JFlotoers. 71 



At last the rootlets of the trees 



Shall find the prison where she lies, 



And bear the buried dust they seize 

 In leaves and blossoms to the skies ; 

 So may the soul that warmed it rise. 



HOLMES. 



While the violets are yet in the hey-day of 

 their beauty, there is no lack of other vernal 

 flowers. The adder's-tongue (Erythronium 

 Amertcanum), almost first to dart its sharp 

 purple spathe through the ground, appears in 

 legions. The warmth has brought out the 

 brown spots upon the now clouded gray leaves. 

 Presently will appear its nodding, tulip-scented 

 yellow blossom, revolute in the sunshine. Sin- 

 gularly, the adder's-tongue has its two leaves of 

 equal length, but one almost double the width of 

 the other. I do not find this dog-tooth violet a 

 satisfactory subject to naturalize ; it has a rag- 

 ged look out of its native quarters, and even there 

 it is not always as free -flowering as we would 

 wish. The robust variety, E. grandtflorum, 

 and the large, white form, E. giganteum-, from 

 the Rocky Mountains, are far more beautiful. 

 A variety named E. Hendersonii, with lilac flow- 

 ers and a central purple blotch, edged with yel- 

 low, discovered very recently in Oregon, is said 

 to be the finest of the genus. 



