NATIVE WILD FLOWERS 
unobservant or apathetic as we suppose them to be; but 
that, being unable to express themselves in suitable language, 
they are silent on subjects concerning which more enlarged 
minds can speak eloquently, having words at their command. 
The uneducated know little of the art of word painting in 
describing the beautiful or the sublime. 
SPICE WINTERGREEN—Gaultheria: procumbens (L.). 
This pretty little plant has many names besides the one 
above: it is also known as Teaberry, Checkerberry and 
Aromatic Wintergreen; but it shares these English names 
with many other forest plants. : 
The aromatic flavor of its leaves and berries has made 
the Spice Wintergreen a favorite, not with the Indians 
only but also with the confectioners, who introduce the 
essential oil that is extracted from the leaves and fruit into 
their sugar confections. It is also an ingredient in many 
of the tonic and alterative bitters prepared and sold by the 
druggists in Canada. The squaws chew the dry, spicy, 
mealy berries when ripe with great relish; and in the lodge 
the Indian hunter smokes the leaves as a substitute for 
tobacco, for when burnt they give out a pleasant aromatic 
smell. The leaves are warm and stimulant, agreeable to: 
the taste and perfectly wholesome. 
The creeping root-stock throws up simple upright stems. 
at intervals, crowned with a few smooth thick shining 
leaves of a bright green color. The flowers are three or 
four in number, resembling in form the Arbutus, Heath,. 
Huckleberry and others of the family, being a roundish bell.,. 
contracted at the neck, pale white or flesh-colored. The fruit,. 
which is persistent through the winter, is of a brilliant: 
scarlet. The fleshy calyx is of the same texture and color 
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