Trees, Shrubs and Vines 



ing in scientific nomenclature, by that prince of natu- 

 ralists, Linnaeus, who saw the tragic episode in the life of 

 that royal (and therefore beautiful) maiden pictured in 

 the color and the aqueous situation of this delicate 

 plant, often less than a foot high. The poetic tempera- 

 ment of those famous pioneers in botany and ornithology, 

 Linnaeus and Audubon, who could thus infuse their 

 subjects with the spirit of delightful imagery, has really 

 done more to elevate and popularize these two domains 

 of nature-study than all the microscopic precision of 

 exact science. Imagination fires mankind more than 

 the whole mass of technical detail in matters of fact. 

 Yet one must not forget that these details, rightly used, 

 are the best fuel to kindle the imagination. 



Pieria, in Thessaly, the gathering-place of the Muses, 

 gives generic name to a select group of small hardy 

 shrubs in the heath family. Two American species, 

 P. mariana and P. ligustrina, throw out their white 

 bell-shaped flowers in abundance in April and the first 

 part of May, while an introduced species, P. Jloribunda, 

 in addition to the same floral effect, has evergreen foli- 

 age. Quite as desirable as either of these, however, is 

 P. japonica, whose evergreen foliage is glossy, the old 

 leaves being replaced in spring by new ones that are at 

 first bright red, soon changing to green ; and the early 

 bloom of pure white flowers in long clusters completes 

 the picture of an exquisite growth in every respect. 

 Farmers naturally think more of such practical things as 

 calves and lambs than of all landscape values, and, from 

 a probably fanciful notion of its poisonous effects, have 

 cast a lasting slur upon the delicate P. mariana, by call- 

 152 



