A BUNCH OF HERBS 



serious competitor for possession of the soil. 

 It has gone down the Hudson, and is ap- 

 pearing in the fields along its shores. The 

 tides carry it up the mouths of the streams 

 where it takes root ; the winds, or the birds, 

 or other agencies, in time give it another 

 lift, so that it is slowly but surely making 

 its way inland. The bugloss belongs to 

 what may be called beautiful weeds, despite 

 its rough and bristly stalk. Its flowers are 

 deep violet-blue, the stamens exserted, as 

 the botanists say, that is, projected beyond 

 the mouth of the corolla, with showy red 

 anthers. This bit of red, mingling with 

 the blue of the corolla, gives a very rich, 

 warm purple hue to the flower, that is es- 

 pecially pleasing at a little distance. The 

 best thing I know about this weed besides 

 its good looks is that it yields honey or 

 pollen to the bee. 



Another foreign plant- that the Esopus 

 Creek has distributed along its shores and 

 carried to the Hudson is saponaria, known 

 as "Bouncing Bet." It is a common and 

 in places a troublesome weed in this valley. 

 Bouncing Bet is, perhaps, its English name, 

 as the pink-white complexion of its flowers 

 with their perfume and the coarse, robust 

 141 



