A BUNCH OF HERBS 



winds or the birds, or other agencies, in time give 

 it another lift, so that it is slowly but surely making 

 its way inland. The bugloss belongs to what may 

 be called beautiful weeds, despite its rough and 

 bristly stalk. Its flowers are deep violet-blue, the 

 stamens exserted, as the botanists say, that is, pro- 

 jected beyond the mouth of the corolla, with showy 

 red anthers. This bit of red, mingling with the 

 blue of the corolla, gives a very rich, warm purple 

 hue to the flower, that is especially pleasing at a 

 little distance. The best thing I know about this 

 weed besides its good looks is that it yields honey 

 or pollen to the bee. 



Another foreign plant that the Esopus Creek has 

 distributed along its shores and carried to the Hud- 

 son is saponaria, known as " Bouncing Bet." It is 

 a common and in places a troublesome weed in this 

 valley. Bouncing Bet is, perhaps, its English name, 

 as the pink-white complexion of its flowers with 

 their perfume and the coarse, robust character of 

 the plant really give it a kiryl of English feminine 

 comeliness and bounce. It looks like a Yorkshire 

 housemaid. Still another plant in my section, which 

 I notice has been widely distributed by the agency 

 of water, is the spiked loosestrife. It first appeared 

 many years ago along the Wallkill ; now it may 

 be seen upon many of its tributaries and all along 

 its banks ; and in many of the marshy bays and 

 coves along the Hudson, its great masses of pur- 

 217 



