88 SORREL. 



spread out a little, and the anthers are covered by 

 the upper part of the petals. If any thing, an 

 insect, for example, in search of honey, touches 

 the filament near the bottom, it immediately con- 

 tracts, and strikes its anther against the summit of 

 the pistil ; but any other part of the filament may 

 be touched without producing this effect. The 

 filament which has contracted gradually goes back 

 of itself to its original position, and may be made 

 to move as before, several times, without losing 

 this property ; and even when the petals fall off, 

 along with the stamens which are fixed to them, 

 the filament still retains the power of moving. 



The berries of the barberry are so very acid, 

 that birds will not eat them; but we use them 

 boiled with sugar as a sweetmeat. The leaves 

 also are very acid. In Poland, the bark of the 

 root is used for dyeing leather of a beautiful yellow 

 colour. 



Sorrel, Ru'mex aceto'sa, and Meadow-saffron, 

 Col'chicum autumna'le, are in the order Trigynia 

 of this class. The Laplanders use Sorrel in pre- 

 paring a kind of whey from reindeer's milk, which 

 will keep a long time. 



EDWARD. 



Is that the same kind of Sorrel that we some- 

 tunes eat when we gather it in the fields ? 



