AMONG THE WILD-FLOWERS 5 



ing, pale flesh-colored flowers heightened the 

 efi'ect of the whole. This plant is a regular 

 climher; it has no extra appendages for that 

 purpose, and does not wind, but climbs by 

 means of its young leaf-stalks, which lay hold 

 like tiny hands or hooks. The end of every 

 branch is armed with a multitude of these baby 

 hands. The flowers are pendent and swing 

 like ear jewels. They are slightly heart- 

 shaped, and when examined closely look like 

 little pockets made of crumpled silk, nearly 

 white on the inside, or under side, and pale 

 purple on the side toward the light, and shirred 

 up at the bottom. And pockets they are in 

 quite a literal sense, for, though they fade, 

 they do not fall, but become pockets full of 

 seeds. The fumitory is a perpetual bloomer 

 from July till killed by the autumn frosts. 



The closely allied species of this plant, the 

 dicentra (Dutchman's breeches and squirrel 

 corn), are much more common, and are among 

 our prettiest spring flowers. I have an eye out 

 for the white-hearts (related to the bleeding- 

 hearts of the gardens, and absurdly called 

 "Dutchman's breeches") the last week in 

 April. It is a rock-loving plant, and springs 

 up on the shelves of the ledges or in the dt^bris 

 at their base as if by magic. As soon as blood- 

 root has begun to star the Avaste, stony places, 

 and the first swallow has been heard in the 

 sky, we are on the lookout for dicentra. The 

 more northern species, called "squirrel corn" 

 from the small golden tubers at its root, ])looms 



