A BUNCH OF HERBS. 223 



to the class of beautiful weeds. It grows rank and 

 tall, in dense communities, and always presents the 

 eye with a generous mass of color. In places, the 

 marshes and creek banks are all aglow with it, its 

 wand-like spikes of flowers shooting up and uniting 

 in volumes or pyramids of still flame. Its petals, 

 when examined closely, present a curious wrinkled or 

 or crumpled appearance, like newly-washed linen ; 

 but when massed the effect is eminently pleasing. 

 It also came from abroad, probably first brought to 

 this country as a garden or ornamental plant. 



As a curious illustration of how weeds are carried 

 from one end of the earth to the other, Sir Joseph 

 Hooker relates this circumstance : " On one occa- 

 sion," he says, " landing on a small uninhabited isl- 

 and, nearly at the Antipodes, the first evidence I met 

 with of its having been previously visited by man 

 was the English chick weed ; and this I traced to a 

 mound that marked the grave of a British sailor, and 

 that was covered with the plant, doubtless the off- 

 spring of seed that had adhered to the spade or mat- 

 tock with which the grave had been dug." 



Ours is a weedy country because it is a roomy 

 country. Weeds love a wide margin, and they find 

 ; t here. You shall see more weeds in one day's travel 

 n this country than in a week's journey in Europe. 

 Our culture of the soil is not so close and thorough, 

 our occupancy not so entire and exclusive. The 

 weeds take up with the farmers' leavings, and find 

 good fare. One may see a large slice taken from a 



