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IN THE MEADOWS AND ALONG THE 

 PASTUEES. 



fTTHE intermingling of spring and summer is so 

 general in the bright grassy meadows, now so 

 lovely in their greenness and beauty, that it is difficult 

 to distinguish between the " beauteous children of the 

 spring," and the more glorious summer flowers, which 

 form the "motley meadow's glory and delight." 



"Where the meadows are damp we shall find here 

 and there the Meadow Orchis (Orchis morio). Its 

 flowers grow oil a succulent stem, varying from eight 

 inches to a foot high, and form a lax spike. Each 

 flower is distinguished by the greenish-purple tint of 

 the calyx, which forms a sort of helmet or hood over 

 the purple lip, which is marked with dark spots. Here, 

 too, we may find the early Purple Orchis (Orchis mas- 

 culd), which we noticed in the spring woodlands. Its 

 leaves are frequently spotted with black, and its flowers 

 are altogether paler ; sometimes, indeed, I have found 

 them nearly white. When of a deeper tinted purplish 

 or lilac hue, it is sometimes fragrant. Its lip is spotted. 



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