WAYSIDES AND HEDGEEOWd. 49 



schoolboy, who sucks the flowers equally with the in- 

 sect, and also makes a musical pipe of its square stem, 

 which distinguishes it from the True Nettle ( Urtwa) 

 which grows beside it. "Where the bank slopes we 

 shall see the leaves of the "Wild Strawberry peep- 

 ing forth, and the "Wild Docks (Eumex) are begin- 

 ning to assert their presence. Early in the year we 

 shall find the black catkins of the Alder (Alnus glu- 

 tinosci) on the foot-path where it diverges to the river- 

 side or runs near the tributary brooklet. The long 

 drooping catkins are barren, and the oval-shaped, 

 similar to a fir-cone, produce the seed. The wood of 

 tbe alder, though light, has the peculiar property of 

 remaining sound for a long period under water. 



As the days grow longer, the foliage of the Early 

 Speedwell grows larger and larger, and the sturdy 

 stem of the Bladder Campion, with its grey hairy 

 leaves, shoots upwards side by side with the deeply 

 crimsoned stems and young shoots of the Eobert- 

 leaved Crane's-bill the Herb Eobert which we shall 

 find lingering in the shady nooks until the early frost 

 comes again. The five-fingered leaves of the creeping 

 Cmquefoil are clothing their long and naked stems, 

 and the humble Silverweed begins to show itself 



