166 COMPOSITE. 



is certainly as pretty as any. Its flowers are of a crimson 

 purple, very large, solitary, and drooping ; the scent is agree- 

 able. I gathered my specimen on a wild moor in Swaledale, 

 near the Old Gang Lead Mine. 



The Welted Thistle (C. acanthoides), is very prickly. Its 

 heads are clustered generally in threes, and the stem is winged 

 and thorny. Its flower is smaller than that of the last species. 

 It is common in waste places. 



Here is the Slender-flowered Thistle (C. tenuiflorus). It likes 

 waste ground near the sea. Fanny found this specimen on the 

 East Hoe, Plymouth. There is cotton about the stem and 

 involucre, and the crimson flowers are very shabby. Some are 

 very pale ; indeed all the Thistles are apt to vary to white. 



The handsomest species, in my opinion, is the Milk Thistle 

 (C. Marianus), with its tall stems, large flowers, and broad 

 bright leaves, veined with white. The legend is, that as the 

 Holy Family travelled into Egypt, some milk fell upon this 

 plant, and produced the white veins. I found my specimen 

 at Monkton Deverill, in Wiltshire. 



The Lance Thistle (C. lanceolatum), is also handsome. Its 

 head is comparatively solitary. It grows in Kent and else- 

 where. It is a tall erect plant, and very prickly. 



The Woolly -headed Thistle (Cnicus eriophorus), is both 

 curious and beautiful. It grows in waste places. I gathered 

 my specimen from a railway embankment, near Leamington. 

 Its leaves are bristly above, and cottony below, and the 

 numerous bracts constituting the involucre are interwoven with 

 wool, like cobweb. 



The Creeping Thistle (C. arvensis), is a common weed, 

 growing in waste places. It is less offensive than its fellows, 

 having no prickles about its clusters of pale lilac flowers. 



The Marsh Thistle (C. palustris), grows freely in damp 

 places in every district. It has crimson flowers in small 

 clusters, closely seated on the stalk. 



The Dwarf Thistle (C. acaulis), I got on the Wiltshire downs. 



