THE COMMON SHRUBBERY. 59 
Cowberry (Vaccinium Vitis-idea), Dwarf Cornel (Cornus canadensis), 
Fringed Polygala (P. paucifolia), the Common Pipsissewa (Chimaphila 
umbellata) with its shining deep green leaves, the Spotted Pipsissewa 
(C maculata), the sombre-hued Pyrola and Galax, and that bright 
and easily-grown Club Moss (Lycopodium lucidulum)? Add to 
these such plants as Winter Aconite, Apennine Anemone, Creeping 
Forget-me-not, and the like, together with a few of the most suitable 
kinds of the host of bulbous ornamental plants which we now possess, 
and our shrubbery carpets may be replete with garden jewels. It is 
now generally conceded that shrubs thrive better in beds whose surface 
is undisturbed than where it is annually loosened by digging or point- 
ing. This, coupled with a yearly top-dressing of decayed leaf-soil or 
light rich vegetable heap compost, is equally beneficial for the shrubs 
and their carpet. 
“One day last spring, when strolling through the Medford 
wood, I came upon an open meadow with a high bank— 
cleared timber land—on one side. Adown this bank in a 
rough and rocky course, came a little stream of water, bordered 
on both sides with streaks and patches of Blood-root in its 
gayest state. The large and showy blossoms, clasped erect 
in their own leaf-vases and sparkling in the sun, while the 
sward and other vegetation around were yet dormant, had a 
cheerful influence indeed. ‘True, near by in the hollow, the 
malodorous Skunk Cabbage was rank in leaf and flower, and 
the Indian Poke was rushing out its plaited, broadly oval 
leaves, and away in the streamlet a few Marsh Marigolds 
glittered on the water. But the Blood-root is neither an 
aquatic nor a bog plant, but most at home in the leaf-mould 
beds and linings of rich woodlands.” 
“ Hereabout,a little wild flower (Erythronium americanum) 
more commonly known as Dog’s-tooth Violet, is a charming 
plant, with variegated handsome leaves, and comely flowers 
in earliest spring. In low copses in rich deposits of vegetable 
