The finding of these exquisite little flowers, growing wild among the lush grass of a meadow not far from some old homestead where their ancestors, with crocuses and grape hyacinths, once brightened the lawn in early spring, makes one long to start a Parkinson Society instantly. Some school children not far from New York, receiving their inspiration from Mrs. Ewing's little book, "Mary's Meadow," have spread the gospel of beauty, like the true missionaries they are, by systematically planting in lanes and fields sweet violets, golden coreopsis, hardy poppies, blue corn-flowers, Japanese roses, orange day-lilies, larkspurs, and many other charming garden flowers that need only the slightest encouragement to run wild. Immense quantities of seed, that go to loss in every garden, might so easily be sprinkled at large on our walks. Nearly all the beautiful hardy perennials cultivated here grow in Nature's garden in Europe or Asia, and will do so in America if they are but given the chance. The Star of Bethlehem is a case in point. Several members of the large group of charming spring flowers to which it belongs grow in such abundance in the Old World that for centuries the bulbs have furnished food to the omnivorous Italian and Asiatic peasants. If we cannot spare offsets from the garden, and will wait a few years for seeds to bear, the rich, light loam of our grassy meadows, too, will be streaked with a Milky Way of floral stars, as they are in Italy. The Greek generic name of the Star of Bethlehem, meaning "bird's milk" (a popular folk expression in Europe for some marvellous thing) was applied by Linnaeus because of the flower's likeness to the wonderful star in the East which guided the Wise Men to the manger where Jesus lay. STAR-GRASS; COLIC-ROOT (Aletris farinosa) Lily family Flowers - Small, oblong-tubular, pure white or yellowish, about 1/4 in. long, set obliquely in a long, wand-like, spiked raceme, at the end of a slender scape 2 to 3 ft. tall. Perianth somewhat bell-shaped, 6-pointed, rough or mealy outside; 6 stamens, inserted below each point; style 3-cleft at tip. (A Southern form or distinct species (?) has yellower, fragrant flowers.) Leaves: >From the base, lance-shaped, 2 to 6 in. long, thin, pale yellowish green, in a spreading cluster. Preferred Habitat - Dry soil; roadsides; open, grassy, sandy woods. Flowering Season - May-July. Distribution - From Ontario and the Mississippi eastward to the Atlantic.