text: UFDC Home | Help | RSS TABLE OF CONTENTS HIDE Front Cover Frontispiece Title Page Preface Errata The Buttercup & Crowfoot, etc.... The Poppy The Wall-Flower, Cress, etc. The Pink Lineae Leguminousae The Strawberry The Rose and Apple The Hemlock The Dandelion The Daisy The White Dead Nettle, or... The Pimpernel Nightshade The Early Purple Orchis Common Rush Advertising Back Cover Spine Group Title: Eva & her playfellows : a book of entertainment Title: Eva & her playfellows CITATION PAGE TURNER PAGE IMAGE Full Citation STANDARD VIEW MARC VIEW Permanent Link: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00027022/00001 Material Information Title: Eva & her playfellows a book of entertainment Alternate Title: Eva and her playfellows Physical Description: 255, 4 p., 4 leaves of plates : ill. (some col.) ; 17 cm. Language: English Creator: Smith, C. MBarret, J. V ( Illustrator )Dean & Son ( Publisher ) Publisher: Dean & Son Place of Publication: London (65 Ludgate Hill) Publication Date: [between 1865 and 1873] Subjects Subject: Flowers -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )Botany -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )Natural history -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )Children -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction ( lcsh )Publishers' catalogues -- 1868 ( rbgenr )Hand-colored illustrations -- 1868 ( local )Dialogues -- 1868 ( rbgenr )Prize books (Provenance) -- 1868 ( rbprov )Bldn -- 1868 Genre: Publishers' catalogues ( rbgenr )Hand-colored illustrations ( local )Dialogues ( rbgenr )Prize books (Provenance) ( rbprov )novel ( marcgt ) Spatial Coverage: England -- London Notes Statement of Responsibility: by C.M. Smith. General Note: Approximate dates based on publisher's address, established from Brown, P. London publishers and printers c. 1800-1870. General Note: Illustrations are by J.V. Barret. General Note: Publisher's catalogue follows text. General Note: Baldwin Library copy 1: added title page and frontispiece are hand-colored and contains errata slip; copy 2 lacks t.p, catalogue, and color, but contains prize plate printed in color and gilt. Funding: Preservation and Access for American and British Children's Literature, 1870-1889 (NEH PA-50860-00). Record Information Bibliographic ID: UF00027022 Volume ID: VID00001 Source Institution: University of Florida Holding Location: Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature in the Department of Special Collections and Area Studies, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Rights Management: All rights reserved, Board of Trustees of the University of Florida. Resource Identifier: aleph - 002237630notis - ALH8119oclc - 60312699 Table of Contents Front Cover Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Frontispiece Page 4 Title Page Page 5 Page 6 Preface Page 7 Errata Page 8 The Buttercup & Crowfoot, etc. Rainunculus Tribe Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 The Poppy Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 The Wall-Flower, Cress, etc. Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 The Pink Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Lineae Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Leguminousae Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 The Strawberry Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 The Rose and Apple Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 Page 142 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145 Page 146 Page 147 Page 148 Page 149 The Hemlock Page 150 Page 151 Page 152 Page 153 Page 154 Page 155 Page 156 Page 157 Page 158 Page 159 Page 160 Page 161 Page 162 Page 163 Page 164 Page 165 Page 166 Page 167 The Dandelion Page 168 Page 169 Page 170 Page 171 Page 172 Page 173 Page 174 Page 175 Page 176 Page 177 Page 178 Page 179 Page 180 Page 181 Page 182 The Daisy Page 183 Page 184 Page 185 Page 186 Page 187 Page 188 Page 189 Page 190 Page 191 Page 192 Page 193 Page 194 Page 195 Page 196 Page 197 Page 198 The White Dead Nettle, or Archangel Page 199 Page 200 Page 201 Page 202 Page 203 Page 204 Page 205 Page 206 Page 207 Page 208 Page 209 Page 210 Page 211 Page 212 Page 213 The Pimpernel Page 214 Page 215 Page 216 Page 217 Page 218 Page 219 Page 220 Page 221 Page 222 Page 223 Page 224 Page 225 Page 226 Page 227 Page 228 Nightshade Page 229 Page 230 Page 231 Page 232 Page 233 Page 234 Page 235 Page 236 Page 237 Page 238 Page 239 Page 240 The Early Purple Orchis Page 241 Page 242 Page 243 Page 244 Page 245 Page 246 Page 247 Page 248 Page 249 Page 250 Page 251 Page 252 Common Rush Page 253 Page 254 Page 255 Page 256 Page 257 Page 258 Page 259 Page 260 Page 261 Page 262 Page 263 Page 264 Page 265 Advertising Page 266 Page 267 Page 268 Page 269 Back Cover Page 270 Page 271 Spine Page 272 Full Text 51 The Baldwin LibraryUnirityRmsn'BA JAVJ~~L rU9"'fVA^T FPONTTSPIE CE.. 'Eva in the Highland ottae.Eva in the Highland Cottage. &"Boo-TAI E -----* XWN .C WtLzrAAND SOW II LUDCATE HWL. \OHA EVA & HER PLAYFELLOWS.^ Ioh fat ntd~faiz aunt.BYC. M. SMITH.LONDON:DEAN AND SON, 65, LUDGATE HILL. PREFACE.SOME time ago a little girl exclaimedas she threw down a book on botanywhich she had been looking at, and try-ing without much success to understand:"O, I wish the flowers could tell theirown story, and that it was more amusingto read about them. There are storiesof animals and birds, why not of flowers ?"The child's wish suggested this littlework, and if it should prove as interestingand amusing to children as a similar oneon birds was to the authoress, she willbe repaid for her labour. ERRATA.Page Line As Printed44, 11, for Silides read Silicles52, 13, ,, Alypum ,, Alyssum53, 23, ,, tobed ,, lobed59, 12, silide ,, silicle126, note ,, Carmia ,, Canina143, 2, ,, Concime ,, Conium156, 17, ,, Concion ,, Coneion-, 19, ,, Ananthe ,, (Enanthe-, 19, ,, (Etlinsa ,, (Ethusa- 20, ,, Petroselium ,, Petroselinum219, title, ,, SOLANCE ,, SOLANAz THE BUTTERCUP & CROWFOOT, &c.RANUNCULUS TRIBE."Then, bright Kingcups, wouldst thou pullTill thy tiny hands were full."-S. R.EVA (stringing daisies and buttercupson a thread). " There now, I havenearly done ; and Rosie will look like aqueen when I put this beautiful chainon her neck. It is much prettier thanMamma's gold one, and I can make anew one any day. How bright theButtercups shine, quite like golden cups."She sings-"Buttercups and Daisies-Oh! the pretty flowers,Coming ere the spring-time,To tell of sunny hours.While the trees are leafless-While the fields are bare,Buttercups and DaisiesSpring up here and there. THE BUTTERCUP"Ere the Snowdrop peepeth-Ere the Crocus bold-Ere the early PrimroseOpes its paly gold,Somewhere on a sunny bankButtercups are bright;Somewhere 'mong the frozen grassPeeps the Daisy white."M. HOWITT.BUTTERCUP. " Yes, we come up assoon as the sky is clear from winterstorms, and the sun shines warm; andwe do so enjoy looking up into the blueheaven, and drinking down the brightrays into our cups. I assure you we arevery happy on a day like this, standingin the fresh green grass, and having thewarmth and brightness of the sun poureddown on us. He looks at us so lovinglyfrom his throne up in the sky, and weare never tired of looking up at him."EVA. "But are not you very miser-able at night, or when it rains, and thesky is dark?"BUT. "We do not like it so well,certainly ; but we fold our leaves to-2 EARLY ASLEEP AND EARLY AWAKE.gether quite close, and bend our heads,and wait patiently till it is bright again.If you come out by and bye, and look atus, you will see we are all asleep, withour golden cups shut, and so we stay tillthe sun wakes us up again."EvA. " That is very curious. So yougo to sleep at night as I do, only a greatdeal earlier."BUT. " And we wake much earlier,too. While you are still asleep in yourlittle bed, we have opened our leaves,and hold out our cups to bid the sungood morning." ,EvA. " I wake very early, too, in sum-mer ; and I should like to come out andsee how pretty all the flowers look, andhear the birds sing, but nurse bids me bequiet till it is time to get up. But if youshut up your cups in the dark rainy days,you must sleep all day sometimes ; doyou like that ?"BUT. " Not much ; we are far merrierin the sunshine. But we know the rain3 THE BUTTERCUPdoes us a great deal of good, and withoutit we should not grow, so we are content,and do not mind now and then a dullday. We shall be better, and look finerfor'it afterwards."EVA. "How does the rain make yougrow ?-do you drink it ?"BUT. " Yes; we suck it up with ourroots when it trickles down into theground. I cannot show my root, for Iam growing still, and it is firmly fixedunder the earth; but I see one of uswhich the farmer dug up this morning islying there, if you will fetch it, I willshow you about our roots."(Eva fetches the dead plant, and looksat the root.)BUT. " There, you see this root islong, and has many brown fibres, likethreads almost, branching out from it.These fibres have a tiny hole at the endof each of them, and through this thewater is sucked up into the stalk, andgoes to feed the buds, leaves, and flowers.4 BELONGS TO A LARGE FAMILY.If you break off the stem, you may see, ifyour eyes are sharp, a very small hollowtube in the centre, through which thewater rises."EVA. "I see ; it is very, very smallthough ; you can't drink much at a time,Mrs. Buttercup."BUT. "Nor do we want much; in-deed, we are content with very littlefood, and can live in dry waste placesvery well. I, myself, like a meadow best,like this, where there is a good soil mixedwith the common poor earth, and that is"the reason I am called the Meadow But-tercup. And though, in general, we canall live, and do pretty well in barrenlands, yet we are finer, and grow morefreely in cultivated soil."EVA. " Are not all Buttercups alike ?I thought they were, but I see this deadflower is not quite like you."BUT. "Oh I no; we are rather a largefamily, and there is a great deal of dif-ference between some of us. Now lookI THE BUTTERCUPclosely at me; you see my stalks arerounded, with a few hairs on them, andmy leaves have three divisions, which iscalled being three-cleft; each division iscut again into deep clefts, those of theupper leaves are very slender. I adviseyou not to put a leaf of mine into yourmouth, for you would perhaps blister it.I am spared by the sheep and cows,unless they are very hungry,'for I blistereven their mouths with my acrid juice."EvA. "What are these tiny greenleaves underneath your golden ones,which stand round in a circle ?"BuT. " They are my sepals ; and whenthe young bud first comes out, they shutround it, and keep it from the wet andthe cold, like a cloak. When the floweris fully grown, they still fold over mypetals when I shut up, though they can-not cover them entirely."EVA. "Your yellow leaves, or petalsas you call them, are very beautiful;they are so polished inside, and shine6 HAS HAD OTHER NAMES.brighter than gold. I wonder you werenot called Golden Cup."BUT. " So I was in old times; and Ihave had many other names besides. Iwas called Gold Ball, and Mary-bud once,but those names are nearly forgotten."EVA. "Mamma sings about Mary-buds, I heard her the other day. This isthe song-' And winking Mary-buds beginTo ope their golden eyes;With everything that pretty bin-My lady sweet arise.'SHAKESPEARE.I did not know that was