A HOMELY WEED 2$ 
so lovely an object as a flower, but certain it is 
that this every -day contact or association, espe- 
cially with the wild things of the wood, meadow, 
and way-side, is conducive to an apathy which 
dulls our sense to their actual attributes of beauty. 
Many of these commonplace familiars of the copse 
and thicket and field are indeed like voices in the 
wilderness to most of us. We forget that the 
" weed " of one country often becomes a horticult- 
ural prize in another, even as the mullein, for 
which it is hard for the average American to get 
up any enthusiasm, and which is tolerated with us 
only in a worthless sheep pasture, flourishes in 
distinction in many an English or Continental 
garden as the "American velvet plant." 
The extent of our admiration often depends 
upon the relative rarity of the flower rather than 
upon its actual claims to our appreciation. The 
daisy which whitens our meadows the "pesky 
white-weed " of the farmer we are perfectly will- 
ing to see in the windrows of the scythe or tossed 
in the air by the fork of the hay - maker. The 
meed of our appreciation of the single blossom 
becomes extremely thin when spread over a ten- 
acre lot. How rarely do we see a bouquet of 
daisies on a country table ? And yet, strange in- 
consistency! the marguerite of our goodwife's 
window -garden, almost identical with the daisy 
and not one whit prettier, is a prize, because it 
