STAR OF BETHLEHEM.

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petals, more or less tinted with green on the outside, six stamens, and no calyx.

The common Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellátum) is a familiar plant in gardens, its pure white clusters of stars appearing before the leaves. I found it growing freely in fields near Goostrey, in Cheshire, flowering early in May. The blossoms close towards evening.

"Pale as a pensive cloistered nun,

The Bethlehem Star her face unveils
When o'er the mountain peers the sun,
But hides it from the vesper gales."

The Drooping Star of Bethlehem (O. nútans) is a beautiful plant; the large half-closed flowers hang from either side the tall stem. The buds are greatly tinged with green, and little stripes and stains of it remain upon the mature flower, adding to the beauty of the intense white of the petals. I first saw the plant in the botanical gardens at Edinburgh, and was eager to make interest with the officials for a specimen; but since I have found it wild near Forcett, in the North Riding of Yorkshire.

My specimen of the Tall Star of Bethlehem (O. pyrenaicum) comes from Freshford, in the Bath neighbourhood. The young buds were formerly sold as pot-herbs in the Bath market; it is very abundant in that district. The plants sent to me were upwards of a foot high, and the flowers were thickly set upon the stem for half its length. The petals have a cream-coloured hue, and are tipped with green; they are narrower than in the other species, and the flowers smaller. The general expression of the spike reminds one of a Butterfly Orchis. It blooms in June and July.

The Yellow Star of Bethlehem (O. lúteum) grows in fields off Wicliffe Lane, near Ripon. It is a smaller plant than any of its brethren, and has a pair of leaves set on with its flowercluster as well as from the root. But few flowers grow in each cluster; they are yellow within and green on the outside. This species flowers earlier than its companions. We used to gather it when seeking for Sweet Violets in April.

Of the Garlic family we have very few species.

The Great Round-headed Garlic (Állium ampeloprásum) grows on the Steep Holmes. The Sand and Mountain Garlics (A. arenárium and A. carinátum) I have never seen; these three species have flat leaves.

The Streaked Field Garlic, and the Crow Garlic (A. oleráceum and A. vineále) have roundish leaves; the latter I have found both at Clevedon and near Warminster. It has a round head often bearing bulbs as well as flowers; and, in common with all those species I have named, it has one or two long leaves upon its tall stem.

The Broad-leaved Garlic (A. ursínum) is by far the prettiest member of the family. Its flowers are white, very much resembling a Star of Bethlehem, and they grow in an umbel. I have seem people, unaccustomed to wild flowers, spring upon it with great delight and gather a handful of its blooms, praising their beauty all the while; but then comes the recoil-the Garlic scent is overpowering, and everything that touches the plant is strongly perfumed by it. A friend of mine who, though delicate in health, is perfectly free from any affectation, and is an eager botanist, had a piece of this Broad-leaved Garlic brought to her in a glass of water to paint. Before she had been engaged many minutes with her sketch she became so sick that it was necessary to remove the plant or she would have fainted. It is very common in woods. This and the Chive Garlic have both naked stalks; the stem is triangular, or shaped like an awl. The Chive Garlic (A. schoenoprásum) grows on the coast of Cornwall, but I did not find it. It has a round stem, and a cluster of purple flowers. It is often cultivated for the sake of its leaves, which make an agreeable pot-herb.

My specimen of Fritillary comes from Oxford, where it grows freely in meadows. It has a stem about a foot high, with two or three grass-shaped glaucous leaves growing upon it, and at the end a large drooping bell formed of six petals all dappled with chocolate, and white and green. Old Gerarde calls it "the Chequered Daffodil," and describes it as having "narrow

grassy leaves, among which there riseth up a stalk three hands high, having at the top a flower of six leaves, chequered most strangely, surpassing the most curious painting that art can set down" (Fritillaria meleagris).

The TULIP is the next family in the Amaryllis order, and it is a scarce plant. It is found sparingly in the vicinity of Knaresborough, and I have had specimens from Suffolk, and near Marlborough, in Wilts. It is a gorgeous flower of six large bright yellow petals. Like our garden Tulip, it is bell-shaped at first, but opens wide like a star, before falling. The broad glaucous leaves resemble those of the garden species.

We now pass on to the Meadow Saffron tribe, which consists of two families, each having but one member.

The Meadow Saffron (Cólchicum autumnále, fig. 78, next page) is a very pretty plant, adorning the pastures in the autumn with its multitude of Crocus-like flowers. It differs from the Crocus in having six stamens instead of three; it has also six lilac petals and no calyx. The seed remains concealed underground during the winter, and in the spring the capsules appear, along with the large bright green leaves. These capsules are gathered to be sold to the druggist; and from them a powerful medicine is prepared, which is very useful in cases of gout and rheumatic affections. The Meadow Saffron grows abundantly in fields between Ripon and Aldfield, and in similar pastures in Swaledale; an equal abundance is found around Warwick. Cattle avoid this plant, and the French evidently suppose that it poisons dogs, as they call it "Mort aux chiens."

The Scottish Asphodel (Tofiéldia palustris) is the one representative of its family; it grows four or five inches high, and its small yellowish flowers are arranged in an oval head. I have no specimens of it.

The RUSH order, with its three families of Rushes, Wood Rushes and Asphodel, comes next. Few account the Rushes an interesting family, but I have a good opinion of them on our Yorkshire moors. When land is forming on boggy ground, the Rush is a great assistance. Wherever it gets hold the earth

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becomes consolidated round it, and when you get into a swamp, and do not know where to step, fearing that the inviting moss will sink under your feet, you have only to descry a cluster of

Meadow Saffron (Cólchicum autumnàle).-A, bulb with flowers; B, bunch of leaves and capsules; C, ovarium and styles; D, seed-vessel cut across.

Rushes and you know that there is a safe footing; or, as the country people say, "there's a bottom."

The common Rush (Júncus conglomerátus), with its dense

head of flowers diverging from the stalk, is familiar to all; and the Soft Rush (J. effúsus), with its branched panicle, is scarcely less frequent. I have found these on wet ground wherever I have been.

Of the Rushes with leafy stems I have three species.

The Moss Rush (J. squarrósus) I found at Brimham Rocks. It has no leaf till very near the base of the stem, and its branched clusters of flowers have bright yellow stamens. It has numerous channelled leaves growing in tufts from the root.

The Sharp-flowered Jointed Rush (J. acutiflórus) has joints in the stem, and grows in woody places. It is a larger plant than the last.

The Shining-fruited Jointed Rush (J. lampocárpus) is distinguished by its large polished capsules. I found it near Little Ouseburn.

The Toad Rush (J. bufónius) is a branched plant, with slender stems, and leaves at the branches. The petals, or rather sepals-for the Rushes have a calyx but no corolla-are of a white membrane, with little green veins up them. In the full sunshine the flowers expand, and then they look like tiny stars. The ditches by the roadsides in Kent abound with it.

Often the little Round-fruited Rush (J. compréssus) grows along with the Toad Rush. Its stars are brown, and its stem and leaves stiff. Both these species have leafy stalks.

The Mud Rush (J. cœnósus) I found at Clevedon. It is about four inches high, with a branched cluster of flowers, and crimson stamens.

The Bog Rush (J. uliginósus) is a very delicate little plant, the smallest in the family. The stem is leafy, and bulbous at the base. The flowers are in heads, about three together; each plant has a very few heads. I found it near the Looe Pool, in Cornwall.

The Hard Rush (J. gláucus) is slender, tough, and glaucous. Its panicle is smaller than that of the Soft Rush, and grows lower down in the naked stalk.

I believe I was wrong when I said the Bog Rush was the