said of Buttercups.I suppose you are called Buttercups be-cause you are the colour of some butter,for you say that the cows do not eat you,as I always thought they did."SBUT. " I daresay we were called Butter-cups because people thought we made theButter yellow, but that was a mistake1 and'the dairy-maid is always sorry when thecows eat us, because their milk does nottaste nice then. After we have been cut7 THE BUTTERCUPdown, and mixed with the hay, we do nothurt cattle, and they eat our dried leavesand stalks with relish."EVA. "What are those little threads"with tiny knobs on them, which fill upthe middle of your cup ? "BUT. "They are my stamens, and ifyou pull off the petals round them, youwill see how they spring from the re-ceptacle as it is called, in which also thepetals are fixed; their use is to helpto form the seed from which new plantswill spring."EVA. " I have pulled a flower that waswithering to pieces, it is a pity to spoila pretty one. I see the stamens are fastenedto this green little bed, but what is therough greenish thing in the middle ofthem ?"BUT. " That is what contains the seed,and is called the ovary. If you can finda Buttercup which has lost all its petalsand stamens, and has only a green knobon the stalk, I can show you the seeds8 DESCRIBES ITS COUSIN CROWFOOT.better." (Eva looks about for some time,and then brings it.)BUT. " You see that in this little headare many small divisions, in these the seedlies, and when it is ripe it will fall into theground, and produce fresh plants. Eachof these little divisions is called a carpel."EvA. "You said that you were of alarge family, and that there was a good dealof difference between you and some otherButtercups : I should like to see some ofyour relations, and find out for myself."BUT. "You can easily find'somebranches of our family in this meadow,for I see two or three not far off. Andfirst, you must let me introduce you to avery near cousin of mine, RanunculusBulbosus."EVA. " What a long name, I am sureI shall not often talk of that flower."BUT. "It has another, easier for youto remember, little English girl; theBulbous-rooted Crowfoot.. I showed youa root like mine just now, but this Butter-9 THE BUTTERCUPcup has a different one, it is round andthick like a small turnip. The taste islike mine, acrid, and though I have heardthat it has been eaten by men, I thinkthey must have been very hungry to makethem like it. Perhaps they boiled theroots, and so took away their unpleasanttaste. But I wish the farmers would notsend those greedy animals, the pigs, inamongst us, for they disturb us sadly, andmy cousin has unfortunately great at-tractions for them."EvA. " I see the stalk is not like yours,smooth round."BUT. "No, it is channelled, and theleaves are cut into three-stalked leaflets.You will see, too, that the sepals are turnedback over the stalk, while mine supportthe petals, and by this you may easilyknow the Ranunculus Bulbosus. Now ifyou look beside that pool below there,you will find another near relative ofmine."EVA. " Is this it ? How much smaller10 DESCRIBES CELERY-LEAVED CROWFOOT.its flowers are, it is not nearly so like youas the Bulbous Crowfoot."BUT. " We are considered very unlike,but yet it has the same kind of leaf, onlysmooth and not hairy, and the stalk is ofthe same growth, but very juicy andhollow. Of course, as it prefers pools, youmay suppose it is of a thirsty nature, andthat hollow stalk serves it to drink muchmore water than I am contented with.The flowers are like us, too, though small,and the carpels, instead of being set in around shape, are oblong, and large in com-parison with the flower : it is called theCelery-leaved Crowfoot."EVA. " I suppose it does not taste nicerthan your family in general."BUT. " It is even worse, being so acridthat it will raise blisters, and cause wounds.I am sorry to say any harm of my relative,but he is sometimes, though unintention-ally, rather mischievous, and people mustnot trust him too far. A short time ago,a little girl was playing with a good many11 THE BUTTERCUPof us, and making wreaths and garlandsfor herself. At last she grew tired, andlay down to sleep, with a wreath, in whichshe had put some of. the Celery-leavedCrowfoot, wound round her head andneck. When she woke, she was in a gooddeal of pain, from the inflammation andstinging caused by this plant, and hercheeks and neck looked very red. Iwanted to tell her to take off her garlands,but her sister came to fetch her just then,and I saw the wreaths thrown away.Poor little thing, she was crying with thepain, for she had rubbed her face and necktill they were tender, to get rid of thestinging feel."EVA. " I shall take care how I weargarlands of the Crowfoot then."BUT. "Yet the leaves of this veryplant, when boiled, are eaten by the shep-herds in Morlachia."EVA. "When I went down to thewater just now to fetch this flower, I sawwhat looked like a white Crowfoot float-12 DESCRIBES THE RANUNCULUS AQUATILIS.ing on the little stream below. Can thatbe one of your family ? It is exceedinglypretty. I would try to get one, but theyare too far from the bank, and my littledog is not so clever as Cowper's 'Beau,'that Mamma told me about; I don'tthink he would understand fetching meone."BUT. "Yes ; I know what you meanfor it so happened that I made acquaint-ance with that flower only yesterday.Two gentlemen had gathered some out ofthe river, and were sitting near me, look-ing at them, and talking about them, andI listened, for I wanted to hear what theyhad to say about that variety of ourspecies. I expected that, as RanunculusAquatilis grows in the water, it would beof a more sharp and acrid temper thaneven Ranunculus Sceleratus, as that isusually the case with such plants; but,I was surprised to learn that, on theContrary, it is very mild, and can be eatenfreely by cattle, who are very fond of it.13 THE BUTTERCUP.One of the gentlemen said he wasdelighted to see its white blossoms again,they reminded him of the beautiful Avon,in which this elegant .plant grows abun-dantly. I hope you admire its soft greenleaves, each segment so delicately rounded,and its pure petals, with the goldenstamens resting on them."EvA. " I do indeed; and I am veryglad it grows in our little river, as well asin the Avon. Now I want to ask you,are you any relation to a flower, whichcomes out earlier than you, and is almostgayer, looking like a bright star in thegrass ? I think it is called the Celandine."BUT. " Oh yes, we are of the samefamily, though not so nearly related asthe Crowfoots I have been talking about,as you may discover by observing thedifference of leaf, and of the shape of thepetals. The Lesser Celandine has itsleaves heart or kidney-shaped, andsmooth; its sepals are only three insteadof five, and its petals pointed and nine in14 DESCRIPTION OF THE CELANDINE.number. Only one flower comes on eachstalk; but the plants grow often so thickon a sunny bank, that they dazzle one'seyes to look at them. Yes, I am quitewilling to allow that Ranunculus Ficariais more brilliant than myself, and it oughtto be more welcome, since it is the firstflower (sometimes even before the Daisy)which tells that spring is coming. Haveyou heard that a great poet chose itspecially as his flower, and wrote on itsome pretty lines? Listen, these are someof them.'There's a flower that shall be mine,'Tis the Lessor Celandine.Ere a leaf is on a bush,In the time before the thrushHas a thought about her nest,Thou wilt come with half a call,Spreading out thy glossy breastLike a careless prodigal;Telling tales about the Sun,When we've little warmth or none.Soon as gentle breezes bringNews of Winter's vanishing,And the children build their bowers,15 THE BUTTERCUP.Sticking kerchief-plots of mouldAll about with full blown flowers,Thick as sheep in shepherd's fold,With the proudest thou art there,Mantling in the tiny square.'"WoRDswoRTH.EvA. "Those are very pretty indeed;I shall try to remember them. But canyou tell me any more of your kin, theyall seem very bright and gay ? "BUT. "I can perhaps another time,for there are many more of us. Perhapshowever, now I have made you acquaintedwith a few, you may find out others foryourself. I will just tell you that anotherbranch of our family are called Spearworts.You may distinguish them by their pointedleaves without stalks, growing up likespears from the main stem. There aretwo kinds of them, the Great and theLesser, and both love bogs, and grow inmarshy places. Like most of us, theyhave yellow flowers. If you should evertravel in foreign countries, you will findsome of us there, too. On the Alps, high16 A USEFUL PURPOSE.up in the mountain air, there is the whiteivy-leaved Crowfoot, and by a frozen bayin the Arctic regions, Sir John Franklinfound the Frigid Ranunculus."EVA. " How glad he must have beento see one of your bright faces peeping athim in that cold dreary place! I thinkeverybody must like you, you look socheerful, though I cannot say you are ofmuch use."BUT. "I do not boast when I say, thatour use was no doubt to look cheerful, andmake people glad when-they see us. Ifwe do that, and bring happy thankfulthoughts to any one, our work is done;and I think from what I have heard, thatmany have been cheered by us: manylittle children have spent happy and inno-cent hours with our gay blossoms. Littlegirl, if you always wear as bright a face,and have as contented and cheerful alook as we, you, too, will do your workwell, and, like us,, be loved. But remem-ber, we look always up to the sky; we THE BUTTERCUP.gain our brightness from the sun; ao youlearn that lesson, too, or you will not beable to be bright and happy like us. Andnow I really must say good night, for Iam getting very sleepy, "and the sun islow."EVA. "Good-night, dear Buttercup; Ishall love you more than ever."She takes up her flowers, and goeshome softly singing-"Welcome, yellow Buttercups,Welcome, Daisies bright;Ye are in my SpiritVisioned, a delight!Coming ere the spring-timeOf sunny hours to tell-Speaking to our hearts of HimWho doeth all things well."M. HOWITT.1S THE POPPY.Within the sunny harvest-flels"We'll gather flowers enow;The Poppy red, the Marygold,The Bugloss brightly blue.Poppy. "Well, I really am glad thatthe sun has at last got behind that greatoak, and cannot scorch us up any more.I thought, when first I came out someweeks ago, that I never could haveenough of his rays to open my flowers,and warm me; but to-day I have hadto stand in such a burning heat that Iam quite faint, and cannot hold up myhead any longer. Well, never mind, thedews will be falling soon, and when Ihave bathed in them a little, and suckedup a few drops to refresh myself, I shallB2 19 THE POPPYbe well again, and able to open freshbuds to-morrow. What a good thingthe sun is not always shining; I don'tknow what I should do if he did not goaway at night, and leave us to fold ourpetals, and sleep Ah I little girl, youlook very hot, too. I am sure you mustwant to rest; do come and sit under thisgreat oak tree in the shade. I havewatched you gathering up the ears ofcorn for little Jessie Dove and her grand-mother all this afternoon."EVA. "Yes, I am very tired indeed;and, after all, I am afraid I have notadded much to their bundle, it did notlook so large as I expected."POPPY. "Never mind, it did helpthem a little, and they were glad youcame; it made them merrier, and theyliked