FLOWERS AND FOLKS. vevag 
acter, though less striking than these, of 
course, within the limits of his own local 
researches. If you ask me where I find 
dandelions, I answer, anywhere; but if you 
wish me to show you the sweet colt’s-foot 
(Nardosmia palmata), you must go with 
me to one particular spot. Any of my 
neighbors will tell you where the pink moc- 
casin flower grows; but if it is the yellow 
one you are in search of, I shall swear you 
to secrecy before conducting you to its 
swampy hiding-place. Some plants, like 
some people (but the plants, be it noted, are 
mostly weeds), seem to flourish best away 
from home; others die under the most ecare- 
ful transplanting. Some are lovers of the 
open, and cannot be too much in the sun; 
others lurk in deep woods, under the triple 
shadow of tree and bush and fern. Some 
take to sandy hill-tops; others must stand 
knee-deep in water. One insists upon the 
richest of meadow loam; another is con- 
tent with the face of a rock. We may say 
of them as truly as of ourselves, De gusti- 
bus non est disputandum. Otherwise, how 
would the earth ever be clothed with ver- 
. dure? 
