Principles of Microeconomics 12th

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by Tony Lima, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA

BRIEF CHAPTER OUTLINE

Introduction p. 89

Price Elasticity of Demand p. 90

Understand why elasticity is preferable as a measure of responsiveness to slope and how to
measure it.

Calculating Elasticities p. 92
Calculate elasticities using several different methods and understand the economic relationship
between revenues and elasticity

The Determinants of Demand Elasticity p. 98

Identify the determinants of demand elasticity

Other Important Elasticities p. 100

Define and give examples of income elasticity, cross price elasticity, and supply elasticity

What Happens When We Raise Taxes: Using Elasticity p. 102

Understand the way excise taxes can be shifted to consumers

Looking Ahead p. 104

57
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58 Case/Fair/Oster, Principles of Microeconomics, 12th Edition

Visit www.myeconlab.com for current examples, news articles, and teaching tips.
DETAILED CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Introduction pages 89–90
A. How Much?
1. Elasticity helps us estimate how much quantity demanded, demand,
quantity supplied or supply will change in response to a change in some
other variable.
2. Once we understand the relationship between the change in price and the
change in quantity demanded, we can estimate the change in total
expenditure.
 TEACHING TIP: Measurement is important. All the theory in the universe does no good if we still
can’t answer the question, “How much?”

B. Elasticity quantifies how sensitive one variable is to a change in a second. The

elasticity of A with respect to B is %A/%B.
II. Price Elasticity of Demand pages 90–92
Learning Objectives: Understand why elasticity is preferable as a measure of
responsiveness to slope and how to measure it.

 TEACHING TIP: Demand curves still slope downward and supply curves still slope upward. While
this seems obvious, many students come away from studying price elasticity of demand thinking
that inelastic demand means price and quantity move in opposite directions while elastic demand
means they move in the same direction. Students confuse quantity with total expenditure. It’s
very important to persuade them otherwise.

A. Slope and Elasticity

 TEACHING TIP: The data and graphs from Figure 5.1 are in the Excel workbook for this chapter.

1. Slope is not a good measure of responsiveness. One important reason is that

slope changes when the units of measurement on either axis change.
2. Price elasticity of demand is the ratio of the percentage of change in quantity
demanded to the percentage of change in price; measures the responsiveness
of quantity demanded to changes in price.
% change in quantity demanded
price elasticity of demand =
% change in price

3. Price elasticity of demand is naturally negative. Since we know that, we

often omit the minus sign.

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 Chapter 5: Elasticity 59

B. Types of Elasticity
1. Perfectly inelastic demand is demand in which quantity demanded does not
respond at all to a change in price. (The demand curve is vertical.) Example:
insulin.
2. Perfectly elastic demand is demand in which quantity drops to zero at the
slightest increase in price. (The demand curve is horizontal.)
3. The following descriptive text may help your students remember the
difference. (This is from page 91 of the text.)

4. Elastic demand is a demand relationship in which the percentage change in

quantity demanded is larger than the percentage change in price in absolute
value (a demand elasticity with an absolute value greater than 1.0).
Example: bananas (elasticity = |-3| = 3).
 TEACHING TIP: Another example of elastic demand is new cars. For a car with a sticker price of
$20,000, saving five percent equals $1,000, a nice piece of change. For that reason people spend
hours, or even days, shopping for a new car.

5. Inelastic demand is demand that responds somewhat, but not a great deal,
to changes in price. Inelastic demand always has a numerical value between
zero and -1. Example: gasoline in the U.S. (0.2 in the short run).
 TEACHING TIP: Bob Pindyck has estimated the short-run price elasticity of demand for gasoline in
the U.S. as about -0.2. Students have an immediate understanding of this example.

6. Unitary elasticity is a demand relationship in which the percentage change

in quantity of a product demanded is the same as the percentage change in
price in absolute value (a demand elasticity of |-1.0| = 1.0). Example: beef.
7. Warning: economists often omit the minus sign when writing price
elasticity of demand.
 Tell the class that when they see a price elasticity of demand that is positive they should
immediately write a minus sign in front of it. Also emphasize that this only applies to price
elasticity of demand.

III. Calculating Elasticities pages 92–98

Learning Objectives: Calculate elasticities using several different methods and
understand the economic relationship between revenues and elasticity
 TEACHING TIP: All of the numerical examples in part III are included in the Excel workbook for this
chapter.

A. Calculating Percentage Changes

1. The percentage change in quantity demanded is equal to the change in
quantity demanded divided by the first value of quantity. Here's the
calculation technique:

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60 Case/Fair/Oster, Principles of Microeconomics, 12th Edition

change in quantity demanded

% change in quantity demanded = ´100%
Q1
Q2 - Q1
= ´100%
Q1
2. The percentage change in price is equal to the change in price divided by
the first value of price. Here's the calculation technique:
change in price
% change in price = ´100%
P1
P2 - P1
= ´100%
P1
3. Defined this way, the value calculated for the percentage change depends
on which of the two values is used in the denominator.
 TEACHING TIP: The text includes extensive numerical examples that illustrate this problem. Unless
your class is mathematically adept you will probably want to spend some time in class doing
examples of your own.

B. Elasticity Is a Ratio of Percentages

% change in quantity demanded
1. price elasticity of demand =
% change in price
2. Calculating price elasticity of demand from Figure 5.1:
10 - 5
percent change in quantity = ´100% = 100%
5
2-3
percent change in price = ´100% = -33.3%
3
100%
price elasticity of demand = = -3.0
-33.3%
 TEACHING TIP: It is impossible to give too many numerical examples in class.

