194 STUDIES IN THE FIELD AND FOREST. 



bines and other trailing shrubs are interwoven with the 

 slender branches of the trees, forming deep shades 

 which the sun cannot penetrate, overhanging and over- 

 arching the green paths that lead through the lowland 

 thickets. 



But let the rambler in the wooded swamps beware 

 of that upas of our forests — the poison sumach. It is 

 one of the most elegant of our native shrubs ; and its 

 long, slender, and graceful branches, terminating with 

 pinnate leaves on purple glossy stems, invite the un- 

 wary rambler to pluck them from the tree, to add to his 

 bouquet of wild flowers. Hardly less dangerous is the 

 poison ivy — a plant of the same genus — of a trailing 

 habit, almost parasitic, and frequenting all kinds of 

 situations. It is often mistaken for the Virginia 

 creeper, a very harmless and ornameiital vine ; and 

 may be distinguished from it by observing that it has 

 its leaves in threes, while the creeper bears them in 

 whorls of fives. The dread of these plants destroys the 

 pleasure which many persons would otherwise derive 

 from a rural excursion ; but prudence and a knowledge 

 of their aspect are a sufficient safeguard from injury. 

 Though I have never been in the slightest degree 

 affected by them, yet whenever I meet them I turn 

 aside, and have often left untouched a beautiful flower, 

 or a cluster of ripe fruit, which could be obtained only 

 by passing through a coppice of poison wood. 



The odors that scent the atmosphere, during the 

 several months of the year, are as different as their 

 vegetation and climate ; and these odors, to one who is 

 accustomed to them, are immediately suggestive of the 

 general aspect of the season. At the present time, 

 mingled with the perfume of flowers, comes the less 

 fragrant incense from, the sheaves of the reapers ; and 



