CHARACTERISTIC FLOWERS OF CONCORD. 81 



as much as its singular blossom of dull rose. Its fa- 

 vorite dwelling-place is amid the sphagnum, the moss 

 in which cranberries grow, along the shores of Snow's 

 Pond in East Concord. It is most difficult to reach, 

 either by boots or boats, but it is worth risking a wet- 

 ting to gather it. Years ago a girl wrote of these 

 pitchers : 



We crossed a brook on a slippery log, 

 And fished them out of a cranberry bog, 

 And then leaped back again like a frog, 

 And started home at a lively jog, 

 Closely followed by our dog, 

 And set our neighbors and friends 

 To whom we gave them, all a-gog. 



With the heats of July the yellow lilies light up the 

 fields and the red lilies burn in the wood, the tall 

 meadow rue rises like a fountain of spray along the 

 banks of the Contoocook, the hawkweeds and the 

 loosestrifes draw the eye by their abundance, the 

 water lilies open their chalices, the pickerel weed and 

 the arrowhead fringe the ponds with blue and white, 

 the purple-flowering raspberry unfolds its magenta- 

 rose petals over its rank, five-lobed leaves along the 

 Shattuck Road; but the distinctive flowers of this 

 month to my mind are the modest spikes and clus- 



9 



