WILD FLOWERS THAT BOYS AND GIRLS SHOULD KNOW 



BY R. W. SHUFELDT, C.M.Z.S. 



MANY a girl and many a boy in this country delight botanists; they can often correctly name a comparatively 



in spending a good share of their time in the long list of the local species, and ])ossess a fair smatter- 



woods and fields at nearly all times of the year, ing of the elements of the science. These require no 



If the country they get into jrassesses a certain degree pressing to be induced to take to the open with the view 



of wildness, with lakes, and ponds, and marshes here of gathering specimens new to them, and adding to their 



store of knowledge in other 

 ways ; they are the very ones 

 to help the others along, and 

 are, under proper guidance, 

 more than eager to do so. 



Now it should be the pride 

 of every American girl and 

 every American boy to be 

 able to name all of the flow- 

 ers which are met with while 

 out on trips through the coun- 

 try ; such an accomplishment 

 has no end of advantages, 

 and in more ways than one 

 thinks. 



What we have before us 

 this fine August day is to all 

 get together, and start out 

 for a long ramble over the 

 fields, through the woods, 

 along the edges of streams 

 and marshes, and .see just 

 how many wild flowers we 

 can find out something about 

 where they grow, what they 

 look like, and what their 



THE RED CARDINAL FLOWERS 



Fig, L When these are in bloom in the 

 midsummer time, or in the early autumn 

 farther north, you will find them growing 

 along streams, or in marshy places. Often 

 you can notice them quite a long ways oflf, 



and there, and with their natural 

 outlets of streams, so much the bet- 

 ter. Among these young ramblers 

 there are generally a fair number 

 who take a certain amount of in- 

 terest in the wild flowers they 

 come across, and who probably 

 know the names of a good many 

 of the dandelion, clover, or butter- 

 cup class ; but, unless something 

 arouses a deeper interest, they 

 never get along any further than 

 this. A fewer number have mas- 

 tered the English names of a longer 

 list of species, and are fond of tak- 

 ing flowers home to be kept a few 

 days in receptacles containing water. 

 Finally, the exceptional few, both 

 girls and boys, are essentially young 



474 



THESE ARE F.ASY TO IDENTIFY 



Fig. 3. Surely you all remember the bright yellow 

 flowers, like these, which you found in big patched 

 in the marshy places and by the creeks, when you 

 first visited the woods very, very early last spring. 

 They are called Dog-tooth Violets or Yellow Adder** 

 Tongue. 



WHAT IS THIS BUSH? 



Fig. 2. It is not often that we meet with a 

 girl or a boy that cannot give the name of 

 the bush that bears the flowers shown in this 

 picture. It is one of the most beautiful flowers 

 in our country, and it has been named the 

 Mountain Laurel. 



names are. This is lots of fun, 

 and you may be sure it is not the 

 last time you will want to try it. 

 On this first scout we will get after 

 only the most abundant and easy 

 ones to examine and name. .\s you 

 know, in the right kind of coun- 

 try, wild flowers grow nearly 

 everywhere, and there are hundreds 

 of different species or kinds of 

 them. This must not discourage 

 you, however ; for you will soon 

 find out that, after you have stud- 

 ied one big, showy flower and 

 named it, what you have learned 

 about it will make it much easier to 

 studv the next one you bring home 

 for the purpose. 



The chief help you will have 



