Fig. 122. — Pussy Willow (Salix discolor). Left staminate catkins; right, pistillate catkins. Photographed by Lovell.

ing from mid-February to the end of March, and, if the weather is fair, causing the bees to breed up rapidly.”

The earliest willow to blossom in New England is the glaucous or pussy willow (Salix discolor). (Fig. 122.) On a calm warm day in April the sweet odor may be noticed several rods away, and the air is tilled with insects hovering about the