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THE ANGLER'S SOUVENIR. 



it is good for wood-carving and turning. It has, 

 when cut, a pale, flesh-coloured tint, which takes 

 polish well. Under water, as piles, it is almost 

 indestructible. 



The alder has another recommendation it re- 

 tains its foliage far on into the winter. 



Wandering up the banks of a wooded burn, one 

 comes sometimes on an open marshy glade, where 

 the sunshine falls hot, and a delicious incense fills 

 the air. The grateful fragrance comes from that 

 sober-tinted shrub, two to three feet in height, 

 and with lanceolate, yellow-green leaves, which 

 grows in abundance within a small space. It is the 

 sweet-gale, or bog-myrtle. Walk through it, crush 

 the scented essence out of the leaves, and mark 

 how strong the odour is. 



Out of the marshy side of the mere, the king of 

 ferns, the Osmunda regalia, rears its stately head, 

 growing four or six feet high, and giving a tropical 

 richness to the marsh. 



On those banks of gravel, which often form the 

 inner portion of a river curve, the butterbur has 

 its home. When the sallows are silver and golden, 

 you may see, projecting out of the ground, thick, 

 pink, fleshy spikes or stems. These are the flower- 

 clusters of the butterburs, which make their ap- 

 pearance long before the huge, rhubarb-shaped 

 leaves. In the summer the leaves (the largest of 

 all those of our native plants) crowd thickly together, 

 and it is difficult to push one's way through them, 



