Moccasin-Flo^wers 141 



time remarks that this plant grew in the mountains 

 of Ida in Crete, or Candie. Carolus Clusius reported 

 it as growing among the bushes and briars about the 

 city of HispaHs, or Civill, in Spain, before the sixteenth 

 century. 



I visited Oak Hill Cemetery on May 29th, — a very 

 good place to observe the early flowers of the woods 

 about the valley. The country folk come here with 

 their laurels for Decoration Day, as Milton came to his 

 *' Lycidas," '* to empurple all the ground with vernal 

 flowers." ^ Here may be seen the pink azalea, the 

 marsh marigolds — those golden-cups of Caltha, — 

 violets, and painted trilliums amid the bunches of pink 

 and golden moccasin-flowers, brought here in abund- 

 ance by the school children. 



On June 5th I sought the swamps of Ktchowog. I 

 followed down through the Glen of Comus, in search 

 of the great colony of Pink Moccasin-Flowers. I 

 found them in full bud, — two hundred in number, as 

 formerly. As I entered the hollow, I found in the 

 middle of the path a Small Round-Leaved Orchis 

 (^Habenaria Hookeriayid) . 



This region is being slowly despoiled of its stately 

 pines. I saw fresh scars of the axe among them. 

 Three first-growth trees were laid low, piled on the 

 side of the road. 



I followed, as usual, the path through the Swamp of 

 Oracles beside Ball Brook, leading out through the 

 clearings of Ball Farm. Here I waded through Iris 

 Milton, Lycidas. 



