9 



others, is most perceptible in the evening. If we take the 

 Moschatel as a type of many similar vegetable productions, 

 the mind becomes naturally impressed with the notion that 

 there is, possibly, a law of compensation running through 

 the whole vegetable world, and, perhaps too, through the 

 whole compass of natural existence. We know that amongst 

 ourselves the loud and the showy, the self-asserting and 

 unduly prominent, are, as a rule, not the wisest or the best 

 of men. The gorgeous Peacock is not musical, nor is it a 

 bird of much utility. The Dog Violet makes a great display, 

 in conspicuous places, but the Sweet Violet is to be sought 

 for, hiding amongst the green herbage. Handle the garish 

 Poppy or the Dandelion, and you will find them disagreeable, 

 but press the unobtrusive Moschatel, and you have a 

 delightful fragrance.* 



A conspicuous object at this season, nestling close to the 

 hedge-row, is the Cuckoo-pint or Arum (Arum maculatum). 

 It is a stemless plant, with halberd-shaped glossy leaves, 

 dotted with dark spots. The spathe is also spotted, and the 

 well-known spadix is found in varying shades of green, 

 yellow, or violet. The ovaries, at the root of the spadix, 

 become in autumn a cluster of bright scarlet berries, which 

 remain long after the leaves have decayed. They are said 

 to be very poisonous. The old herbalist, Gerarde, tells us 

 that the tuberous roots of the Arum make a "most pure 

 and white starch." Gerarde flourished in the time of good 

 Queen Bess, when starch was in much request, the roots of 

 the Arum and Wild Hyacinth being used in its manufacture. 



* " Yet the Moschatel is no plebeian among plants, being cousin-german of the 

 Honeysuckle and Guelder Hose, and even claiming a distant relationship through the 

 aristocratic Ivy with the queenly Vine." 



