58 THE GARDEN OF EARTH 



" There in thy scanty mantle clad, 

 Thy snawy bosom smiward spread, 

 Thou lifts thy unassmning head 



In humble guise ; 

 But now the share uptears thy bed, 



And low thou lies ! " ^ 



Another plant, neither pretty nor sweet but very 

 common, may have a moment's attention, the Wild 

 Parsley. It grows in fields and waste grounds, and a 

 second name for it is " Fools' Parsley." It looks so 

 like real Parsley that children have sometimes eaten 

 and have been made ill by it or even poisoned. 



The manner in which this plant grows should be 

 noticed. Several flower-stalks branch outward from 

 one centre, and often lesser stalks branch outward again 

 from these. In each case the stalks, springing from one 

 spot and bearing tiny white flowers at their tips, stand 

 out somewhat in the fashion of an open umbrella held 

 upside down. So the Order to which the Wild Parsley 

 belongs is described as " Umbel-bearing." ^ The flowers 

 are said to " grow in umbels," like an umbrella. 



To the same Family belong the Carrot, the Parsnip, 

 and Celery, also Hemlock, which is poisonous. It is 

 curious that Celery which when cultivated we find so 

 good to eat, is unwholesome when in a wild state. 



Certain plants, branching out much after the same 

 fashion, such as the Elder-bush and certain Geraniums, 

 do not belong to this Order. 



These few examples will be enough to give some 

 little idea of what is meant by Orders and Families, 



1 Robert Burns ^ Order, Umbellifeb^. 



