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‘Perhaps even in March you may have ventured into 
the woods to look for the lovely, fragrant, waxlike 
blossoms of the trailing arbutus. You know the shel- 
tered hollow where the snow first melts; and there the 
delicate pink flowers make you glad with their beauty, 
and with the thought of the good time coming. To 
some of us this first hunt for the arbutus is one of the 
great events of the year. It means the beginning of 
long, delicious hours in the fresh air, with birds and 
trees and butterflies and wild flowers as our chosen 
companions. 
But not all of you will agree that this trailing arbutus 
is the first spring flower. Many think the violet can 
-lay claim to this honor. The yellow violet especially 
may be found in the woods before the trees have put 
forth their leaves. 
And some say that the little blue liverwort (some- 
times this is pink or white) is the earliest of all; and 
others vote for the spring beauty, or for the ‘yellow 
adder’s tongue, or for the Dutchman’s breeches, or for 
the anemone. 
And still others say that the marsh marigold, the 
shining flower that in April gilds the wet meadows, 
leads the procession. 
But you are wrong, every one of you. The earliest 
blossom of the year makes its appearance long before 
any of these flowers you have mentioned. 
The first plant to blossom knows better than to pro- 
claim the change of season by anything so fragile as a 
violet, an anemone, a spring beauty. It sends out its 
rather coarse little flowers under the protection of a 
