The Music of the Marsh 



common name. Tliink what his flag syml)oHzes to 

 a man! It means so much that for it he severs 

 the dearest ties of earth, leaves a home of comfort 

 and faces untoki hardships, exposes his body to 

 sickness, wounds, and many forms of death. For 

 it he sacrilices everytliing else on earth, j-ielding 

 with smiling lips life itself. 



So when the slender, exquisite leaves of the iris 

 waved on the free winds of the marsh -v^ith the 

 abandon and grace of a flag, some one caught the 

 resemblance, and to the sj'mbol of eternal truth 

 was added that of liberty, and the rainbow lily be- 

 came the blue flag, the true flag. 



It is not alone in complicated arrangement of 

 pai'ts to facilitate cross-fertilization. Many marsh 

 and swamp flowers have similar hearts, with much 

 sweetness as a lure, so that not only wild bees and 

 insects but many l)utterflies are constant ^'isitors. 



Althougli this study ^vas made on a roadside 

 floAver, the black swallow-tail is a true marsh but- 

 terfly and beautiful above all others. The A\'ing- a Butterfly 

 sA\'eep is from three and a half to four inches, and 

 this is one of the few aristocrats of l)utterflydom, 

 because it bears trailed wings. These wings are 

 black above, with lines of yellow spots running 

 across tliem. They are lemon-yellow below, with 

 the row of spots showing through. Tlie trailers 

 are black, touched with a stroke of strong yellow, 

 and the upper sides of the back pair of wings each 

 ^^ 401 



Aristocrat 



