44 



SHARP EYES 



the botanies "food of the gods" "an ill-chosen name 

 for these worthless and coarse weeds," says Dr. Asa 

 Gray. I confess that this indictment seemed perfectly 

 just, until I chanced to discover the contents of their 

 dried stems. What other of the weeds can show a 

 marrow which comes so near to immateriality as this 

 of ragweed? A pith which I will venture to say is 

 lighter and more buoyant than any vegetable tissue 

 of like bulk. It seems almost to float as it falls from 

 your hand, while its cross fracture, with its iridescent 

 sheen, certainly brings reminders of the rainbow in the 

 realm of the gods. 



