BY THE WAI SIDE AND HEDGEROWS. 109 



into " sweet waters." When dried and laid in drawers 

 and chests, it imparts its sweet odour to linen. When 

 the plant grows in damp places, or in the shade of a 

 wood, its characteristic scent is not developed. 



In our walks down the country lane we shall find 

 now and then a mass of downy leaves, and in the 

 early summer the dark claret-tinted raceme of flowers 

 of the Hound's Tongue (Cynoglossum qfficinale). The 

 colour of the flower is so remarkable amongst old 

 English wild flowers as to distinguish it amongst all 

 others, and its lanceolate leaves are said to tie the 

 tongues of hounds ; hence its name. When it intrudes 

 into old pastures, cattle avoid it. It is not a very 

 common plant. 



Skirting the wayside foot-path we shall find the 

 sulphur-tinted flowers of the Silverweed (Potentifla 

 anserina), whose home is perhaps by the water-side ; 

 but it seems to love the dusty road and the company 

 of mankind. If we search on the hedge-bank we 

 shall find its companion, the creeping Cinquefoil (P. 

 reptans), though it belongs to the heath and common 

 land. It is distinguished by its five-fingered foliage. 



There is scarcely a child in the rural districts but 

 who knows the lilac-tinted purple-veined flower of the 



