288 WAYFARERS 



A nearer view showed slender green stems two 

 feet or so in height, set with pairs of thin, rather 

 slender pointed leaves, each stem crowned by a head 

 of flowers, in shape resembling the red Bee Balm, 

 as Time o' Year had said, but of a color difficult 

 to name, as it appeared under the varied play of 

 light and shade before the pasture bars where the 

 plants had established themselves, with the evident 

 intention of some time appropriating the entire field 

 within, as the outposts could now be seen here and 

 there between the white -flowered Moth Mulleins. 



This flower, in the hand, proved to be Wild 

 Bergamot of pungent odor, one of the Mint tribe, 

 but in the landscape, set amid varied greens, and 

 separated by the background of gray, lichen -cov- 

 ered bars from wild fields dyed with the dull red 

 of Sheep Sorrel, it made another of the many pic- 

 tures whose color can be retained only by the 

 memory. 



A few rods farther on, the wayside growths 

 changed again, showing the effects of sandy soil 

 and a location that had once been wooded, and 

 where now fragrant foliage made up for the lack 

 of flowers. On each side of the narrowed way, 

 Sweet Fern and Bayberry- bushes touched the 

 wheels, yielding their wholesome perfume freely. 



