Rushe 



be distinguished by the general manner of growth, the form of the 

 small divisions of the perianth, and the relative length of these 

 divisions in comparison 

 with the length of the 

 seed-capsules. 



The gathering of rushes 

 was an important task 

 when the floors of English 

 dwelling houses were cov- 

 ered with these plants of 

 the marsh, and the sov- 

 ereign could require, as 

 did William the Conqueror 

 of his subjects upon Ayles- 

 bury land, that the people 

 furnish " straw for his bed- 

 chamber . . . and in 

 summer straw rushes." To 

 this floor-covering Eras- 

 mus ascribed pestilences, 

 since the lowest layer of 

 rushes was often left un- 

 changed for years. In 

 the days of " Merrie Eng- 

 land" such rush-strewn 

 floors were an evidence of 

 barbarism to the courts 

 of southern Europe, where 

 a Frenchman of the eigh- 

 teenth century reported to 

 Henry 1 1 1 of France that 

 there were but three re- 

 markable things to be seen 

 in England, of which one 

 was the custom of the 

 people to " strew all their 

 best rooms with hay." 

 We also read that in olden 

 days the pathways of pro- 

 cessions were made green 

 337 



B 



Black Grass 

 Juncus Gerardi 



m 



Common Wood-rush 

 Luzula campestris 



