STUDIES OF PLANT LIFE 



ten feet high ; it is mostly found in damp swampy soil or on 

 the banks of streams and beaver meadows, partaking of the 

 habits of the alder, which it resembles in its love of moisture. 



The leaves are ovate, somewhat narrowed at the base, 

 serrate at the edges, thin, and not spiny, rather downy 

 underneath; the branches and branchlets are dark colored; 

 flowers greenish, on very short stalks, clustered in the axils 

 of the leaves; the bush stiff and upright; leaves deciduous; 

 berries bright red, remaining on the branches through the 

 winter, much sought for by the wild pigeon and Canadian 

 partridge. 



There is another shrub of the same order known as the 



MOUNTAIN HOLLY Nemopanthes Canadensis (DC.), 



which is found northwards in cold bogs. Early in May, the 

 swamps where this shrub abounds have a warm reddish- 

 brown hue from the color of the young leaves; this soon 

 turns to a delicate green, which again changes as it gets 

 mature to a bluish glaucous green. The rose-colored berries 

 are gracefully borne on long pedicels and are sometimes 

 found in great profusion, when they present a beautiful 

 effect. The berries of these hardy shrubs are a great 

 resource for food to the " wee hopping things," our late 

 and early birds, and together with the dry seeds of the 

 Mullein and Rough Amaranth, which harbor many insects 

 in their husky seed-vessels, support them till the spring 

 returns bringing food and gladness to the earth, when the 

 Great Father opens His hand and filleth all things living 

 with plenteousness. 



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