THE TRAILING ARBUTUS. 



WILLIAM K. HIGLEY. 



Thou dainty firstling of the spring, 

 Hoinag-e due to thee, I bring. 



The faintest blushes of the morn 

 Do tint thy petals and adorn. 



And thy fine perfume, sweetly faint, 

 Is like the breathings of a saint. 



THE great heath family {Ericifi- 

 ccb) are scattered over many 

 parts of the world, and include a 

 great variety of plants, many like 

 the American laurel (A!'^/w?^)being large 

 shrubs or small trees. Others are much 

 smaller, and among the smallest plants, 

 there is none more beautiful and uni- 

 versally loved than the charming trail- 

 ing arbutus {EpigcBa repens). 



Those who are fortunate enough to 

 live in the localities where it is found 

 have the rare pleasure of searching for 

 the early blossoms, which prefer to nes- 

 tle cosily at the foot of the evergreen 

 trees, though they are sometimes found 

 in the open. 



The late snows may even cover the 

 blooms, but when their delicate heads 

 are peering through, we know that 

 winter has fled, and that the snow man- 

 tle is only a cast-off garment which, too, 

 will slip away, dissolved by the long 

 rays of the early spring sunshine. 



In New England the trailing arbutus 

 is called May flower, and in other places 

 is known as the ground laurel. Its 

 scientific name {Epigcea repc?is) is from 

 two Greek words, epigcea, meaning 

 "upon the earth," and repens, "trailing, 

 or creeping." 



The word arbutus is from the Latin, 

 meaning a tree, and is first applied to 

 another tribe of the same family, and 

 is pronounced with the accent on the 

 first syllable — arbutus. This must not be 

 confounded with the trailing arbutus, 

 where usage allows the accent on the 

 second syllable — d^xbuivLS {Standard Dic- 

 tionary) and whose characteristics are 

 very different. 



The trailing arbutus is a native of the 

 eastern portion of North America, but 

 is found as far west as Wisconsin. It 

 grows among the rocks, or in a sandy 

 soil, as in Michigan, and it blossoms 



Oh my sweet! how fair thou art; 

 How chaste and pure thy dewy heart! 



Thou poem of perfumed grace, 



Dear hope and truth beam from thy face. 



I drink deep draughts of joyfulness, 

 And bow before thy loveliness. 



— Albert C. Pearson. 



from March until May, though April 

 is its chosen month. 



The flowers are sometimes pure white 

 though usually beautifully tinged with 

 various shades of pink and red, and 

 though really forming terminal clusters, 

 they are apparently clustered in the 

 axils of the evergreen and leathery 

 leaves. 



The leaves may be oval or orbicular, 

 and the stems which are tough and 

 hairy grow to the length of six to fif- 

 teen inches. 



The fragrance of the flower is very 

 strong and attractive, though its 

 strength varies with its locality and 

 with the character of the soil in which 

 it grows, and it is especially fine when 

 growing under evergreen trees. 



The stamens of the flower are inter- 

 esting to the botanist as they vary 

 greatly, apparently to insure cross-fer- 

 tilization. 



A study of this species, as well as of 

 plant-life in general, teaches us that 

 nature abhors self-fertilization and, as a 

 rule, so develops plants that two indi- 

 viduals of the same species are essen- 

 tial to the production of seed. 



This species especially enjoys na- 

 ture, and is not easily cultivated. A 

 few florists have succeeded in produc- 

 ing mature plants with fair results, but 

 it may be stated that even transplant- 

 ing, with much soil attached to the 

 roots, to a soil identical with the native, 

 results in a weakened development. 



The trailing arbutus is greatly loved 

 by the poet and writer, and has re- 

 ceived many tributes from gifted pens. 



Donald G. Mitchell, in speaking of 

 the desolation of earliest spring, tells 

 us that "the faint blush of the arbutus, 

 in the midst of the bleak March at- 

 mosphere will touch the heart like a 

 hope of heaven, in a field of graves." 



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