Page:The first and last journeys of Thoreau - lately discovered among his unpublished journals and manuscripts 2.djvu/114

 when perceived floating in the air. This seems to be the Lophanthus anisatus or scrophulariæfolius, which must yield the fragrance mentioned. Parry calls it &quot; a characteristic northwestern species.&quot;

Thoreau had never seen it, nor was it then much known by that name; some botanists called it a hyssop. Gray describes it as having a &quot;stem with strong obtuse angles," which accounts for the term &quot;square-stemmed.&quot; Less agreeable were the nettles he found growing around Mrs. Hamilton’s ice-house (a prairie nettle), or the catnip and plantain seen near the settlers cabins. These and the common Shepherd’s-purse were said to be introduced by the white men. He next noticed the birds seen about these lakes,—the turkey buzzards at a distance; the loons &quot;are said to nest in old muskrat houses, and elsewhere around Lake Harriet.&quot; One afternoon, going to the old Prairie Fort, he found &quot;a night-hawk’s nest with two eggs in it, well advanced towards hatching.&quot; The western lark &quot;has a note very plaintive; if heard at the same time with the common