Book Description

Excerpt from Nantucket Wild Flowers This book attempts to be a companion for any one who desires to be more intimate with the wild flowers on Nantucket. Undeniably, the natural setting of the island's wild flowers casts an abiding spell, most deeply felt on "the Commons" (the heathland), where the majority of the wild flowers grow. This allurement may be born of vast and open spaces, where an air of elusive mystery, under the magnifying influence of a salt atmosphere, hangs about the low and rolling hills. Or it may be due to a vicarious joy in the triumph of flowers that have to fight for existence. Yet the very elements that make the fight necessary - salt winds and unhampered sunshine - are known to be influences also in creating intensity of colour in flowers and grasses. And beauty of colouring is, unquestionably, one of the strongest bonds between the Commons and us. Even in winter colour is by no means lacking. The lustrous Mealy-plum Vine carpets all the dry ground, and "Evergreen" bushes are abundant in the swamps. Later, the Commons in certain places arc covered with Mayflowers or the eye rests on an endless carpet of the Barren Heath (Hudsonia), dazzlingly yellow, or "Over hill, over dale, Thorough bush, thorough brier," are flaunted the most brilliant crimsons and yellows and purples. A veiling haze and changing lights save this profuseness of colour from barbaric crudity, softening outlines and colours. Still another factor in making Nantucket a happy hunting-ground for those interested in flowers is the geographical location. As Prof. Asa Gray once declared, nothing is a surprise from Nantucket. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.