68 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



ter of this essa}-. Our "cursed spite" does 

 not lead us, as it did tiie Prince of Denmark, 

 to making straight the crooked paths, or to 

 reforming abuses. 



How did we happen to omit the wild car- 

 rot from our former article ? It is among the 

 most striking of the plants now in bloom. 

 It will be recognized at once by its broad 

 umbels of pure white flowers, often with a j 

 single central flower of a maroon color. 

 These clusters as they ripen, become de- | 

 pressed until in the fruiting condition there 

 results a very pretty bird's nest. Very like 

 fine lace are the flowers of the carrot. Is 

 its root good eating? Well, we should say, 

 as a rule, avoid all umbelUferm in a wild 

 state. The parsnip is often dangerous. 

 Moreover, the plaguey things all have so 

 great a family resemblance that they may 

 deceive the very elect. It would be a seri- 

 ous mistake to eat either of the hemlocks 

 under an impression that it was a garden 

 vegetable. 



We now find on the Buttonwoods plains 

 the smallest of the milk weeds {Aaclepias 

 verticiUata) . It is usually a foot or less in 

 height, with narrow, whorled leaves and an 

 umbel of small flowers, succeeded by long 

 pods. These contain, by-and-by, the well 

 known winged seeds of all milk weeds. 

 Our region is rich in asclepias. We have, 

 often along the shore, the tall common spe- 

 cies, and in moist places everywhere the red 

 Asclepias imarisfa. On the sandy plains 

 we will find, besides, the crumple-leaved As- 

 clepias ohtvsijolia. But the really hand- 

 some one is the orange-colored butterfly' 

 weed {^Asclepias tuberosa), very frequent 

 along the railroad near Hill's Grove and 

 Apponaug. It is possible that in the future 

 the charming silk-like coma of these plants 

 may become a commercial product. At 

 present it serves to bear awa}' the seeds like 

 tiny parachutes, or to ornament parlors, or 

 to aid Mr. Gibson as a model in some of his 

 matchless drawings. 



The first of the golden rods {Solidago 

 argnta) has put in an appearance. It is a 

 tall species with a branching wand, each 

 portion of which is bent over and bears the 

 heads on one side. In dry places, every- 

 where, the Solidago nemonalis will be in 

 bloom in a few days. It is a smaller plant, 

 .with a bluish green aspect to the foliage ; 

 indeed, it has rather a dusty look. The 



heads are minute and not nearly so brilliant 

 as in many other species. We notice tlie 

 smaller evening primrose {Enothera purnila) 

 everywhere. The large and showy one, l)e- 

 loved of the big mother, grows mostly nvar 

 the shore. Every one knows its lemon-yel- 

 low, fragrant flowers. Let young people 

 notice whether the stamens or the pistils 

 are first functional. We give them this as 

 a prett}' problem. 



We have spoken already of the meadow 

 beauty (Rhexia) now so very conspicuous 

 about here. From its dainty name and its 

 habit and its proud connection we ought to 

 like it. As a matter of fact, it is always a 

 trial to endure a magenta shade, something 

 of which nature is rather fond. 



Related to the evening primrose is the 

 rattle-box {Liidvngia attennifolia), which 

 one will find on the old horse railroad to 

 Apponaug, wherever it is moist. It has 

 yellow petals — if 3'ou are up early to catch 

 them. They are readily deciduous, but then 

 the persistent cal^'x, coherent to the pod, is 

 as lovely as a flower, It often assumes ver}' 

 , brilliant tints of red. Perhaps it goes with- 

 out saying that the popular name (which, by 

 the way, is not distinctive), is given on ac- 

 count of the rattling of the seeds in the cap- 

 sule. 



Bindweeds have always been our admira- 

 tion, and they grow very finely near the 

 shore. Their large pink parillions are more 

 beautiful than most morning glories. The 

 name of this plant is Convolvidus sepiicm. 

 The parasitic dodders, looking like coils of 

 copper wire, are its run-down or degraded 

 cousin. So are we in the habit of speaking 

 of parasites in politics or in plants. By the 

 wa}', do they ever have such in politics? 

 The two Spiroias will be met with. The 

 pink one is known the Yankee-land over as 

 hard-hack. The white or pinkish- white one 

 has the name of " meadow-sweet." Both 

 are charming in a bouquet. 



But, with a long vista still before us, we 

 are exceeding our limits and tiring our read- 

 ers. Better a few herbs served judiciously 

 as entrees than a whole repast of vegetables. 

 This, then, is our excuse for the peculiar 

 character of the shore dinner here ofl^ered, 

 as well as for the spices and condiments in- 

 termixed. 



w. w. B. 



Buttonwoods, R. I., July 23, 1886. 



