June to, 1905.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
458 
The Wild Flowers of June. 
BY CLARENCE M. WEED. 
By the first of June the display of wild flowers is likely 
to be .reaching its height. Many of the spring blossoms 
are still abundant though less numerous than in May, and 
the early summer flowers are attaining their maximum, 
while here and there one will find an adventurous blossom 
that properly belongs to the mid-summer season. 
The most striking display of floral beauty during these 
early weeks of summer is to be found in the fields and 
meadows, where the buttercups and daisies are producirig 
an effect which is unrivalled by any other of nature's 
decorations. Could a landscape architect produce the 
beauty which the fields of daisies show in the Eastern 
United States, he would be famous the world over. The 
daisies are a pest to the farmers, but they are a delight to 
those who see their beauty when they first unfold their 
rays of spotless white. 
If one wishes to get a knowledge of the elementary 
structure of a blossom, one cannot do better than to select 
one of the buttercups which are almost certain to be in- 
termingled with the daisies. In these flowers sepals, 
petals, stamens and pistils are all present, and each one 
in each series is separate and distinct. The protective 
function of the sepals in covering the bud is readily seen 
and this function is emphasized by the fact that they fall 
away soon after the flower opens. The attracting func- 
tion of the brilliant yellow petals is also readily shown 
by comparing a blossom in which the petals are present 
with one in which they have been removed. The nectar 
pockets at the base of the petal are easily seen on those 
separated from the flower. The stamens are numerous, 
with filaments and anthers distinct and with the yellow 
pollen easily seen. The pistils are also interesting in form 
with the stigma readily distinguishable. There are gen- 
erally several species of buttercups in a given region, but 
the structure of the flower in all is so similar that any of 
them having well developed petals will answer for this 
study. The various species of buttercups belong to the 
genus Ranunculus,_ the commonest species being R. acris. 
They are the typical members of the Crowfoot Family 
{Ranunculacece) . The flowers of all these species are 
freely visited by insects, especially bees and flies. 
In the same meadows where the buttercups and daisies 
make such a striking display, one can generally find an 
interesting though much more modest blossom — the 
charming little blue-eyed grass which is always a favorite 
with children as well as with many older people. The 
flowers are small and in color a violet-blue with a yellow 
center— a combination which the artitsts call a comple- 
mentary harmony. The plant is not at all a grass, be- 
longing rather to the interesting Iris family, so that the 
one who called this Blue-eyed Grass "the little sister of 
the stately Blue Flag," was right. You can easily see the 
resemblance in the mode of growth, as well as in the 
structure of the flowers. The blossoming period is very 
short. In cloudy or rainy weather the blossoms remain 
closed, opening only in the sunshine. The botanists 
recognize two species of the blue-eyed grasses in addition 
to the common one — the Stout Blue-eyed Grass, and the 
Eastern Blue-eyed Grass. 
The wild flowers to be found in the shade of the woods 
PYKOLA. 
are very different from those of the fields and meadows. 
In general they are more abundant in Species and less 
abundant in specimens. In most woods some of the 
trilliums or v/ake robins are quite certain to be found. 
The kind which predominates varies with the locality. 
In the Middle West the large flowered white wake robin 
is the prevailing species, while in New England the beau- 
tiful painted trillium or else the nodding trillium is most 
likely to be found. 
In woods which are drier the various members of the 
group of Pyrolas are pretty certain to occur. The Shin- 
leaf or Elliptical-leaved Pyrola is one of the most widely 
distributed members of this group. Its common name 
is due to an old custom by which its leaves were applied 
for healing bruises on the human body. When in flower 
in mid-summer it is a beautiful plant, being found in rich 
woods from the Rocky Mountains eastward. The False 
Wintergreen or Round-leaved Pyrola bears a general re- 
semblance to the Shin-leaf. Its fragrant white flowers 
are borne in a spike on a stem varying greatly in height, 
though averaging perhaps twelve inches. The plants are 
found in open woods, over an area extending from Nova 
Scotia and Minnesota on the north to Georgia and Ohi© 
on the south. 
