438 
THE  FLOWERS  OF  EARLY  SPRING. 
in  the  pastures  the  widely  varying  sagittata,  Claytonia  Vir- 
ginzca,  well  named  Spring  Beauty,  must  not  be  neglected  in  its 
moist  and  generally  shady  bed. 
Along  streams  in  open  woodlands,  we  may  find  the  Spring 
Cress  ( Cardamijie  rhomboidea),  with  large,  white  flowers ;  and 
just  shooting  up  its  green  stalk,  its  first  cousin  the  Winter  Cress 
[Barharea  vulgaris). 
Nor  should  the  floral  efforts  of  trees  and  shrubs  be  disre- 
garded. Among  th^  earliest  indications  of  spring  the  Hazelnut 
{Corylus  rostrata)  shakes  its  long  catkins  along  the  roadsides, 
before  any  signs  of  swelling  leaf-buds  are  visible,  while  the 
Willows  (Salix),  whose  name  is  legion,  begin  to  burst  their  warm 
wintry  covering.  The  Savin  (Juniperus  Virginiana)  is -covered 
with  its  curious  little  flowers.  The  Hemlock  [Abies  Canadensis) 
is  early  in  flower,  as  also  the  American  Yew  [Taxus  haccata). 
All  these  require  close  examination  to  detect  their  inflorescence, 
but  well  repay  it.  The  two  maples,  Acer  dasycarpum  (the 
Silver  Maple)  and  Acer  ruhimm  (the  Red  Maple),  hang  out 
their  showy  pendants  very  early.  The  Sweet  Gale  {Myrica 
Gale),  along  the  edges  of  swamps,  and  the  Sweet  Fern  [Comp- 
tonia  asplenifolia),  whose  dried  leaves  are  the  basis  of  juvenile 
attempts  at  smoking,  are  now  in  flower  ;  and  Dirca  palustris, 
well  named  Leather-wood  from  the  marvellous  toughness  of  its 
bark,  such  that  it  is  frequently  used  in  default  of  leather  or 
twine  in  repairing  broken  harnesses  or  sleds,  hangs  out  its  little 
yellow  bells  in  advance  of  any  leaves. 
We  close  the  list  with  the  fragrant  Sassafras  (S.  officinale), 
well  known  by  its  aromatic  bark  and  curiously  lobed  leaves,  not 
so  w^ell  by  its  early  clusters  of  yellow  flowers,  somewhat  resem- 
bling those  of  the  Sugar-maple ;  and  the  Spice-wood,  or  Fever- 
bush  [Benzoin  odoriferum)  also  highly  aromatic  and  possessing, 
like  the  Sassafras,  medicinal  value  as  an  aromatic  stimulant. 
Such  are  the  earliest  flowers,  which  in  forest,  field  or  fen,  invite 
the  search  of  the  botanist  and  the  lover  of  nature. 
Perhaps  subsequent  articles  may  give  some  notes  upon  the 
flowers  of  later  spring,  summer  and  autumn,  with  a  floral  calen- 
dar, and  possibly  an  enumeration  of  some  plants  and  shrubs  well 
worthy  of  a  place  in  garden  or  shrubbery,  but  hitherto  neglected. 
