Julia W. Henshaw

“ Orchid-hunting has an irresistible attraction for every lover of Nature. Whether the secret of this fascination lies in the difficulties which beset the search for the rarer species, or whether it is the strange forms, sweet perfumes and tropical appearances of many of the flowers belonging to this eccentric family that inspire so vivid a delight in the breast of man it is hard to determine, but assuredly the traveller does experience a keen thrill of ecstacy on finding one of these uncanny plants closely hidden in some shady swamp, or deep-set amid the tall rank herbage of the hills. ”

“ To the traveller the wildflowers of the Rocky and Selkirk mountains are a wonderful revelation of the prodigality and color-painting of Nature in these alpine regions; while to the botanist they are a constant source of interest and delight. There is no more beautiful, rich or varied alpine flora in the world than that of the British Empire, and it is the proud boast of Canada that within her Western borders grow the choicest specimens of many mountain wildflowers. ”

“ These alpine gardens, held close in the curved arms of the hills, or set like jewels on the bare breast of the stone bastions, are one of the great marvels wrought by Nature in the recesses of the Western mountains, the contrast between the beauty of the blossoms and their barren surroundings being as vivid as it is enchanting. ”

“ Very high up on some tiny plateau held in a hollow amongst the hills, some play-ground of the sun, where a patch of verdure is laid in the earth's brown lap, dew-drenched at dusk, ripened to sapphire by the sun at noon, wind-wrinkled by the gales that blow crisply off the glaciers, these large leaf-whorled Pasque Flowers spread in purpling waves across the waste, and turn the plateau into a paradise of flowers from whose violet rim runs the warm wine of loveliness. ”

“ Here you enter the wonderful flower-fields of the valley, where blossoms of every hue sweep in great waves of color from "tree-line" down into the depths, 3000 feet below. Here the Indian Paint-brushes (Castilleia septentrionalis) and Painted-cups (Castilleia miniata) are to be found in all their glory, scarlet, red, pink, white, yellow and orange they abound on every hand. ”

“ Among the mountains there are plants peculiar to each particular locality, though there are also hundreds of species which abound equally in all the various districts. At Banff, in the Rockies, the wildflowers are within the reach of all; for there they grace the low-lying meadows in every direction, are found in the thick forests, and out upon the dry stony slopes of the hillsides. ”

“ The author died before 1972, meaning that copyright on that author's works expired before the Canadian copyright term was extended non-retroactively from 50 to 70 years on 30 December 2022. The longest-living author of this work died in 1937, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 86 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”