NATIVE WILD FLOWERS 
appearance and qualities of the plants by which they can 
be easily recognized. 
Imagination loves to get a glimpse at the poetical in 
the names of flowers, giving a charm to what is dry and 
uninteresting in our botanical books; something that gives 
us an insight into the history of the flower we study 
beyond the mere structure and definition of its parts. I 
remember an old gardener (he was by no means an ignorant 
man) once said, “Oh! madam, in these days they turn poor 
Poetry out of doors, but in the olden time it was not so, for 
it was the language in which God spake to man through 
the tongues of angels and prophets. Ay, and it was the 
language in which even sinful man spake in prayer to his 
Maker; but now they only use hard words for simple 
things, such as the flowers of the field and the garden; or 
the talk is about gold and the things that gold purchases!” 
SPREADING DoGBANE—INDIAN HpmMp—Apocynum andro- 
semifoliun (L.). 
This pretty pink-flowered plant is also known by the 
name of Shrubby Milkweed, from the abundance of acrid 
milky juice that pervades the stem, branches and leaves. 
The fiowers of this plant are very unlike those of the 
Asclepiadacee; but it belongs to a closely allied order, and 
possesses some of the characteristics of that remarkable 
order of plants in which the deadly Strychnia is included, 
with others of evil reputation. There are many virtues as 
well as vices in our Milkweeds. The Apocynums have some 
worthy members in the family—sweets as well as bitters. 
In the “ Hya-hya” of Demerara we find the luscious 
Milktree, which, with the Cream-fruit of Sierra Leone and 
some others, redeems the character of this remarkable tribe 
IOI 
