INTRODUCTION 



seed-grain, in every bale of hay which fed the horses in 

 the War of the Revolution, in every fleece of unwashed 

 wool, and in every pound of ballast. Commerce 

 makes the world at one and, like everything else, has 

 the defects of its virtues. 



In addition to the one hundred and more herbs that 

 habitually line up along our summer roadsides are 

 a few shrubs, some like the Wild Roses, the Elders, 

 and Blackberries, that along upland paths bloom 

 nearly through July, but there are several that are 

 frankly summer bloomers; the Purple Flowering 

 Raspberry, the Button Ball, the two Spireas, espe- 

 cially the White Spirea, which in the mountains never 

 loses sight of a rod of the roadway, the Potentilla, 

 and, lastly, the Sweet Pepper bush. 



Sturdy little plants like the Wintergreen, Bunch 

 Berry, and Partridge Vine come down out of their 

 mountain wilderness, making their shining way in 

 great beds into the open. But this is only for moun- 

 tain climbers. Ferns are everywhere, but they are 

 another story. 



In the last days of August autumn is signalling. 

 She will take over m^any of the summer composites 

 as her own. She is ready to send forth her cohorts 

 of Goldenrods, Sunflowers, Asters, and Gentians, and 

 she will bring up the rear with the last flowering shrub, 

 the Witch Hazel. She will even allow the seedlings of 

 spring to bloom and flourish under her protecting care. 



The roadsides are not less lovely, in truth they are 

 more gorgeous as the pageant of summer melts uncon- 

 sciously into the glories of autumn. 



The books of reference for the botanical descriptions 

 are Gray's ''Manual of Botany." 7th edition, and 



xii 



