116 FIRST STEPS IN GENERAL KNOWLEDGE. 



" They are tamarisks/' said his father ; " and 

 their natural place is by the sea-side, although 

 they are occasionally seen on the brink of rivers 

 and torrents. Their bark is bitter and astringent, 

 and the galls of some species are used in dyeing. 

 One species* bears a sort of manna, but this 

 appears to ooze from the tree, in consequence of 

 injuries by an insect^ inhabiting it. The flowers 

 of the tamarisk are in close spikes, and altogether 

 it is one of the prettiest of shrubs. All the species 

 are confined to the Northern hemisphere, and even 

 to its Eastern half. Our next tribe will be a more 

 familiar one ; for there is scarcely an old moss- 

 grown cottage or wall in the village on which you 

 may not find a specimen of the HOUSELEEK tribe." 



" There is a beautiful one," said Mary, " among 

 the moss on the thatched shed over the saw-pit. 

 It has fleshy leaves spreading out and fringed all 

 round; and last summer there was a handsome 

 bunch of rose-coloured flowers on a tall stem in 

 the middle. And this stem had a great many 

 leaves upon it, but they were small narrow ones, 

 very different from those at the root. How much 

 I wished for that beautiful blossom ! I asked the 



* Tamarix mannifera. f Coccus manniparus. 



