36 AS CALIFORNIA FLOWERS GROW 



poet of Spring. It is but an accidental resemblance, 

 as the plants do not belong to the same family and 

 have quite different habits; yet our Currant, burst- 

 ing out as it does when most members of the Floral 

 Kingdom are still sleeping, brings to us the same 

 thrill of joy in the awakening life of Nature as does 

 the Mayflower to the East. 



The Currant is illustrative of California's topsy- 



turvy calendar. Along 

 the Coast, as soon as the 

 early rains vivify the 

 earth, be they in Octo- 

 ber or in December, the 

 Currant sends out her 

 new leaves of delicate 

 green and her graceful 

 tassels of pink and white 

 to indicate that, in spite 

 of the almanac's an- 

 nouncing Winter, it is 

 really Spring on the 

 Western Shore. Then, 

 in the Sierras, as soon as 



WILD CURRANT 



the J UIie and J Ul Y SUI1 



has lifted the heavy 



snow blanket, out bursts the Currant of that altitude 

 in her delicate green and gladsome pink to proclaim 

 that, while the almanac may call it Summer, it is 

 really Spring in our Western Mountains. 



