shufeldt! STUDYING WILD FLOWERS AT HOME 



167 



a time when the naturalist in me was beginning to assert himself, 

 the dense tropical forests of Cuba and southern Mexico made their 

 indelible impressions upon my young mind. Later on opportuni- 

 ties came to me to contrast these with the subtropical jungles, 

 bayous, and the forests of Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, 

 New Mexico, and Ari- 

 zona; while during the 

 span of early manhood at 

 all seasons of the year, 

 from the peaks of the 

 Big Horns to the shores 

 of Long Island Sound, 

 southward and westward 

 to the Gulf, not a little of 

 the wild part of our great 

 continent was more or 

 less known to me. 



As I glance backward 

 over that period of my 

 life, with the view of 

 satisfying myself as to 

 which of all these wild or 

 forest districts, which of 

 these still uncultivated 

 regions, far from the 

 homes of men, most 

 strongly appealed to me, 

 I find it hard to answer; 

 as a matter of fact, my 

 mind has never been 



Fig. 4. Yellow iris. 



satisfied on this point, so interesting and so fascinating are they 

 all, each after its own kind. One thing is certain, however; from 

 the very first peep of spring to the death of the last day of 

 autumn, the woodlands, and all that goes with them, in various 

 parts of New England are very hard to beat. 



To nature students from less favored districts it is a veritable 

 source of marvel to note the wealth of plant life, with all its flowers 

 and blossoms, that spring into existence through the woods, in the 

 fields, and along the waysides everywhere, just so soon as the 

 vernal season is ushered in; and it would seem that, nearly even' 



