MONEYWORT. 59 



for a moment its calmly-flowing- surface, and the king- 

 fisher flashes by us a living gem. We are in a floral 

 paradise, the fragrant meadow-sweet and the pink willow- 

 leaf fringe the stream, and at their feet the turquoise-blue 

 of the forget-me-not and the golden stars of the ragwort 

 blend into pei'fect beauty. The pure white chalice of the 

 water-lily is absent, but the yellow flowers and great 

 leaves of the other species float on the gently-moving 

 stream, and the leaves of the iris rise abruptly from its 

 depth and slowly wave to and fro as they feel the pressure 

 of the current. All around us, as we tread it, the ground is 

 glowing with the stars of the moneywort, and here, far 

 from the busy flower-market, or the flower-decked window- 

 sill of some pale-faced weaver's lodging, we select from 

 the wealth around us the subject of our illustration. 



Commencing with the root of the moneywort, we find 

 that it is perennial and very fibrous ; these fibres are 

 simple in character, long, and strike boldly downward a 

 provision no doubt to enable it to retain firm hold in the 

 soft moiso earth in which it is found. The stems are 

 prostrate and very numerous, trailing away often to almost 

 two feet, and often throwing out rootlets at intervals that 

 in turn give a firmer hold for the plant. The leaves are 

 opposite to each other in pairs all along the stalk, and all 

 face in the same direction outwards if the stem be trail- 

 ing down, upwards if running along the ground. From 

 the round shape of the leaves, and their growth in pairs, 

 the plant is sometimes called herb-twopence or twopenny- 

 grass. In one of the earliest herbals, that of Turner, 

 A.D. 1548, we find this latter name given, as he says, 

 from the leaves all " standyng together of ech syde of the 

 stalke lyke pence ; " and our familiar name moneywort, it 



