THE SWEET-FERN.
Another of those humble shrubs which, though wanting in the beauty afforded by flowers, is very generally sought and admired, is the Sweet-Fern, at the very name of which we are inspired with pleasant remembrances of spring. The Sweet-Fern is a common plant on all our hills, the close companion of the bayberry, the wild rose, and the small kalmia. It is bound into all the nosegays gathered in May, and is a part of the garlands with which young girls crown the head of their May-queen, before the eglantine has put forth its leaves, and when the only flowers of the meadow are a few violets and anemones. This little shrub occupies a wide extent of territory, mingling its incense with almost every breeze that is scented by the rose. It is abundant in all the North-eastern States and the British Provinces.
The Sweet-Fern is a peculiar shrub, branching in such a manner as to form a perfect miniature tree, beautifully ramified with a neatly rounded head. The leaves are agreeably aromatic, and shaped unlike those of any other phenogamous plant, resembling a true fern-leaf, having alternate indentations that extend not quite to the midrib. It is a very grateful, not to say beautiful, ornament of our dry hills and pastures, and is more admired than any other equally homely shrub in our woods.