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THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



After the flies have feasted, the elder spreads a second table 

 for the birds. In late June the berries, turned scarlet, catch 

 the eye and pleases the fancy of birds, which are so eager for 

 the fruit that they can scarcely wait for it to get entirely ripe. 



Red-berried elder is widely distributed over the northern 

 world, and many tales are told of it in many lands. In Den- 



mark it is thought that the bush is protected by a powerful 

 being called the "Elder-mother", and without her leave it is 

 not safe to pluck the flowers. This Elder-mother is the "Hul- 

 dah" of German and Norse mythology. She is the harvest god- 

 dess of Xorthern Europe and the queen of the elves. All the 

 wind and cloud changes which affect the crops, but which do 



A pear-shaped cluster of small greenish blossoms. 



