FIGWORT FAMILY 201 
bees. These busy creatures have long since 
learned the secret of opening the door that is so 
fast closed to most other insects. The worker 
bumble-bees are the only sort abundant late in 
summer, and the size of these blossoms is perfectly 
adapted to their visits. If you open the flowers 
you can see how the bees are dusted with pollen. 
This plant spreads by means of short root- 
stocks which run out in all directions and take 
complete possession of the soil. 
Mutuern. I presume the plebeian Mullein is 
not often considered a beautiful plant. Yet there 
is a certain decorative value to it that we should 
miss did we not find it here and there in pasture 
and field. The great woolly leaves with their 
velvety surfaces and rounded margins seem to 
belong to the irregular surface of the stem, while 
the long head of inconspicuous blossoms and 
ripening fruits also carry out the idea of a plant 
that asks only to be let alone, except by the flying 
insects that come to pollinate it. It is not a plant 
that we gather to bring indoors as we do the 
Goldenrods, but it nevertheless serves a purpose 
in adorning the landscape. 
Motu Mutrern. The Moth Mullein is an- 
other abundant and widely distributed plant 
which is worth a little attention from the nature 
student. The beautiful waxy white or yellowish 
petals have five stamens projecting from between 
