"There are a great number of very beautiful and also very curious flowers
growing in the forest," said Mrs. Frazer; "some of them are used in
medicine, and some by the Indians for dyes, with which they stain the
baskets and porcupine quills. One of our earliest flowers is called the
blood-root; [Footnote: Sanguivaria.] it comes up a delicate white folded
bud, within a vine-shaped leaf, which is veined on the under side with
orange yellow. If the stem or the root of this plant be broken, a scarlet
juice drops out very fast--it is with this the squaws dye red and orange
colours."

"I am glad to hear this, nurse; now I can tell my dear mamma what the
baskets and quills are dyed with."

"The flower is very pretty, like a white crocus, only not so large. You
saw some crocuses in the conservatory the other day, I think, my dear
lady."

"Oh, yes, yellow ones, and purple too, in a funny china thing with holes
in its back, and the flowers came up through the holes. The gardener said
it was a porcupine."

"Please, nurse, tell me of what colours real porcupine quills are?"

"They are white and greyish-brown."

Then Lady Mary brought a print and showed it to her nurse, saying,
"Nurse, is the porcupine like this picture?"

"The American porcupine, my dear, is not so large as this species; its
spines are smaller and weaker. It resembles the common hedgehog more