your wish to help them. But praytake care how you sit down, you arejust going to crush a sister of mine."EVA. "Oh! I did not see that. Imust sit here on the root of the oak.20 DISLIKED BY FARMERS.Nurse will be angry if I get my frockdirty, and she says you stain terribly. Idon't think she likes you much, for shewill not let me make a nosegay of yourflowers.'POPPY. "I have heard many peoplespeak against us, and I know we havemany enemies, especially the farmers.They are always bent on rooting us upfrom their cornfields; and, indeed, Iwonder that any of us managed to growhere, for, in the spring, a number ofwomen and boys were set to root us allup, with many other plants, so as to leavethe wheat alone in the field. However,a few, as you see, have managed to escape;and here, near the bank, as I do no oneany harm, I have been allowed to grow.But in the field over the hedge, as Ipeeped one day through a little hole, Isaw the farmer had been much kinder,and had let us, and many of our friendsgrow as we liked. The field was so gaywith all manner of flowers, and so many21 THE POPPYof our scarlet heads among them If thewind does but blow this way soon,the seeds will come over here, and weshall have plenty of our family aboutus."EVA. " Oh Mr. Poppy, how can yoube so mischievous! Those plants areall weeds, and hurt the corn, and I amsure I hope their seeds will not comeover, and spoil this nice field. Papa says,the farmer who has that field is verylazy, and does all his neighbours mischief,by letting weeds grow, and send theirseeds all over the land."POPPY. " So you do not like to seeour bright heads among the corn. Ithink they look very well, and I knowsome clever men who. admire us verymuch, and say we are an ornament to thewheat. I heard a gentleman say so theother day, who was sitting under thisvery tree, and painting that view, as hecalled it: he painted some of us, too, inthe corner of his picture."22 GAY, BUT NOT FRAGRANT.EVA. "I think you very gay, and Ilike to see a few of you, and the bluecorn flowers, but when you grow all overthe field, I think you look very untidy;besides, your smell is nasty."POPPY. "Well, we are not muchthought of in this country, but in anotherpart of the world whole fields of us aregrown, and we are esteemed veryvaluable. Even in England one kindof us is grown, but I never saw it; andour rich colour, and graceful shape, iswhat wins admiration for us here."EVA. "I have been rather hard onyou, certainly; so, to make up, I will tellyou what a lady wrote of you, and someother pretty flowers, which the farmerscall weeds :-'And we'll pause and gather a glorious wreathFrom the flowers that are sheltered the corn beneath:There are velvet Campions, both white and red,And Poppies, like morning glories spread,That flash and glance with their scarlet sheen,The bending ears of the wheat between. .'"POPPY. "Very good. You see some23 THE POPPYpeople have taste enough to admire us.Put I will whisper a secret to you, littlemaid; I don't think we are loved as manyother flowers are, and perhaps it is be-cause we are thought too flaunting andproud. We cannot help being gay, andholding up our heads a little, it is as wewere made, and I don't believe we feel abit prouder for it; but I must confess itis very ugly to see pride, and when achild -comes along thinking himself veryimportant, and vain of some smart dress,I wish he could feel how ridiculous he is,and learn to be like the flowers, whichthough far gayer than he, are simpleand contented. We do not mind beingthought ill of, but enjoy ourselves in anybit of waste land, and open our brightcoloured flowers thankfully to the sun,whether men care for us or not."EVA. "I want to see a little moreabout you, and learn your shape, andhow you grow. Ah! your root is longand slender, with those little fibres com-24 LEAVES AND FLOWERS.ing out from it which suck up the rain;and what a slender stalk you have, allthickly covered with fine hairs. I likethe shape of your leaves, they are soprettily cut out."PorPY. "That is called being pin-natifid. You see they have one leafletat the top, then two elegantly cut nextto it, and two more below, all formingone leaf. But you must examine myflower if you wish to know our chiefpeculiarities."EvA. "What is this, greenish thingwith dark rays on it, which stands in themiddle of your flower ?"POPPY. "That is my stigma standingas you see in the midst of a great numberof black stamens. When my four scarletpetals fall off you will see more plainlythe ovary containing the seeds, which isimmediately beneath the stigma. There,look, on that stem is one from which thewind has just blown away the petals."EVA. "I see the stamens also are25 THE POPPY.withered, and falling off, and here is theovary left on the stalk. It looks like afunny little box with divisions up it, anda lid. I will open it. Oh! here arenumbers of little tiny seeds fastened tothe divisions, but it is all one cell, thesepartitions do not reach to the middle.How curious !"PoPPY. "When my seeds are ripe,this ovary becomes a brownish colour,and- the seeds dark, and then it opensof itself, and the seeds scatter all round.Perhaps you never thought that the chiefuse of my gay petals is to protect thisovary, and guard the stigma and stamenswhile the seeds are forming ?"EvA. " Indeed! and do you shut uplike the Buttercup, when it rains or isnight ?"PoPPY. "Yes; but I have only mypetals to fold about me, when once Ihave fully opened, for my sepals, whichguard me while a bud extremely well,fall off very soon. You may see them on26 ITS OTHER NAMES.that young Poppy, which is just opening.There are two of them; and they keepthe flower very snug and warm."EVA. "I think they are just like themantle which nurse folds about babywhen he goes out. I wonder why youare called Poppy, it is a droll name, Ithink."PorPP. " I believe it was because theseeds of our family were given in pap, tomake people sleep: so the plant wascalled papa, and so perhaps came to bePoppy. But I have other names amongcountry people, and am called Corn Rose,Redweed, and Cheese Bowl. I like thename of Corn Rose best; but I amgenerally known as the Poppy in English,and Papaver Rhmeas in Latin."EVA. " Have you any relations likethe Buttercup ?"PoPPy. " Yes, many; and you mayfind some not far off. If you are restedenough to go to that chalky bank, youwill find Papaver Hybridum, the Round27 THE POPPYRough-headed Poppy, which loves achalky soil, and is rather particular whereit grows, so that it is not so common as Iam. And there in the corn is the P.Argemone, very nearly related to it."EvA. "See, I have found them, andanother besides, which I thought was oneof your kind, but its capsules are longer.'PoPPy. "They are all three so muchlike me, that you might easily mistakethem if you did not look closely. I canboast of having the richest colour, how-ever, and my size is larger than either theRound Rough-headed, or the Long RoughPoppy. Their stamens, also, are less darkthan mine. The third you have broughtis the Long Smooth-headed Poppy."EVA. " Did you not say that the seedsof some of your tribe were mixed in papto make people sleep?"PoPPY. "Yes, P. Argemone is used forthis purpose sometimes, and has the powerof making people sleep, who eat its cap-sules, or even' its leaves, as I have heard;28 CAREFULLY CULTIVATED.but the real plant which is used inmedicine, and called the Opium Poppy,is one, I confess, more beautiful than anyof us, and grows in warm countries. Ihave heard it is of a white colour, thebottom of each petal marked with richpurple, the stigma and stamens green.Some few days ago two young ladies weresitting here, to rest under this oak, justafter I had opened a little, and one ofthem took out a letter from her papa, whowas in Egypt, and read it to her cousin.I could not help hearing it, but I did notunderstand anything, till she began to readabout the Poppies there, and then I lis-tened as much as I could. The lettersaid that there were whole fields (onlythink of that) planted with Poppies, andlooking beautiful with all the whiteblossoms waving in the wind. The younglady said that she had seen such fields inKent, and other parts of England, but Iwas quite astonished to think of Poppiesbeing cultivated as carefully as the corn is29 THE POPPY.here, which we are hardly allowed toapproach."EVA. " That sounds very strange. Butwhat can people want so much Poppyjuice for? Surely they will go to sleepquite well without it. I am asleep in tenminutes after nurse takes away the candle,and sometimes I cannot keep awake if I"want to do it."PoPPY. "You are a strong little girl,and ought to be thankful that you can goto sleep as we do at night, without anypain to keep you awake; but when peopleare ill, I have heard they cannot sleep,and then, as this gentleman who wrotethe letter said, they are very glad to takeour juice to make them do so."EVA. "Do they eat the seeds, or thecapsules ? That would be a nasty medicine,I am sure."PoPPY. "No, the letter said that whenthe capsules are about half ripe incisionsare made in them, and the juice thickensin the night, to a firm substance of a grey30 ITS USE TO MAN.colour. This is scraped off, and made upinto lozenges, with syrup from differentfruits, and so it is sold as a sweetmeat inshops. The young lady who was readingthe letter told her friend that she was veryglad to know how the opium was made,for she had been ordered by the doctor togive some to her mother, who was ill,and restless at night. She spoke a gooddeal of the comfort the poor lady hadreceived from the use of it, and how shecould only sleep after taking it, becauseshe was in so much pain always; andwhen I heard how patient and good shewas under all her sufferings, I felt quiteglad that one of us had power to sootheher."EVA. " Yes, it is very good of God tomake the plants give us so many usefulthings. We get bread, and vegetables,and nice fruit, which I like so much, andmedicine, too, which is very good for sickpeople. That gentleman who wrote theletter must have liked to look at the fields81 THE POPPY.of Poppies, when he remembered the usethey were to be to his poor wife."PoPIY. " We are all of us rather of asleepy nature, and I myself am oftendrowsy, so that I confess I did not hearall that was written about these Poppies,being sleepy that afternoon. But thoughI have forgotten a good deal, I remembersome verses that the young lady afterwardsrepeated to her friend, about the OpiumPoppy, and you may like to hear them.'But thou, whene'er we sufferIlls we deserve too well,O'er present woes and past,"With kindly zeal dost castThy mild oblivious spell.'To thee a power is givenThat puts the Rose to shame;For who her wreath hath worn,Nor felt how sharp the thorn,That guards her graceful stem?'While e'en to him who wounds thee,With much forgiveness thouDost yield a precious balm,His weary frame to calmIn sickness or in woe.'"EVA. " I shall like you all better, Mr.Poppy, now I know more about you; but32 FINE RELATIONS ABROAD.I think your foreign relations are moreuseful, and prettier than you."POPPY. " Perhaps they are. I do notsuppose people in this country would likeSto wear a wreath of our red flowers, butin India the natives adorn their headssometimes with Poppy blossoms, whenthey amuse themselves with singing intheir boats of an evening. Very likely,therefore, the flowers are larger andhandsomer