386 THE RIVER-SIDE NATURALIST. 



Know that the lilies have spread their bells 



O'er all the pools in our forest dells ; 



Stilly and lightly their vases rest 



On the quivering sleep of the water's breast, 



Catching the sunshine thro' leaves that throw 



To their scented bosoms an emerald glow ; 



And a star from the depth of each pearly cup 



A golden star unto heaven looks up, 



As if seeking its kindred, where bright they lie, 



Set in the blue of the summer sky." 



The flower closes at sunset, and from the stem sinking 

 a little, the flower often lies under the water ; it expands 

 in the daytime, as the sun gets power. Fig. in " E. B." 

 1 60. Flowers in July. 



The COMMON DUCKWEED Duck Meat, Greeds (Lemna 

 minor) Fig. in " E. B.," 1395 from the Greek word 

 lemna, a scale is the most abundant of the four British 

 species, covering the surface of many ponds and ditches, 

 harbouring numerous insects and molluscae, the food for 

 ducks and other waterfowl. If you take some of it up 

 in your hands, you will see how delicate the fronds are, and 

 notice the long solitary root hanging down. Flowers in July. 



The GREAT WATER-DOCK (Rumex hydrolapathum)\g. 

 in " E. B.," 1 220 grows abundantly on the banks of our 

 rivers, and sometimes the fly-fisher's temper is slightly 

 ruffled by finding his line entangled in the stems of this 

 plant. The stems are from three to five feet high, and 

 some of the lower leaves measure one and a half feet. It 

 is when seeding that it is particularly apt to catch the 

 line. Flowers July and August. 



The PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE (Lythrum salicarid) Fig. in 

 " E. B.," 491 with its elegant spike of purple flowers, is 

 one of the most conspicuous features on the banks of our 

 rivers and ornamental waters and lakes. The stem rises 

 from three to five feet, upright, four- angled, tinged with 

 red, and sometimes downy. The leaves are green above, 

 lighter underneath. Flowers in tufts of a beautiful crimsony 

 purple. Flowers June to September. A strong decoction 

 of this plant is often used by the country people for the 

 cure of dysentery and diarrhoea. 



