MARCH. 45 
It is extremely white and glossy, and, being as soft as down, 
is in some places used for stuffing pillows. It is probably 
brittle, and therefore cannot be manufactured into any 
article of clothing ; but as the cattle are fond of its leaves I 
could almost wish that the farmer cultivated this pretty 
plant, that we might see whole fields of these waving feathers. 
As it grows usually in boggy places, some difficulty is expe- 
rienced in reaching it; but it is quite worth a little trouble, 
and will reward the young botanist both im a fresh state 
for inspection, and also as a pretty specimen for the collec- 
tion, as it dries very well. Mrs. 8. C. Hall must allude to 
this plant m her interesting work called “ Ireland, its cha- 
racter, scenery, &c.” Her guide up one of the mountains 
of Kerry brought her a “bunch of rushes, in all the downy 
beauty of their seed, and then blew off the down, which 
floated away like a small flake of snow.” In a note is 
added, “We have seen scores upon scores of bogs, 
looking like waving fields of snow from the immense 
quantity of this beautiful down, which floats its own seeds 
over the earth. It contrasts so well with the dark earth 
and the still darker mountains. The people sometimes 
gather it for gwiltimg, that is, as we use wadding. We 
