ur neighborhood? In the
northern United States it is usually found in bloom before all the snow
of winter is gone. In some swamp or along some stream where the snow has
melted away in patches it is possible to find the Skunk Cabbage in
bloom very early in the spring. See how early you can find it. In the
southern United States, one of the earliest spring flowers is the yellow
Jessamine, which twines over bushes and trees thus displaying its
fragrant, golden bells.

[Illustration: TRAILING ARBUTUS

One of our earliest spring flowers, usually growing in patches in sandy
or rocky woods. Range: Eastern United States westward to Michigan.
Photograph by G. Clyde Fisher.]

As the season advances, other flowers appear, and we find the Spring
Beauty, the Trailing Arbutus, the Bloodroot, and the Hepatica. What
delightful associations each of these names brings to our minds! By the
time summer is here we have an entirely different flower-population in
the fields and woods--the Cardinal Flower with its intense red color and
the Pink Lady's-Slipper with its drooping moccasin-shaped lip are to be
found then. In the autumn we have a different group of flowers
still--the Goldenrods, the Asters, and the Fringed Gentian, the season
closing with our latest fall flower, the Witch-hazel.

[Illustration: PINK MOCCASIN-FLOWER

A striking native wild orchid growing in sandy or rocky woods. Range:
Newfoundland to North Carolina westward to Minnesota. Photograph by G.
Clyde Fisher.]

Some flowers and ferns grow best in the shady woods, others in the sunny
fields, some on the rocks and others in the marshes. We soon learn
where to look for our favorites. In taking tramps along the roads,
across the fields, through the woods, and into the swamps, we could
notice along the roadside Bouncing-Bet, Common Yarrow, Dandelion,
Thistles, and Goldenrod; in the fields and meadows, we would see the
Ox-eye Daisy, Black-eyed Susan, Wild Carrot, and the most beautiful fall
flower of the northeastern United States, the Fringed Gentian; in the
woods, Mountain Laurel, Pink Azalea, a number of wild Orchids,
Maidenhair Fern, and Jack-in-the Pulpit; in the marshes, Pink
Rose-mallow, which reminds us of the Hollyhocks of our Grandmother's
garden, Pickerel-weed, Water-lily, and Marsh Marigold.

It is natural to want to know the name of any plant that interests us,
and this is important. As in the subjects of Birds, there are many
helpful books on Flowers and F