A HOMELY WEED 27 



An illustration of the truth of this axiom was 

 afforded in a recent incident in my experience. 

 Sitting at the open window of my country studio 

 one summer day, engaged in making a portrait 

 of a common weed, a friendly farmer, chancing 

 " across lots," seeing me at work, sauntered up to 

 " pass the time o' day." As he leaned on the 

 window-sill his eye fell upon the drawing before 

 me. 



" My !" he exclaimed, " but ain't that pooty ?" 



" What !" I retorted, " and will you admit that 

 this drawing of a weed is pretty ?" 



" Yes, your draft thar is pooty, but you artist 

 fellows alliz makes 'em look pootier 'n they ought 

 to. 



So much for the mere attributes of manifest 

 outward beauty without regard to consideration of 

 " botany " or the structural beauty of the flowers. 

 The "botanist" finds beauty everywhere, even 

 among the homeliest of Flora's hosts. But in the 

 light of the " new botany," which recognizes the 

 insect as the important affinity of the flower — the 

 key to its various puzzling features of color, form, 

 and fragrance — every commonest blossom which 

 we thought we had " known " all our lives, and 

 every homely weed scarce worth our knowing, 

 now becomes a rebuke, and offers us a field of in- 

 vestigation as fresh and promising as is offered 

 by the veriest rare exotic of the conservatory; 



