180 Field, Forest, and Wayside Flowers 



" water-" and the 

 t( wood "-rushes, and a 

 tyro can refer his par- 

 ticular specimen to its 

 own group at a glance, 

 for all the water-rushes 

 are smooth and all the 

 wood-rushes are hairy 



(Fig. 47)- 



Both sorts have round, taper- 

 ing blossom-stems, sometimes 

 hollow, but generally filled with 

 a continuous fine, white pith. 



In old times this pith served 

 for the wicks of the " rush- 

 lights " which made darkness 

 visible to our great-grand- 

 fathers, and whose inadequacy 

 fostered the habits of early 

 getting to bed, now abandoned 

 by a generation of night-owls, 

 abetted by gas and electricity. 



The leaves of the water- 

 rushes are generally round, 

 smooth, and glossy, and those 

 FIG. 47. A wood-rush of many species resemble 



(Lazula campestris). . ., . , 



, Unripe seed-vessel cut across; the SteiUS in all points, 

 ripened and emptied seed-vessel. 



