NATIVE WILD FLOWEKS 



unobservant or apathetic as we suppose them to be; but 

 that, being unable to express themselves in suitable language, 

 they are silent on subjects concerning which more enlarged 

 minds can speak eloquently, having words at their command. 

 The uneducated know little of the art of word painting in 

 describing the beautiful or the sublime. 



SPICE WINTERGREEN Gaultherid procumbens (L.). 



This pretty little plant has many names besides the one 

 above: it is also known as Teaberry, Checkerberry and 

 Aromatic Wintergreen; but it shares these English names 

 with many other forest plants. 



The aromatic flavor of its leaves and berries has made 

 the Spice Wintergreen a favorite, not with the Indians 

 only but also with the confectioners, who introduce the 

 essential oil that is extracted from the leaves and fruit into 

 their sugar confections. It is also an ingredient in many 

 of the tonic and alterative bitters prepared and sold by the 

 druggists in Canada. The squaws chew the dry, spicy, 

 mealy berries when ripe with great relish; and in the lodge 

 the Indian hunter smokes the leaves as a substitute for 

 tobacco, for when burnt they give out a pleasant aromatic 

 smell. The leaves are warm and stimulant, agreeable to 

 the taste and perfectly wholesome. 



The creeping root-stock throws up simple upright stems 

 at intervals, crowned with a few smooth thick shining 

 leaves of a bright green color. The flowers are three or 

 four in number, resembling in form the Arbutus, Heath, 

 Huckleberry and others of the family, being a roundish bell, 

 contracted at the neck, pale white or flesh-colored. The fruit, 

 which is persistent through the winter, is of a brilliant 

 scarlet. The fleshy calyx is of the same texture and color 



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