HEATH FAMILY 
ERICACE/E 
Tue Heath family, as now restricted by botan- 
ists, includes a number of shrubby plants having 
attractive flowers and for the most part blossom- 
ing in early spring. While technically the woody 
stems of the Mayflower or Trailing Arbutus cause 
it to be classed among the shrubs, rather than 
among the herbaceous plants, the blossoms are so 
generally prized as wild flowers that it seems de- 
sirable to include a discussion of it in these pages. 
TraiLinc Arputus. The Mayflower or Trail- 
ing Arbutus is familiar to everyone in New Eng- 
land and many of the northern states. In 
regions where it is abundant it is the one blossom 
that is gathered by all, its delicate beauty charming 
the eye as its delightful fragrance appeals to the 
sense of smell. All winter the buds lie hidden 
beneath the snowdrifts waiting to unclose: soon 
after the white mantle on the southern slopes 
becomes spotted with brown these buds begin to 
open and become fully developed blossoms while 
the snow still lingers on the northern slopes. 
Then for a month the Arbutus is the Queen of 
Spring, a lovely and modest queen withal, serenely 
enduring many a storm of wind and rain. 
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