90 WILD FLOWERS OF SCOTLAND 



from her form, and the lark from her nest, in their 

 search for the earth nuts. They know under 

 what plant to find them, and how far they are 

 down in the ground. See them cross to the burn- 

 side, where they can make a salad out of the 

 sorrel growing on the bank. 



Nor is their skill by any means confined to the 

 plant kingdom. On one of the thistle heads a 

 " foggie " distinguished among the bees by his 

 browner shades and the suppression of the black 

 and yellow bands is hanging. It is plain that he 

 is in the helpless plight of one who has partaken 

 too freely of the heady juices. No haste is made. 

 No precautions are taken for the capture. He is 

 not likely to fly away. 



With pinnie-protected fingers the thistle head is 

 severed from the stem. One takes off the purple 

 from the cheese, while another, in a rude and blam- 

 able but effective way (which will occur to those 

 whose blessed privilege it has been to spend their 

 childhood in the country), extracts the honey. 



Thus they, whose mothers can afford little more 

 than bare necessities at home, find a table of 

 dainties, inexhaustible in its variety, spread for 

 them in the wilderness. 



All the way cheeses grow under their purple 



