AUGUsr. 167 



cup. In Denmark, it is so common and trou- 

 blesome a weed, that a law was made, some 

 years since, compelling the farmer to eradicate 

 it. The deep yellow juice of this flower is 

 used, by the Germans, for giving a permanent 

 dye to stuffs. The corn- marigold was for- 

 merly called St. John's bloom, yellow-bottle, 

 and ruddes. 



Early in this month we find that unwelcome 

 intruder in the corn-lands, the spurrey, {Sper- 

 gula arvensis.) This pretty little flower may 

 be thus described. Its stem is from six to 

 twelve inches high. The leaves are slender, 

 scarcely thicker than coarse threads, and they 

 stand in circles all around the stem. At the 

 summit is a cluster of white flowers, each hardly 

 larger than that of the chickweed. This 

 plant, though an annoyance in the corn-fields, 

 is so eagerly eaten by cattle, that when it grows 

 occasionally on sandy heaths and pastures, it 

 is a useful herb ; and, in Holland, it is sown in 

 fields, for pasturage. It is named from spargo, 

 to scatter, because it scatters an abundance of 

 seeds. In Scotland it is called yarr ; but the 

 Norfolk farmers, jealous of their corn-lands, 

 term it pick-pocket. 



In every hedge may now be seen the pale 

 yellow si)ikc of the wild mignonette, {Reseda 

 luteola,) which is often called dyer's weed, as 

 it has been used for dyeing, especially in France. 

 The whole plant affords juice for this purpose, 

 and its colour is good and permanent. The 

 coloured paint, called by artists Dutch pink, is 



