228 



SHARP EYES 



mentioned, his botanical quest referring only to the 

 fresh new flower of the month, for the fringy blooms of 

 the witch-hazel are the only flowers that "wait and 

 come alone." 



Elsewhere the poet welcomes the dandelion in his 

 late autumn flowers, for this 



" first pledge of blithesome May " 



is also a pledge of October and 

 November as well. All through 

 June its cloudy balls seemed to 

 float above the grass ; but since 

 then how few of us have seen a 

 hint of the dandelion! But now, 

 in the cool, frosty days it has 

 taken a new lease of life, and the 

 lawn and rowen fields are 

 again dotted with their gold- 

 en buttons set close within 

 their rosettes. 



It is one of our perennial 

 bloomers, and is the only 

 solitary rival of our witch- 

 hazel, for both are frequently 

 to be found in flower in Decem- 

 ber, while the dandelion occasionally 

 continues in bloom through the entire winter, meeting 

 the skunk-cabbage in March and the hepatica in April, 

 and thus completing the floral garland for the entire 

 twelvemonth. During the year 1871 I picked a dande- 

 lion every month in the calendar. 



Another astonishingly pertinaceous winter bloomer is 

 the chickweed. Who can tell us when this plant at our 



