294 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



hilly and wooded localities, and may be easily recognized 

 by its kidney-shaped leaves, and by its curious, purplish- 

 brown flowers, 

 which are well 

 shown in the 

 the figure. 

 These flowers 

 are solitary, or 

 one on each 

 short stem, and 

 only one flower 

 to each plant. 

 From mam- 

 mals to insects, 

 no living thing 

 will eat its bit- 

 ter leaves ; and 

 one rarely sees 

 the flowers un- 

 less special 

 search is made 

 for them, as 

 they hide them- 

 selves down in 

 the leaves and 

 grass, almost 

 entirely out of 

 sight. Neltje 

 Blanchan gives 

 a beautiful ac- 

 count of the 

 wild ginger, and 

 very correctly 

 points out the 

 reason why the 

 flower hides it- 

 s e 1 f in the 

 very early 

 spring. ( Na- 

 ture's Garden, 

 p. 374) ; and 

 Mathews says 

 it is a "curious 

 woodland 

 plant, whose 

 odd flower is half concealed by its low position, and by 

 its sober color, which not infrequently resembles the leaf- 

 mould just beneath it. Its proximity to the ground, and 



WE HAVE A LARGE GROUP OF AMERICAN FLOWERS IN THE LILY FAMILY (Liliaceae) 



Fig. 10. Among the flowers introduced from Europe is the lovely "Star of Bethlehem," the scientific name 

 of which is Ornithogalum umbellatum. The generic name is from the Greek, meaning "bird's milk" 

 not a "whimsical" name, as Gray supposes, nor the "egg-white color of the flower" (Mathews), but 

 referring to something marvelous, as the marvel of its beauty. 



the frequent visits of the fungus gnats and the early 

 flesh-flies suggest that these have most to do with the 



fertilization of 

 the plant." 



Many years 

 ago, the old 

 t h e r apeutists 

 used the wild 

 ginger to make 

 an extract, 

 which was em- 

 ployed in med- 

 icine as a tonic ; 

 but it must 

 have been a 

 very bitter one, 

 and was prob- 

 ably abandon- 

 ed on that ac- 

 count, if not 

 for its inef- 

 ficiency. 



Late in the 

 season some of 

 the leaves of 

 wild ginger 

 come to be of 

 very consider- 

 able size, some- 

 times as much 

 as four or five 

 inches across. 

 It is then they 

 possess a pe- 

 culiar decora- 

 t i v e appear- 

 ance, which 

 would be noted 

 by even unob- 

 servant ramb- 

 1 e r s through 

 the woods, 

 while the fact 

 would charm 

 the more care- 

 ful observer. The root of the plant has an aromatic 

 flavor; it is bitter and sharp to the taste, and for this 

 reason probably received its name of wild ginger. 



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(Continued from Page 288.) 



St. Tammany Lumber Mfg. Company.. 



Sanford, F. L 



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George W. Stoker & Son 



Tall Timber Lumber Company 



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Trout Creek Lumber Company 



Urania Lumber Company 



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Waddel-Williams Lumber Company 



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Weller, Miss Mame E 



Weston Company, W. M 



Wilbert's Sons Lumber and Shingle Company, 



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Williamsport Hardwood Lumber Company... 



Wilson and Cochran 



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