CHAPTER XII. 

 OF WILD FLOWERS. 



AS SOON as we came to live in the country we began to learn 

 the wild flowers by name, particularly those that grew on 

 our own place. It was a fascinating study. I liked best the books 

 with plenty of pictures, for some way technical descriptions were 

 not easy to grasp. The Britton and Brown, as we called it 

 '' Illustrated Flora of the United States and Canada," by Profes- 

 sor Britton and the Hon. Addison Brown, as it is known in the 

 book stores should be in every country house library, so com- 

 plete is it and with every plant illustrated. No weed was too 

 insignificant for our list. We had the assistance of kind and 

 interested neighbors in our undertaking, and when all other sources 

 failed, on application to the botanical department of the nearest 

 university we had instant and valuable aid. 



I shall never forget our first springtime. The hepaticas grew 



in wonderful rosy and lavender clumps paling into white; each 



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