AMONG THE WILD-FLOWERS 9 



of no flower of such a complexion frequenting 

 such a place as that. On investigation, it 

 proved to be a' stranger. It had a rough, 

 hairy, leafless stem about a foot high, sur- 

 mounted by a corymbose cluster of flowers or 

 flower-heads of dark vivid orange-color. The 

 leaves were deeply notched and toothed, very 

 bristly, and were pressed flat to the ground. 

 The whole plant was a veritable Esau for hairs, 

 and it seemed to lay hold upon the ground as 

 if it was not going to let go easily. And what 

 a fiery plume it had! The next day, in an- 

 other field a mile away, I chanced upon more 

 of the flowers. On making inquiry, I found 

 that a small patch or colony of the plants had 

 appeared that season, or first been noticed then, 

 in a meadow well known to me from boyhood. 

 They had been cut down with the grass in early 

 July, and the first week in August had shot up 

 and bloomed again. I found the spot aflame 

 with them. Their leaves covered every inch of 

 the surface where they stood, and not a spear 

 of grass grew there. They were taking slow 

 but complete possession; they were devouring 

 the meadow by inches. The plant seemed to 

 be a species of hieracium, or hawkweed, or some 

 closely allied species of the composite family, 

 but I could not find it mentioned in our bot- 

 anies. 



A few days later, on the edge of an adjoin- 

 ing county ten miles distant, I found, probably, 

 its headquarters. It had appeared there a few 

 years before, and was thought to have escaped 