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 Chapter 5: Elasticity 61

C. The Midpoint Formula

1. For large changes in Q and/or P, the direction of the change makes a
difference. Reversing the direction of movement from the previous
example,
5 -10
percent change in quantity = ´100% = -50%
10
3- 2
percent change in price = ´100% = 50%%
2
-50%
price elasticity of demand = = -1.0
50%
One reason we use elasticity is because it does not change when the units
of measurement change. However, a variable whose value changes when
the direction of movement changes is almost as bad. We have a solution:
the midpoint formula.
2. Instead of having to select one or the other price - quantity pair for the
denominators of the percentage change calculation, why not just use the
average?
3. The midpoint formula is a more precise way of calculating percentages
using the value halfway between P1 and P2 for the base in calculating the
percentage change in price and the value halfway between Q1 and Q2 as the
base for calculating the percentage change in quantity demanded.
4. The midpoint formula is calculated as:
é ù
ê ú
ê(Q2 - Q1 ) ú
ê é (Q2 + Q1 ) ùú
ê ê úú
ë ë 2 ûû
price elasticity of demand =
é ù
ê ú
ê( P2 - P1 ) ú
ê é ( P2 + P1 ) ùú
ê ê úú
ë ë 2 ûû
 TEACHING TIP: If you have the time and inclination, you can save your students some work by
showing them that the midpoint equation can be written as

é(Q2 - Q1 ) ù
ê (Q2 + Q1 )úû
ë
price elasticity of demand =
é( P2 - P1 ) ù
ê ( P2 + P1 )úû
ë


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62 Case/Fair/Oster, Principles of Microeconomics, 12th Edition

5. Here's how to calculate elasticity using the previous example with the
midpoint formula:
é ù
ê ú
ê(10 - 5) ú
ê é (10 + 5) ùú
ê ê úú
ë ë 2 ûû
price elasticity of demand = = -2.0
é ù
ê ú
ê( 2 - 3) ú
ê é ( 2 + 3) ùú
ê ê úú
ë ë 2 ûû
 TEACHING TIP: The real issue is the size of the percentage change. If the percentage change is
small, it doesn’t make much difference which value you use in the denominator. If your class is
rather advanced, you can use calculus at this point and note that price elasticity is

 Q  P 
  
 P  Q 
in which case there is no issue at all about what to use in the denominator or numerator. You
might mention that this is the true point elasticity.

6. Point elasticity is a measure of elasticity that uses the slope measurement:

(DQ Q ) = DQ ´ P
(DP P ) DP Q
1 1

1
1

DQ 1
=
DP
(
DP
DQ )
a. Point elasticity uses the reciprocal of the slope.
b. Point elasticity should only be used when the changes in Q and P
are small relative to their sizes.
 TEACHING TIP: Table 5.1 and the subsequent graph and examples is a very detailed example of
how to do the calculations required by the midpoint formula. Consider recommending this in class,
particularly for students who are struggling with the arithmetic.

D. Elasticity Changes along a Straight-Line Demand Curve

1. The slope of a straight line is constant.
2. Elasticity is not the same thing as slope.
3. Demand is unit elastic halfway up a linear demand curve (Figure 5.4).
 TEACHING TIP: A handy rule of thumb is that elasticity is 1.0 halfway along a linear demand curve.
Above that point P is high and Q is low so P/Q is high. Demand is elastic. Below the halfway point
P is low and Q is high so P/Q is low. Demand is inelastic.

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 Chapter 5: Elasticity 63

 TEACHING TIP: The material in Table 5.1 and Figure 5.3 is included in the Excel workbook for this
chapter. Elasticities are also calculated for each pair of points on the demand curve using both
the midpoint formula and point elasticity. Finally, a price of $5.50 has been included so students
can verify the claim in the previous Teaching Tip.
 TEACHING TIP: Extensive calculations written on the board will help students absorb this material.


E. Elasticity and Total Revenue

1. Total revenue is the total amount sellers receive for their product. This is
also the amount consumers spend on the product (total expenditure).
 TEACHING TIP: Be prepared for the student who asks about sales taxes.

2. TR = PQ. Total revenue = price x quantity.

3. Any increase in P will cause Q to decrease. TR may rise, fall, or remain the
same depending on the comparative magnitudes of the changes in
P and Q.

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64 Case/Fair/Oster, Principles of Microeconomics, 12th Edition

4. Price elasticity of demand tells us everything we need to know:

Elasticity Demand is Price and Total Revenue
between 0 and -1 inelastic change in the same direction
less than -1 elastic change in opposite directions
small changes in price have
equals -1 unit elastic
no effect on total revenue

 TEACHING TIP: The text introduces OBEC, the Organization of Banana Exporting Countries. The
point is that OBEC is unlikely to succeed. Why? Because demand for bananas is elastic. OPEC has
been a success in large part because demand for oil is inelastic.

IV. The Determinants of Demand Elasticity pages 98–100

Learning Objectives: Identify the determinants of demand elasticity
A. Availability of Substitutes
1. Examples: demand for corn is elastic but demand for oil is inelastic.
2. How many substitutes are available? How close are the substitutes to the
product in question?
 TEACHING TIP: Here’s an example that will help students understand “close substitutes.” Consider
Fuji apples and Macintosh apples. Demand for each is likely to be very elastic because they are
pretty close substitutes.

Economics in Practice: Elasticities at a Delicatessen

in the Short Run and Long Run, page 99
Frank runs a corner delicatessen and decides one Monday morning to raise the prices of his
sandwiches by 10 percent. Since Frank knows a little economics, he expects that this price
increase will cause him to lose some business, since demand curves slope down, but he decides
to try it anyway. At the end of the day, Frank discovers that his revenue has, in fact, gone up in
the sandwich department. Feeling pleased with himself, Frank hires someone to create signs
showing the new prices for the sandwich department. At the end of the month, however, he
discovers that sandwich revenue is way down.What is going on?
In this case,Monday’s price increase brings increases in revenue; therefore, this pattern tells us
that the demand from Frank’s customers appears to be inelastic. In the longer term, however,
demand appears to be more elastic (revenue is down after a month). Another way to pose this
puzzle is to ask why the monthly demand curve might have a different elasticity than the daily
demand.
Once you are in Frank’s store, planning to buy a sandwich, your demand tends to be relatively
inelastic because your ability to substitute by going elsewhere or choosing a different lunch item
is relatively limited. You have already come to the part of town where Frank’s Delicatessen is
located, and you may already have chosen chips and a beverage to go along with your sandwich.
Once you know that Frank’s sandwiches are expensive, you can make different plans, and this
broadening of your substitute choices increases your elasticity. In general, longer-term demand
curves tend to be more elastic than shorter-term curves because customers have more choices.

