Cohosh 25
White Deuth-tlower 28
White Dwarf Convolvulus 72
White Elm 180
White Eupatoriums 79
White Everla.«ting 68
White-Flowered Adder's-tongue.. 27
White Flowering Raspberry l.'S2
White Fringed Orchis 74
White, Gilbert 3
White Hickory 194
White Nymphiua 60
White Oak 174
White Oak, medicinal uses of.. .. 175
White Peat Moss 53
White Pine 153-164
Wiiite Scrub Oak 175
White Snake-root 8(!
White Spruce 163
Wiiite Trillium 27
White Water Crowfoot 12
White Willow 210
White-wood 196
White-wood (Tulip Tree) 197
Wild All-spice 206
WddRal.«am 59
Wild Barley 105
Wild Bergamot 90
Wild Black Cherry 119
Wild Black Currant 117
Wild Canadian Balsam 143
Wild Clematis 125
Wild Columbine 29
Wild Endive 89
Wild Flax 59
Wild Garlic ;?G-149
Wild Ginger '^-^
Wild Grape l'-^^
Wild Grasses 102
Wil.l Hazel-nut 109
Wild Leek 3<''
Wild Lettuce 80
Wild Lily of the Valley 47
Wild Lupine "2
Wild Mulberry L^l
Wild Oats lOS
Wil.l Oriinjrc' Lily 53
Wild Red Cherry 119
Wild Ri'd Currant 117
Wild lied Raspberry (iS-l 32
Wild Rice 64-103
Wild Rose 48-72-93
W lid Rosemary 137
Wild Sartaparilla <'>5
Wild Smooth Gooseberry 115
Wild Strawberry 15
Wild Sunflower 87
Willows 207-210
Willow Herb 68
Willow-leaved MeadoA-sweet ... 130
Wind-Flower 10-17
Winged Polypody 216-233
Winterberry 101-145
Winter-green 56-97-149
Wood Anemone 17
Wood Betony 14
Woodchuck 139
Wood Daffodil 25
Wood Ferns 236-272 '
Wood Hyacinth 23
Wood Geranium 42
Wood-Grouse L^9
Wood Mignonette 14
Wood Parsley 218
Woodpecker 166-199
Woodpeckers, not sap-suckers.. . 160
Woo<lrutr 149
Woodsia 220
iVood.sia (jlabdla 268
Woodsia fi!/i>erborea 268
Woodnia llcensix .-3-221-244-272
Wood Snow-drop 97
Wood Sorrel 38
Woodirardia Virgiuka 228-265
Wotton, Sir Henry 180
Wyc(ip]i 107
Xanthoxiilum Amcricanum 119
Yams 21
Yarrow 218
Yellow Birch 189
Yellow-Clover 38
Yellow Coltsfoot 79
Yellow-Flax 59
Yellow-tlowered Wood Sorrel .... 38
Yellow Lady's Slippers 33
Yellow Pond-Lily 63
Yellow Violet S-130
Yellow Water Crowfoot 12
Yellow Water-Lily 63
Yellow Willow 210
Yellow-wood 120
Yew 174
Zizania aijuatica 64-103
I-AliE
42
139
14
218
..166-199
rs... 160
.... 149
220
268
268
1-2M-272
97
53
,.228-265
180
... . 107
119
.... 21
.... 218
.... 189
.... 58
.... 79
.... 59
.... 58
.... 35
. . . . 63
. ..S-150
.... 12
. . . . 63
.... 210
.... 120
.... 174
..64-103