WHITE 



or clasping leaf-stalks. Darwin has made interesting experi- 

 ments regarding the movements of the young shoots of the Clem- 

 atis. He discovered that, " one revolved describing a broad 

 oval, in five hours, thirty minutes ; and another in six hours, 

 twelve minutes ; they follow the course of the sun." 



SWEET PEPPERBUSH. WHITE ALDER. 



Clethra alnifolia. Heath Family. 



A shrub from three to ten feet high. Leaves. Alternate, ovate, sharply 

 toothed. Flowers. White, growing in clustered finger-like racemes. 

 Calyx. Of five sepals. Corolla. Of five oblong petals. Stamens. Ten, 

 protruding. Pistil. One, three-cleft at apex. 



Nearly all our flowering shrubs are past their glory by mid- 

 summer, when the fragrant blossoms of the sweet pepperbush be- 

 gin to exhale their perfume from the cool thickets which line the 

 lanes along the New England coast. There is a certain luxuri- 

 ance in the vegetation of this part of the country in August 

 which is generally lacking farther inland, where the fairer flow- 

 ers have passed away, and the country begins to show the effects 

 of the long days of heat and drought. The moisture of the air, 

 and the peculiar character of the soil near the sea, are responsible 

 for the freshness and beauty of many of the late flowers which 

 we find in such a locality. 



Clethra is the ancient Greek name for the alder, which this 

 plant somewhat resembles in foliage. 



THORN-APPLE. JAMESTOWN WEED. 



Datura Stramonium. Nightshade Family. 



Stem. Smooth and branching. Leaves. Ovate, wavy-toothed or angled. 

 Flowers. White, large and showy, on short flower-stalks from the forks of 

 the branching stem. Calyx. Five-toothed. Corolla. Funnel-form, the 

 border five-toothed. Stamens. Five. Pistil. One. Fruit. Green, 

 globular, prickly. 



The showy white flowers of the thorn-apple are found in waste 

 places during the summer and autumn, a heap of rubbish form- 

 ing their usual unattractive background. The plant is a rank, 

 ill-scented one, which was introduced into our country from Asia. 



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