THE HEATHER ABROAD 

 In America 



LIKE the proverbial Scot, the Heather, as has 

 been seen, is found "far frae its native hame," 

 or what is generally considered as such, and 

 in some out of the way corners of the globe. Heather 

 has been discovered in different localities in the United 

 States, but in most instances it is thought to be ad- 

 ventive rather than indigenous. For its appearance 

 here the Scotsman is in great measure responsible. 

 The latest botanical work in America (Britton and 

 Brown's "Illustrated Flora") thus describes it: "Cal- 

 luna vulgaris, sandy or rocky soil : Newfoundland to 

 New Jersey. Naturalized or adventive from Europe." 

 Meehan tells us that when the poet Percival first 

 referred to the Heather as a native of Vermont, in 

 his "Ode to a Dried-up Lake," his inclusion of the 

 heath among the flowers that suffered was criticised 

 by botanists, and considered allowable only under "the 

 poet's license," though still with the reservation that 

 Shakespeare would not have blundered so: 



There the dark fern flings on the night wind's wings 



Its leaves like the dancing feather, 

 And the whip-poor-will's note seemed gently to float 



From the deep purple brown of the heather. 



33 a 



