214 



BTJINS, WALLS, AND WASTE PLACES. 



"VTTHEN the autumn sun lights up the glorious 

 ruin, and the berries begin to shine like jewels, 

 we miss the flowers that gladdened the old walls and 

 cast a ray of beauty into the waste places, and we 

 have to look 



" Down to the grey moss on the moxildering wall." 

 The foliage is grey, too, of the common Hedge Mus- 

 tard (Sisymbrium officinale), with its ragged, dusty 

 foliage and small yellow flowers, on every waste place 

 and almost every wayside. It blooms, however, rather 

 earlier than the fine-leaved variety (S. Sophia), which 

 is much smaller, and is known under the name of ftix 

 or ftaxweed. Its foliage is finely cut, and its pale 

 yellow cruciferous flowers distinguish it. It was the 

 reputed possessor of great virtues once, but its fame 

 is now departed. The Broad-leaved Hedge Mustard 

 (8. irio), the London Eocket, is remarkable for having 

 sprung up in immense quantities immediately after 

 the great Fire of London, but it is rarely found in 

 the neighbourhood of the metropolis. 



