Marsh. 199 



bee with a long tongue forces its head under the arch 

 formed by the coloured stigmas, to get at the nectary at its 

 base. If the stamens are mature, the pressure makes them 

 dehisce or open on their lower surfaces, and the bee's head 

 is immediately covered with pollen ; the bee, when it has 

 rifled the nectary of its honey, flies to another flower. But 

 the gummy part of the stigma is placed in the direct path 

 of the bee as it climbs over to reach the nectary, and some 

 of the pollen is left on the gummy surface as Bombus pushes 

 its way under the arch of another flower, from which it in 

 turn gets another supply of pollen the while it is robbing it 

 of its honey. 



It is not only on marshes such as this that the yellow flag 

 is to be found. It occurs in bogs, upon hillsides, by the 

 edges of ponds in woods, wherever, in fact, the damp collects 

 sufficiently for it to thrive. Its sword-like leaves are used 

 in mimic warfare by boys, and this practice is referred to 

 by Scott in the lines 



" But yet from out the little hill, 



Oozes the slender springlet still, 



Oft halts the stranger there ; 



For thence may best his curious eye 



The memorable field descry, 



And shepherd boys repair 



To seek the water flag and rush, 



And rest them by the hazel bush, 



And plait their garlands fair ; 



Nor dream they sit upon the grave 



That holds the bones of Marmion brave." 



Does not the sight of the yellow flag, too, bring to mind 

 its French name, Fleur-de-luce ? and we remember that 

 under the name Fleur-de-lys it is the national floral emblem 

 of that country. True, we talk about the " lilies of France," 



