THE INDIAN PIPE. 



(Monoiropa uni flora.} 



To the amateur botanist who is about 

 to begin a collection of specimens for 

 an herbarium there is one plant which 

 he must not miss and one which will 

 afford him a great deal of pleasure in 

 procuring, for it is a very curious and 

 attractive plant. We refer to Monotropa, 

 the Indian Pipe, or Ghost-flower. 



This plant blooms during July and 

 August. Its habitat is usually deep 

 woods where there is a plenty of shade 

 and moisture. It is a parasitic plant and 

 loves to grow where some decayed vege- 

 tation is properly covered with rich earth 

 and decayed leaves. The plant has a 

 white and fairly wax-like appearance and 

 is a lovely specimen when found in its 

 native haunts. The white leaves are but 

 little more than scales from the body of 

 the plant, but its chief beauty is the 

 flower itself, which is fairly white and as 

 waxy in appearance as a fresh bloom 

 of the tube rose. 



This curious plant has no odor and 

 when first picked it is hard. When cut 

 it resembles a bunch of wax flowers more 

 than it does a living plant. After it has 

 been picked it will droop and though 

 handled tenderly, will fade and become 

 dark colored after a few hours. 



To procure a good herbarium speci- 

 men take your botany press with you and 

 when you find your specimen pick, it as 

 low down as possible, or, better still, pro- 

 cure a portion of the roots and with great 

 care place it in your press very carefully 

 arranging the specimen so that it will 

 have a natural position when pressed: 

 then strap down your press and be sure 

 to give it air each day after it is put into 

 the press, and do not be discouraged and 

 think your fair flower is ruined when 

 you look at it about the third day, for it 

 will be as black as a coal. This is only 

 the nature of the plant, its parasitic 

 nature, and fairly dried it will resemble 

 charcoal much more than it will resemble 

 a plant. When properly pressed it will 



amply repay you for all of your trouble, 

 for it is indeed a beautiful specimen and 

 a great addition to any herbarium. 



There is an old legend that the com- 

 mon name, Ghost-flower, came about in 

 a strange manner. It is a fact that there 

 is always a reason for the common name 

 of a plant to be what we find it to be, if 

 we can only trace its history back far 

 enough to find it, and how it was orig- 

 inally determined. The story goes, that 

 during the early Indian wars a young 

 soldier was taken ill during a retreat after 

 a hard fight with the Indians and that 

 the young man was so ill that he was 

 obliged to fall put of the ranks. He sat 

 down at the foot of a great oak tree and 

 there awaited the approach of the In- 

 dians, whom he expected would put an 

 end to his life. Much to his surprise, 

 when the Indians came up to where he 

 was sitting they did not molest him, but 

 formed a circle around him, and one who 

 could speak English came forward and 

 spoke kindly to him, asking why he was 

 there and if he was unable to follow his 

 company. 



The young man told his story and his 

 statement seemed to be a help to him, for 

 the sympathy of the Indians was gained, 

 and they carefully placed him upon a 

 horse and took him to their camp. When 

 they arrived at the Indian village they 

 were met by -the entire company of In- 

 dians, both old and young, all curious 

 to know who the prisoner was and what 

 was to be done with him. When it was 

 learned that the young man was ill a 

 number of the Indian women gathered 

 around to see him and to suggest some 

 sort of treatment for his benefit. Among 

 them was a young Indian girl, the 

 daughter of a great chief. She was at 

 once interested in the young man and 

 had him taken to her father's wigwam, 

 where she could better take care of him. 

 As the days passed by, the young man 

 grew better but still had a dreadful 



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