JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST. 123 



which has small and opposite leaves, although com- 

 moner in New England, is, as Gray says, " the only 

 one not indigenous." There is no possibility of con- 

 fusing the two varieties, as one is shrubby and the 

 other has an upright, much-branched stem. The 

 flower gets its name from the superstition that on 

 St. John's day, the Slth of June, the dew which fell 

 on the plant the evening before was efficacious in pre- 

 serving the eyes from disease. So the plant was col- 

 lected, dipped in oil, and thus transformed into a 

 balm for every wound. In fact, superstition gathered 

 about the plant in such a variety of forms that the 

 Scotch in olden times carried it about in their pockets 

 as a charm against witchcraft. St. John's-wort can 

 hardly be called beautiful, and it is considered a 

 great nuisance in farming-lands. The shrubby va- 

 riety grows about three feet high and flowers in 

 June. The H. perforatum is an herb which grows 

 one or two feet high and flowers all summer. 

 Purple-flowering The purple-flowering raspberry is 

 Raspberry. not purple at all. This is a popular 



name without any truth m it. The 

 flowers are crimson-magenta in color, and look some- 

 thing like wild roses ; the leaves are somewhat like 

 maple leaves in shape, but are even larger. The fruit 

 looks like a common raspberry, but it is flat, and of a 

 weak red color. There are no thorns on the stems, 



