Midsummer 



latter from its dark red root. The driest 

 and most uninviting localities do not seem 

 to discourage either this persistent little 

 shrub or the bushy-looking wild indigo, 

 with its clover-like leaves and short ter- 

 minal clusters of yellow, pea-like blossoms. 

 In shaded hollows and on the hillsides 

 the tall white wands of the black cohosh, 

 or bugbane, shoot upward, rocket-like. 

 The great stout stems, large divided 

 leaves and slender spikes of feathery 

 flowers render this the most conspicuous 

 wood plant of the season. If we chance 

 to be lingering 



" In secret paths that thread the forest land " 



when the last sunlight has died away, and 

 happen suddenly upon one of these 

 ghostly groups, the effect is almost star- 

 tling. The rank odor of the flowers de- 

 tracts somewhat from one's enjoyment 

 of their beauty, and is responsible, I sup- 

 pose, for their unpleasing title of bugbane. 



85 



