THE FLOWERS 



with it, probably because they have grateful 

 memories of the supposed relief an infusion of 

 " thorough wort " afforded them in their child- 

 ish ailments. We forget the bitterness of the 

 nauseating draught, and generally gather an 

 armful of it, bringing it home to add to the 

 row of herbs that hang along the attic rafters. 

 To it we also add great bundles of White 

 Snakehead, whose flowers used to send a de- 

 lightful tingle of fear through us as we looked 

 into their open mouths, easily imagined the 

 jaws of a veritable snake, for the resemblance 

 of the peculiar blossom to the head of a serpent 

 is very striking. There is a rose-colored 

 variety which is quite rare, seldom found grow- 

 ing away from moist, marshy places. The 

 flowers of both varieties are nearly sessile, in 

 spikes or clusters, each blossom set in a concave 

 bract. Bitter as is the decoction of Thorough- 

 wort, that of Snakehead is far more so, leaving 

 its tang in the mouth for hours. I never shall 

 forget how suddenly we children used to re- 

 cover from our indispositions when we saw the 

 basin of Snakehead put to steep upon the 

 kitchen stove. They used to give it to us to 

 "make an appetite" and to "tone us up" in 

 spring, and for "biliousness" and to correct 



