II 



YELLOW 



MARSH MARIGOLD. 



Caltha palustris. Crowfoot Family. 



Stem. Hollow, furrowed. Leaves. Rounded, somewhat kidney-shaped. 

 Flowers. Golden-yellow. Calyx. Of five to nine petal-like sepals. Co- 

 rolla. None. Stamens. Numerous. Pistils. Five to ten, almost with- 

 out styles. 



Hark, hark ! the lark at Heaven's gate sings, 



And Phoebus 'gins arise, 

 His steeds to water at those springs, 



On chaliced flowers that lies : 

 And winking Mary-buds begin 



To ope their golden eyes ; 

 With everything that pretty is 



My lady sweet, arise ! 



Arise, arise. Cymbeline. 



We claim and not without authority that these " winking 

 Mary-buds ' ' are identical with the gay marsh marigolds which 

 border our springs and gladden our wet meadows every April. 

 There are those who assert that the poet had in mind the garden 

 marigold Calendula but surely no cultivated flower could har- 

 monize with the spirit of the song as do these gleaming swamp 

 blossoms. We will yield to the garden if necessary 



The marigold that goes to bed with the sun 

 And with him rises weeping 



of the " Winter's Tale," but insist on retaining for that larger, 

 lovelier garden in which we all feel a certain sense of possession 

 even if we are not taxed on real estate in any part of the coun- 

 try the " golden eyes " of the Mary-buds, and we feel strength- 

 ened in our position by the statement in Mr. Robinson's "Wild 

 Garden ' ' that the marsh marigold is so abundant along certain 

 English rivers as to cause the ground to look as though paved 

 with gold at those seasons when they overflow their banks. 



"3 



