88 FORGET-ME-NOT. 



Tims say the poets, but the philosophers 

 believe them not; and so one of our great 

 botanists suggests, that after all the flower 

 owes its name to its beautiful blue petals and 

 yellow eye, which once looked upon are not 

 likely to be forgotten. 



This plant is called also Great Scorpion grass, 

 and Mouse ear, and is, during the summer 

 months, very common in our humid meadows, 

 bogs, banks of rivers, rivulets, and ditches. It 

 grows in similar places throughout Europe, 

 and also in many parts of Asia and North 

 America. A variety has been found with 

 white flowers. 



There are eight native species of the genus, 

 and all have blue blossoms. The little brifliant 

 blue flower found in fields from June to August, 

 and often called Forget-me-not, is the field 

 Scorpion grass {Myosotis arvensis). It is very 

 abundant on cultivated lands, on hedge banks, 

 and in groves, &c. The name of the genus is 

 derived from two Greek words, signifying 

 mouse and ear, from the shape of the leaves. 



