78 BOTANY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 



dish purple flowers look so very natural, that I 

 do not wonder they often occasion surprise when 

 dried. This, as well as the Fumitory, are among 

 the first orders. The curious looking Corydalis, 

 often called Dutchman's Pants, is also here. 



But leaving these for more important plants, 

 we must mention the Pea and Bean tribes, In- 

 digo, Liquorice, Gum Arabic, and Tamarinds. 

 The Lupine is here, about which Mrs. Lincoln 

 mentions a traveller's story of the Banks of the 

 Nile, being visited at night by the Hippopot- 

 amus or River Horse, a large animal that does 

 great damage to gardens and fields, and that 

 the inhabitants destroy him by placing quanti- 

 ties of lupine seeds in his way ; he devours these 

 greedily, but they soon swell in his stomach, 

 and produce such distension as to cause death. 



The Furze is also here, as well as the Brooms, 

 on seeing which Linneus fell on his knees in 

 tears and prayed, enraptured with their golden 

 beauty. Last, but not least, in this class, I will 

 mention the Milk Wort Polygala, that forms 

 the type of a natural family. The most useful 

 among its species is the Seneka Snake Root, 

 much used in medicine, and one of the ingredi- 

 ents of the common Hive Syrup of the shops. 



