SCARLET PIMPERNEL 69 



blooms, as ensigns pointing to where its 

 liquorice-flavoured roots may be dug up and 

 chewed. It is a thorny plant, and the more 

 barren the land the more spiny it is, thus 

 preserving for us one of the marked features 

 of the desert flora, to which it had at one 

 time undoubtedly belonged. 



Much interest attaches to the Scarlet 

 Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), Plate IV., 

 Fig. 8. In the first place, it is one of our 

 two scarlet wild flowers, the other being the 

 Scarlet Poppy (Papaver rhceas). Sometimes 

 it is found of a blue or white colour, but 

 scarlet is its usual hue. Then, it has the 

 property of foretelling the approach of wet 

 weather by closing its flowers. It is also 

 regular in its time of opening and closing, 

 expanding at 7 a.m. and closing at 2 p.m. 

 I had occasion at one period to pass a corn- 

 field twice daily. One side of the field was 

 filled with pimpernels, and in a sunny 

 morning was a blaze of red. In the after- 

 noon, however bright the sun, not a spot 

 of red was visible. 



The Common Fumitory (Fumaria qffici- 

 nalis), Plate IV., Fig. 10, is a pretty, 