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 Chapter 5: Elasticity 65

B. The Importance of Being Unimportant

1. Products that don’t consume a very large part of our income also don’t
command much of our attention.
2. Since we don’t pay much attention to their price, demand for these products
tends to be inelastic.

TOPIC FOR CLASS DISCUSSION

The text's example is buying an occasional box of mints. A common example used by economists is
salt. It’s cheap and we don’t buy it very often. When was the last time anyone saw an advertised
sale on salt? Ask the class to come up with other examples. Paper clips? Wood pencils?

C. Luxuries versus Necessities

1. Luxury goods tend to have relatively elastic demand. Example: the demand
for yachts is likely to be elastic.
2. Necessities tend to have inelastic demand. Example: the demand for food is
likely to be inelastic.
3. However, the demand for any individual food (such as bananas) is likely to
be elastic.
D. The Time Dimension
1. The longer the time period the more elastic demand becomes.
2. People can find substitutes and change their behavior more over longer time
periods.
3. Example: the long-run elasticity of demand for oil is about 0.7 while the
short-run elasticity is about 0.2.
Unique Economics in Practice
In 1999, in response to a proposal advanced by actor – director Rob Reiner, California voters
passed a measure increasing cigarette taxes by $0.50 per pack. The revenue was stipulated to
be used for anti-smoking measures. California also banned smoking in restaurants and bars in
1998.
Proponents of this tax were amazed to discover their tax did not raise the expected revenue.
One reason is revenue loss from tax evasion. There are three main sources of evasion:
1. smuggling from neighbor states that impose lower taxes (Nevada),
2. purchases from Native American casinos located in California, and
3. outright fraud by retailers who purchase cigarettes without the state tax stamp.
Joe Fitz, the Chief Economists for the California State Board of Equalization, has studied this
issue. He concludes that evasion accounts for about 14.7% of revenue lost and that the amount
of lost tax revenue is between $139 and $210 million dollars.
Question: New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg pushed through a tax increase on cigarettes
in 2010. The tax in the city is now $5.85 per pack, bringing the retail price to $12.85. Outside
New York City, the tax is lower and the retail price is $11.90. In New Jersey (just across the

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66 Case/Fair/Oster, Principles of Microeconomics, 12th Edition

Hudson River from Manhattan), the price is $8.35. What actions would you expect New York City
smokers to take in response to this tax increase?
Answer: Interstate (and even intrastate) smuggling has become quite common. According to the
source cited below, in 2012 about 57 percent of the cigarettes consumed in New York City were
smuggled.

V. Other Important Elasticities pages 100–102

Learning Objectives: Define and give examples of income elasticity, cross price elasticity,
and supply elasticity
A. Income Elasticity of Demand
1. Income elasticity of demand is a measure of the responsiveness of demand
to changes in income:
% change in demand
income elasticity of demand =
% change in income
2. China's economic growth has caused income to rise. One item now being
demanded is clean air.
3. If the income elasticity of demand for housing is 0.8 then a 10 percent
increase in income will cause housing demand to increase by 8 percent.
4. Income elasticity is positive for normal goods but negative for inferior
goods.

TOPIC FOR CLASS DISCUSSION

The demand for clean air can lead to a discussion of the economics of the environment. Chinese
citizens are demanding cleaner air and (probably) cleaner water. Environmental economists have
known for decades that economic development increases the demand for environmental services.
It will surprise many of your students to learn that economic development can lead to a cleaner
environment, especially in countries with elected governments. Democracies tend to not kill their
citizens.

B. Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand

1. Cross-price elasticity of demand is a measure of the response of the quantity
of one good demanded to a change in the price of another good. It’s helpful
to call these goods Y (percent change in quantity of Y) and X (percent
change in price of X):
% change in demand for Y
cross − price elasticity of demand =
% change in price of X
2. If cross-price elasticity is positive then X and Y are substitutes.
3. If cross-price elasticity is negative then X and Y are complements.
Economics in Practice: Tax Rates and Migration in Europe,
page 102

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 Chapter 5: Elasticity 67

Countries that are members of the European [Economic] Union agree to labor mobility. However,
income tax rates vary among the different countries. What is the labor supply elasticity with
respect to tax rates for highly skilled workers?

Denmark's tax rate on incomes over €100,000 was 55 percent. In an attempt to attract highly
skilled workers, Denmark offered them a flat 30 percent tax rate for three years. The elasticity of
migration was found to be almost 2. After a few years the fraction of foreigners in the top five
percent of Denmark's income distribution increased from 4.0 percent to 7.5 percent. Taxes
matter.

TOPIC FOR CLASS DISCUSSION

The discussion builds on the Economics in Practice on page 102 ("Tax Rates and Migration in
Europe"). There are several questions to throw at the class. First, what will a foreign worker do
once the three years are up? Are they likely to stay in Denmark and pay the 55 percent rate? (Note
that this is the average tax rate. The marginal tax rate in 2009, the current base year for the
program, was 62 percent.)
Second, the program began in 1992. Currently the €100,000 income is based on 2009 incomes and
is indexed to average wage growth. The program also applies to Danish citizens who have worked
and paid taxes in another country for three years. What are the incentives for a highly-skilled
worker in Denmark who is paying the 55 percent rate?
Finally, the authors found that workers who came to Denmark under this program had pretax
earnings five to ten percent lower than comparable workers paying the high tax rate. For those
workers who stayed after the expiration of their low tax rate, income increased sharply when they
moved into the higher tax bracket. Ask the class to speculate on why this might happen. 

