April and Early May 



stem. A sheltered bank, bright with the 

 young, delicate leaves, and starred with 

 the earlier blossoms of the bloodroot, 

 marks perhaps the loveliest shrine along 

 the path of the ascending year. 



By the end of April, and often earlier, 

 the wet meadows look as though tracked 

 with gold. Along the stream, in and 

 out of the swamps, gleam the yellow blos- 

 soms of the marsh marigold, a fresh, 

 delightful plant, with tempting leaves, 

 which afford the country people their 

 earliest ''greens," and little button-Hke 

 flower-buds, which make an excellent 

 substitute for capers. 



The little blue flowers of the liverwort 

 are not seen at their best until the plant 

 has discarded its worn-out foliage in fa- 

 vor of a fresh set of leaves. But when 

 this renovation has taken place, they are 

 lovely with all the shy suggestiveness pe- 

 culiar to these early arrivals. In the 

 open woods, among great beds of pale, 

 26 



