D2, FLOWERS AND FOLKS. 
that be the production of buds, blossoms, 
berries, leaves, bark, timber, or what not; 
and our judgment of them must be corre- 
spondingly varied. The vine bears _blos- 
soms, but is to be rated not by them, but by 
the grapes that come after them; and the 
rose-tree bears hips, but takes its rank not 
from them, but from the flowers that went 
to the making of them. “Nothing but 
leaves’? is a verdict unfavorable or other- 
wise according to its application. The tea- 
shrub would hold up its head to hear it. 
One of the most interesting and sugges- 
tive points of difference among plants is 
that which relates to the matter of self- 
reliance. Some are made to stand alone, 
others to twine, and others to creep. If it 
were allowable to attribute human feelings to 
them, we should perhaps be safe in assuming 
that the upright look down upon the climb- 
ers, and the climbers in turn upon the creep- 
ers; for who of us does not felicitate him- 
self upon his independence, such as it is, or 
such as he imagines it to be? But if inde- 
pendence is indeed a boon, —and I, for one, 
am too thoroughbred a New Englander ever 
to doubt it, —it is not the only good, nor 
