OBSERVATION OF PLANTS 
365 
and warm weather, hastening the vegetation, but the rain retard- 
ing farming operations. 
May 25. — Weather cool at nights, with occasional light 
frosts, but the days warm, with showers alternating with sun- 
shine. Purple trillium, red-berried elder, red-ozier dogwood, 
blueberry plants, trientalis americana, bog-bean and striped maple 
in blossom. Amelanchier everywhere in full bloom, its white 
blossoms in contrast with the vivid green of the new foliage. At 
no other season do our northern woodlands present a fairer pic- 
ture than at this time. The deciduous trees are all in leaf, except 
the red oak, red ash, acacia and sumach. The white silky wool 
of the opening leaves of the large-toothed poplar give still another 
tint to the many tinted foliage of spring. 
May 28. — The fallen petals of amelanchier begin to whiten 
the ground in the neighborhood of these trees. The white petals 
of the red cherry are fully expanded, keeping up the bright- 
ness of the woods for a week longer. The petals of the white 
trillium are beginning to fall. In bloom : The twisted-stalk 
(streptopus roseus), clintonia, crataegus, with the Siberian crab- 
apple and Persian pea of the gardens. Nearly all the ferns have 
unrolled their fronds. 
June 10. — A few ripe strawberries found in sunny spots. In 
bloom : Iris versicolor, ledum latifolium, potentilla canadensis, 
cypripedium acaule. 
June 1 2. — Weather cool. Light frosts on the night of nth 
and 1 2th. Thermometer 40° F. at 6 a. m. on the morning of the 
13th. 
August 31. — Quite severe frosts in many places last night. 
The evenings have a decided chill. There are abundant rains at 
intervals. All through the summer there was very little con- 
tinued hot weather. 
October 13. — A cold wet autumn followed a cool summer, 
and the harvesters’ work was greatly interfered with. On the 
night of October 7th the ice that had formed on a shaded wood 
road was visible at four o’clock in the afternoon of the following 
day. 
November and early December had many warm days and clear 
crisp nights, reminding one of our usual October weather. 
