YELLOW AND ORANGE WILD FLOWERS 
glittering, golden flowers of the Buttercup, as if they 
had been purposely placed there for ornamental and 
decorative effect. Perhaps they were, but if so, why 
not the Clover or Forget-me-not, or any of a dozen 
and one other equally pleasing flowers? Why was 
the Buttercup alone selected. I will tell you why. 
It is because, as the gossips say, the Crowfoot clan has 
a family “skeleton in its closet.” Some of its kind, 
the Aconite and Larkspur, have developed certain 
highly poisonous qualities, and the Buttercup, though 
happily free from such deadly contamination, still 
betrays its kinship by the very acrid and caustic juice 
which it conceals. For this reason, horses and cattle 
intentionally avoid the Buttercups, and that is why 
they stand out boldly and fearlessly in every pasture, 
joidding a pretty defiance to their four-footed enemies 
who might otherwise ruthlessly obliterate them. Many 
farmers destroy the Crowfoot with marked vengeance, 
and look upon their coming hay crop with more or less 
concern and depreciation, if their timothy is brightened 
with these brilliant blossoms. Their fears should cease, 
however, when they learn that the Buttercup loses its 
objectionable qualities with the drying or curing pro-* | 
cess of hay-making, and then it is relished as a fodder. 
SMALL-FLOWERED, OR KIDNEY=LEAVED 
CROWFOOT 
Rantinculus abortivus. Crowfoot Family. 
Commonly found along shady hillsides and wood- 
land streams during April, May, and June, from 
116 