C. Elasticity of Supply
1. Elasticity of supply is a measure of the response of quantity of a good
supplied to a change in price of that good:
% change in quantity supplied
elasticity of supply =
% change in price
2. Elasticity of supply is likely to be positive in most output markets.
3. The elasticity of labor supply is a measure of the response of labor supplied
to a change in the price of labor. If the labor supply curve bends backward
the elasticity of supply will be negative along that part of the supply curve.
On the backward-bending segment, the worker has chosen to use part of the
wage increase to "purchase" more leisure.
VI. What Happens When We Raise Taxes: Using Elasticity pages 102–104
Learning Objectives: Understand the way excise taxes can be shifted to consumers
A. A Tax on Avocados
1. A hypothetical city's residents buy 1,000 avocados per day (365,000 per
year). The mayor decides to impose a tax of $1 per avocado, expecting
revenue of $365,000 per year.
2. The mayor has imposed an excise tax, a per unit tax on a specific good.

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68 Case/Fair/Oster, Principles of Microeconomics, 12th Edition

3. After one year the tax has raised $182,500, half what was expected.
4. The reason, of course, is the elasticity of demand.
 TEACHING TIP: Make sure your students understand why the supply curve shifts up by $1.00. An
easy way to discuss this is by pointing out what would happen if the demand curve was vertical. In
that case the equilibrium price would increase by $1.00. The actual price increase is less because
the demand curve is not vertical. Using the midpoint formula the implied price elasticity of
demand is -1.67.

5. Since the demand curve is not vertical, the equilibrium price rises to $2.50
and the equilibrium quantity falls to 500 avocados per day.
6. The burden of the tax is divided equally between buyers and sellers. The
buyers pay $0.50 more and sellers receive $0.50 less.
 TEACHING TIP: Don't do it! You'll be tempted to launch into a discussion of what determines the
burden of a tax. It's way too soon for that.
 TEACHING TIP: The data and calculations for this example are in the Excel workbook for this
chapter.

VII. Looking Ahead page 104

A. These five chapters cover basic economic concepts.
B. The rest of the text will go into greater detail about most of these ideas.
Extended Application
Application 1: Inflation Reforming Economies
Microeconomics can often help us understand macroeconomic events. For example, why
has economic reform in former Communist bloc countries virtually always resulted in high
rates of inflation? Certainly much of the explanation is macroeconomic (faster money
supply growth, large and growing budget deficits, depreciating currencies), but
microeconomics plays a major role as well.
Consider the market for a typical consumer good in a former Communist country. Under
central planning, the quantity produced was fixed by the state, so we can draw the supply
curve as the vertical line S1 in the diagram following. The demand curve, however, looked
like demand curves everywhere: The higher the price, the less people would want to buy.

S1

P1

D1
Quantity
What about price? Under central planning, prices—like quantities—were simply set by the
state. To keep things simple, let us assume that initially planners were wise enough to set
the price at P1, where quantity supplied and quantity demanded were equal. (Central

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 Chapter 5: Elasticity 69

planners did indeed try to do this for many consumer goods.) At this price, everyone who
wanted to buy the good at the going price could do so.
During the 1980s, for a variety of reasons, production of consumer goods decreased. (The
reasons included increased defense production, deteriorating worker attitudes, depletion of
natural resources, an aging capital stock, and a decrease in the ability to import goods from
the West.) This decrease in production can be shown as a leftward shift of the supply curve
from S1 to S2 (see the following diagram). To avoid excess demand and shortages, central
planners would have had to raise the price to P2. But throughout the 1980s, Communist
governments steadfastly refused to raise consumer prices. There were three reasons for this
policy:
1. It had long been a source of great pride that “Communism had put an end to
inflation.” Rising consumer prices would have been seen as an admission of failure.
2. Higher prices would have made consumer goods less affordable to those with lower
incomes and little wealth, which was viewed as unfair by the government and
intolerable by much of the public.
3. Prices were set by a slow-moving bureaucracy that—even if it wanted to—could
not have kept up with changing conditions in any meaningful way.
The result of this failure to raise prices was predictable. Consumer goods markets in the
1980s were plagued by excess demand. But there was more. With long lines forming at
stores, many consumers found the shelves empty when they got inside. Some could go to
the black market to buy goods, but not everyone could do this, and not everyone who went
there could find what they needed. Thus, many consumers who had the income to buy
goods were unable to do so. In fact, the typical Eastern European family during the 1980s
found itself in an ironic situation: It had more income than it could spend! Year after year,
this unspendable income was saved—Western economists called it “forced saving”—
resulting in a steadily increasing stock of cash and savings deposits—an increase in wealth.
Now, an increase in wealth causes a rightward shift in the demand curve for normal goods
(shown as a move from D1 to D2).

S2 S1
P3

P2

P1

D2
D1

Excess Additional
demand shortages

Demand shifts like this—with fixed prices—served only to worsen the shortages, leading
to more forced saving, further increases in wealth, further shifts of the demand curve and
still worse shortages.

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70 Case/Fair/Oster, Principles of Microeconomics, 12th Edition

By the time reform-minded leaders took power in these nations (1989 in Eastern Europe,
1991 and 1992 in the former Soviet republics), the shortages had grown intolerable.
Something had to be done, and quickly. Because supplies of most goods would remain
unchanged for some time (in the short run, production was constrained by the preexisting
productive capacity of factories) the only option was to allow prices to rise closer to their
equilibrium values. In many cases, this required price increases of hundreds or even
thousands of percent.

©2017 Pearson Education, Inc.

Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
quite excited by this prospect of blue flowers in clumps, with narrow
intervals, such a profusion of the heavenly, the Elysian color, as if
these were the Elysian fields.... That is the value of the lupine. The
earth is blued with it.”

Harebell.
Campanula rotundifolia. Campanula Family.

Stem.—Slender, branching, from five to twelve inches high. Root-leaves.—

Heart-shaped or ovate, early withering. Stem-leaves.—Numerous, long and
narrow. Flowers.—Bright blue, nodding from hair-like stalks. Calyx.—Five-cleft,
the lobes awl-shaped. Corolla.—Bell-shaped, five-lobed. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—
One, with three stigmas.
This slender, pretty plant, hung with its tremulous flowers,
springs from the rocky cliffs which buttress the river as well as from
those which crown the mountain. I have seen the west shore of the
Hudson bright with its delicate bloom in June, and the summits of
the Catskills tinged with its azure in September. The drooping
posture of these flowers protect their pollen from rain or dew. They
have come to us from Europe, and are identical, I believe, with the
celebrated Scotch bluebells.