than ours here. I am notquite sure, however, that any of ourfamily can claim to be real natives ofEngland, we all may have come fromforeign lands. However, we have nowbeen long settled in this country, and likeour home very much. Do you know thatthere is a cousin of mine, which loves thesea-shore, and grows on the sands veryplentifully? He is as gay almost as I am* Not a Papaver but a Glaucium. There are three kinds ofthe Glaucium; the yellow horned, the scarlet horned, and theviolet horned Poppy. The two latter are rare, and doubtfulnatives of England. All are distinguished by the sickle shapeof their pods.o 33 THE POPPY"but of a different colour, being brightyellow."EVA. " Oh yes, I remember such aPoppy quite well. When I was atExmouth I was surprised to find flowersso near to the sea, and I gathered someand put them in my shell basket. Mammatold me they were called the YellowHorned Poppy. The leaves were palesea-green, folding stem, and very roughat the edge, but not slender or cut likeyours, and the pod was like a sickle inshape. I liked to see it so much, and itdid not seem to mind the rough dashingof the waves, or the spray falling on it,but always looked green, and as if it likedthe roaring of the sea, and the salt waterto its roots. I learned some lines aboutit, which I will tell you, though you doseem getting drowsy.'The wild sea cliff, though rude it be,Is wreathed with many a flower,That blossoms there unscathed and free,Through storm and shower.34 TEACHING A USEFUL LESSON.'There, bright as gems of fairy lore,Or Eastern poets' dream,The Horned Poppies gild the shore,With sunny gleam.'"POPPY. " Thank you, little girl. Andnow it is really bed-time, the sun has quitegone down, and I feel the cool dews bath-ing my leaves, I must shut up close till thenight is past. Goodbye, and think of usas contented flowers, who do not mindeing little cared for, and are glad io beable to comfort, or soothe anyone in pain.If you can learn to do the same, quietlyand lovingly, not wishing for admiration,and content to be sometimes thought lessof than you might like to be, but glad tobe made a comfort to anyone, we shall nothave talked in vain."c2 35 THE WALL-FLOWER, CRESS, &c.THE CRUCIFORM TRIBE.Sweet wall-flower, sweet wall-flower!Thou conjurest up to meFull many a soft and sunny hourOf boyhood's thoughtless glee,When joy from out the daisies grewIn woodland pastures green,And summer skies were far more blueThan since they e'er have been.EVA. "What a delightful old place! Ithink I shall never be tired of scramblingabout these old walls, and finding out all-the funny holes, and hiding places in thesetowers. If only my cousins were here,what a beautiful game of hide-and-seekwe could have. I have seen many cornerswhere I could hide so nicely, and nobody36 ADORNS THE CASTLE RUINS.would find me for ever so long. But whata grand place this castle must have been !I wish I could have seen it in the days ofthose old barons who once lived here. Isuppose they often came in through thatgateway, all in armour with their followers,and then, perhaps, their ladies came outfrom that long room with the windowarches to meet them. And their children.Oh I wonder if little girls ever ran aboutthese great rooms, and looked out of thosecurious arched windows. It is so grand,it seems as if only those great knights andladies I read about could live here. Andthen up on that tower, which is allcrumbling away, they set their banner.How much there is over the walls, andflowers too, the Snap-dragon and the Wall-flower. I suppose they have only grownhere since the castle became a ruin, andcannot tell me much about it. I willclimb up these rough steps, and get someWall-flower. Oh! here is a famous placeto sit down, and I can look over the old37 THE WALL-FLOWERgarden and the other side of the castle.There is not much of a garden now, itlooks as if only wild or stray flowers werein it.""WALL-FLOWER. " Yes, no one caresto cultivate the garden now, and all thedelicate flowers which wanted attentionhave died away. Only some hardy thingsremain straggling here and there."EVA. " But how did you get here ? Ishould not have wondered to find youdown below, among the rubbish, or in thegarden, but here you are waving aboutnearly at the top of the tower."WALL-FL. " I really do not know, butI suppose the birds or the wind may havecarried my seeds up, and dropped themamong these old crumbling stones, and asI like such a place, I have grown into'alarge plant. I always prefer, when I canhave quite my own way, growing on cliffs,or rough soft stone, and an old wall is mydelight. I have quite an affection forancient churches, and old castles, and you38 WANTS LITTLE WATER.may generally find me growing aboutthem."EVA. "You are an ornament to them,I think, and you look so bright andcheerful on these grey broken walls; Iam glad you like such a place, for you areprettier than the ivy, which covers somuch of them.""WALL-FL. "If you are careful toobserve flowers, you will find that, eventhe most desolate spot, has some whichlove to grow about it, and adorn it; andmore than that, tell everywhere of theirgreat Creator's presence and love. Hebuilt the niighty rocks, and stretched thevast deserts and plains, and He also madethe small delicate flower, which grows onthem, and gave its beauty, and providedit with the nourishment necessary for it.On this dry wall, where few plants wouldbe able to live, I find all I want, and enjoymyself as much, as other flowers could doin the richest soil; I grow with a rootclinging loosely to the mouldering mass39 THE WALL-FLOWERaround me, but the rain freshens me, andthe sunshine draws out my branches, andopens my flowers. Little girl, the lovingHand which gives me my nourishment,and painted my flower, guards and feedsyou, and will always provide for you, whoare of more value than a poor Wall-flower."EvA. "That is like what the Mosssaid to Mungo Park when he was faintingin the sand, and he took courage andmanaged to get on to where a poorAfrican woman lived, who took him inand gave him food. 0 I do not won-der that people love flowers."WALL-FL. "A young man was herethe other day who was fond of climbingabout these ruins, and searching intoevery nook, and he scrambled up thebroken steps you have mounted, and sat'here for some time. While he wasresting, he wrote some lines in pencil, andhid them in a hole somewhere close tome. They are rather fanciful, but you40 PRAISED IN PENCIL LINES.may like to see them; perhaps you canfind them."EVA. " I will look. Yes, here is a bitof folded paper with something written.What does he say ?SFlower of the cliff and ruin,Waving thy branches freeOver the mouldering castle wall,Welcome art thou to me.'Like a flag of victory setBy Time on these old towers,Thou wavest over council halls,And scenes of festal hours.'Like to a gentle sportive childIn Fancy's eye thou art,Cheering, with simple mirthful ways,An aged pilgrim's heart.'And is it Fancy's eye aloneCan in thy flowret traceThe figure of the Cross of HimWho saved our blighted race ?'It may be; yet I love that form,And wheresoe'er 'tis set,In humble herb, or blossom gay,No poison will be met.'-C. M.There are some more lines, but they arenot plainly written, and I cannot make41 THE WALL-FLOWERthem out. What does the last versemean?"WALL-FL. " If you look at my shapeyou will see that my petals are placedcrosswise, opposite each other. I belongto a very large class of plants, having thatarrangement of petals, and called fromit Cruciform or Cruciferous. None arepoisonous, and by far the greater numberare valuable as food or medicine, thoughsome are bitter or acrid. You are no doubtwell acquainted with many of our tribe,for the Turnip and the Cresses belong toit, as well as the Cabbage and severalother plants."EVA. " I never thought of you and theTurnip or the Cabbage as related. Aretheir flowers like yours, really? ""WALL-FL. " They are exactly the samepeculiar shape, suggesting the idea of across. We all have four petals insertedin a rather long green calyx, and sixstamens, of which four are longer thanthe two others. Our seeds are contained42 LOVED BY BEES.either in a short pod or pouch, or in along narrow pod, with generally a divisiondown the centre. Our roots are long andtaper, with fibres springing from them, andour leaves are of different shapes, thoughgenerally slender and pointed. But youcan hardly mistake the flowers of ourrace, they are all of the same type; andwhether large and gay-looking like myfamily and the Stocks, or small and deli-cate like some of the Cresses, the formand number of the petals and stamens isthe same."EVA. " I have seen the bees very busyin your flowers, and among the Stocksalso ; so I suppose you give them honey?"WALL-FL. "Yes, we have two littlereceptacles for honey at the base of thestamens, and as both myself and theCommon Stock are hardy flowers, andbloom when others are scarce, in earlyspring and late autumn the bees are veryglad of our supplies."EVA. "Your flower is a very simple43 THE WALL-FLOWER.one. I can count the stamens easily, andhere is the pistil in the middle. Let melook at your seed."WALL-FL. " You see it is contained ina long pod, called a silique, which has twovalves, with a central division betweenthem, and to this the seeds are attached.The Stock has the same seed vessel, andso have the Cress, Cabbage, and Mustardplants ; but some of our order have shortpouches or silides."EVA. "I need not ask you muchabout your colours, for I have seen youso often, and I think you are always of ayellow or brownish colour, or quite dark.I have often found you growing wild,also; but I never saw the Stock youspeak of, except in gardens. Does itgrow wild anywhere ?"WALL-FL. "Yes, in some places.The Matthiola Ericana, or HoaryShrubby Stock, grows in the Isle ofWight, near Niton, and the Great SeaStock, Matthiola Sinuata, loves the sands44 HOW USED IN OLD TIME.of Wales and Cornwall. It is a veryunpretending flower, and, by day, youmight think it hardly worth noticing, but,by night, it gives out a strong scent: itscolour is a purplish drab."EVA. "You said that none of yourrace were poisonous; are you useful forany thing? I know we eat Cabbagesand Turnips, and Cress, but are there anyothers that can be used ?""WALL-FL. "I really live so out of theworld up here, that I must confess myignorance of the virtues of most of myorder. I have watched the farmer plant-ing the fields below with Turnips andCabbages, and I have seen the sheepeating them very often ; so that I learnedthat they were good for food; and Isometimes see little Annie Wag go to thatbrook and gather Cresses to sell; but Icannot tell you about any others. In oldtimes I was thought useful in curingapoplexy and palsy, by a conserve madeof my flowers; but now this is no longer45 THE SHEPHERD'S PURSE.done, and the bees only extract anythingfrom me. Perhaps if you were to godown to the brook, or into the garden,you might hear the tale of some of myrelations living there."EVA. "I will run down there andlook for them; I cannot mistake theirflowers."WALL-FL. "Take care you do notslip over the broken stones, or get a falldown the steps. Good-bye, little girl, Ishall be glad to see you here again."EVA. " 0 what a quantity of flowersall cruciform are growing here! Whiteand yellow, with leaves so different. Ishall never know them all. Which shallI speak to? Here