Part 2, Chapter 12 Summary

Mr. Oliphant, a devout horticulturist, and a woman in dress and stockings are seeking arbutus at Deer Lick. Caring baskets, they observe that hogs had rooted up most of the trailing vines and only parts of the blossoms were left strewn about the muddy ground. The woman, who had moved from California, is reminded of Lippia by the crushed arbutus blossoms. While Mr. Oliphant complains about the damage the hogs had done, the woman remembers her childhood. It was a childhood made real by the particular flora that was relative to the memory. Specific incidents and episodes were not remembered as clearly as the plants, trees, or shrubs that are present while the memory is being made.

Briefly mentioning his pioneering ancestors, Mr. Oliphant returns the conversation to the arbutus. An offer is made to acquire it for him from a...