The one-flowered Pyrola was called by Dr. Gray, 
Moneses, which means single delight, a name well de- 
served by the beauty of this little woodland fairy that 
springs up singly or in groups in the cool pine woods of 
the Northern States. The wax-like blossoms show its 
relationship to the other Pyrolas, from which, however, 
it is easily distinguished by the single flower on each 
stalk. 
Along the borders of the woods as well as along road- 
sides and along the margins of streams, the yello\y blos- 
soms of the evening primrose are likely to be conspicuous. 
An interesting comparison may be made between the 
structure of this flower and that of the buttercup — in the 
latter the sepals, which form the calyx, are separate from 
each other, while in this primrose they are partly united 
to form the long calyx-tube. The light yellow blossoms 
are borne upon plants varying from one to three or four 
feet in height, and: the individual flowers are often two 
inches long. The bud is protected by the greenish lobes 
of the calyx, which separate and curl backward as the 
blossom opens; each lobe is nearly the shape of a long 
triangle; most of them fall off after the flower is fully 
open, in which case they are said to be deciduous. There 
are generally four light yellow petals, delicate in texture, 
showing the slender veins and having the margin divided 
into shallow-lobes. Within the petals are eight stamens 
EVENING PRIMROSE. 
with long filamerits attached to the middle of the rather 
slender anthers. The pistil has a long and slender style, 
on the end of which the stigma with its flattened lobes is 
borne; the latter is covered in the fresh flower with a 
viscid liquid, to which the pollen grains readily adhere. 
The blossoms of this plant generally first open in the 
evening. The process may be readily seen by a little 
pa'ient watching; the" tips of the sepal lobes spread apart 
and soon afterwards the petals expand. At this time the 
flower is fully open with the petals spread widely out. 
The next morning, however, the flowers appear to wilt ; 
if the day is cool arid cloudy they will only partially roll 
up, but if the day is cloudless and hot they seem com- 
pletely to collapse. The odor of the Evening Primrose 
is given off to the greatest extent in the evening when 
various long-tongued moths are abroad in search of the 
nectar, which is secreted in the long calyx-tubes of the 
blossoms. Attracted by the odor the moths easily find 
the bright yellow flowers. They thrust their tongues 
beyond the stamens and stigma to reach the nectar. Some 
of the stringy adhesive pollen is thus dusted upon their 
mouth-parts, and carried from flower to flower; when it 
comes in contact with the viscid stigma it adheres to it. 
Another yellow fiower which is very different in its 
structure from the Evening Primrose is the Yellow Star 
Grass, a plant of the Amar3'llis family, which is widely 
distributed in the Uriited States. It has grass-like leaves 
and yellow flowers that expand about three-fourths of an 
inch. The six divisions of the pereanth are hairy and 
greenish on the outside and yellow on the inside. Nectar 
is secreted at the base of the petals and is eagerly sipped 
by small bees and other insects that visit the blossoms. 
The plant grows along railroad banks and in other dry 
open places where its flowers first become conspicuous 
in May. 
Some time in June the ponds and water courses become 
lighted up by the flowers of the aquatic plants which are 
so distinctive in their beauty and so interesting in their 
structure. The Sagittarias or arrow leaves form an abun- 
dant group of these water-side plants. They occur every- 
where along small brooks and the margins of ponds and 
lakes. The whole Sagittaria plant is so clear cut and 
decorative in its structure that one can scarcely fail to 
admire it. The smeoth and shining stems rise from the 
water at a small angle from each other, bearing on their 
ends the triangular, sharply-pointed leaves, while in the 
middle of all the blossom-bearing stalks arise holding the 
pure white sub-triangular pollen-bearing flowers clustered 
along their upper ends. The seed-bearing blossoms are 
less conspicuous, lacking the white petals. More than a 
dozen species of Sagittaria are found in the United States, 
though only about half of these have the distinctly arrow- 
shaped leaf. Most of them remain in blossom from June 
until September. 
The Snake Stone or Mad Stone. 
