30 RIVERBY 



in color that it would fairly make her eyes water to 

 gaze upon it. 



Just then the whistle of the engine summoned 

 us all aboard, and in a moment we were off. 



When one is stranded anywhere in the country 

 in the season of flowers or birds, if he feels any in- 

 terest in these things he always has something ready 

 at hand to fall back upon. And if he feels no in- 

 terest in them he will do well to cultivate an inter- 

 est. The tedium of an eighty-mile drive which I 

 lately took (in September), cutting through parts of 

 three counties, was greatly relieved by noting the 

 various flowers by the roadside. First my attention 

 was attracted by wild thyme making purple patches 

 here and there in the meadows and pastures. I got 

 out of the wagon and gathered some of it. I found 

 honey-bees working upon it, and remembered that 

 it was a famous plant for honey in parts of the Old 

 World. It had probably escajDed from some gar- 

 den; I had never seen it growing wild in this way 

 before. Along the Schoharie Kill, I saw acres of 

 blue- weed, or viper's bugloss, the hairy stems of 

 the plants, when looked at toward the sun, having 

 a frosted appearance. 



What is this tall plant by the roadside, thickly 

 hung with pendent clusters of long purplish buds 

 or tassels ? The stalk is four feet high, the lower 

 leaves are large and lobed, and the whole eff'ect of 

 the plant is striking. The clusters of purple pend- 

 ents have a very decorative effect. This is a spe- 

 cies of nabalus, of the great composite family, and 



