AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



" ' Nay,' said the philosopher, ' she lives not here, but 

 in the middle of our largest woods. She clings with her 

 little arms to the moss, and seems to resist very gently 

 if you force her from it. She has a complexion like the 

 milk-maid ; and oh ! she is very, very sweet and agree- 

 able.' " 



It is, as its specific name indicates, a northern 

 plant, rarely found in America south of Maine, 

 except at a high elevation, but common far north 

 in the British Provinces. It appears to extend 

 around the globe, bordering the Arctic Circle in 

 Europe, Asia, and America. In Europe it is 

 found as far south as the mountains of Scotland. 

 It is a low, creeping plant, bearing slender stalks, 

 about two inches high, from the top of which are 

 suspended two trumpet-shaped pinkish-white 

 blossoms about the size of the bloom of the 

 Lily-of-the-Valley, but much more delicate. It 

 is deliciously fragrant, blooming in June, under- 

 neath the trees and ferns, in moist, mossy locali- 

 ties, and there it spreads freely, forming a dense 

 carpet. It is not difficult to transplant, and if 

 given a cool, shady spot it could doubtless be 

 grown much further south. 



The Trillium, Wood-Lily, Three-leaved 

 Nightshade, Wake-Robin, or Birthroot, is 



184 



