15° 



FORES 7 TREES. 



species. We find them all fresh and green as when the feathery snow 

 first hid them from our view. The foliage is of a dark shining green, 

 which gives one the idea of endurance against cold frosty weather; near 

 by you may see the graceful fronds of the evergreen Wood Fern, Aspidium 

 spviidosioii, though bright in colour, yet beaten down and somewhat torn 

 from the weight of the snow that has been pressing upon it ; and there 

 where the soil is more rocky, the dark shining fronds of A. acrosticJwides, 

 a hardy, handsome fern, known by its smooth scythe-shaped leaflets, and 

 stiff upright growth. The soft parsley-like leaves of the Sweet Cicely, 

 Osmorrhiza 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 Hepatica triloba, the lovely Snow-flower, that 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 their native woods. Shelley says : 



"After the slumber of the year, 

 The woodland \'iolets reappear. " 



Yes, we have Violets of many hues : white, azure, pale blue, lilac, 

 yellow. Some low and delicately small, others larger, more conspicuous, 

 many-branched and tall. There is the pure Canadian Wood Violet, a 

 very lovely species, that in the garden wdll bloom twice in the season, 

 with graceful branching stems and milk-white flowers ; but these Violets 

 come later in May and June, along with the branching Yellow Violet. 



The Yellow Violet, 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 Liiunca borealis, with its twin-bells of pale striped 

 pink. 



Another of our creeping forest plants is the graceful Partridge-berry 

 (Mitchella repetis), 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, 

 Chiogenes hispidula. 



One of the prettiest of our early forest plants is the Smilaa'jia 

 bifcdia, (Ker.) with small white starry flowers ; it is nearly as sweet- 

 scented as the elegant cultivated Lily of the Valley, which lends its 



