Marsh. 



way in which the sedge is 

 interwoven with iris and 

 reeds bespeaks a nest in the 

 centre of the clump ; so, 

 taking off boots and stock- 

 ings, we are soon looking at 

 seven stone-grey, red-spotted 

 eggs, from which we trust 

 seven young coots will shortly 

 be safely hatched. 



Rising from the water 

 side, we notice the lovely 

 fern-like, feathery, delicately 

 cut, and most exquisitely 

 tinted leaves of the water 

 dropwort ; but, in spite of its 

 marvellous beauty, we re- 

 member that it is most poi- 

 sonous withal. And along 

 the ditch banks, what a mass 

 of vegetation there is. Great 

 plants of Epilobium and 

 Galium are mixed with reeds 

 and the broader-leaved bul- 

 rush. Here, in the slimy 

 mud, its large rhizomes visi- 

 ble on the surface, its fibrous 

 1 roots sinking far below, and 

 its long, sword-like, glabrous 

 leaves standing some three 

 or four feet above the water, 



FIG. 42. THE YELLOW FLAG 



(In* pseud-acorus). 



a, Transverse section of three-celled 



ovary. 



