Midsummer 



their surfaces, certain pastures look as 

 though afire. The grasses sway about 

 great patches of intense orange-red, sug- 

 gestive of creeping flames. This starthng 

 effect is given by the butterfly-weed, the 

 most gorgeous member of the milkweed 

 family. Almost equally vivid, though less 

 flame-like, is the purple milkweed, a species 

 which abounds also in dry places, with 

 deep pink-purple flowers which grow in 

 smaller, less spreading clusters than those 

 of the butterfly-weed. The swamp milk- 

 weed may be found in nearly all wet 

 meadows. It is described by Gray as 

 "rose-purple," but the finer specimens 

 might almost claim to be ranked among 

 the red flowers. 



The dull pink balls of the common 

 milkweed or si Ik weed are massed by ev- 

 ery roadside now, and are too generally 

 known to need description. The most 

 delicate member of the family is the four- 

 leaved milkweed, with fragrant pale pink 

 76 



