246 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. 



The Yellow Toad-Flax (Linaria vulgaris) is another 

 roadside plant, and a beautiful one too, with its 

 large, canary-yellow flowers, tinged inside with 

 orange. Among some of our country people it is 

 better known as " butter and eggs." Formerly (and 

 perhaps in some places the custom is still carried on) 

 the juice of this plant was used as a cosmetic. The 

 hedges are now intertwined with the dark green 

 leaves of the Bitter-sweet (Solatium dulcamara) 

 whose pretty purple and yellow flowers at once show 

 by their shapes that this species is a near relative of 

 our common potato. By-and-by these flowers will 

 be replaced with bright scarlet berries, so attractive 

 to the eye that many have been tempted to taste 

 them, much to their disgust afterwards. The Old 

 Man's Beard (Clematis vitalbd) grows beside it, but 

 is a stronger climber, so that it fairly covers the 

 hedges with its greenish- white flowers. When 

 seeding, these flowers will be replaced with long 

 feathery awns like the flocculent " wool " of a seed- 

 ing dandelion, and then you will see the appropriate- 

 ness of the name " old man's beard." The hedges 

 in the eastern and southern counties are often 

 covered for hundreds of yards by this plant. A 

 young microscopist cannot do better, in trying his 

 hand at section-cutting, than begin with the tough 

 stem of this plant. The section is exceeding curious 

 and pretty, and will well repay the labour bestowed 

 in obtaining it. 



In no department of natural history, perhaps, is 



