WHlTfc 



to Strike despair into the heart of the farmer, for this is, per- 

 haps, the •' peskiest " of all the weeds with which he has to con- 

 tend. As time goes on the blossoms begin to have a careworn 

 look and lose something of the cobwebby aspect which won 

 them the title of Queen Anne's lace. In late summer the 

 flower-stalks erect themselves, forming a concave cluster which 

 has the appearance of a bird's nest. I have read that a species 

 of bee makes use of this ready-made home, but have never seen 

 any indications of such an occupancy. 



This is believed to be the stock from which the garden car- 

 rot was raised. The vegetable was well known to the ancients, 

 and we learn from Pliny that the finest specimens were brought 

 to Rome from Candia. When it was first introduced into 

 Great Britain is not known, although the supposition is that it 

 was brought over by the Dutch during the reign of Elizabeth. 

 In the writings of Parkinson we read that the ladies wore carrot- 

 leaves in their hair in place of feathers. One can picture the 

 dejected appearance of a ball-room belle at the close of an enter- 

 tainment. 



WATER HEMLOCK. SPOTTED COWBANE. 



Cicuta maculata. Parsley Family. 



Stem. — Smooth ; stout ; from two to six feet high ; streaked with purple. 

 Leaves. — Twice or thrice-compound ; leaflets coarsely toothed. Flo2vers. 

 — White ; in compound umbels, the little umbels composed of numerous 

 flowers. 



This plant is often confused with the wild carrot, the sweet 

 Cicely, and other white-flowered members of the Parsley family ; 

 but usually it can be identified by its purple-streaked stem. The 

 umbels of the water hemlock are also more loosely clustered than 

 those of the carrot, and their stalks are much more unequal. It 

 is commonly found in marshy ground, blossoming in midsummer. 

 Its popular names refer to its poisonous properties, its root being 

 said to contain the most dangerous vegetable poison native to 

 our country, and to have been frequently confounded with that 

 of the edible sweet Cicely with fatal results. 



91 



