JUNE. 151 



June is the month of the arethusas, — those charming 

 flowers of the peat-meadows, — belonging to a tribe that 

 is too delicate for cultivation. Like the beautiful birds 

 of the forest, they were created for Nature's own temples ; 

 and the divinities of the wood, under whose invisible 

 protection they thrive, will not permit them to join with 

 the multitude that grace the parterre. The cymbidium, 

 of a similar habit, the queen of the meadows, with larger 

 flowers and more numerous clusters; the crimson orchis, 

 that springs up by the river-sides, among the myrtle-like 

 foliage of the cranberry and the nodding panicles of 

 the quaking-grass, like a spire of living flame; and the 

 still more rare and delicate white orchis, that, hidden in 

 deep mossy dells in the woods, seldom feels the direct light 

 of the sun, — are all alike consecrated to solitude and to 

 Nature, as if they were designed to cheer the hearts of her 

 humble votaries with the sight of a thing of beauty that 

 has not been appropriated for the exclusive adornment of 

 the garden and the palace. 



The rambler may already perceive a difference in the 

 characters of the flowers of this month and of the last. 

 In May the prominent colors were white and the lighter 

 shades of purple and lilac, in which the latter were but 

 faintly blended. In June the purple shades predominate 

 in the flowers, except those of the shrubs, which are 

 mostly white. The scarlet hues are seldom seen until 

 after midsummer. The yellows seem to be confined to 

 no particular season, being conspicuous in the dandelion, 

 ranunculus, and coltsfoot of spring; in the potentilla, 

 the senecio, and the loosestrife of summer; and in the 

 sunflower, golden-rod, and many other tribes of autumn. 

 Blue is slightly sprinkled through all the seasons. 



One of the most charming appearances of the present 

 month, to one who is accustomed to the minute obser- 

 vation of Nature's works, is the flowering of the grasses. 



