54 IRambles witb Mature Stufcents 



During February and March the whitlow grass may 

 sometimes be seen growing in such profusion on old 

 ruined walls as to give the effect of a slight fall 

 of snow. 



Another charming little annual which haunts old 

 walls is the rue-leaved saxifrage (Saxifraga tridacty- 

 lites). It rarely exceeds three inches in height ; a 

 dainty little plant with white flowers, three-lobed 

 leaves thickly covered with viscid hairs, upon which 

 small insects may often be found entangled. 



When the flowers are over, the stem and leaves 

 become of a rich red tint, which seems "frequently to 

 be the case with plants exposed to the full sunlight, 

 as they are when growing upon rocks or walls. We 

 may prove this by trying the experiment of keeping 

 two specimens of this plant in pots, and placing one 

 of them in a sunny spot and the other in shade. We 

 shall find that the latter will continue to be green, and 

 fail to attain its natural crimson colour. 



THE DANDELION 



Dandelion flowers are now making such a bright 

 glow of colour by the roadside that we will choose 

 them for our subject of study to-day. 



The plant takes its name of dent-de-lion from the 

 form of the leaves, which are so deeply cut as to 

 resemble teeth ; more especially, perhaps, in the spring 

 is this the case, as later on in the summer they become 

 less sharply indented. 



The flower-bud rises from the centre of the plant to 

 nearly a foot in height, then it opens and becomes 

 fertilised by insects. As soon as this process has 

 been completed, the flower closes up, and the dead 