Blue-eyed Grass.
Sisyrinchium angustifolium. Iris Family.

Four to twelve inches high. Leaves.—Narrow and grass-like. Flowers.—Blue or

purple, with a yellow centre. Perianth.—Six-parted, the divisions bristle-pointed.
Stamens.—Three, united. Pistil.—One, with three thread-like stigmas.

For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat,

But it withereth the grass,
And the flower thereof falleth,
And the grace of the fashion of it perisheth.

So reads the passage in the Epistle of James, which seems so

graphically to describe the brief life of this little flower, that we might
almost believe the Apostle had had it in mind, were it to be found in
the East.
 The blue-eyed grass belongs to the same family as the showy
fleur-de-lis and blossoms during the summer, being especially
plentiful in moist meadows. It is sometimes called “eye-bright,”
which name belongs by rights to Euphrasia officinalis.

Venus’s Looking-glass.
Specularia perfoliata. Campanula Family.

Stem.—Somewhat hairy, three to twenty inches high. Leaves.—Toothed,

rounded, clasping by the heart-shaped base. Flowers.—Blue. Calyx.—Three, four,
or five-lobed. Corolla.—Wheel-shaped, five-lobed. Stamens.—Five. Pistil.—One,
with three stigmas.
We borrow from Mr. Burroughs’s “Bunch of Herbs” a
description of this little plant, which blossoms from May till August.
“A pretty and curious little weed, sometimes found growing in the
edge of the garden, is the clasping specularia, a relative of the
harebell and of the European Venus’s looking-glass. Its leaves are
shell-shaped, and clasp the stalk so as to form little shallow cups. In
the bottom of each cup three buds appear that never expand into
flowers, but when the top of the stalk is reached, one and sometimes
two buds open a large, delicate purple-blue corolla. All the first-born
of this plant are still-born as it were; only the latest, which spring
from its summit, attain to perfect bloom.”

Skull-cap.
Scutellaria. Mint Family (p. 16).

Stem.—Square, usually one or two feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong, lance-

shaped or linear. Flowers.—Blue. Calyx.—Two-lipped, the upper lip with a small,
helmet-like appendage which at once identifies this genus. Corolla.—Two-lipped,
the upper lip arched, the lateral lobes mostly connected with the upper lip, the
lower lip spreading and notched at the apex. Stamens.—Four, in pairs. Pistil.—
One, with a two-lobed style.
The prettiest and most striking of this genus is the larger skull-
cap, S. integrifolia, whose bright blue flowers are about one inch
long, growing in terminal racemes. In June and July they may be
found among the long grass of the roadsides and meadows. They are
easily identified by the curious little appendage on the upper part of
the calyx, which gives to this genus its common name.

PLATE LXXXVIII

BLUE-EYED GRASS.—S. angustifolium.

Perhaps the best-known member of the group is the mad-dog

skull-cap, S. lateriflora, which delights in wet places, bearing small,
inconspicuous flowers in one-sided racemes. This plant is quite
smooth, while that of S. integrifolia is rather downy. It was formerly
believed to be a sure cure for hydrophobia.
S. galericulata is usually found somewhat northward. Its
flowers are much larger than those of S. lateriflora, but smaller than
those of S. integrifolia. They grow singly from the axils of the upper
leaves.

Fleur-de-lis. Larger Blue Flag.

Iris versicolor. Iris Family.

Stem.—Stout, angled on one side, leafy, one to three feet high. Leaves.—Flat
and sword-shaped, with their inner surfaces coherent for about half of their length.
Flowers.—Large and showy, violet-blue, variegated with green, yellow, or white;
purple-veined. Perianth.—Six-cleft, the three outer divisions recurved, the three
inner smaller and erect. Stamens.—Three, covered by the three overarching, petal-
like divisions of the style. Pistil.—One, with its style cleft into three petal-like
divisions, each of which bears its stigma on its inner surface.

Born in the purple, born to joy and pleasance,

Thou dost not toil nor spin,
But makest glad and radiant with thy presence
The meadow and the lin.[11]

In both form and color this is one of the most regal of our wild
flowers, and it is easy to understand why the fleur-de-lis was chosen
as the emblem of a royal house, although the especial flower which
Louis VII. of France selected as his badge was probably white.
It will surprise most of us to learn that the common name which
we have borrowed from the French does not signify “flower-of-the-
lily,” as it would if literally translated, but “flower of Louis,” lis being
a corruption of the name of the king who first adopted it as his
badge.
 PLATE LXXXIX

FLEUR-DE-LIS.—I. versicolor.

For the botanist the blue-flag possesses special interest. It is a

conspicuous example of a flower which has guarded itself against
self-fertilization, and which is beautifully calculated to secure the
opposite result. The position of the stamens is such that their pollen
could not easily reach the stigmas of the same flower, for these are
borne on the inner surface of the petal-like, overarching styles. There
is no prospect here of any seed being set unless the pollen of another
flower is secured. Now what are the chances in favor of this? They
are many: In the first place the blossom is unusually large and
showy, from its size and shape alone almost certain to arrest the
attention of the passing bee; next, the color is not only conspicuous,
but it is also one which has been found to be especially attractive to
bees; blue and purple flowers being particularly sought by these
insects. When the bee reaches the flower he alights on the only
convenient landing-place, one of the recurved sepals; following the
deep purple veins which experience has taught him lead to the
hidden nectar, he thrusts his head below the anther, brushing off its
pollen, which he carries to another flower.
The rootstocks of the Florentine species of iris yield the familiar
“orris-root.”
The family name is from the Greek for rainbow, on account of
the rich and varied hues of its different members.
The plant abounds in wet meadows, the blossoms appearing in
June.

American Brooklime.
Veronica Americana. Figwort Family.

Stem.—Smooth, reclining at base, then erect, eight to fifteen inches high.

