SCARLET ?niFEKNEL.—Jy?a^ams 

 arvensis. 



Class Pentandria. Order Monogynia, Nat. Ch-d. Primulace^. 

 Primrose Tribe, 



Every one knows the Scarlet Pimpernel, 

 oui' only wild flower of that colour, except 

 the scarlet poppy ; though there are one or 

 tw^o of a crimson tint, like the pheasant's- 

 eye of the cornfield. The Pimpernel grows 

 everywhere ; on the sandy heath among the 

 furze and broom, on the bank by the road, 

 and especially, among- the ripening corn, it 

 may be seen, on any sunny day, during July 

 and August. It has some pretty English 

 names, as the Shepherd's Barometer, or the 

 Shepherd's Warning, and the Poor-man's 

 AVeather-glass. These names are expressive 

 of the influence that a moist atmosphere has 

 upon the blossom, which is so sensitive, that 

 long before we can be aware of the approach 

 of rain, it closes up ; and it does not open at 

 all upon a wet or even cloudy day, a circum- 

 stance Avhich was early noticed by Sir Erancis 

 Bacon. It gives us no warning, however, after 



