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*' The spring — she is a blessed thing ! 

 She is mother of the flowers ; 

 She is the mate of birds and bees, 

 The partner of their revelries, 

 Our star of hope through wintry hours." 



I have been asked to state what are the 

 first '^ild flowdrs, noticeable in spring, at' 

 feillery and around Quebec generally. 



April snows have scarcely disappeared, 

 ere the Willow with its golden catkins is in 

 bloom. ; ; , . ; 



" The first gilt thing 



Decked with the earliest pearls of spring." 



In the neighborhood of warm springe > 

 vegetation is of course more rapid than 

 elsewhere. . • . 



; Those which are commonly called the 

 First Flowers of Spring, are the May-flow- 

 er — the Symplocarpus or Skunk Cabbage 

 and the Hepatica, says Mr. Sturton. 



