A MOUNTAIN POND 91 



I had been at his house a few eveninjrs be- 

 fore to see his son, who had come home from 

 Biltmore to collect certain rare local plants 

 — the mountain holly being one of them — 

 for the Vanderbilt herbarium. The mystery 

 was cleared, but it may be imagined how 

 taken aback I was when this venerable rus- 

 tic stranger threw a Latin name at me. 



In truth, however, botany and Latin names 

 might almost be said to be in the air at 

 Highlands. A villager met me in the street, 

 one day, and almost before I knew it, we 

 were discussing the specific identity of the 

 small yellow lady's-slippers, — whether there 

 were two species, or, as my new acquaintance 

 believed, only one, in the woods round about. 

 At another time, having called at a very 

 pretty unpainted cottage, — all the prettier 

 for the natural color of the weathered shin- 

 gles, — I remarked to the lady of the house 

 upon the beauty of Azalea Vaseyi, which I 

 had noticed in several dooryards, and which 

 was said to have been transplanted from the 

 woods. I did not understand why it was, I 

 told her, but I could n't find it described in 

 my Chapman's Flora. '' Oh, it is there, I 

 am sure it is," she answered ; and going into 