is one I know, theShepherd's Purse, perhaps it can tell meabout some of the rest."SHEPHERD'S PURSE. "YOu wonder tosee so many of us, but think of there being800 different species of us in the world,and 200 in Great Britain. I suppose weare so useful for cattle, or for men that46 WHY SO CALLED.we grow plentifully, and are found com-monly."EVA. " That is a wonderful number,indeed; I suppose you get your namefrom the shape of your pouch, which islike a little flat purse ?"SHEP. PURSE. " I believe so, it holdsmy seeds in two divisions or cells, and ifyou look round you will see that many ofmy companions here have pouches of thesame sort, called silides, though not allexactly alike."EVA. " Here is a curious looking seed,very large, with two flat green wings oneither side of the pouch, and such a tinywhite flower."SHEP. PURSE. "That is the PennyCress, so called because its seed vesselsare of the size of silver pennies. ThatCress and myself have leaves much alike;but, as you see, our order differ muchin the shape of their leaves, some beinglong and smooth, others notched, othersvery much divided into leaflets. Both47 THE SHEPHERD'S PURSE.myself and the Penny Cress were used insalads, and cooked as vegetables, as wellas esteemed for medicine in old times; butnow I think men have found out so manybetter herbs and plants, that they leaveus to the sheep, who still like us verymuch. The names of many of our tribeshow that for sauces and seasoning wewere once valued. Do you see thoseplants growing down on that sandy slopenear the sea ? They are Pepper Worts,and are worth looking at ; many years agothey were used a good deal to flavourdishes, and Poor Man's Pepper, as theywere called, supplied those who were notrich enough to afford the foreign pepper.We all have a pungent, acrid, or bitingflavour, which no doubt gained for ourdifferent species the names of PepperWorts, Hedge and Treacle Mustard, andsome others."*"* There are five kinds of Sinapis or Mustard; the Arvensisor Wild Mustard, often called Charlack, the Alba, theNigra, white and common Mustard, cultivated for salads, andalso for their seeds which are ground and prepared as a condi-48 WATER CRESSES.EVA. " So you are good both for eat-ing and for seasoning food. I like theMustard and Cress very much ; our gar-dener taught me to sow it in the shape ofmy name on a piece of flannel, and it cameup so quickly."SHEP. PURSE. "And I daresay youlike the Water Cress (Nasturtium Offici-nale); there is plenty of it in that littlebrook, which once filled the castle moat,and I often see a little girl come andgather it to sell; she has a sick mother,and with the pence she earns by hercresses, she buys a little tea or gruel forher, so that I always like to hear her cryin a sort of rhymeSOh, you whom peace and plenty blessCome buy my fine spring water-cress.'ment, and were once much valued as a medicine; the S. Terml-folia, Wall Rocket, distinguished by its pleasant smell resemblingalmonds, and growing about heaps of rubbish and old walls, andthe Sinapis Amralis, chiefly found in sandy fields near the sea.The Turritis, Sisymbrium, and Erysimum, Tower, Hedge,and Treacle Mustards are different species from the Sinapis andeach other, having each varieties of their own. They are verycommon in many parts of England, growing by hedge banks orin waste lands, and neither possess much beauty.D 49 THE SHEPHERD'S PURSE.Jbok there is some of it in blossom, you see;the flower is white, and like most of ourorder, the stem rises straight up, with theflower branching out on short stalks oneither side of it; the pod is long anddivided."EVA. " There is another flower I havefound growing by the brook which I seeis also of your family. It is prettier thanthe Cresses or Mustards, and larger too.I have often gathered it in spring, and itis a pet flower of mine, for it was the firstI found when I went into the fields afterI had had a bad fever, and was obliged tokeep in bed or in the nursery; Nursecalled it Lady Smock and'Cuckoo-flower."SHEP. PURSE. "Its botanical name isCardimine, and it is justly a favourite, forit is one of the earliest spring-flowers, andexceedingly pretty. It is sometimes lilacand striped with darker veins of the samecolour, sometimes nearly white. It comesout when the cuckoo is heard, which isthe reason it is called the Cuckoo-flower ;50 A USEFUL RELATION.but as you have chosen me to be thespeaker for my relations, I must tell youof one of them which was put to a differ-ent use from the rest, being used fordyeing a beautiful blue colour."EVA. "Does it grow near here, can Ifind it?"SHEP. PURSE. " Not now. Once I sawa plant of it growing on the rough groundabove me ; but it has disappeared, so Imust tell you what it is like. It has along oval shaped leaf, and a pretty delicateshaped yellow flower, whose petals arepointed, not round like most of us, andgive it a starry look. Its pouch is shortand wedge-shaped. A good deal of itgrew near here when I first remember thisplace, but it was all taken away exceptone stray plant; and, as I heard, it wasgathered by a dyer's man, for the sakeof the colour it gives. I believe its nameis Isatis, or Woad."EVA. "O then that is the plant Mammatold me about one day, when I was read-D2 51 THE SHEPHERD'S PURSE.ing about the Britons who painted them-selves blue. She said they did it withthe Woad. Was it not an odd thing topaint themselves all over with figures ofanimals or flowers, instead of wearingclothes ? But tell me some more of yourcousins."SHEP. PURSE. " O there are so many,I really cannot remember all their names,and you would be tired if I tried to tellyou all I know. You have seen a goodmany already; and, besides them, there isthe Alypum, which gardeners like to makeedgings to their borders with, and theCandy-tuft, and the Sea Rocket, and theSea Kale."EVA. "I have seen those, they growin our garden; and the Sea Kale is verynice to eat. But I wonder how peoplethought of making it a vegetable first."SHEP. PURSE. "The Crambe, or SeaKale, is not a near acquaintance of mine;but I have seen the fishermen taking ithome from the shore, and I heard them52 NEAR RELATIVES ABROAD.say it was almost as good as Asparagus.I suppose, as they cannot get much veget-able here, they are glad to eat that."EVA. "I assure you it is very good;but I daresay the gardener makes it growbetter than it does wild, for he takes greatcare of it, and puts it under boxes in abed made on purpose. The stalks arequite white when he brings them in tobe cooked. But what is that large clusterof white flowers growing down near thesands?"ScuRav GRAss. "1Ah, I have beenwondering if you would look at us, weare a very important species of the Cru-ciferous plants. My name is CochleariaOfficinAlis, or Common Scurvy Grass; andI have near relations in Denmark, Green-land, and other countries northwards.Look at me. You see the leaves at myroot are rather heart-shaped, while thoseup my stem are long, sessile (or withoutstalks), and slightly tobed, or divided intwo unequal parts. My pouch is nearly53 SCURVY GRASS.round like a globe. My relations are likeme, but their leaves are slightly different,and their pouches not so round asmine."EVA. "You have a very hard Latinname, and an ugly English one. Whyare you called Scurvy Grass ?"Sc. GRASS. " Have you never read ofa disorder the poor men are subject to,"who live much on salt food, called theScurvy ? I am thought very useful incuring it, and I generally grow near thesea, to be ready as a medicine against theeffects of the salt air and food."EVA. "0 yes. I remember readingof Capt. James' crew, who suffered verymuch from the Scurvy when they were inthe Arctic Seas; but they found vetchesto eat, which cured them."Sc. GRASS. "Any fresh green food isgood in such a case; but I possess peculiarproperties which make me useful in thatdisease. I must just mention a cousin ofmine to you now, whose acquaintance you54 COUSIN HORSE RADISH.have probably made before, the C. Aunor-acia, or Horse Radish."EVA. " I know him very well, and amvery fond of his root, though it bites mytongue. The gardener showed me theplant one day. It has large coarse leaves,and a greenish flower not very pretty."Sc. GRASS. "No, its flower is not sohandsome as mine, or as the GreenlandScurvy Grass. But now you have comedown here, let me introduce you to one ortwo of my more distant kin, who are liv-ing near me, and have the name of Grassin English as their surname. That prettyplant in the ditch, with a cluster of smallwhite flowers, marked with the yellowtinge of its stamens at the top of eachstalk, is the Draba Nicana, or TwistedWhitlow Grass. You may notice itsleaves are narrow and toothed, and itspouch twisted. I think it is a stray planthere, for it is rare, and loves the mountaintops. Its leaves are covered with a softwhite down, perhaps to keep them warm."55 * SCURVY GRASS.EVA. " Will it cure Whitlows, as it iscalled the Whitlow Grass ?"Sc. GRASS. "I have heard that its acridjuice, mixed with milk, will do so; but Iam not sure, for hot milk alone is verygood to put to them, and perhaps theDraba does not deserve its praise in curing.You can try next time you have a Whit-low on your finger."EvA. " Thank you, Mr. Scurvy Grass,I hope I shall not want to try such an ex-periment. Is that another Draba growingon the bank near ?"Sc. GRASS. " Yes, and a very elegantone; it is the Draba Verna, or VernalWhitlow Grass. Look at its fairy stemsrising without leaves from the circle ofpointed, hairy, and toothed leaves roundthe root; and its delicate flowers, two orthree at the top, and one or two againlower down."EVA. "It is indeed a fairy plant,I like those tiny white flowers so,much. I always wanted to find the56 DISTANT RELATIVES.Draba Verna, for I know some linesabout it:-'Thou simplest among flowers that live,Thriving where nought but thou couldst thrive;Dressing the most neglected spot-How cheering, Draba, is thy lot,To live in meekest beauty bright,In gloomiest time a joyous sight.'Full many a year I've noted thee,In that cold bed of poverty;Upon the ancient church wall grey,Catching in winter some mild day,To spread, e'er frost and snow were gone,Thy small bold floweret to the sun.' S. R.I must not stay here much longer; tell me,are there any more kinds of the WhitlowGrass? They are so pretty I want toknow them."Sc. GRASS. "Not here; but there is avery pretty kind called the Yellow AlpineWhitlow Grass. Its flowers are yellow,and about as high as those of the DrabaVerna, and its leaves are thickly clusteredtogether below. You will find also theDraba Muralis, or Speedwell W. Grass,57 SCURVY GRASSif you look about on limestone rocks, butit is rare."EVA. " Now I must try to rememberhow many of your race I know, for Ihave never seen such a large family before,and all good for something. If I werelike Robinson Crusoe, cast on a desertisland, I think I should be well off, if Ifound you all growing there, with someeggs or turtles to serve me for meat. Icould have Cabbage, and Turnip, andRadish, and Sea Kale for vegetables; andas there are many sorts of Cabbage* andTurnip, I should have plenty of variety.Then there are Mustards and Cresses ofmany kinds for salads, and Pepper Wortsfor seasoning. And if I was ill, besidesthe Scurvy Grass and Whitlow Grass,there are others of you good for medicine.I should make my garden gay with Wall-* The Brassica or Naven is the