FLEUR-DE-LIS 



going on round every pond and loch, and by every river 

 side. 



If you look carefully round the edge of a loch or pond 

 which lies in a grass field, certain series of plants are gener- 

 ally found to follow one another in quite a definite way. 

 The first sign of water in grass is generally the presence of 

 moss or " fog " between the grass-stems and the appearance 

 of what farmers call the " Blue Carnation Grass." It is not 

 a grass but a sedge {Carex glauca or C paniced) with leaves 

 rather like those of a carnation. A little nearer the border 

 of the pond, there may be a tall coarse grass {Air a caes- 

 pitosa or Festuca elatior). Next there is almost certain to 

 be a fringe of Rushes. Where the Rushes begin to find the 

 ground too wet for them, all sorts of marsh plants flourish, 

 such as Water Plantain, Cuckoo-flower, the Spearwort 

 Buttercup, Woundwort, and the like. As soon as the 

 actual water begins, one finds, whilst it is still shallow, the 

 Flag series of yellow or purple Irises, Bogbeans, Marsh 

 Cinquefoil, Mare's Tail, and Sedges of various kinds. In 

 this part the water ranges from an inch or two to about 

 eighteen inches deep. 



The Flag or Iris is a very common and yet interesting 

 plant. It has a stout, fleshy stem lying flat on the mud, 

 and anchored to it by hundreds of little roots. The flower 

 is the original of the Fleur-de-lis, or Lily of France, which 

 took the fancy of the King of France as he rode through the 

 marshes towards Paris. (It is true that there are some un- 

 romantic authors who hold that the emblem was really 

 intended to represent a frog or toad !) 



The flower consists of three upright petals and three 

 hollow sepals, which make so many canals leading down to 

 the honey, and roofed over by an arched and coloured style. 



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