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straw." Many a hearth in the old days was 

 beswept with a bunch of it, big as the two 

 hands could hold, bound hard and fast to- 

 gether with a tough white-oak splint. It is the 

 plague of grass-land. Against its winged 

 seed, lighter far than thistle-down, no de- 

 fence shall avail. 



As useless as it is beautiful, it is omni- 

 present. But not omnipotent. Here yel- 

 low cinque-foil, yellower mimosa, creep them 

 and bloom amid its bristly tussocks. The 

 pink, small partridge pea, too, climbs pertly 

 over its tall, swaying stalks ; white, waxen 

 silk weed blossoms nod disdain of its stiff 

 plumes. Sorrel, pink and yellow, straggles 

 about its root ; even " Nimble Will," oth- 

 erwise wire-grass, goes where it listeth with- 

 out regard to the sensibilities of its statelier 

 brother. 



And where the light earth lies long un- 

 trodden, wild strawberries enter in and pos- 

 sess it, as though the sedge but grew of a 

 purpose to shelter them. See this patch of 

 them, all agleam with fairy fruit ! Do but 

 taste it then say truly if the garden's red, 

 luscious berries are worthy to be named in 

 the same day with these wild, flavorous 

 things. It was of such as they that the 

 wise man wrote, " Certainly God might have 