Leaves.—Mostly opposite, oblong, toothed. Flowers.—Blue, clustered in the axils of
the leaves. Calyx.—Four-parted. Corolla.—Wheel-shaped, four-parted. Stamens.—
Two. Pistil.—One.
Perhaps the prettiest of the blue Veronicas is the American
brooklime. Its clustered flowers make bright patches in moist ground
which might, at a little distance, be mistaken for beds of forget-me-
nots. It blossoms from June till August, and is almost as common in
wet ditches and meadows as its sister, the common speedwell, is in
dry and open places. Some of the members of this genus were once
believed to possess great medicinal virtues, and won for themselves
in Europe the laudatory names of Honor and Praise.
 PLATE XC

AMERICAN BROOKLIME.—V.
Americana.

Common Speedwell.
Veronica officinalis. Figwort Family.

The little speedwell’s darling blue

is noticeable during June and July, when clusters of these tiny

flowers brighten many a waste spot along the sunny roadsides. This
is a hairy little plant, with a stem which lies upon the ground and
takes root, thus spreading itself quickly over the country.
 Arethusa.
Arethusa bulbosa. Orchis Family (p. 17).

Scape.—Sheathed, from a globular bulb, usually one-flowered. Leaf.

—“Solitary, linear, nerved, hidden in the sheaths of the scape, protruding after
flowering.” (Gray.) Flower.—Rose-purple, large, with a bearded lip.
In some localities this beautiful flower is very plentiful. Every
June will find certain New England marshes tinged with its rose-
purple blossoms, while in other near and promising bogs it may be
sought vainly for years. At least it may be hoped for in wet places as
far south as North Carolina, its most favorite haunt being perhaps a
cranberry-swamp. Concerning it, Mr. Burroughs writes: “Arethusa
was one of the nymphs who attended Diana, and was by that goddess
turned into a fountain, that she might escape the god of the river
Alpheus, who became desperately in love with her on seeing her at
her bath. Our Arethusa is one of the prettiest of the orchids, and has
been pursued through many a marsh and quaking-bog by her lovers.
She is a bright pink-purple flower an inch or more long, with the
odor of sweet violets. The sepals and petals rise up and arch over the
column, which we may call the heart of the flower, as if shielding it.
In Plymouth County, Mass., where the Arethusa seems common, I
have heard it called Indian pink.”

Purple Fringed Orchises.

Orchis Family (p. 17).

Habenaria fimbriata.

Leaves.—Oval or oblong; the upper, few, passing into lance-shaped bracts.

Flowers.—Purple, rather large; with a fan-shaped, three-parted lip, its divisions
fringed; with a long curving spur; growing in a spike.

Habenaria psycodes.

Leaves.—Oblong or lance-shaped, the upper passing into linear bracts.

Flowers.—Purple, fragrant, resembling those of H. fimbriata, but much smaller,
with a less fringed lip; growing in a spike.
 We should search the wet meadows in early June if we wish to
be surely in time for the larger of the purple fringed orchises, for H.
fimbriata somewhat antedates H. psycodes, which is the commoner
species of the two and appears in July. Under date of June 9th,
Thoreau writes: “Find the great fringed orchis out apparently two or
three days, two are almost fully out, two or three only budded; a
large spike of peculiarly delicate, pale purple flowers growing in the
luxuriant and shady swamp, amid hellebores, ferns, golden senecio,
etc.... The village belle never sees this more delicate belle of the
swamp.... A beauty reared in the shade of a convent, who has never
strayed beyond the convent-bell. Only the skunk or owl, or other
inhabitant of the swamp, beholds it.”

American Pennyroyal.
Hedeoma pulegioides. Mint Family (p. 16).

Stem.—Square, low, erect, branching Leaves.—Opposite, aromatic, small.

Flowers.—Purplish, small, whorled in the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—Two-lipped,
upper lip three-toothed, the lower two-cleft. Corolla.—Two-lipped, upper erect,
notched at apex, the lower spreading and three-cleft. Fertile stamens.—Two. Pistil.
—One, with a two-lobed style.
This well-known, strong-scented little plant is found throughout
the greater part of the country, blossoming in midsummer. Its taste
and odor nearly resemble that of the true pennyroyal, Mentha
pulegium, of Europe.

Monkey-flower.
Mimulus ringens. Figwort Family.

Stem.—Square, one to two feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong or lance-

shaped. Flowers.—Pale violet-purple, rarely white, growing singly from the axils of
the leaves. Calyx.—Five-angled, five-toothed, the upper tooth largest. Corolla.—
Tubular, two-lipped, the upper lip erect or spreading, two-lobed, the lower
spreading and three-lobed, the throat closed. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One, with a
two-lobed stigma.
From late July onward the monkey-flowers tinge the wet fields
and border the streams and ponds; not growing in the water like the
pickerel-weed, but seeking a hummock in the swamp, or a safe
foothold on the brook’s edge, where they can absorb the moisture
requisite to their vigorous growth.
The name is a diminutive of mimus—a buffoon, and refers to the
somewhat grinning blossom. The plant is a common one throughout
the eastern part of the country.

Common Motherwort.
Leonurus cardiaca. Mint Family (p. 16).

Stem.—Tall and upright. Leaves.—Opposite, the lower rounded and lobed, the
floral wedge-shaped at base and three-cleft. Flowers.—Pale purple, in close whorls
in the axils of the leaves. Calyx.—“With five nearly equal teeth, which are awl-
shaped, and when old rather spiny, pointed, and spreading.” (Gray.) Corolla.—
Two-lipped, the upper lip somewhat arched and bearded, the lower three-lobed
and spreading. Stamens.—Four, in pairs. Pistil.—One, with a two-lobed style.
The tall erect stems, opposite leaves, and regular whorls of
closely clustered pale purple flowers help us to easily identify the
motherwort, if identification be needed, for it seems as though such
old-fashioned, time-honored plants as catnip, tansy, and
motherwort, which cling so persistently to the skirts of the old
homestead in whose domestic economy they once played so
important a part, should be familiar to us all.
 PLATE XCI

MONKEY-FLOWER.—M. ringens.

Corn Cockle.
Lychnis Githago. Pink Family.

