Daily Kennebec journal., 1876-05-09
yM)RIyGM Nop
NO. no.
#iseellaneons.
SPRING FLOWERS.

Nothing can be more tantalizing than
New England Spring. Early in March
come warm bright days, when the snow
melts, and balmy winds blow, and the
chains of winter seem at once snapped
asunder. One ignorant of the climate
would naturally suppose that genial Spring
had fairly set in, and come to stay. But a
swift return of clustering snow storms
soon dispels the illusion, and the stern
realities of second winter hold sway far
into April. Then the East wind blows,
ladened with a chilly dampness that
plerces to the marrow of ones bones, al
ternating with an occasional sunny day
which still holds out the the promise OF
Spring. only to again delude and tantalize.
Foolish people whe are tempted into leav-
ing off their winter hannels repent in
coughs and colds. 1t seems as though
the mild and sunny days of Springtime
would never come, and Tennyson's lines
81 dreamed it would be Spring no more,
That natures ancient power was lost"
had become reality to be believed in.
But amid all the fog, snow-storms and
east winds the quickening powers of ma
ture are at work, and before the frost is
fairly gone multitude of frail wild flow
ers bespangle the land But for them we
might well doubt the return of Spring.
Before the trees put forth their foliage,
while yet the snow fingers in patches in
the woods, they blossom forth to restore
our faith in the season, and give
promise of the more abundant bloom yet
to come. These first flowers are not gay
and Haunting like those of Autumn. They
do not flame like the Cardinal Flower, nor
hold their heads high like the Aster and
the Golden-rod. They are delicate in tint,
tiny in size. lowly and modest, hiding their
loveiness beneath the fallen leaves. And
yet how much more dearly are they priced
than all the bright bloom of Autumn
They tell of Summer and not of Winter,
OF long sunny days to come, of life and
not of death and decay.
Perhaps something of our love of flow
ers comes from their comparative rarity
in this stern climate. In more favored
lands, where they bloom in abundance,
they are far less appreciated. In one of
her recent novels "Ouida" makes an Ital-
ian nobleman say of the English, at is
very odd, but they really do like the smell
of flowers" "Only,' replies another
Italian. because they cost so much to
rear in their fogs. If they were common
as with us, they would throw them out of
the window as we do" And those who
have seen the profusion of flowers in Italy
and the lavishness with which they are
thrown to the oxen, can realize something
OF the indifference with which the people
there regard them.
Here they tempt the young, on chilly
May mornings, into the damp woods. and
the gathering of them makes holiday.
In the warm days Of March the alders be-
gin to tassel their branches with brown
and yellow catkins, and while the snow is
yet deep about their roots, they sprinkle
your shoulders with golden pollen.
In April the May-tlower, oest-beloved of
early flowers, puts forth its pink and white
petals in some favored spot. often within
Il few yards of snow bank. Its NODES
ty in hiding beneath the dead leaves only
adds to the pleasure of its discovery. 1t
seems to prefer the shade of pines, and
exhales its spicy fragrance from April un-
til the very last of May.
Next comes the Hepatica, covering
patches of ground in open woods and pas.
lures with every variety of tints, from al
most pure white to the deepest blue. We
have found it even in thick woods, in little
tree-encircled hooks, where it seemed
'born to blush unseen and waste its sweet
ness on the desert air"
The delicate Spring Beauty, is rarely
found in this region. though we have
heard of its being seen in some localities
in Falmouth. 1t is quite abundant in some
places along the Little AndroscOggin. 1t
: tlourishes in moist, sunny spots, by the
edge of woods, or among bushes, and re-
mains in flower until the first of June.
The Bloodroot grows along river banks.
usually in damp soil. We have seen its
large snow-white petals in abundance ON
the banks of the Ohio. 1t is rare in this
vicinity, though We have seen specimens
t gathered on the banks of the Presumpscot,
in Westbrook. Its snowy petals fall apart
at the least touch, and it does not contiu-
ue in flower SO long as the Spring Beau
ty.
Almost at the same time with the Blood.
root comes the Adders Tongue, some-
times called the DogTooth Violet Its
spotted leaves, and yellow, lily-like f1ow-
ers make it conspicuous in the open
woods. 1t grows in this neighborhood In
abundance. and is often found along the
border of cultivated lands.
The Sweet White Violet is one of the
most abundant Wild flowers, growing
everywhere in deep soil. Although SO
/. iaihliy oWeet-SCeuleu tHey OIttu carpet lue
ground so thickly, that when the sun
shines on them their fragrance, which is
all the finer because there is never quite
enough Of it, is perceptible at quite dis
tance.
These humble little creatures that cling
close to the earth do not bear the only
flowers of early Spring. All through the
, last of April and early May the Red Ma
pie is crimson with soft blossoms, the Elm
tops are thick with flowers, the Poplars
and Willows are festooned with green or
yellow catkins, and the Hazel is decked
with bright star-like clusters of fertile
blossoms, and tasselled with pendulous
catkns of barren flowers. Thus In Spring
time these trees and shrubs cover them.
selves with myriad forms of beauty,
which. if produced later in the season
would be hidden in the abundant foliage.
Portland Transcript.
C1ANNN U1INlAVv nan Nk11H