THE FLOWERS OF EARLY JUNE. II. 171 
The poison ivy (Rhus Toxicodendron, L.) is one of 
the few plants of this neighborhood poisonous to the 
touch, although all persons are not affected by it. It 
is easily identified by the three leaflets forming a com- 
pound leaf. Its blossoms show its kinship with the 
sumachs. The bittersweet (Solanum Dulcamara, L.) 
proves its kinship with the potato as effectively by its 
blossoms, and by the fact that both are a prey to the 
same enemy, the Colorado beetle. In the middle of a 
swamp, far from any cultivated field, the beetle finds 
the bittersweet, and unterrified by Paris green feeds in 
quiet and multiplies unseen. 
In the low meadows the nodding flowers of the 
purple avens contrast finely with the brighter colors 
around. The surface of this little pool is covered with 
yellow flowers which prove, on closer inspection, to be 
buttercups, but with what strange leaves under the 
water! On the upland the ox-eye daisy shines afar. 
But these are not all; other flowers fill other spaces, 
each contributing its mite to clothe the earth with 
beauty. It is a pleasure to me that I have been able 
to see so many of them in other years, so that now I 
can welcome them as old friends in the old familiar 
places. 
