408 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



Silver-weed The Succory The Speedwell The Snap- 

 dragon The Spurge Solomon's Seal The Tansy The 

 Teasel The Wild-thyme The Yellow Toad-flax The 

 Common Valerian The Wood Sorrel. 



THE lap of Nature, so amply stored, is ever open, 

 and displays treasures the richest and rarest ; yet 

 how few there are for whom they possess sufficient 

 attraction to induce them to turn aside to view the 

 world of wonders which is theirs if they but 

 choose to avail themselves of it ! The pursuit of 

 what they have not got and cannot see is, appar- 

 ently, preferable to them. Birds, beasts, flowers, 

 etc., and all the countless riches which should in- 

 terest us, are unheeded by the many. Birds may 

 sing their sweetest, and the wild-flowers pleadingly 

 put up their heads to be noticed ; the songster, if 

 not altogether unheeded, is unknown ; the flower 

 is but a flower. It seems somewhat strange that 

 in the present day, when education is so highly 

 esteemed, so much ignorance should still exist 

 regarding the many natural objects which sur- 

 round us. It would surely be well for the 

 children in all our schools to learn something of 

 the natural history of the country in which they 

 live. Nor is this want of knowledge confined to 

 children of the poorer classes alone ; it exists to 

 a very great extent in all classes, among children 

 and adults alike. There are numbers of people 

 who, though well informed on most subjects, are 

 content to pass their lives without experiencing 

 the least desire to learn something of the life 



