126 STUDIES IN THE FIELD AND FOREST. 



soms, like those of the lily of the valley, is the low 

 andromeda. It is the first of its elegant tribe : it grows 

 along the borders of ponds and meres, and is in flower 

 as soon as the first of May. Similar in beauty to the 

 andromeda, and appearing very early on the turf that 

 covers the edges of the gray rocks, we observe a very 

 delicate and humble shrub, which, if it bore no fruit, 

 would be greatly prized for its flowers. It is the low 

 blueberry, one of the prettiest vernal ornaments of our 

 barren hills. It seldom rises a foot in height, and is 

 gemmed with thick clusters of little flower-cups, of a 

 pearly whiteness, slightly tinged with red. This hum- 

 ;ble shrub is rapidly succeeded by all the varieties of the 

 blueberry, until the hills are all glowing with their 

 blossoms, and the whole atmosphere is perfumed with 

 their fragrance. These are the shrubs in our land that 

 most nearly resemble the heaths, those most exquisite 

 of nature's floral productions, which are not to be found 

 among our native plants. 



May opens with a few blossoms of the coltsfoot, the 

 liverwort, the buckbean, and the Solomon's seal ; and 

 quite a multitude of a humble species of blue violets, 

 of the kind that delights in sprinkling the grassy mounds 

 in our country graveyards, are scattered over the 

 southern slopes of the pastures. After May-day, every 

 morning sun is greeted by a resh troop of these little 

 fairy visitants, until every knoll sparkles with them, and 

 every pathway is embroidered with them, as if they 

 were planted there on purpose to cheer the heart of 

 man. At an early period the green pastures are so full 

 of dandelions and buttercups, that they seem to be 

 smiling upon us from every border. Children are 

 always greatly delighted with these flowers, and they 

 cannot look upon them without sudden emotions of 



