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THE ORNITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



and in having wider bars of white 

 across the wings. 



CHRISTMAS EMBLEMS. 



BY JESSIE C.DREW, THOMPSON VILLE, CONN. 



We associate each sea5on of the year 

 with certain flowers, and as Christinas 

 approaches and we think of the angel's 

 message, the Annunciation lily comes to 

 our minds. This iiower was taken 

 about the twelfth century as the emblem 

 of virgin purity and in nearly all the old 

 pictures of the xlnnunciation we see the 

 lily either growing in a pot or borne in 

 the hand of an angel while the dove of 

 Peace floats above in the air. 



The mistletoe and holly are associated 

 with all Christmas cheer and fun. The 

 mistletoe was especially venerated by 

 The Druids. " The zobur," Pliny says, 

 "is their sacred tree and whatever is 

 found growing upon it they regard as 

 sent from heaven and as the mark of a 

 tree chosen by God. Such cases of par- 

 asitism are rare, and when they occur 

 attract much attention. Calling it in 

 their own language, 'all hail.' After 

 their sacrifices and banquets have been 

 prepared under the tree, they bring near 

 two white bulls whose horns are then 

 for the first time bound. The priest 

 clothed with a white robe ascends the 

 tree, cuts the inistletoe with a golden 

 hook, it is caught in a white mantle. 

 They then slay the victims, praying 

 God to prosper His gift to them unto 

 whom He has given it." 



The custom oc using holly for decor- 

 ating at Christmas is thought to be a 

 surviAal of an old Teutonic practice of 

 hanging the interior of dwellings with 

 hollj' as a refuge for sylvan spirits from 

 the inclemency of the weather. There 

 are many traditions concerning this 

 evergreen and a small branch with ber- 

 ries, taken from a church is supposed to 

 bring a lucky year. As at Christmas 

 time we wear the sprig of green let us 



during the coming year keep green 

 within our hearts the holy spirit of 

 " ' Peace and Good-will toward men.' " 



RARE MASSACHUSETTS PLANTS. 



BY C. L. SHEAR, MEMBER OF THE GRAY 



MEMORIAL CHAPTER OP THE 



AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION. 



Last spring I found a number of rare 

 or local plants at Stockbridge, Mass., a 

 town near the New York State line, a 

 little southwest of Albany. The first 

 one of note was Valerianella radiata. 

 Though rare with us, it is not uncom- 

 mon southward. According to the 

 Manual, its northern limit is Pennsyl- 

 vania and Michigan. It has also been 

 found at New Baltimore, N. Y. I found 

 it in small quantities in a low meadow 

 late in June. 



In a similar situation I found quite a 

 number of specimens of Spiranthes lat- 

 ifolia. In the fifth edition of the Man- 

 ual this is not i-eported from Massachu- 

 setts. It is a pretty little orchid grow- 

 ing in low meadows; one of its dis- 

 tinguishing characters is the yellow 

 sac on the lip. 



During the trip up Monument Mount- 

 ain, May 23, I found in the sparse 

 woods on the west side of the mountain ■ 

 quite a few specimens of Pogoiila i^ertli- 

 cillata. This is a very pretty orchid 

 and at the first glance at the flower I 

 nearly mistook it for some narrow- 

 winged insect. It has purplish linear 

 sepals sometimes as much as ,two indi- 

 es long and a short distance below the 

 single flower a whorl of ovate-oblong 

 leaves from which it takes its specific 

 name. 



A large tamarack and peat swamp 

 near Stockbridge furnished a very pn)- 

 ductive collecting ground, especially 

 for orchids. Here I found one specimen 

 of the rare Uparis Loeselii. It is not a 

 I)lant with characteristics to command 

 notice, and might easily be passed un- " 



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