IN THE iTEADOWS. 81 



is marked by a crescent-shaped greyish spot. This 

 spot is absent in the darker flowered Zigzag Clover 

 (Trifoliwm medium), which, however, is easily distin- 

 guished by its zigzag stem. The white Dutch Clover 

 (T. repens) is more common, and decks the shady lanes 

 with its white blossoms. This was the " cloefer-wort " 

 of our ancestors. In our rambles over the footprints 

 of the old Boman- settlers we seldom if ever found the 

 Dutch clover absent, and it adds its beauty, we are 

 told, to the valley of Sharon. The white clover, too, 

 is the shamrock of the Irish. "We shall notice other 

 sgecies of trefoil during our summer rambles. The 

 sensitive nature of the leaves of all trefoils to moisture 

 was known to the ancients ; and when a storm comes 

 on, the appearance of the field changes, the leaflets 

 fold to prepare alike for the dews of evening and the 

 coming storm. 



