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Vitalba), almost the last blossom of the year that falls from Flora's 

 lap. The orpine {Sedum Telephiiim) was also gathered, in flower, upon 

 Ankerdine, and quantities of the pretty eyebright {Euphrasia officina- 

 lis) decorated the grassy slopes. A very singular vegetable appear- 

 ance attracted every eye near Collins' Green, and caused all to mount 

 up the bank, to examine it. A dwarf oak, growing on a prominence 

 not far from the road, appeared to be covered with ruby-glowing fruit, 

 of the size of grapes ; indeed, delicious in aspect as the bunches 

 depending from the most luxuriant vine. They were found to be a 

 most astonishing growth of gall-nuts, that in maturity very much 

 simulate the appearance of a ripe strawberry ; but such a quantity as 

 here appeared were surely never before seen ! The boughs of the oak 

 were literally bent down with their clusters, some of the leaves having 

 as many as twenty large gall-nuts upon them, and numbers had from 

 four to ten ; altogether the tree must have borne thousands. These 

 gall-nuts arise from the puncture of a small hymenopterous insect, 

 called Cynips quercifolia ; and the liquor deposited has the effect of 

 inducing the tissue of the leaf to be thus metamorphosed into appa- 

 rent fruit, which really nourish a young grub within each of them. 

 These pretty-looking galls, being tasted, were pronounced " bitter as 

 soot," and as belonging to the Unedo family, only fit to be once 

 eaten ! In fact, they are strikingly analogous to the celebrated apples 

 of Sodom, which are proved to have been galls of a larger kind, and 

 which were so tempting to look upon, but crumbled into bitter ashes 

 when any one attempted to eat them. They were reported to grow 

 on the, shores of the Dead Sea; and Milton appropriately introduces 

 them into Pandemonium, as a dessert for the " thrones and domina- 

 tions" he places there. The galls formed by the Cynipidae take 

 various forms ; and the little, flat, brown disks, often seen on the 

 under side of oak-leaves in autumn, are of the same nature, though 

 commonly regarded as small Fungi. 



From the deceptive, simulating fruit-tree, specimens of which were 

 carried off", the party took the route for Borrow Hill, whence they 

 returned by way of Horsham and the copses along the Teme-side ; 

 and a pleasant walk through orchards and meadows brought them 

 back to Knightsford. In this last part of the route were gathered 

 Jasione montana, Picris hieracioides (plentiful), Inula Conyza, and 

 many species of Kubi, now blackening the hedges with their fruit; 

 Rubus tenui - armatus more particularly noticeable. Also, among 

 Fungi, the blood- coloured Boletus scabcr. 



The labour of observation being at last ended, none were found 



