Bramble-bees and Others 



mention the following: Convolvulus canta- 

 brica, or flax-leaved bindweed; Lotus sym- 

 metricus, or bird's-foot trefoil; Teucrium 

 polium, or poly; and the flowery heads of 

 the Phragmites communis, or common reed. 

 Among the second are these : Medicago lupu- 

 lina, or nonesuch ; Trifolium repens, or white 

 clover; Lathyrus pratensis, or meadow lathy- 

 rus; Cnpsella bursa pastoris, or shepherd's 

 purse; Ficia peregrina, or broad-podded 

 vetch; Convolvulus arvensis, or small bind- 

 weed; Pterotheca nemausensis, a sort of 

 hawkweed; and Poa pratensis, or smooth- 

 stalked meadow-grass. When It Is downy, 

 the plant forms almost the whole nest, as Is 

 the case with the flax-leaved bindweed; when 

 smooth. It forms only the framework, de- 

 stined to support a crumbling mass of micro- 

 pus, as Is the case with the small bindweed. 

 When making this collection, which I 

 am far from giving as the bird's com- 

 plete herbarium, I was struck by a wholly 

 unexpected detail: of the various plants, 

 I found only the heads still In bud; 

 moreover, all the sprigs, though dry, 

 possessed the green colouring of the grow- 

 ing plant, a sign of swift desiccation in 



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