OF V 1 N E S 



I regret to say that \ve found the poison ivy growing in profusion 

 on the island. It is a pity it should be so poisonous. No maple 

 was ever more brilliant than its leaves in autumn, but we con- 

 scientiously tried to eradicate it. After four years of weeding I 

 can only acknowledge that its clinging nature has been too much for 

 us; the only sure way to get rid of it I believe is to turn over the 

 sod and burn all the roots! In contrast to this pest the bedstraw 

 family is a favorite of ours, with its long sticky stems and whorls 

 of from four to six leaflets, and its misty white flowers, like the 

 " baby's breath." It blossoms from June to August and has a faint 

 sweet perfume. Later, the tiny burrs are somewhat overfond of 

 company, but even under the first snow its green leaves peep up 

 at the daintily dancing leaflets of the cinquefoil. I discovered 

 the wild balsam apple over some dogwoods the other day; its 

 three-forked tendrils, its prickly soft green balls and star-shaped 

 leaves, looked their prettiest, but it too much resembled the wild 

 cucumber to stand high in our favor. 



To our great joy we found the smooth-leaved honeysuckle in 

 many open spots throughout the woods. It seemed like an old 

 friend, with its trumpets of cream flowers, its characteristic bluish 

 leaves, and bright scarlet berries. Near it grew the moonseed with 

 its twining stems, its clean unusually marked leaf, its delicate 

 clusters of flowers, and bunches of grape-like fruit. We mean to 

 transplant this from the wood where it wanders over weeds and 



grasses, and see what a little cultivation will do for it. The 



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