Wild Flowers as They Grow 



attempt to reverse this direction and storm the 

 central path that leads to the flowers, he is at once 

 checked by the impossible roughness of the road. 

 In the Water or Marsh Forget-me-not the leaves 

 are often quite smooth and shining. If the plants 

 are growing well in the water it is obvious that 

 creeping insects cannot in any case invade them, 

 so no armour is necessary, but the plant varies 

 much in this matter. 



As to venation. A casual glance at a leaf shows 

 only a very distinct midrib (sunk on the surface, 

 but a ridge on the back) and no other veins, so 

 thick is the leaf texture, but if a leaf be held up to 

 the Hght two long veins can be seen running up quite 

 close to the margins on either side and parallel to 

 the midrib. This is a very unusual arrangement 

 and, of course, immensely strengthens the frame- 

 work of the leaf. 



The clear, blue flowers are worth more than a 

 passing aUusion to their beauty, for their structure 

 is distinctly interesting. The long " cymes " in 



I02 



