THE MA.ESHLANDS AND THE BOGS. 99 



slight measure, the perfume of the violet of our hedge- 

 rows ; and by the side of the Marsh Violet we shall 

 find the Marsh Stitchwort (Stellaria glauca) , with its 

 star-like flower. The smaller flowers of the Bog 

 Stitchwort (Stellaria uliginosd) are also frequently 

 found. The Golden Saxifrage (Clirysosplenium oppositi- 

 foliuni) makes gay the boggy ground, and sometimes 

 appears by the river-side. Its stem is not more than 

 four or five inches high, and bears a close cluster of 

 bright yellow flowers. This species of saxifrage is 

 remarkable for its medicinal qualities. 



By far the most striking, because they are more 

 numerous, frequently covering acres of boggy ground, 

 are the Cotton Grasses (Eriopliorum), waving their 

 hoary silver hair-like tufts to the wind. But though 

 they look so soft and silky, they are useless, the fibre 

 is brittle, and no means have yet been discovered of 

 utilizing these pretty plants. Many a marsh boasts of 

 the Flowering Eern (Osmunda regalis), and the hairy 

 and hard grasses are abundant. 



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