IN THE WOODLANDS. 59 



Not far off, in a moist spot, we may hope to find the 

 Daffy-down-dilly the Daffodil (Narcissus pseudo 

 Narcissiis), 



" That comes before the swallow dares, and takes 

 The winds of March with beauty." 



The old poets wove a fabled story round the Nar- 

 cissus (Narcissus poeticus), and it and the daffodil 

 were frequently mentioned by Drayton, Spenser, and 

 other early writers, under the name of " lily." The 

 daffodil is a pale yellow flower, frequently nodding, 

 surrounded by a circlet of lemon-coloured petals. 

 The Narcissus has six snowy petals, expanded like a 

 star round its yellow cup fringed with scarlet. Its 

 showy, early, and attractive blossoms, and the pecu- 

 liarity of its fragrance, which is strong and deleterious, 

 has made it a permanent garden flower, though it iB 

 yet to be found wild in many parts of England. 



" In the lone copse, or shadowy dell, 

 Wild clustered knots of blue-bells blow;" 



and there is scarcely a " wilding of Nature " that 

 delights us more than the Blue-bell of spring the 

 Hyacinthus non scriptus, or rather Agra-phis nulans, of 

 botanists ; for the old poets tell us that its leaves were 



