XXVIII 
THE CHEQUERED DAFFODIL 
AND THE GLORY OF WILD FLOWERS 
NEVER a season passes, never a month nor a week, 
nor even a day, when I’m wandering in quest of 
the sights and sounds that draw the field naturalist, 
but I stumble on something notable never pre- 
viously seen, or never seen in the same charming 
aspect. And the fact that it is stumbled on when 
not looked for, that it comes as a complete surprise, 
greatly enhances the charm. It may be a bird or 
mammal, or some rare or lustrous insect, but it is 
in plant life where the happy discoveries are most 
frequent, even to one who is not a “ painfull and 
industrious searcher of plantes” and knows little 
of their science. For not only are the species so 
numerous as to be practically innumerable to one 
who desires to see all things for himself, but many 
of the most attractive kinds are either rare or 
exceedingly local in their distribution. I will give 
a few instances. 
What a delightful experience it was one cold 
sunny day in April when I sought shelter from the 
furious wind at a huge rocky headland at Zennor 
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