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FLOWERS OF THE CORNFIELDS 



It is in flower from June or July to August. It is annual and propa- 

 gated by seeds. 



The flowers, though conspicuous and fairly large, do not usually 

 become cross-pollinated, owing to their place of growth, amongst corn, 

 in which they are quite hidden, so that insects do not see the flowers. 



Candytuft is dispersed by its own agency. The winged pods 

 open and allow the seeds to fall out around the plant. 



It is a lime-loving plant, and subsists mainly on a lime soil, fur- 



CANDYTTFT (Iberis ainara, L.) 



nished by rocks such as the Chalk, which produces a gravelly, flinty, 

 and rubbly subsoil. 



There is no fungus that infests it; but a beetle, Pselliodes picipes, 

 and a moth, Pionea niargaritalis, frequent it. 



The name Iberis was given by Dioscorides, and refers to its being 

 a native of Iberia, the old name for Spain. Ainara means bitter, 

 referring to the taste. Candytuft alludes to the habit of the flowers, 

 and to its coming from Candia in Crete. 



It is called Candytuft, Churl's Mustard, Clown's Mustard, Sciatica 

 Cress. 



It grows in a wild state in the eastern counties at Hitchin. It is 

 cultivated for growing in the garden, where it is an improved form 



