Atlantic States and to this country also, are the yellow violet; adder's tongue, or dog-tooth violet; spring beauty, and buttercup. But the spicy wintergreen, with its crimson berry, is unknown; as is also the May apple, and other delights of childhood. A vine resembling the checkerberry is said to grow near the coast, but we never saw it.
The soil and climate of Oregon and Washington is highly favorable to the growth of flowers; and we may find in the gardens here, flowers from almost every clime, growing in more or less perfection. From the plenitude of moisture, they continue to blossom very late in the season; a bouquet of roses, and a dozen other varieties of elegant flowers, being often gathered at Christmas. Frequently, gardening can be resumed in February, which gives a large proportion of the year to the enjoyment of one of the purest and most wholesome of pleasures.
The United States Exploring Expedition collected, in the year 1854–5, three hundred and sixty species of native plants, of which one hundred and fifty are peculiar to the prairies of Oregon and Washington.
