108 JBotans 



fragrance on a ripple of wind that one will stoj) to 

 consider its origin. The source is not far to seek ; 

 it is a bean-field in full blossom, and it recalls what 

 Isaac said of his favorite son, Esau, " The smell 

 of my son is as the smell of a field that God hath 

 blessed." No doubt that genial freebooter had taken 

 toll of many a passing caravan, bearing myrrh, aloes, 

 balm, and cassia into Egypt, and therewith had made 

 his goodly garments fragrant. 



Another very common and fragrant family of 

 June blooming plants is the trefoil or clover family. 

 A field of the common red clover in full bloom will 

 rival in richness of perfume the famous Scotch bean- 

 field. The clover field is a blaze of beauty — full, 

 round, ros}^ heads spread under the sunshine a cloth 

 not of gold, but of a purplish pink, str(fng, healthy 

 plants these, full of suggestions of vigor. Across this 

 field boom thousands of great humble bees, and here 

 we are reminded that the humble bee is the especial 

 partner of the red clover, carrying its pollen and paid 

 by the honey from its deep cups. The red clover is 

 not a native flower in America. It was introduced 

 here, as in Australia, from England, but seems to 

 have taken a si:)ecial hold on the hearts of the 

 people, and upon the soil as well. 



"Wliat airs oiitblown from ferny dells 

 Of clover bloom and sweet-briar smells," 



