Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-06-26
A BOTANICAL POSER.
A Naturalist Discusses Peculiarities o
the Dogs Tooth Violet.

4NaAhAt AAAl ~ N1A1 AA@1NA -
In the vegetable as well as in the ami
maj world. For instance. that pretty
and very abundant spring flower of
our, the adder's tongue or dogs tooth
violet, presents a problem which l have
not yet been able TO solve. This plant
you know, is a lily, and all the lilies,
so far as l know. have a bulb that sits
on top Of the ground. The onion is a
fair type Of the lily in this respect
But here is a lily with a bulb deep in
the ground How does it get therel
That is the problem
The class book on botany says the
bulb is deep in the ground, but Offers
no explanation. Now, it is only the
bulbs Of the older or towering plants
that are deep in the ground The bulbs
of the young plants are near the top of
the ground. The young plants have
but one leaf. the older or towering ones
have two If you happen to be in the
woods at the right time in early April
you may see these leaves compactly
rolled together. piercing the matted
coating of dry leaves that covers the
ground like some sharp pointed instru-
menf They q, not burst their cover
ing or lift it uT but pierce through it
like an awL
But how { es the old bulb get so
deepinto the yroundi In digging some
of them up e. an old meadow bottom /
had 70 cleays the tough, ibrous sod 70
q depth Of light inches Some smaller
ones were only two inches below the
surface. 4 friend Of mine tells me he
has discovered how the thing is done.
] hope either TO disprove or else 70 con-
firm bis observation
Tho field Of natural history has been
80 closely CLEANED, so little remains to
be found out about the habits Of our
familiar birds and flowers that ar I'M
solved problem like this is something
to be priced II is a pity that this
graceful flower has no good and APP
propriate common name. It is the
earliest Of the true lilies, and it has al
the grace and charm that belong TO
this order of flowers E~rythronium, its
botanical name, is not good, as it is de-
rived from a Greek word that means
red, while one species Of u flower is
yellow and the other is white.
How it came to be called adders
tongue l do not know; probably from
the spotted character Of the leaf, which
might suggest a snake, though it in nc
wise resembles a snakes tongue. A
fawn is spotted, too, and 'fawn LILY"
would be better than adders tongue.
The dogs tooth" may have been sug-
gested by the shape and color Of the
bud, but how the violet" came 10 be
added is a puzzle, as it has not one feat
ure Of the violet. It is only another
illustration Of the haphazard way in
which our wild flowers as well as our
birds have been named.
In my solitary spring rambles l have
sometimes come upon a solitary speci-
men of this yellow lily growing beside
a messy stone where the sunshine fell
full upon it. and have thought it one of
the most beautiful of our wild flowers.
Its two leaves stand up like a fawn's
ears, and this feature, with its recurved
petals, gives It an alert, wide awake
look. The white species I have never
seen.-John Burroughs in st. Nicholas.
A New scheme.
Don't want no books, no soap, no
pictures" said the hard faced woman
10 the strange young man at the front
door.
Il am not an agent, madam" said
the stranger- My business is Of an
entirely different nature. Do you re-
member a weary, ragged and hungry
tramp calling at your kitchen door
about six weeks agoF'
She didn't remember.
Let me refresh your memory. You
were dressed in an old morning wrap,
tied az the waist with a string, your
front hair was in tins and there was a
dark smudge across your nose"
She tried % slam the door, but his
foot happened 10 be ia the way.
You had a rolling pin in one hand
and a settle OF hot water in the other,
with which you threatened 10 srold tho
poor way .arar
swell. ] didn't -.aI1 him anyhow.
Eou can't Get amy assault and battery
ea.. against ..
Nothing .f Old. sort was intended,
ma.am. J r..rrs wished 10 let you
know that 2 w.- chat supposed tramp.
The Dom. carried 0n that occasion
contained .aw#u Sec: / have al
ready h..H . red four dollars for the
picture .l E.1 D Obtained. but If you