OLD ADAM'S GAIETY 81 



is not very high from the ground. Now its high- 

 est side is having a turn of gaiety, for lately 

 flowers have opened there which fairly cover it, 

 and the old rock looks as if it were smiling. 



The name of these flowers is Rock Pinks, or 

 Wild Pinks, which sounds as if they were really 

 meant to grow on a rock. They are a deep, deep 

 pink, and against Old Adam's gray side they shine 

 out very brightly. They look something like old- 

 fashioned garden Pinks, although their five petals 

 have each but one notch in the middle. 



The leaves that grow in a circle about the stem 

 where it touches the ground, are narrow and 

 rounded, and I saw they were quite different from 

 the smaller, pointed ones that grow on opposite 

 sides of the stem. Besides, when I picked these 

 flowers and had the stems in my hands I found 

 out that they were sticky. 



Since we came to live in the country I have 

 learned to notice when flower stems are covered 

 with this sticky stuff ; for it is to keep little insects 

 from crawling up them and eating the flower's 

 nectar. These mites like very much to sip sweet 

 things; but they are not like the good bee and 

 butterfly, and don't know about carrying the 

 golden dust. Wild Pinks can only save their 

 nectar for butterflies by gumming such little insect 

 crawlers close to their stems and holding them there 

 until they die. I hardly think this matters much ; 

 for they are very ugly, and not much use to any 



