72 



THE BROOK BOOK 



leave only the sharp -pointed guards lined up to 

 mark the place where for a few days they showed 

 their delicate faces. Above and below two more 

 bands of purple appear, not suddenly, but a few 



flowers at a time ; they 

 open, are visited, close, 

 fade, and are followed 

 by those below or above 

 them. By this device 

 the teasel seems to be 

 surer of making its way 

 in the world. 



I am grateful to it for 

 evolving such a charm- 

 ing habit, and for 

 choosing my particular 

 meadow as a basis for 

 its operations. I shall 

 "shoo" all the bees from 

 my own garden off into 

 Teasel Hollow, where 

 they are needed. By 

 so doing I shall "ac- 

 quire merit." The tea- 

 sel colony is as yet not 

 thoroughly established 

 and in danger of being 

 run out by my neighbor's unromantic timothy. 

 Perchance this fall I shall gather some teasel seeds 

 in this hollow and sow them discreetly in a certain 

 brook-bed I know. 



'THE TEASEL WEARS A CROWN 

 OF PURPLE" 



