THE TRAILING ARBUTUS. 
WILLIAM K. HIGLEY. 
Thou dainty firstling of the spring, 
Homage due to thee, I bring. 
The faintest blushes of the morn 
Do tint thy petals and adorn, 
And thy fine perfume, sweetly faint, 
Is like the breathings of a saint. 
THE great heath family (Ericin- 
ece) are scattered over many 
parts of the world, and include a 
great variety of plants, many like 
the American laurel (Ka/mia)being large 
shrubs or small trees. Others are much 
smaller, and among the smallest plants, 
there is none more beautiful and uni- 
versally loved than the charming trail- 
ing arbutus (Epigcea repens). 
Those who are fortunate enough to 
live in the localities where it is found 
have the rare pleasure of searching for 
the early blossoms, which prefer to nes- 
tle cosily at the foot of the evergreen 
trees, though they are sometimes found 
in the open. 
The late snows may even cover the 
blooms, but when their delicate heads 
are peering through, we know that 
winter has fled, and that the snow man- 
tle is only a cast-off garment which, too, 
will slip away, dissolved by the long 
rays of the early spring sunshine. 
In New England the trailing arbutus 
is called May flower, and in other places 
is known as the ground laurel. Its 
scientific name (Epigcea repens) is from 
two Greek words, epigcea, meaning 
"upon the earth," and repens, "trailing, 
or creeping." 
The word arbutus is from the Latin, 
meaning a tree, and is first applied to 
another tribe of the same family, and 
is pronounced with the accent on the 
first syllable — arbutus. This must not be 
confounded with the trailing arbutus, 
where usage allows the accent on the 
second syllable — ar^tus {Standard Dic- 
tionary) and whose characteristics are 
very different. 
The trailing arbutus is a native of the 
eastern portion of North America, but 
is found as far west as Wisconsin. It 
grows among the rocks, or in a sandy 
soil, as in Michigan, and it blossoms 
Oh my sweet! how fair thou art; 
How chaste and pure thy dewy heart! 
Thou poem of perfumed grace, 
Dear hope and truth beam from thy face. 
I drink deep draughts of joyfulness, 
And bow before thy loveliness. 
—Albert C. Pearson. 
from March until May, though April 
is its chosen month. 
The flowers are sometimes pure white 
though usually beautifully tinged with 
various shades of pink and red, and 
though really forming terminal clusters, 
they are apparently clustered in the 
axils of the evergreen and leathery 
leaves. 
The leaves may be oval or orbicular, 
and the stems which are tough and 
hairy grow to the length of six to fif- 
teen inches. 
The fragrance of the flower is very 
strong and attractive, though its 
strength varies with its locality and 
with the character of the soil in which 
it grows, and it is especially fine when 
growing under evergreen trees. 
The stamens of the flower are inter- 
esting to the botanist as they vary 
greatly, apparently to insure cross-fer- 
tilization. 
A study of this species, as well as of 
plant-life in general, teaches us that 
nature abhors self-fertilization and, as a 
rule, so develops plants that two indi- 
viduals of the same species are essen- 
tial to the production of seed. 
This species especially enjoys na- 
ture, and is not easily cultivated. A 
few florists have succeeded in produc- 
ing mature plants with fair results, but 
it may be stated that even transplant- 
ing, with much soil attached to the 
roots, to a soil identical with the native, 
results in a weakened development. 
The trailing arbutus is greatly loved 
by the poet and writer, and has re- 
ceived many tributes from gifted pens. 
Donald G. Mitchell, in speaking of 
the desolation of earliest spring, tells 
us that "the faint blush of the arbutus, 
in the midst of the bleak March at- 
mosphere will touch the heart like a 
hope of heaven, in a field of graves." 
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