154 



BUI.I.ETIN 145 



insure its recognition. It goes under various other common 

 names, of which checkerberry is the one most used in Vermont. 

 "Checkerberry Corners" was formerly the name of a small post- 

 office in Chittenden county, but the post-office department recently I 

 changed it to something considered more dignified, whether or I 

 not it was appropriate. It is sometimes termed partridge or , 



grouse-berry, in recognition I 



of its food value to partridges 

 and to other hibernating 

 birds, but this name properly 

 belongs to a still daintier 

 creeping vine. The deer are 

 also said to relish the fruit in 

 autumn. It is always a pleas- 

 ing plant to meet whether it 

 is in late fall or early spring 

 that one comes upon a bed 

 of the polished, leathery, 

 evergreen leaves and tempt- 

 ing red berries, sometimes 

 two or three on a stem ; or a 

 little later, when the tender. 



WiNTERGREEN. 



Flowers and fruit, X V^n. 



spicy, bronzed young sprigs are in evidence ; or yet again 

 in midsummer, when its dainty, drooping white flowers are 

 half hidden under the foliage. These attractions combine 

 to make it desirable for ornamental planting in borders and 

 rockeries. The leaves were sometimes used as a substitute for 

 tea during the Revolution ; whence the name sometimes used, 

 •'mountain tea." Wintergreen oil is an agreeable aromatic 

 product much used in flavoring confections and possessing mild 

 medicinal properties. Ten pounds may be distilled from a ton 

 of leaves. Much of the so-called wintergreen extract of the 

 market is, however, obtained from the sweet birch. 



