ANISE AND WEDDING-CAKES 51 



There is plenty of honey in Caraway blossoms, 

 but the tiny florets on the flat discs are so shallow 

 that only certain insects can get at it. Sir John 

 Lubbock watched a dinner-party that went on one 

 summer's day in the Caraway bed ; he counted 

 that out of fifty-five visitants, one moth, nine bees, 

 twenty-one flies, and twenty- four midges made up 

 the company. 



Anise, Pimpinella Anisum, as it flowered and 

 went to seed, was one of the Herbs we enjoyed 

 most, partly because it is such a dainty, white- 

 flowered little plant, and also because, having 

 always heard so much of ' Aniseed,' as it is called, 

 both in physic and at drag-hunts, we were curious 

 to see how the plant looked when growing. It 

 has secondary feather-like leaflets of bright green, 

 which are a great addition to its personal appear- 

 ance, and give the plant its title — Pimpinella, from 

 hipinella. It is an odd literary mistake to make 

 Aniseed a plural noun. There is a book called 

 The Englishman's Doctor, wherein it says, * Some 

 anny seeds be sweet and some bitter.' 



At first sight, there does not seem to be much 

 connection between Anise and wedding-cakes, but 

 Dr. Fernie finds one. The mustache, or spiced 

 cakes of the Romans, introduced at the close of a 



