FRINGED GENTIAN 



flower lovers or mere heedless wanderers would deliber- 

 ately deprive their children of the pleasure of a rare 

 flower. Thoughtlessness rather than wanton destructive- 

 ness has been the bane of the fringed gentian, as it has 

 been the bane of some others of the more beautiful of 

 showy flowers. It is a safe prediction that a sincere 

 searcher, who may, after many autumns of disappoint- 

 ment, actually find a fringed gentian, will leave it un- 

 plucked and be happier for his forbearance. 



"Is this gentian truly the most beautiful of all our 

 wild flowers, or is it too dearly esteemed because of its 

 rarity and because of its whimsical blossom time? It is 

 not a question of importance. It is certain, and always 

 will be certain, that whoever finds this priceless jewel of 

 October will be content in the assurance that no other 

 flower can match its beauty. 



"The fringed gentian is incomparable and Indescriba- 

 ble. It is like no other flower, and its beauty defies the 

 skill of the word artificer. Bryant tried to depict the 

 fringed gentian in verse, and the result was a very pretty 

 poem, but it did not give even a hint of the gentian's fair- 

 ness. It can be appreciated only by the October rambler 

 who has found it in its home. Gathered and borne away, 

 its wonderful petals soon close in despair, and the loveliness 

 of the October hillside cannot be transferred to the vase 

 in the drawing-room. 



" Here it is, right by the roadside, where the automobiles 

 whiz past. The people in the automobiles have plucked 

 great bundles of the showy New England asters, but they 

 have sped blindly past the lowly gentians. Humility and 

 tardiness are the gentian's only protection. It is so late 



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