HERBS 



AjREAT green book, whose broad pages 

 are illuminated with flowers, lies open 

 at the feet of Londoners. This vol- 

 ume, without further preface, lies ever 

 open at Kew Gardens, and is most easily accessible 

 from every part of the metropolis. A short walk 

 from Kew station brings the visitor to Cumberland 

 Gate. Resting for a moment upon the first seat 

 that presents itself, it is hard to realise that London 

 has but just been quitted. 



Green foliage around, green grass beneath, a 

 pleasant sensation not silence, but absence of 

 jarring sound blue sky overhead, streaks and 

 patches of sunshine where the branches admit the 

 rays, wide, cool shadows, and clear, sweet atmos- 

 phere. High in a lime tree, hidden from view by 

 the leaves, a chiff-chaff sings continually, and from 

 the distance comes the softer note of a thrush. 

 On the close-mown grass a hedge-sparrow is search- 

 ing about within a few yards, and idle insects float 

 to and fro, visible against the background of a 

 dark yew tree they could not be seen in the 



