A DAY'S OUTING IN SEARCH OF THE ARBUTUS. 



If in any year I let April and May go by without 

 taking a day's outing, in search of the trailing arbutus 

 {Epigea re])en^^ it is ever after a cause of regret. This 

 characteristic IS'ew England plant, known better by the 

 name the pilgrims gave it, Mayflower, is found in abund- 

 ance at Olean, Portville and Salamanca, and sparingly 

 at -JS'orth Collins and Portage. To enjoy the flower 

 most, one need not get it in large quantities. A few 

 sprigs gathered in its natural habitat are better than 

 bushels bought at the market. It seems as much out 

 of place in a flower store or greenhouse as a wood- 

 thrush in an aviary or in the den of a bird fancier. 

 Both need the accessories of their wild surroundings. 

 By selecting Portage as the field to be explored, one 

 was sure to renew the acquaintance of many of the rarer 

 and more interesting birds. The day chosen was a per- 

 fect one. A warm shower the night before had laid the 

 dust and freshened the grass, which seemed a brighter 

 green by being dotted by so many golden dandelions 

 wide open to the sun. The buds on the earlier trees 

 were just bursting into leaf, and were of such various 

 shades that the different kinds of trees could easily be 

 distinguished. Cherry and shad trees were already 



