52 UNDER THE OPEN SKY 



gotten above the ground before the flower 

 pushes on ahead, spreads its radiant white 

 petals for a very few days, and then, like so 

 many of its sister poppies, — for the blood- 

 root is a poppy, — throws them away. Only 

 now may the broad single leaf take its turn. 

 The quick running sap is thick, like that of 

 the rest of the family, though here it is 

 "bloody" rather than milky. But here too 

 a hurtful ingredient, like the morphia of the 

 true poppy, serves to keep animals from 

 pilfering its winter store. 



ARBUTUS BLOOMS 



But whatever the order in which they 

 come, the arbutus is certainly the favorite 

 with most people. The bloodroot and the 

 hepatica droop quickly, and the arbutus 

 keeps beautiful long after it has been 

 plucked. It is one of the few wild flowers 

 that is commonly offered for sale, during 

 the season, in our large cities. And it is a 

 charming flower to hunt. There is some- 

 thing so elusive about it, and it is so satis- 

 factory when found. Few odors are more 



