74 ELDER LEAVES. 



petals, with a stamen between every two; and two 

 styles, each with a single summit, which rise from 

 the centre of the flower, and remain after the petals 

 and stamens fall off, so as to crown the two seeds. 



Now look at your Elder, and you will see that 

 the blossom, instead of having five petals, is of one 

 piece, divided into five parts: there are, it is true, 

 five stamens, but there is no style ; and you will 

 more frequently find three summits than two. 

 The fruit of the elder is a soft berry ; but in the 

 umbelliferous tribe it consists of two dry and naked 

 seeds. 



The branches of the elder tree are full of a very 

 light kind of pith, but the wood of the trunk is 

 uncommonly tough and close grained. You will 

 generally find that stems which contain the most 

 pith are protected on the outside by wood that is 

 particularly strong and elastic. 



EDWARD. 



Why does the gardener spread elder leaves near 

 mole-hills ? 



MOTHER. 



To keep away the moles, which will not come 

 near elder. You may have seen the coachman also 

 fixing branches of it on the horses' heads, to keep 

 off the flies, for few insects can endure the smell of 

 this plant. The faculty that most animals possess, 

 of distinguishing plants from each other by the 



