THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 33 



some for their beauty, others because they were interesting, 

 and still others for the purpose of identification or for speci- 

 mens. Some of them are extremely difficult to transplant, 

 others act as though nothing had happened. I have never 

 hesitated to take up plants whenever I find them regardless of 

 their period of development. It is necessary to shade some 

 for a few days until they get established. Wood betony 

 (Pedicularis Canadensis), which just began to bloom May 

 31st, is one of the most difficult plants to move successfully 

 that it has ever been my fortune to find. 



Somewhat late in the summer, two years ago I found it 

 beside West River, and, it being new to me then, I set a plant 

 in the park. It nearly died and did not recuperate enough to 

 bloom until this year. I tried it again last year and it refused 

 to hold up its head even for a day. Its behavior is very dif- 

 ferent from what I was led to expect from its appearance. 



Jamaica, Vermont. 



SOME INCONSPICUOUS FLOWERS. 



BY WILLARD N. CLUTE. 



ALTHOUGH March is usually cold and stormy. Nature's 

 preparations for the spring go on with few intermissions. 

 The early plants are accustomed to spring from a rain-soaked 

 earth and the first flowers seem not to require much encourage- 

 ment in the way of warmth. Their is an unbounded confi- 

 dence in the approach of a milder season all the more striking 

 because not founded upon reason. With few exceptions, the 

 early flowers are not what are popularly called such, but are 

 most of them to be found in the shape of catkins. To the 

 average individual, the notion of a flower is something with 

 showy petals and bright color and he is surprised to learn 

 that viewed from the standpoint of the plant or tree, a flower 

 may lack both these attributes and still perform all necessary 

 functions. Because the forest trees have no conspicuous 



