132 



STARLIGHT AND SUNSHINE. 



of flowers, quite distinct from all the other food plants, and new 

 to me. I simply noted it as an exception, and lowered my but- 

 terfly a peg in my esteem. Not until years later, in the more 

 serious pursuit of botanical study, did I dis- 

 cover what a rare lesson in botany the As- 

 terias had wasted upon me; that the little 

 unknown plant was in truth a distinct um- 

 belwort like the rest the water-pennywort. 

 In this plant we have an example which 

 none but a careful botanist would 

 identify as belonging to this fam- 

 ily, the habit being entirely ex- 

 ceptional, the leaf totally dis- 

 similar to any other species, 

 having more the resem- 

 blance, indeed, to a mallow, 

 or geranium, or Trop&olum, 

 and bearing a flower and 



seed so peculiar and incon- 

 spicuous that only a 

 keen, analytic eye could 

 trace their botanical 

 characters. 



Thus we have 

 cited two prime au- 

 thorities on Urticacecs 

 and Umbellifera. In the 

 lead of the little white but- 

 terfly of our gardens (Pie- 

 ris oleraced] we may be 

 introduced to an entirely 

 new tribe of vegetation, in- 

 dicated by the insects' spe- 

 cific name the cabbage or potherb butterfly a member of a 

 small tribe of unimpeachable experts on the Mustard family. For 

 it matters not whether in the form of candy-tuft or sweet-alyssum, 



