178 WILD fLOWEES. 



waste places and hedge banks. Tlie upper 

 surface of its leaf is of a green as dark as that 

 of the old ivy leaf, but it is quite white and 

 cottony underneath. 



The raugwort had, according to old writers, 

 so powerful a spell, that the wayfaring man, 

 who bore a branch of it about him, felt no 

 fatigue. A species of wormwood is cultivated 

 in some parts of Surrey for its seed, which is 

 used by the rectifiers of British spirits ; and 

 our common mugwort is used, instead of hops, 

 in the beer of Sweden. 



And now, again, the fields are green with 

 the after-grass, which springs up after the hay 

 is cut down. The exquisite verdure given by 

 the grasses to the fields — making the pastoral 

 landscapes of England among the most lovely 

 spots of earth, v/ould lead us highly to value 

 this important tribe of plants, even were they 

 of no other use. The beneficence of the great 

 Creator, in adorning the earth, is too little 

 thought of. His goodness is recognised in 

 providing us with plants for food and clothing, 

 for shade and shelter ; yet how seldom do we 

 Uiank him that he has made the meadow green, 

 and scattered the blossoms of beauty on every 

 path. And yet how much real enjoyment is 

 derived from the loveliness of the landscape ! 

 God might have provided for all our wants, and 

 yet have placed us in a land destitute of beauty ; 

 and, surely, the profusion of the summer-flowers 

 and the bright verdure of earth should make us 

 not only glad, but grateful too. 



In the grass tribe are included all the com- 



