50 HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS. 
“A breath of fragrance like a thought 
That haunts you, but will not be caught.” 
Nothing can be prettier than the blossoms, some of 
which are bright pink, some nearly pure white, while 
others are as delicately tinted as a sea shell. The 
flowers are in axillary clusters. In some the stamens 
extend beyond the pistils, and in others the pistil pro- 
trudes farthest. Probably this arrangement is to assist 
the insects in cross fertilization. The bumble-bees 
seem partial to the arbutus, and on some knolls where 
the blossoms were most abundant these bees were so 
thick and noisy that my little daughter, who was with 
me, did not dare to pick the flowers. The stems and 
shining leaves, formed last summer, and the latter, 
green all winter under the snow, took in as they grew 
a food supply for their early blossoms, making it unnec- 
essary for them to wait so long in the spring for the 
elements of earth and air to be converted into flower 
organs. The hepaticas have this same ingenious device 
for putting forth so early their attractive blossoms. 
Near the clearing in the upper woods we came across 
a sandy knoll, the sunny side of which for a space of 
several yards was completely covered with the thrifty 
vines, all pink and white, and wonderfully sweet. The 
place had not been visited this spring, as the dry leaves, 
beneath which many a bright cluster lay hidden, had 
not been disturbed. The little girl was wild with 
delight as treasure after treasure was revealed by the 
removal of the leaves, and I confess my sympathy with 
her when she knelt down and kissed them in their fra- 