original of the hundreds ofvarieties of Cabbages which have been introduced into cultivation.It loves chiefly rocks by the sea-coast. This species is mostuseful as affording a good nourishment for cattle, and a widelycultivated vegetable for man, besides yielding in one of its varietiesthe oil called colza.58 HAS THREE CHIEF VARIETIES.flowers, Stocks, Candy-tuft, and Sea-Rocket; so you see I should get on verywell. I should like to make a collectionof you all in my dried flower book, now Iknow so many of you."Sc. GRASS. " Then you must arrangeus according to the shape of our seedvessels, not quite according to our uses.You will find we have three chief varietiesof pouch, and the plants which bear thesame English name do not always havethe same pod. There is the silide,or short pod, with two valves, and acentre partition like some of the Cresses,the Draba, the Pepperwort (Lepidum),and myself. Then there is a pouch, withonly one cell and one seed, like the SeaKale, the Sea Rocket, and the Isatis, orWoad. And the Silique, long pod, withtwo valves which belongs to the Cardi-mine, the Hedge, Treacle, and TowerMustards, the Wall-flower, the Stock, andthe Cabbage. The Radish stands alone,having a long pod without valves."59 SCURVY GRASS.EVA (sighing). " That is a good dealto remember, but when I arrange all theplants, I shall know them better. Well, Ilike you all very much, for you are souseful."Sc. GRASS. "Yet you may rememberthat though it is right to be thankful forall the good plants are to you in food andmedicine, you may be glad also of theirsimple beauty. Many, too, which are notdirectly useful to man, have their ownvalue in some way, though unknown toyou, and you may admire them, and lovethem just the same."EVA. "Yes, I remember-' God might have bade the earth bring forthEnough for great and small,The Oak tree and the Cedar tree"Without a flower at all.I Then wherefore, wherefore, were they madeAll beautiful and bright?To minister delight to man,To beautify the earthh'M. HOWITT."' Goodbye to you all."60 THE PINK.THE CARYOPHYLLEAE ORDER."Tiny dweller of the sod,Maiden Pink, the flower of God!Trustingly thy form arisethFrom thy low and grassy bed,And the heart the lesson prizethOn thy modest petals read;Cheeringly thou.seem'st to sayDo thy best though late thy day I"EVA. "There now, I have lost all thisbeautiful afternoon, and had nothing todo that I liked; and all because thattiresome gardener would not let me havesome of his Carnations when I asked him.I don't see why he should have mindedletting me gather them, I think he mightas well have been kind. And then he saidthat wild flowers were best for children,61 THE CLOVE PINK.and that I could gather Pinks and Car-nations here. I am sure I see none."CLOVE PINK (bending from the cliffbeneath which Eva is sitting).* "Youmust use your eyes then, little girl; andyou will see many pretty things you donot yet know of. I can show you someabout here; and perhaps you will think,by and by, that the gardener is right aboutwild flowers being the best for children.But what makes you look so unhappy onthis lovely August afternoon?"EVA. "I only wanted to have somebeautiful Pinks and Carnations, that werein our garden, to make a nosegay for Rosie,as she is coming here to-morrow, and thegardener would not let me gather them;and I was very sorry, and did not knowwhat to do, so I wasted all the time Iought to have been at work, and was notready to go out with mamma. Was it not"* The Clove Pink grows near Sandown Castle, in Kent; alsonear Norwich, and on Rochester Castle.62 ITS CULTIVATED RELATIONS.tiresome? But how could the gardenersay that I might find Pinks and Carnationswild? Was he not laughing at me?"C. PINK. "Oh, no, he was quiteright ; though, perhaps, till you have learntto know us well, you may not think usworth comparing with the flowers in yourgarden."EVA. " Are you the same plant, then?But you are single, and not nearly sohandsome as our Pinks."C. PINK. "Yet we are of the samestock; and, indeed, I claim to be themost ancient by far. Your garden Car-nations are offshoots, transplanted frommy old family ; and (as I allow) improved,in some respects, by education and goodnurture. In the eye of a botanist, however,and in the opinion of those learned insuch matters, I and my wild cousins aremore perfect flowers than your favouritesof the garden."EVA. " How can that be ? Our Pinksand Carnations are larger and handsomer63 THE CLOVE. PINK.than you; they are quite double. I shouldhave thought they were more perfectflowers than the wild ones, which onlyhave one set of petals."C. PINK. '"If you will be patientenough to examine me, I think you willsee how it is that I am called the mostperfect flower of the two; you mayobserve that I have my five petals setround as a defence to the stigmas, andstamens in the centre of my calyx;these two latter, as being the means offorming my seeds, are considered the reallyimportant parts of the flower; and thepetals, though the more ornamental, arechiefly intended for a guard to them.So it is in every perfect flower; the petalsonly surround the pistils and stamens, andwhen their office of protecting them isdone, they fall off; but if you rememberthe Garden Carnation clearly, you willknow that the petals make up the chiefpart of the flower, and that though yousee the stigmas, the stamens are lost.64 WILD LIFE AND SEA BREEZES.They have been, by cultivation and theart of the gardener, turned into petals;adding to the beauty of the flower, butrendering it a sort of imperfect monster,in respect of its real character."EVA. "How very curious! but I likethese monsters, as you call them; and Ishould like to turn your single flowersinto double ones. Could I do it bytransplanting them into my little garden ? ". C. PINK. " I do not think you wouldsucceed in soon making much change;though, perhaps, if your soil is betterthan what we get here, and such as welike, you might have a double row ofpetals in a year or two; still it takes agood deal of care, and skill, and manage-ment, to render us the flowers which areconsidered the beauty of a greenhouse orborder; and, for my own part, I had ratheryou left me to wave wildly here in the sea-breezes, and be a pleasure to children, andthe bees and birds who wander here; yes,and even clever men love to find such asE 65 THE PINKS.we, blooming on waste walls and cliffs.It is not long ago that a good and wiseman wrote of a sister of mine, whodwells on Rochester Castle, these lines :-'The Castle Pink, the Castle Pink,How wildly free it waves,Exposed to every blast that blows,To every storm that raves.'It heedeth not the pelting rin,Nor whistling gales that sweep,Around the time-worn battlement,.Around the massy keep;But smileth still, and flourisheth,The various seasons through;For God he nourisheth the plantWith sunshine and with dew.'The swallow loves the Castle Pink;And now and then a bee,Borne upwards by a sudden gust,Clings to it lovingly;Like one who journeyeth afar,Where unknown realms extend,Whose heart is gladdened by the sightOf some familiar friend.'"H. G. ADAMS.EVA. "I did not know that wildflowers could be changed into gardenflowers, I thought they were verydifferent."66 WHAT CULTIVATION DOES.C. PINK. "Why, little maid, all theflowers you have in your garden areonly made to grow from plants and seeds,which, in this country, or some other,were natives of the woods, or rocks, orfields. They may be much changed, forgardeners can do a great deal by mixingdifferent soils for them, and also byrearing new kinds from seed; but theyall were wild once. Your beautifulRoses are relations of the pretty RosaCanina, which I see clinging round thatold stump over there; and your Pansiesare only cousins of the little modestHeartsease, which every shepherd-boyknows."EVA. "I ought to have thought ofthat; and Papa told me that though wehave to take such care of our Geraniums,and keep them in the greenhouse all thewinter, they grow wild in Spain andAfrica."C. PINK. "It would be an amusingtask for you to find out where all theS2 67 THE PINKS.plants you admire in your garden grewin their native state, and to trace thechanges they have undergone, and thenew varieties they have gained. Manyof them are strangers, and come fromdifferent countries, and other climatesthan ours; but you may find severalhave relations of their old family stockin our own meadows and waste lands."EVA. "I shall do that, perhaps, byand by; but now I like talking to youbest, and as you have begun'telling mesomething about yourself, I want to heara little more. I do think you very prettyand very sweet, too, and if I had not beenso vexed about the Carnations, I shouldhave felt more surprised to see you here.I never found any Pinks wild near ourown home."C. PINK. "That is likely, for ourfamily do not grow everywhere. Welike dry gravelly soils, and I never growexcept in such places as this. Indeed,some people have doubted whether I was68 THE FAMILY OF PINKS.a truly wild flower; but I have lived somany years free, and sprung up just likea native here, that I quite forget whetherI ever was brought from other parts. Imust tell you that I am the original ofthe Carnation, not of the Pink in yourgarden; and, though of the same orderand tribe, the two plants are quite dis-tinct; and the seed of one will neverproduce the other, much alike as theyseem."EVA. "Then is there a wild Pinkfrom which the garden ones come ?"C. PINK. " Yes, there are the DeptfordPink, the Proliferous Pink, the MountainPink, and the Maiden Pink. The twofirst are common in Kent, and some otherparts of England; but the two latter arevery rare-the Mountain, or CheddarPink, only grows on the Cheddar Cliffs inSomersetshire; and the Maiden Pinkloves a gravelly soil, but is shy and un-common. We are nearly related alsoto the Sweet William, which, in its wild69 THE PINKS.state, is a sister of mine; or rather, Iought to say, it is a variety of my plantcultivated."EVA. "You are all very pretty in-deed, and quite fit to make nosegays of.I will make one for Rosie, only I wishthere were more of you, and that theMountain and the Maiden Pink grewhere too."C. PINK. "Though they do not, youmay find many very elegant and beautifulflowers, not far off, belonging to our tribe;for, both in colour and in form, we boastmuch loveliness. But before you go togather any, let me tell you our chiefmarks and peculiarities."EVA. "I see one thing that I thinkbelongs to you especially, for I have notnoticed it in other plants. You have acurious jointed stem, like a reed."C. PINK. Yes, our stems are slightand hollow, of the same construction asthe grasses; and these joints are tostrengthen them. All the plants of our70 FAMILY DIFFERENCES.order have such stems, hollow tubes, withjoints at intervals, from which springgenerally a pair of leaves; or, if not per-fect leaves, there are the rudiments ofthem. My leaves, and those of the Pinktribe, are long and grass like; and, as yousee, some spring from the root; and othersgrow in pairs up my stem. Then mycalyx is scaly, there are two small scalyleaves fitting round its base, and the calyxitself is a tube toothed at the top. Ihave two styles or pistils, and the numberof my stamens is the same as my petalsgenerally. My capsule, or seed-vessel,opens at the top with four valves, and theseeds are flattened. In these points, allmy nearest relations, whom I have