STUDIES OF PLANT LIFE 



even of the sprigs of the hemlock spruce. Many of the old 

 folks still retain a liking for the teas made from the wild 

 herbs, and use them as diet-drinks in the spring- of the year 

 with great benefit to their health. 



The light feathery clusters of minute white flowers of the 

 Ceanothus have a charming appearance among the dark 

 green foliage, and adorn the hills and valleys of the grassy 

 Canadian plain lands. Where the soil is light loam the 

 shrubs are lower; the flowers also are somewhat smaller, 

 but very abundant, and give out a faint sweet odor. In 

 damper, more shaded spots, the flower clusters are larger 

 and are borne on long footstalks. The leaves of the shrub 

 are ovate, oblong, ribbed, and toothed at the edges. The 

 root is of a deep red color, astringent and used medicinally. 



The flavor of the leaves is slightly bitter and aromatic. 

 I consider this pretty Ceanothus to be one of the most orna-, 

 mental of our native flowering shrubs, and well worthy 

 o'f introduction into our gardens. Abundant clusters of 

 delicate white flowers, that cover the bush during the 

 months of July and August, have the appearance, at a little 

 distance, of the froth of new milk. The flowers are slender, 

 the petals hooded, spreading, on slender claws longer than 

 the calyx, which is five-lobed, colored like the petals. The 

 seed-vessel is three-lobed, splitting into three parts when 

 dry; the seed is round, hard and berry-like. The branches 

 and woody stems wither and die down in autumn, to be 

 replaced by new shoots in the ensuing spring. In height 

 the shrub varies from two to five feet. 



WILD SMOOTH GOOSEBERRY Ribes oxyacanthoides (L.). 



Our woods and swamps abound with varieties of the 

 widely diffused Gooseberry and Currant family, and though 

 at present neglected and despised, they, no doubt, could, by 



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