228 HOME STUDIES IN NATURE. 



New Jersey are quite fertile, and at no distant day they 

 are destined to become the greatest f rnit gardens in the 

 Union. And then farewell to the rare floral treasures 

 which no art can save. 



Looming in the distance is a long sinuous line of 

 dense cedars, forming a dark background to the more 

 open pine-barrens, towards which I direct my steps. I 

 peer among the thickly set trees, standing like sentinels, 

 dark and forbidding— the place for ghouls. Darker and 

 darker it grows as I cautiously advance, with an oppres- 

 sive dread of something which I cannot define. But 

 the spirit of adventure overcomes the fear, and I am 

 wholly occupied in finding secure spots to stand upon. 



Ample compensation comes at last. Here, hidden 

 among the underbrush, is the rare and local Helonias 

 hullata in full bloom, standing thickly among the trees. 

 The "flower-stalk of this fine plant rises from a mass of 

 large, glossy, evergreen leaves to the height of a foot or 

 two, with a dense raceme of reddish-purple flowers at 

 the summit. And here too is the golden-club {Oron- 

 tium aquaticum), with its large, dark, velvety leaves 

 and elongated scape of yellow flowers standing above 

 the water. 



It must not be inferred that the Helonias can be 

 found anywhere in the cedars. At this point the plant 

 extends over two or three acres, when it wholly disap- 

 pears. And now we follow the winding course of the 

 swamp, lured on by many attractive plants near its bor- 

 ders, halting now and then to gather the interesting 



