THE BUSH TKIBE. 65 



this pith is used for a wick, and that a great many 

 useful things are made of rushes. 



" These plants," said their father, " are mostly 

 natives of cold countries, although several are 

 found in the tropics. Even in the severe climate 

 of Melville Island, our arctic voyagers found two 

 species of rush. A damp and cold soil appears to 

 suit them best ; and where rushes spring up it is 

 generally a sign that the land wants draining." 



" But I have seen them growing on dry heaths," 

 said Henry. 



" That may be. Heaths are frequently dry on 

 the surface, while a little way beneath is a cold 

 clay, in which rushes would flourish. Large tracts 

 of land in Japan are devoted to the cultivation 

 of rushes, and are flooded at intervals like rice 

 grounds : this large supply of rushes is entirely 

 devoted to the making of rush-matting for cover- 

 ing floors. You have seen the basket-maker 

 in our village using rushes for mats, chair-bottoms, 

 and other articles, therefore I need say no more 

 of their uses. We now approach the lilies, first 

 pausing at a dangerous tribe, called the MEADOW- 

 SAFFRON tribe, in which there are some fatal poisons, 

 as well as some useful medicines. Do you remein- 

 4. F 



