86 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



the wild hyacinth, and many other flowers. At the base 

 of each flower in the agrimony we find a small bract cleft 

 into three acute segments. The flowers have five con- 

 spicuous and spreading petals, which are somewhat narrow 

 in proportion to their length, and of a bright yellow colour. 

 The flowers face boldly outwards and upwards towards the 

 light, but after these have withered the calyx points 

 downwards, and becomes thickly covered around its 

 extremity with a mass of small bristly hairs that spread 

 and develop into a burr-like form. The leaves are very 

 rich in outline; those near the ground are often seven or 

 eight inches long, while the upper leaves will generally be 

 only about three inches in length. A very beautiful 

 gradation both in the size and richness of the leaves 

 is readily noticeable. All the leaves are very similar 

 in general character, but the upper leaves have far fewer 

 leaflets than the lower, and such leaflets as there are, are 

 less cut into segments, and have altogether a simpler out- 

 line. These leaflets, as may readily be seen in the illustra- 

 tion, vary very considerably in size, as besides the six 

 or eight large lateral leaflets and the terminal one those 

 that at once catch the eye the stem is fringed with 

 several others that are very much smaller than these, 

 and ranged in the intervals between them. The form 

 is a very beautiful one, and may be very well seen in 

 several other plants besides the agrimony. The silver- 

 weed and the common avens are good examples, and 

 easily to be procured for comparison. 



The agrimony is very commonly found throughout 

 England and Ireland. In Scotland it is much more local, 

 and does not penetrate very far northward. It must be 

 looked for on hedge-banks, roadsides, and on patches 



