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THREE SLY FLOWERS 





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26tk 



OT many of us have guessed the 

 cunning mysteries of my trio of 

 secretive blooms nor truly merit- 

 ed their confidences. These are 

 the "painted-cup," the fringed 

 polygala, and the dwarf -ginseng. Yes, we 

 know them all ; for have we not picked them 

 a hundred times, even though perhaps we 

 may not have known their names? They make 

 a pretty bouquet upon our mantel; but we lit- 

 tle imagine what a quiet frolic is going on there 

 at our expense. 



"Scarlet tufts 



Are glowing in the green like flakes of fire ! 

 The wanderers of the prairie know them well, 

 And call that brilliant flower the 'painted -cup.'" 



Thus sings Bryant of this flower which is not a 



flower this glowing display which floods not only 



the Western prairie, but our low May meadows of the 



East, with " meadow fire," as it is sometimes called. 



