63 



spring gathered in hamlsful by country children as a nosegay ; 

 arid called by them Blue Bottles, because the young seed vessel 

 is shaped like a decanter or wine bottle. 



DOCK. RUMEX. 

 CURLED DOCK. Rumex crispus. 



Plate 4, fig. 10. 

 Leaves waved, sharp. Upper whirls of flowers leafless. 



Tn fields and on way-sides, growing two or three feet high, 

 flowering in June and July. The whirls of flowers are very 

 numerous ; the petals large, heart-shaped, a little waved at the 

 edges, but not toothed, and one of them, (sometimes all three,) 

 with a large orange-colored swelling upon it. Leaves oblong, 

 much crisped, and curled on the edges. 



GREAT WATER DOCK. Rumex hydrolapathum. 



Plated, fig. 11. 

 Leaves lanceolate, entire. Upper whirls leafless. 



A very large plant, common on river banks, bearing fine, 

 lanceolate, sharp -pointed leaves, often two feet long. The 

 whirls of flowers are crowded, and not mixed with leaves. 

 Petals green, not toothed, of a long egg-shape, aud each with a 

 swelling on it. This is a very different plant from that com- 

 monly called Water Dock, which is the Burdock, a plant of the 

 nineteenth class. 



FIDDLE DOCK. Rumex pulcher. 



Plate*, fig. 12. 

 Leaves fiddle-shaped. Whirls distant, leafy. 



Common on pastures and by the highways, growing two or 

 three feet high. Its name of the Fiddle Dock arises from the 

 curious form of the leaves, which are contracted on both sides, 

 somewhat like a fiddle. Its Latin name, which means the 

 Beautiful Dock, it well deserves, on account of the elegance 

 of the petals of the flowers. They are egg-shaped, and very 

 deeply toothed, of a beautiful vivid green color, with a large 

 spot of fine scarlet in the centre of each. The stamens are 



