CHAPTEE XVII. 



WILLOW. 



Salix. 



" Willows to panting shepherds shade dispense, 

 To bees their honey, and to corn defence." Virgil. 



METHINKS I am suggestive of calm thoughts, said a 

 willow, drooping in its beauty beside the margin of an 

 inland lake. My light green pendent branches are in 

 unison with secluded spots and the sweet warbling note of 

 the small wren that bears my name. The botanist who has 

 made his way through reeds, ofttimes ankle-deep in a damp 

 soil, while seeking water-plants, listens with delight to the 



