74 JSotan^ 



mullein ; by tough epidermis, as in the plantain and 

 yucca; by pungent juice, as Jack-in-the-^julpit ; by 

 nauseous taste, as the burdock ; by height, as the 

 palm, oak, cedar. Some hide under water, some 

 float on ponds, while mere numbers secure others, 

 as the grasses. 



However much interest we find in the varieties, 

 the development and offices of leaves, it is impos- 

 sible to confine our attention strictly to leaves when 

 in April we carry on plant-life studies out of doors. 

 As March closes, flowers are scarcely to be found, 

 but the first breath of April seems to have awakened 

 a host of the darlings of the sj^ring. Perhaps the 

 earliest hint of a flower is when one finds the earth 

 strewn with small, red scales and tiny clusters of 

 filaments. We look up. The tops of the elms against 

 the blue sky have suddenly thickened, these scales 

 and threads are the bloom of the elm tree. Looking 

 from what is high to what is very low we find the 

 ground almost covered in places with the tiniest of 

 flowers, the dainty little bluets ; on stems half an 

 inch long, surrounded by leaves no larger than a 

 small grain of rice, these wee blooms, not much 

 larger than a flax-seed, but perfect in form and 

 matchlessly blue in coloring, too tiny to pick or to 

 put into bouquets, challenge our liking, small babes 

 of the opening season. 



