The Music of the JMarsh 



common name. Think wliat liis tiiig syml)oli'/es to 

 a man! It means so nmch that foi- it lie sevei's 

 the dearest ties of earth, leaves a home of comfort 

 and faces untold hardshi])s, ex])oses his body to 

 sickness, wounds, and many forms of death. I'or 

 it he sacrilices everything else (jn earth, yielding 

 with smiling hps hfe itself. 



So when the slender, exquisite leaves of the iris 

 Avaved on the free winds of the marsh with the 

 abandon and grace of a flag, some one caught the 

 resemblance, and to the symbol of eternal truth 

 •was added that of liberty, and the rainbow lily be- 

 came the blue flag, the true flag. 



It is not alone in complicated arrangement of 

 ])arts to facilitate cross-fertilization. jNTany inarsh 

 and swamp flowers have similar hearts, A\ith much 

 sweetness as a lure, so that not only wild bees and 

 insects but many butterflies are constant visitors. 



Although this study was made on a roadside 

 flower, the black swallow-tail is a true marsh but- 

 terfly and beautiful above all others. The wing- A Butterfly 

 sweep is from three and a half to foiu" inches, and 

 this is one of the few aristocrats of butterflydom, 

 because it bears trailed wings. These wings are 

 black above, with lines of yello^v s])ots running 

 across them. They are lemon-yellow below, with 

 the row of spots showing through. The trailers 

 are black, touched with a stroke of strong yellow, 

 and the iipper sides of the back pair of wings each 

 '^ 401 



Aristocrat 



