Page:Atlantis Arisen.djvu/249

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Oregon this shrub is called syringa, to which family it does not belong. It is very ornamental, and blooms in June and July.

Of wild roses there are several species and many varieties, from the dainty little £i dime rose,” of a pale pink color, to the large and fragrant crimson rose which grows in overflowed ground. There are always some roses to be found from June to December. It is usual to find the shrubs here mentioned growing in close proximity; and these, with the flowers of the woodbine (Lonicera Occidentalism, and the blossoms of various kinds of wild fruit trees, make a perfect tangle of bloom and sweetness along the river-banks in summer.

We have elsewhere spoken of the dogwood, which is as handsome as a magnolia-tree when in blossom, and of the wild cherries and other fruits whose flowers are sweet and beautiful. The Oregon grape, or holly-leaved barberry, bears a flower that is very ornamental, of a bright yellow color, in clusters a finger long. The leaves of this shrub are also very beautiful, which makes it desirable to cultivate. Its fruit is ripe in August, and is of a bluish-purple, like the damson plum.

In Southern Oregon, the Rhododendron maximum is one of the glories of the mountain-tops, with its immense branches of rose- colored flowers. It is occasionally seen in gardens. The buft- colored Azalea occidentalis is also confined to the southern and eastern portions of Oregon. It is said that the clematis grows east of the Cascades, but we have not seen it; and also the ilex- leaved mahonia. The wild grape ( Vitis Californica ) is another shrub or vine which is confined to the southern portion of Oregon. In the Rogue River Talley, in October, it is a striking ornament in the landscape, the foliage being turned a rich ruby-red color, and forming clumps upon the ground or hanging pendent from way-side trees. It does not seem, however, to furnish much fruit.

Of field flowers there are a great many in all parts of Oregon and Washington, beginning with the early spring to beautify the earth, and kind succeeding kind throughout the summer and autumn. There are, especially near the Columbia, where the soil which covers the rocks is often a thin, black mould, countless varieties and species of very minute flowers, so small frequently as to need a microscope to analyze them successfully, but of