YELLOW AND ORANGE WILD FLOWERS 



glittering, golden flowers of the Buttercup, as if they 

 had been purposely placed there for ornamental and 

 decorative effect. Perhaps they were, but if so, why 

 not the Clover or Forget-me-not, or any of a dozen 

 and one other equally pleasing flowers? Why was 

 the Buttercup alone selected. I will tell you why. 

 It is because, as the gossips say, the Crowfoot clan has 

 a family "skeleton in its closet." Some of its kind, 

 the Aconite and Larkspur, have developed certain 

 highly poisonous qualities, and the Buttercup, though 

 happily free from such deadly contamination, still 

 betrays its kinship by the very acrid and caustic juice 

 which it conceals. For this reason, horses and cattle 

 intentionally avoid the Buttercups, and that is why 

 they stand out boldly and fearlessly in every pasture, 

 bidding a pretty defiance to their four-footed enemies 

 who might otherwise ruthlessly obliterate them. Many 

 farmers destroy the Crowfoot with marked vengeance, 

 and look upon their coming hay crop with more or less 

 concern and depreciation, if their timothy is brightened 

 with these brilliant blossoms. Their fears should cease, 

 however, when they learn that the Buttercup loses its 

 objectionable qualities with the drying or curing pro- 

 cess of hay-making, and then it is relished as a fodder. 



SMALL=FLOWERED, OR KIDNEY-LEAVED 

 CROWFOOT 



Ranunculus abortivus. Crowfoot Family. 



Commonly found along shady hillsides and wood- 

 land streams during April, May, and June, from 



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