Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-03-14

constantly below zero and the same
! time white with the snow of winter
and the blossoms of it's own flowers.
thousands come to gather those
Fleurs de st. Patrice, which are be-
lieved to be an undying witness of st.
Patrick's connection with st. Martin
of Tours. These trophies of the
apostle Of Ireland are also objects of
religious generation. M. Dupont, bet
ter known as the holy man of Tours,
| always kept branch of the Fleurs de
st. Patrice hung up in his room "The
whole neighborhood, as Father Nor
rls remarks, lis redolent of st. Pat
lex. Besides the village, the COM
mune bears the name of the saint,
and the ancient parish church, dating
from the 10th or 18th century, is dedi-
Gated to him.
The following account of the mys-
FERROUS tree, from the pen of Mgr.
Chevallier, president of the archeo-
logical society of Touraine is given
in Father Morris admirable Life of
st. Patrick. It has for title: "Extrait
hes Annales de la Societe> d'Agricul-
ture, Science, ETC., du Department
d'Indre ct Laire, t. Xxx aimee 1850,
81, TO-" A translation of the same
account was published a few years
, ago, but it will be new to many of our
readers:
"On the banks of the Loire, a few
| leagues from Tours, a very remark
able phenomenon is repeated year by
year, and from time immemorial-ope
| concerning which science as yet has
given no satisfactory explanation.
This phenomenon, too little known,
consists in the poisoning, in the
midst of the rigors of winters, of the
blackthOrn tprunus spinosa), common
ly called the sloe We have lately
verified this circumstance with our
own eyes, and can vouch for it's truth
without fear of contradiction. We
! can appeal to the testimony of thou
| sands who at the end of December in
each year are the witnesses to it's
| reception, and we have ourselves
gathered these extraordinary flowers.
| This remarkable shrub is to be found
at st. Patrice, upon the slope of a hill
not far from the Chateau de Roche
cote. The circulation of the sap,
which should be suspended in winter.
| is plainly revealed by the moist state
of the bark, which easily separates
from the wood which it covers. The
buds swell, the flowers expand as in
the month of April. and cover the
boughs with odorOus and snowlike
/ flowers; while few leaves timidly
venture to expose their delicate YER
| dure to the icy north wind. Shall I
venture to add?-to the flowers sue
ceeds the fruits, and at the beginning
of January a small berry appears at
tached to long peduncle in the midst
of the withered and -discolored petals.
which soon shrivels and dries UP.
This singular growth of flowers is
! almost unknown, although it has been
repeated every year from time i'm
memorial The oldest inhabitants of
st. Patrice have always seen it take
place at a fixed period of the year, no
matter how severe the season may be:
and such has always been the ancient
tradition of their forefathers. while
legend seems to attribute a very re-
mote origin to the fact; but, as the
shrub itself appears quite young, it is
probable that it is renewed from the
| roots. However, this phenomenon is
limited to the locality and to the
shrub in question. Cuttings trans
planted elsewhere have blossomed
only in the spring, and the hawthorns
which grow amidst the sloes do not
manifest any circulation of sap
The incredulous will object that,
after all, this circumstance is not
more extraordinary than the towering
of the lilac in November, when the