Currituck, N, C.-^Editor Forest and Stream: See- 
ing the accdtint of death from rattlesnake bite of Ed- 
ward Rabe reminds me of cases of snake and mad dog 
bites that have occurred in this county during the past 
few years which have been speedily cured by what is 
known as a "snake stone" or mad stone. I know of at 
least ten cases which have been treated and I never knew 
a failure. I have witnessed the operation myself and 
know that it never fails to cure. The stone is owned by 
about twenty farmers on Knott Island, N. C, and is 
considered more valuable than diamonds. The rattle- 
snake bite at Currituck is considered sure death without 
this treatment, but what is locally known as the cotton- 
mouth moccasin brings death sure and soon. The last 
two cases treated were of S. J. Waterfields, Knott's 
Island, and Bushrod Waterfields, of Woodleigh. The 
former was bitten on the foot arid the latter on the hand. 
They are both well and strong now, and owe their lives 
to this little porous stone, which is about the size of a 
silver dollar. The stone is immersed in warm milk or 
water for a few moments then placed on the bite; it 
sticks like court-plaster until filled with poison, when it 
drops off. It is then placed in a pan of clear water which 
immediately becomes almost like green paint. It is re- 
placed on the bite in a few moments and again fills with 
the poison. In the case of Bushrod Waterfields, the 
stone filled seven times. It then failed to stick to^ the 
wound, which proves that there is no more poison to be 
drawn out and the patient is cured, or at least out of all 
danger. This same stone saved the life of John Beasley, 
who was -bitten by a mad dog; the same dog bit several 
animals, all of which died. This is not a snake story, 
but fact not to be disputed. More Anon. 
RepOBft of Philadelphia Zoological Society. 
The, Thirty-third Annual Report of the Board of 
Directors of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia was 
read at the. annual meeting of the members and loan 
holders of the society April 27, 1905. It has just been 
published. 
The Philadelphia Zoological Society was incorporated 
March- 21, 1859, and for many years now, ever since Mr. 
Arthur Erwin Brown became the secretary of the society 
and later its general manager, it has had a career of 
much usefulness and of great success. The present report 
shows admissions for the year of nearly 214,000 and re- 
ceipts of $30,200. The month of greatest receipts was 
May, but August, September and July press it quite close- 
ly. The receipts were smallest for the month of Decem- 
ber. During the year, there were exhibited in the garden 
575 mammals, 929 birds, 1,043 reptiles and 166 batrachi- 
ans; a total of 2.715 animals. Fifty-four species not pre- 
viously exhibited in the collections were shown last year, 
as follows: 7 mammals, 27 birds, 9 reptiles and 11 ba- 
trachians. Among the additions by birth during the year 
were gray wolves, prairie wolf, black bears, a zebra, two 
bisons and a number of antelope and deer of various 
species. 
Reference has previously been made to the studies car- 
ried on in the Philadelphia Garden in the diseases of 
captive wild animals. Last year a pathological laboratory 
and infirmary were completed at the garden, which con- 
tains a receiving room, an infirmary, an operating room 
and a laboratory. Animals dying in the garden are 
studied here and the causes of death determined. Experi- 
mental work in the direction of preventive treatment of 
commufiicable diseases is in progress. So far as known, 
no such institution with equal facilities for studying the 
painted TRILLIUM. 
diseases of wild animals exists in a zoological garden 
elsewhere. 
The disease which is most fatal to captive wild animals 
in zoological gardens is well known to be tuberculosis, 
and \the rfiost dangerous after that is inflammation of the 
gasti«&^Mtestinal tract. The examinations made last year 
at the Philadelphia Gardens by Dr. C. Y. White, of the 
Pepper Clinical Laboratory, show this to be true here. 
The establishment of this laboratory cannot fail to yield 
much information of very great value* 
I BELIEVE in the gun for the normal boy. He may make 
a man without one, but he has an unequal chance with the 
boy whose heart has thrilled with the elemental joy that 
links him to the habits and instincts of 4,000 years of hu- 
man history. The first man was a hunter, a trapper, and a 
fisherman. When mankind ceases to care for these things 
mankind must be either sick or foolish or both. It is not 
true that it provokes cruelty or selfishness ; rather the 
opposite. The boy draws close to nature, learns her laws, 
and feels the sweep of elemental life. He kills only what 
is fit to eat and is needed for food. His character is 
strengthen«d proportionately — for such boys rarely com- 
mit crime or display mental weakness. Thev make clean, 
sane, wholesome men— men who take the world in their 
hands and find it good — Thomas Dixon, in New York 
Times. , 