About two feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, long and narrow, pale green, with
silky hairs. Flowers.—Rose-purple, large, long-stalked. Calyx-lobes.—Five, long
and slender, exceeding the petals. Corolla.—Of five broad petals. Stamens.—Ten.
Pistil.—One, with five styles.
In many countries some of the most beautiful and noticeable
flowers are commonly found in grain-fields. England’s scarlet
poppies flood her farm-lands with glorious color in early summer;
while the bluets lighten the corn-fields of France. Our grain-fields
seem to have no native flower peculiar to them; but often we find a
trespasser of foreign descent hiding among the wheat or straying to
the roadsides in early summer, whose deep-tinted blossoms secure
an instant welcome from the flower-lover if not from the farmer.
“What hurte it doeth among corne! the spoyle unto bread, as well in
colour, taste, and unwholesomeness, is better known than desired,”
wrote Gerarde. The large dark seeds fill the ground wheat with black
specks, and might be injurious if existing in any great quantity. Its
former generic name was Agrostemma, signifying crown of the
fields. Its present one of Lychnis, signifies a light or lamp.

Blue Vervain. Simpler’s Joy.

Verbena hastata. Vervain Family.

Four to six feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, somewhat lance-shaped, the lower

often lobed and sometimes halberd-shaped at base. Flowers.—Purple, small, in
slender erect spikes. Calyx.—Five-toothed. Corolla.—Tubular, somewhat unequally
five-cleft. Stamens.—Two, in pairs. Pistil.—One.
Along the roadsides in midsummer we notice these slender
purple spikes, the appearance of which would be vastly improved if
the tiny blossoms would only consent to open simultaneously.
 PLATE XCII

BLUE VERVAIN.—V. hastata.

In earlier times the vervain was beset with classic associations. It

was claimed as the plant which Virgil and other poets mention as
being used for altar-decorations and for the garlands of sacrificial
beasts. It was believed to be the herba sacra of the ancients, until it
was understood that the generic title Verbena was a word which was
applied to branches of any description which were used in religious
rites. It certainly seems, however, to have been applied to some
especial plant in the time of Pliny, for he writes that no plant was
more honored among the Romans than the sacred Verbena. In more
modern times as well the vervain has been regarded as an “herb of
grace,” and has been gathered with various ceremonies and with the
invocation of a blessing, which began as follows:
Hallowed be thou, Vervain,
As thou growest on the ground,
For in the Mount of Calvary
There thou was first found.

It was then supposed to be endued with especial virtue, and was

worn on the person to avert disaster.
The time-honored title of Simpler’s joy arose from the
remuneration which this popular plant brought to the “Simplers”—as
the gatherers of medicinal herbs were entitled.

Beard-tongue.
Pentstemon pubescens. Figwort Family.

Stem.—One or two feet high, clammy above. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong to

lance-shaped. Flowers.—Dull purple or partly whitish, showy, in a slender open
cluster. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—Tubular, slightly dilated, the throat nearly
closed by a bearded palate; two-lipped, the upper lip two-lobed, the lower three-
cleft. Stamens.—Four, one densely bearded sterile filament besides. Pistil.—One.
These handsome, showy flowers are found in summer in dry or
rocky places. They are especially plentiful somewhat southward.
The white beard-tongue of more western localities is P. digitalis.
This is a very effective plant, which sometimes reaches a height of
five feet, having large inflated white flowers.

Self-heal. Heal-all.
Brunella vulgaris. Mint Family (p. 16).

Stems.—Low. Leaves.—Opposite, oblong. Flowers.—Bluish-purple, in a spike

or head. Calyx.—Two-lipped, upper lip with three short teeth, the lower two-cleft.
Corolla.—Two-lipped, the upper lip arched, entire, the lower spreading, three-cleft.
Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One, two-lobed at the apex.
 PLATE XCIII

SELF-HEAL.—B. vulgaris.

Throughout the length and breadth of the country, from June

until September, the short, close spikes of the self-heal can be found
along the roadsides. The botanical name, Brunella, is a corruption
from Prunella, which is taken from the German for quinsy, for which
this plant was considered a certain cure. It was also used in England
as an application to the wounds received by rustic laborers, as its
common names, carpenter’s herb, hook-heal, and sicklewort, imply.
That the French had a similar practice is proved by an old proverb of
theirs to the effect that “No one wants a surgeon who keeps
Prunelle.”

Wild Bergamot.
Monarda fistulosa. Mint Family (p. 16).
 Two to five feet high. Leaves.—Opposite, fragrant, toothed. Flowers.—Purple
or purplish, dotted, growing in a solitary, terminal head. Calyx.—Tubular,
elongated, five-toothed. Corolla.—Elongated, two-lipped. Stamens.—Two,
elongated. Pistil.—One, with style two-lobed at apex.
Although the wild bergamot is occasionally found in our eastern
woods, it is far more abundant westward, where it is found in rocky
places in summer. This is a near relative of the bee balm (Pl.
LXXXII.), which it closely resembles in its manner of growth.

Day-flower.
Commelina Virginica. Spiderwort Family.

Stem.—Slender, branching. Leaves.—Lance-shaped to linear, the floral ones

heart-shaped and clasping, folding so as to enclose the flowers. Flowers.—Blue.
Calyx.—Of three unequal somewhat colored sepals, the two lateral ones partly
united. Corolla.—Of three petals, two large, rounded, pale blue, one small, whitish,
and inconspicuous. Stamens.—Six, unequal in size, three small and sterile, with
yellow cross-shaped anthers, three fertile, one of which is bent inward. Pistil.—
One.
The odd day-flower is so named because its delicate blossoms
only expand for a single morning. At the first glance there seem to be
but two petals which are large, rounded, and of a delicate shade of
blue. A closer examination, however, discovers still another, so
inconspicuous in form and color as to escape the notice of the casual
observer. This inequality recalls the quaint tradition as to the origin
of the plant’s generic name. There were three brothers Commelin,
natives of Holland. Two of them were botanists of repute, while the
tastes of the third had a less marked botanical tendency. The genus
was dedicated to the trio: the two large bright petals commemorating
the brother botanists, while the small and unpretentious one
perpetuates the memory of him who was so unwise as to take little or
no interest in so noble a science. These flowers appear throughout
the summer in cool woods and on moist banks.

