128 WILD FLOWERS OF SCOTLAND 



Concerning the proper name of the plant, or 

 rather the sole right to the name it sometimes 

 gets, there is a considerable difference of opinion. 

 One day the farmer, a shrewd man, whose keen 

 eyes look out from beneath shaggy brows, stopped 

 me by this very field and pointed it out as the 

 " blawort." I was struck at the time, less with his 

 knowledge than the evident enthusiasm of one who 

 had a sworn feud with the laburnums and lime 

 trees. Did not these field flowers equally bloom at 

 the expense of the grain ! 



And now the verdict of these maidens, better 

 than much discussion, is on the same side ; all of 

 which goes to show that from our blues, our 

 borages, our bells, our forget-me-nots, this has been 

 chosen out as pre-eminently the bluewort. Per- 

 haps it is better known to country people than 

 the others, or was in olden shearing days, when all 

 were abroad during the bright autumn months. 



The field is an exception to every rule, and the 

 hues of all the seasons at their best mingle with 

 the corn. 



No excitement is manifested as the somewhat 

 washed-out lilac of the blue-cap is added to the 

 increasing collection. Not until a richer yellow 

 flushes the straw-coloured grain is there another 