al-ready named to you, agree: our differ-ences are only slight-such as variety ofsize, colour, the exact shape of the petalsor of the leaves, and the texture of thestalk. These you will easily learn todiscover, if you are observing andcareful."71 THE PINKS.EvA. "But how do people know whichare your nearest relations, and which areonly of the same tribe, and not really be-longing to you ?"C. PINK. "All plants which have acalyx and corolla are classed together,that makes a distinction between themand those that have not these two. Then,again, each class (for there are two besides)has many orders in it, distinguished fromone another by the number of theirstamens, petals, ovaries, and other marks.You would, for instance, easily know anyof my order, by the four or five petalscollected into a tube, the single ovary, theposition of the stigmas, and the capsuleopening by twice as many teeth as thereare styles. Most of this order are grass-looking, or shrubby plants, with brightcoloured petals. I have gone into thisexplanation, that you might better under-stand the answer to your question. Nowall plants in a tribe have the same generallook, and are much alike in their form and72 COUSIN WILLIAM.way of growth ; but yet there are differentspecies which can be easily told from oneanother. You know me, and your gardenPinks, and Sweet Williams, we are all onespecies; and if you look a little way off,you will see one or two other species ofour tribe, the Catchfly and the CornCockle. They are like me in their wayof growth, the parts of their flower andtheir formation of seed; but you can seeat once that they are not very closely re-lated. You would not mistake them forone of us, I am sure."EVA. " No, I can quite see that; and Imight easily mistake one Pink for another ;they are only different in their size andcolour."C. PINK. "Or in other trifling alter-ations of the original; so that there maybe many varieties, yet all nearly related,and in the same species. Now run up tothat field and gather all the flowers youcan find, and I may be able to introduceyou to some of my cousins."73 THE CORN COCKLE(Eva runs away singing):-" Oh fair and gay are the sweet wild flowers,Decking the lonely woodland bowers;Peeping out from the hedges in beauty shy,Hiding deep in the dells from the curious eye."" They cheer each waste and uncultured place,They twine the.old wall with a fairy grace;Round the fallen tree-boughs they fling their wreath,And carpet richly the soft turf beneath."C. M.EVA. " What a number of flowers,and so many pretty ones! Now I willfind out for myself the cousins of my newacquaintance, the Pink. Let me see; Ithink you are one, for you have certainlya jointed stem with a pair of leaves grow-ing from the joints, and your leaves areslender and long, though less like grassthan those of the Pink."CORN COCKLE. "You are right, I amof the same tribe ; but you must not trustto the shape of the leaves, as they oftenvary. Look at my calyx, and you will seeit is of the same form as that of the Pink,though not scaly, but rough and hairy; and74 A TROUBLESOME BEAUTY.if you examine my flower, you will see ithas five petals, undivided at the base. Ifyou had come a week earlier, I shouldhave been in greater beauty, for July ismy favourite month. Gather this branch,and you will see my seed. The calyx istube-shaped, but ends in long fine leaves, asI must call them; which both guard thebud and protect the seed while ripening."EVA. "What pretty, shining blackseeds you have But though you aresuch a lovely flower, I suppose the farmerdoes not much like you to grow amonghis corn?"C. COCKLE. "NO; I am treated as aweed, and pulled up without mercy. Iconfess, however, that there is good reasonfor this. My seeds, like those of many ofmy relations, contain a juice which hurtsthe corn, and would make the flour full ofblack spots. This very juice, however, isuseful in its way, it is called Saponine, orSoapy ; and though I have not enough ofit to be employed, there is a plant, the75 THE CORN COCKLE.Soap Wort, nearly related to me, which ismuch used for cleansing cloths and woolin Italy. You may, perhaps, see it someday; but it does not grow commonly wild.It has a large cluster of pale pink blossomsgrowing on a stem."EVA. "I did not know that soap couldbe got from plants.".C. COCKLE. " Not such soap as you use;but a juice which cleanses and answersthe same purpose is found in many plants."EVA. " Ah, there are the flowers I usedto play with in our fields at home, the Cam-pions and the Ragged Robins. I will lookif they are of the sort I want. Oh, yes!they have the same stem, only ratherthicker and hairy, and the leaves rougherand wider; that does not much signify, thecalyx is right, and the petals are five.But the stamens are very different, someshort, some long and thick; but that willnot matter, I suppose. I am rather puz-zled about the Ragged Robin, it is such afunny flower, cut into ribbons. But it has76 THIRSTY RAGGED ROBIN.only five real petals, I see; so it must be ofthe same tribe."RAGGED ROBIN. "Yes, I am, indeed;and my graceful stem and light flowersare thought very pretty. I like the riverbanks better than such a dry place as this.I rather think I must have come here byaccident."EVA. "I am very fond of you. I oftenhave gathered you by our own littleriver at home, among the reeds andrushes."R. ROBIN. "As you have put me amongthe Bladder Campions and Sea Campions,I may as well tell you that their species isnot the same as mine. I am a Lychnis,and they are Silene. I and my specieshave five styles, they have three. Mystalks are woolly, or hairy; and theirs areoften sticky from the juice in them."EvA. "Is that why I see some littleinsects clinging to this one ? They musthave got on the stem, and then been heldby the sticky hairs."77 THE LYCHNIS.LYCHNIS. "Very likely; and so someof the Silene are called Catchfly."EVA. " It is very difficult to know youall, one from another. You are alike inyour shape, and yet there are so manylittle things which divide you from eachother."LYCHNIs. " You must pull a good manyof us to pieces, and observe very care-fully all our differences, and then youwill learn by degrees to know us. Itis by the number of our styles, thedivisions of our capsules, or some par-ticular quality in us, that our speciesare known."EVA. "What a pretty little edging,like a crown, the Red Campion has roundits petals where they meet."LYCHNIS DIURNA. " That is called beingcrowned; and many of our tribe have thesame."EVA. "Now I really cannot leave thatdear flower, the Stitch Wort, thoughI see only a few fading blossoms now. I78 BEAUTY IN ROUGH COMPANY.do not think it can be a relation of thoseI have gathered already ; but it is such adarling flower. What a beautiful daythat was in May, when Mamma took meinto the woods, and we walked throughthose pretty lanes, and gathered basketsfull of flowers. I shall always love theStitch Wort, it looked so lovely on thebank among the Nettles, and I was sohappy. Let me see if I can remember thelines I learnt about it.'Thou spotless and lovely star of the earth,Though 'mid weeds thou hast thy birth,Thy snowy cup is free from stain,Unsullied by dust, uninjured by rain.'Though in beauty a mate for the fairest flowers,Content thou dwellest in humble bowers,Blooming amid the coarse Nettle and Thorn,Thy delicate sprays by the rough bank worn.'Pure as the Lily thy petals of white,And golden as hers thy stamens so bright ;Yet freely thou grow'st by the wayside drear,The traveller's lonely spirit to cheer.'0, starry flower, would that I could beIn simple purity like unto thee ;My spirit all cleans'd from sinful stain,Abiding calmly vexations or pain.79 THE STITCH WORT0 would that like thee I could do my part,With a meek, and humble, and loving heart;Contented to dwell where God sets my place,And adorn my lot with each christian grace.'May He who hath formed thee so spotless and fair,His praise by the travel-worn road to declare,Make me by His Spirit a holy shrine,Filled and brightened ever, by love Divine.'C. M.Now I have quite a large nosegay, andI will go back and show my friend, thePink, all his relations; though I am not atall sure that these white flowers, a littlelike the Stitch Wort, are really of theorder. Here, Mr. Clove Pink, I havebrought you a great many of your cousins,all these Campions, and Corn Cockles,and Catchflies, are of your order, I know;but I am not so certain about this prettyflower, though I see its stem is jointedlike yours, and the leaves opening out inthe same way."C. PINK. "Ah, the Stitch Wort, theStellaria Holostea! Yes, it is of ourorder; but not so nearly related to us asthe Lychnis and Silene. They and my80 THE CANARY'S FAVORITE.tribe all are of the Silenes, but the Stitch"Worts, the Chickweeds, and some others,are of the Alsinem tribe. I am glad youhave brought these, and it can be scarcelynecessary to point out to you the greatbeauty and elegance of the Stellaria.You may observe that the Alsines haveall the sepals distinct, instead of a tube inwhich the petals are inserted; and thestamens unite in a ring beneath thecapsule. The seed vessel is round andflattened."EVA. "I am very fond of the StitchWort, and I like also this little Chickweed,which my canary devours so eagerly. Isuppose, though I see some differencebetween these flowers, they are onlyvarieties of the Stellaria?"C. PINK. "Yes; and you can learn toknow them by degrees. I see you havefound a little of the Sea Purslane, andSand Wort, which are also Alsinea."EVA. "I shall try to look more atr 81 THE PINK'Sthem another day; but now I see the sunis setting, and I must go in. I have avery fine nosegay for Rosie, though it ismade of wild flowers, and I dare say shewill like it quite as well as if the gardenerhad given me a bunch of his Carnations."C. PINK. " She will, I am sure; andthe more you examine the wild flowers,the more beautiful they will appear. Youreyes cannot even see half their colouringand beauty. I have heard a botanist saythat, seen through a microscope, our formand tints are wonderful. Do not grumbleanother time then if you are not allowedto have just what you want, but try tocontent yourself with what you may have.You will often, if you cheerfully take adisappointment and turn to something else,find pleasure you did not expect; at leastyou will escape the pain of fretting."EVA. "I have had a great deal ofpleasure I did not expect this afternoon,and more than, I am sure, I deserved. I82 GOOD NIGHT.will try not to fret and waste my time,another day. Goodbye, I will come again,if I can, and see you. Goodnight; thesun is set. Goodnight." LINEE .FLAX TRIBE."But then out comes the Flax-flower,As blue as is the sky;And 'tis a dainty little thing'We say as we go by."M. HOWITT.(EVA, standing near a cottage in Scotland,talking to the good dame).*SCOTCHWOMAN. " And so you like ourhills, and the bonny heather, my bairn, doyou?"EvA. " Oh! yes; I never saw anythingso beautiful before. The hills are purplewith the heather; and I like to hear thesheep-bells,, tinkling here and there, andsee the great shepherd dogs, watchingtheir flocks and the cows so carefully.