Blue Linaria. Blue Toadflax.

Linaria Canadensis. Figwort Family.
 Stems.—Slender, six to thirty inches high. Leaves.—Linear. Flowers.—Pale
blue or purple, small, in a long terminal raceme. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—
Two-lipped, with a slender spur, closed in the throat. Stamens.—Four. Pistil.—One.
The slender spikes of the blue linaria flank the sandy roadsides
nearly all summer, and even in November we find a few delicate
blossoms still left upon the elongated stems. These flowers have a
certain spirituality which is lacking in their handsome, self-assertive
relation, butter-and-eggs.

Spiderwort.
Tradescantia Virginica. Spiderwort Family.

Stems.—Mucilaginous, leafy, mostly upright. Leaves.—Linear, keeled.

Flowers.—Blue, clustered, with floral leaves as in the day-flower. Calyx.—Of three
sepals. Corolla.—Of three petals. Stamens.—Six, with bearded filaments. Pistil.—
One.
The flowers of the spiderwort, like those of the day-flower, to
which they are nearly allied, are very perishable, lasting only a few
hours. They are found throughout the summer, somewhat south and
westward. The genus is named in honor of Tradescant, gardener to
Charles I. of England.

Pickerel-weed.
Pontedaria cordata. Pickerel-weed Family.

Stem.—Stout, usually one-leaved. Leaves.—Arrow or heart-shaped. Flowers.—

Blue, fading quickly, with an unpleasant odor, growing in a dense spike. Perianth.
—Two-lipped, the upper lip three-lobed and marked with a double greenish-yellow
spot, the lower of three spreading divisions. Stamens.—Six, three long and
protruding, the three others, which are often imperfect, very short and inserted
lower down. Pistil.—One.
The pickerel-weed grows in such shallow water as the pickerel
seek, or else in moist, wet places along the shores of streams and
rivers. We can look for the blue, closely spiked flowers from late July
until some time in September. They are often found near the delicate
arrow-head.
 Blueweed. Viper’s Bugloss.
Echium vulgare. Borage Family.

Stem.—Rough, bristly, erect, about two feet high. Leaves.—Alternate, lance-

shaped, set close to the stem. Flowers.—Bright blue, spiked on one side of the
branches, which are at first rolled up from the end, straightening as the blossoms
expand. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—Of five somewhat unequal, spreading
lobes. Stamens.—Five, protruding, red. Pistil.—One.
When the blueweed first came to us from across the sea it
secured a foothold in Virginia. Since then it has gradually worked its
way northward, lining the Hudson’s shores, overrunning many of the
dry fields in its vicinity, and making itself at home in parts of New
England. We should be obliged to rank it among the “pestiferous”
weeds were it not that, as a rule, it only seeks to monopolize land
which is not good for very much else. The pinkish buds and bright
blue blossoms with their red protruding stamens make a valuable
addition, from the æsthetic point of view, to the bunch of
midsummer field-flowers in which hitherto the various shades of red
and yellow have predominated.

Nightshade.
Solanum Dulcamara. Nightshade Family.

Stem.—Usually somewhat climbing or twining. Leaves.—Heart-shaped, the

upper halberd-shaped or with ear-like lobes or leaflets at the base. Flowers.—
Purple, in small clusters. Calyx.—Five-parted. Corolla.—Five-parted, wheel-
shaped. Stamens.—Five, yellow, protruding. Pistil.—One. Fruit.—A red berry.
 PLATE XCIV

BLUEWEED.—E. vulgare.

The purple flowers, which at once betray their kinship with the
potato plant, and, in late summer, the bright red berries of the
nightshade, cluster about the fences and clamber over the moist
banks which line the highway. This plant, which was imported from
Europe, usually indicates the presence of civilization. It is not
poisonous to the touch, as is often supposed, and it is doubtful if the
berries have the baneful power attributed to them. Thoreau writes
regarding them: “The Solanum Dulcamara berries are another kind
which grow in drooping clusters. I do not know any clusters more
graceful and beautiful than these drooping cymes of scented or
translucent, cherry-colored elliptical berries.... They hang more
gracefully over the river’s brim than any pendant in a lady’s ear. Yet
they are considered poisonous; not to look at surely.... But why
should they not be poisonous? Would it not be bad taste to eat these
berries which are ready to feed another sense?”

Great Lobelia.
Lobelia syphilitica. Lobelia Family.

Stem.—Leafy, somewhat hairy, one to three feet high. Leaves.—Alternate,

ovate to lance-shaped, thin, irregularly toothed. Flowers.—Rather large, light blue,
spiked. Calyx.—Five-cleft, with a short tube. Corolla.—Somewhat two-lipped, the
upper lip of two rather erect lobes, the lower spreading and three-cleft. Pistil.—
One, with a fringed stigma.
The great lobelia is a striking plant which grows in low ground,
flowering in midsummer. In some places it is called “High-Belia,” a
pun which is supposed to reflect upon the less tall and conspicuous
species, such as the Indian tobacco, L. inflata, which are found
flowering at the same season.
If one of its blossoms is examined, the pistil is seen to be
enclosed by the united stamens in such a fashion as to secure self-
fertilization, one would suppose. But it is hardly probable that a
flower as noticeable as this, and wearing a color as popular as blue,
should have adorned itself so lavishly to no purpose. Consequently
we are led to inquire more closely into its domestic arrangements.
Our curiosity is rewarded by the discovery that the lobes of the
stigma are so tightly pressed together that they can at first receive no
pollen upon their sensitive surfaces. We also find that the anthers
open only by a pore at their tips, and when irritated by the jar of a
visiting bee, discharge their pollen upon its body through these
outlets. This being accomplished the fringed stigma pushes forward,
brushing aside whatever pollen may have fallen within the tube.
When it finally projects beyond the anthers, it opens, and is ready to
receive its pollen from the next insect-visitor.