1 14 Bo^-Trottin^ for Orchids 



As I returned homeward over the heated fields, I 

 found the atmosphere verj^ exhausting; and the flowers, 

 although protected in my botanizing can, were wilted. 

 Measuring the broad expanse that intervened between 

 me and the hill of Aurora's Lake, the journey seemed 

 interminable. The distance was finally covered, how- 

 ever, and both my fatigue and the fact that I was late 

 for tea were forgotten in the ecstasy of having found 

 that first Purple-Fringed Orchis. This spike grew, 

 and every bud expanded, until within a few days it 

 became beautiful indeed, giving forth its delicate 

 fragrance, and proving itself the prize I had esteemed 

 it, as I lifted it from the dark earth of the bogland of 

 northern Berkshire. 