* We do not attempt to give the Scotch dialect; but havetranslated the good dame's language into English.84 THE SCOTCH SHEPHERD'S COT.Such a kind little girl gave me a ride onher rough pony just now; she said shewas waiting for her father, who was goneafter some sheep, that had strayed downinto the hollow."SCOTCHWOMAN. "That was my JeanieI daresay. My gudeman is shepherd tothe laird at the big house up there; andplenty of work the sheep make for himsometimes, straying about, poor things.Jeanie helps her father in looking aftersome of them; and our dogs are wonder-fully knowing about the flock, they willwatch better than man or boy."EVA. "And this is your cottage Itis smaller than what our shepherd livesin, a great deal. I thought it was only agreat heap of turf, when I saw it first.Is it comfortable inside ? "SCOTCHWOMAN. " We find it very com-fortable; and our folk have lived heremany, many a year. Come in, my bairn;ye're welcome to look at the old place.There is my father in the corner of the85 THE SCOTCH SHEPHERD.hearth, he has sat there for six years, eversince my brother died, and he wasobliged to leave his own house. He isquite blind, and very nearly deaf."EVA. " Poor old man; how sad forhim not to be able to see any of you, orhear you either !"SCOTCHWOMAN. "He takes it verypatient, and is most times very cheery.He tells us sometimes, that he sits andthinks of the place, where the eyes of theblind shall see clearly, and the deaf earsshall be unstopped. He knows his Biblealmost by heart, and can say wholechapters, without any of us helping him."EVA. "It is a snug little place in here,and feels very warm; but I never sawanything in England like it. And is thatyour garden ?"SCOTCHWOMAN. "'Tis not much of agarden, bairnie; we have but a poorground, with plenty of stones in it; we dojust manage to grow our potatoes, andmake a little hay for the cow."86 HOW LINEN IS MADE.EVA. "But what is that pretty blueflower, which grows so thick on thatpatch of ground, with a fence of stonesall round?"SCOTCHWOMAN. " Ah, that's our Flax-field, a precious bit of ground it is; Ispin all the thread for our own linen fromthat Flax, and then my cousin Davieweaves it. I have got a good sight offair white linen in my chest, and all oursheets I spun myself, and bleached themtoo."EVA. "But how do you get threadfrom that plant? I see nothing to makeit."SCOTCHWOMAN. " Look here, my bairn;I will shew you: this stalk is what weget the thread from, it has very strongfibres, and when all the softer green partsare got rid of, we spin the fibres intothread."EVA. " It does not look much likethread now."SCOTCHWOMAN. " No, there is a great87 LINEN-SPINNING.deal to be done with it, before it will lookso. We have plenty of work in our Flax-field, from first to last. There is theground to pick over, and get ready, whichJeanie, and my two boys, and I, do mostlyourselves, for my gudeman has not thetime; then we have to keep it weeded,when the Flax is sown, and comes up; andwhen the seed is ripe, we pull the plant,and prepare it for spinning."EVA. " I should like to see you spin, Inever saw anyone do that."SCOTCHWOMAN. " This is my spinning-wheel, and this we call the quern. I turnthe wheel, and keep the Flax twisting inmy fingers, and it comes into thread."EVA. "Is it easy to do? It looksrather nice work."SCOTCHWOMAN. "I find it very easy,but Jeanie cannot yet do it evenly enough,she breaks the Flax sometimes, and makesrough parts in her thread; so you see itwants practice to do well. I have spunever since I was a nine-year-old child, and88 A SOAKING.when I married, I brought a good store oflinen to my husband's house. We werericher then, and had a little farm of ourown; but we lost a good deal afore Jeaniewas born. However, the Lord be praised,we do very well."EVA. " That Flax looks quite differentfrom the plant; it is more like Tow."SCOTCHWOMAN. "Tow is only thewaste parts of another plant, calledHemp ; and it is rather like this to lookat; but the Flax is much finer. You seewe have to do a great deal to the stalksbefore the Flax can be spun; they aresoaked in water a long time, and thendried to remove the soft green part, andonly leave the strong fibre which makesthe thread."EVA. "And then when you havespun this Flax, you weave it; do younot ? "SCOTCHWOMAN. "I have often helpedto weave it; but my cousin Daviegenerally does that for us; and we pay89 LINEN-BLEACHING.him, for he has a good loom. Ours isold and broken, there it lies in thecorner."EVA. " It has a little bit of cloth on itnow. I suppose it was broken before theweaving could be finished."SCOTCHWOMAN. "Yes, it was an oldthing; but my husband thought he couldmanage a bit of weaving on it. He wasobliged to leave it, though; and there ithas bided ever since. These threadsdownwards are called the warp, andthese which are passed to and fro by theshuttle are the woof."EVA. "What is done to make itwhite, for sheets do not look thatcolour ?"SCOTCHWOMAN. " Oh, we bleach it wellon the grass, before we make it intosheets. The pieces of linen are laid out,and watered, and left in the sun and airtill they become white."EvA. " People do not spin in England,I think; and I never saw any Flax there90 "FINE LINEN."growing. Does it grow anywhere but inScotland ?"SCOTCHWOMAN. "I have heard it isgrown in Ireland, and that they make agreat deal of linen there; and ye mind, mybairn, that they used to make fine linen inEgypt, as it says in the Bible. Oh! Idaresay the linen that Joseph wasarrayed in, was a deal finer than anywe make here. I have heard they usedto make it as fine and soft as silk."EVA. "I remember there is a greatdeal said in the Bible about people beingdressed in fine linen, and I suppose thebest was made in Egypt; for, now I re-collect, it says,' fine linen of Egypt.' Andthe rich man mamma read to me once about,.was clothed in purple and fine linen."SCOTCHWOMAN. "There is a betterfine linen than this, dear; do you mind, itsays the saints are clothed in fine linen,clean and white. God grant you and Imay have such a dress to appear beforeHim in !"91 CHEAP COTTON.EVA. " I do not think my clothes aremade of linen. My frock does not feellike that piece of linen, yet it is whitelike it."SCOTCHWOMAN. "Your frock is madeof cotton, bairnie, like my gown; only adeal finer, and it is not coloured. I haveheard that they get the stuff to make itof from a tree in foreign parts, America Ithink. It comes out of a pod like whitewool, and they spin and weave it just likeFlax. I suppose it is easier to come by,for most people wear it now instead oflinen. I don't like it so well, it doesn'twear, nearly so long as linen. JamieDonald, the travelling man, brought me apiece of it last May two years, and it wentinto holes long afore a linen thing wouldhave worn bare. To be sure, it wascheaper; but I thought to myself thestout home-made linen is not so dear inthe end."EVA. "I like the flower so much, it issuch a beautiful blue, and looks so grace-92 Contact Us | Permissions | Preferences | Technical Aspects | Statistics | Internal | Privacy Policy © 2004 - 2010 University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries.All rights reserved. Acceptable Use, Copyright, and Disclaimer Statement Last updated October 10, 2010 - - mvs


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Item #: D8006
Red Velvet Creme Torte
Sale Price$29.99
Additional Information
Product Details
Our bakery folks have done it again with this decadent dessert!
- Layers of red velvet cake
- Layers of cream cheese butter creme..with an extra dollop on top for good measure.
- Coated in Swiss Creme confection
- Hand decorated for the holidays
- 1 lb. 5 3/4 oz. net wt.
Additional Information
Ratings & Reviews
Red Velvet Creme Torte is rated out of 5 by 1.
Rated 5 out of 5 by JerseyJo from If You Like Red Velvet Cake ~ You'll LOVE This!! I purchased this a month or so ago for our Wedding Anniversary treat for two. We both LOVE Red Velvet Cake when it's done right. This Red Velvet Creme Torte did not disappoint. It was incredibly and amazingly delicious. PERFECT & DONE RIGHT!! We're back for another. TRY IT & ENJOY!!
Date published: 2019-10-14
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Question & Answer
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burns after I urinate and I get pains in my abdomin?
March 30th, 2011
Okay my question is, I recently went to the doctor because I had lower abdominal pain and it burned when I urinated. When i went they had me do a urin specimen and they said that everything was negitive. They didnt know why this was happening, so they gave me Ciproflocacin. I'm on the medicine but it still kind of burns after I urinate and I get the pains in my abdominal area happen like twice a day. Could this mean that i have a STD?
P.S. I did have sex, but it was with a condom.
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Dr. Kokil Mathur
replied April 6th, 2011
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Answer A21599
Hi, and thanks for your medical question on eHealth forum!
Pain in the lower abdomen and/or pelvis, and vagina can be due to infection, pelvic inflammatory disease, UTI, STD, uterine fibroids, urinary bladder infection or cystitis. If you do not have any discharge and there is no other symptom then it can also be due to pinched nerve (either pudendal or spinal). These conditions are broadly classified as chronic pelvic pain syndrome. The intensity of pain depends on the degree of inflammation and thus compression. This can vary.
Since a confirmed diagnosis cannot be given on net please consult your gynecologist regarding this. Hope this helps. Take care!
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Welcome to the CHI (Chronic Histiocytic Intervillositis) Support website
Firstly, we're sorry that you've had to come visiting here if you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with this condition.
If you've been diagnosed with CHI and are hunting around the web for answers, it can be difficult to find research and having found it, you may not understand it fully. Research papers are inevitably written for other medical experts and are often hidden behind 'paywalls' that only those with university or hospital logins can access.
This site was not created by medical experts, it was instead created by people who have been affected by this condition. It does not promise any more answers than your own healthcare professional can provide, what it does provide is information, as much information as we can get our hands on. Every document that we have been able to find relating to CHI has been posted here and someone with medical knowledge has given a summary of its content. You can read them yourself or might find your health professional would be interested in their contents.
If you have further information, research or studies that you would like to add, or if you would like to get in touch, please feel free to contact us, or if you would like to get in touch with some of the women who have also been affected by this condition you can do so by joining us on Facebook. This is a small, private group with mostly English and French speakers. Note that our group is a closed group so your posts on there shouldn't be visible to anyone not in the group but you should review your privacy settings on Facebook to set them how you want.
If you are a researcher or journal editor and are unhappy with your content appearing here to help laypeople understand their condition, please do get in touch and we will remove it. We don't wish to reduce your journal income, merely to inform and empower.