LIFE DARTS BEFORE ME. 139 



and for much of the way the same shale out- 

 crops in a steep bluff on the south side of the 

 stream. As I wade through the pools minnows 

 dart wildly to and fro and crawfish amble 

 swiftly backwards beneath the sheltering stones. 

 Wherrymen and water-striders skate merrily in 

 all directions over the surface, while small, 

 slender, black dragon-flies arise in scores, flit 

 onward for a rod or two, then settle down on 

 some convenient leaf or twig. 



From the sides of the bluff the maidenhair 

 and Christmas ferns, the wild hydrangea, spike- 

 nard and wild gooseberry nod gracefully to- 

 wards the water, while here and there great 

 masses of tall green moss hang by a precarious 

 foothold. In many places at the foot of the 

 bluff the sicklepod 49 flourishes, its long curved 

 pendulous pods its most striking attribute. 

 Here and there are scattered clumps of water 

 plantain, while in one place, in full flower, is 

 a fine specimen of motherwort. 50 It, however, is 

 not a water-loving plant, and the seed from 

 which it sprang has probably drifted from some 

 door-yard or wayside far up the stream. Would 

 that I could trace its history through the years 

 that have elapsed since it was "naturalized 

 from Europe" as the botany says it was. The 

 middle lobe of the lower lip is prettily marked 



Arabia canodensis L. > Leonurus cardiaca L. 



