THE SPRUCE, ETC. 



301 



a charming quality of color in the ground hemlock 

 needle which is rarely the possession of any leaf : 



Yew. 



the reverse side is precisely the softest, warmest, and 

 most beautiful, rich yellow-green which we can find 

 in Nature. I have already alluded to this particular 

 green in a description of the mulberry leaf. If 

 there are those of us who think the color nothing 

 extraordinary, let them attempt the almost impossi- 

 ble task of matching it exactly. The beautiful trans- 

 lucent red berry of the ground hemlock, with the 

 black spot in the center of the depression, is hardly 

 less interesting than the warm, green foliage ; its deli- 

 cacy is only comparable to that of the pearly berry of 

 the mistletoe. 



The ground hemlock is common on shady hills 

 and banks throughout the Northern States from 



