SAND DUNES AND SALT MARSHES 



vines. In tlie large bogs the vines extend 

 upwards in a thick spongy mat, into which 

 one sinks half-way to the knee, while in the 

 smaller depressions the vines often run pros- 

 trate in a thin branching film of great beauty 

 over the white sand. 



The American cranberry is worthy of the 

 poet's pen, for at all seasons it is a delight 

 to the eye, while of the pleasures its fruit 

 affords to the palate there is no need to speak; 

 it suggests the delights of the New" England 

 Thanksgiving. In the spring its pale rose- 

 colored flowers, nodding on delicate stalks, in 

 summer the brilliant polished green of its 

 leaves, are but the prelude to its varied charms 

 in autumn and winter. The botanists call it 

 evergreen, which is literally true only as re- 

 gards the under protected leaves, for all on 

 the surface change in the fall to a dark red, 

 and later to a wonderful maroon color, which, 

 in the setting of white sand, is regal in its 

 effectiveness. 



Early in the summer, after the delicate blos- 

 soms have fallen, tiny pale green or whitish 

 berries appear, which gradually grow in size 

 and grace, taking on successively a pink, a 

 brilliant crimson, a dark red and lastly a pur- 



76 



