THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 
Vol. 111. November 15, 1902. No. 5 
VAGABONDS AMONG THE FLOWERS. 
By Charles D. Turnbull. 
At the old cross-roads school, book m hand and stoutly booted 
feet awkwardly toeing the line at various angles, our grand-par- 
ents stammered and struggled through the lines of the ''wheat 
and the w^eeds," in their old brown covered readers. The verses 
recounted the experiences of ''three youths in city bred," who had 
rambled for pleasure's sake among the green fields and budding 
trees of the country. "Of herbs and grain they little knew, what 
Linaeus wrote or Sinclair grew," and each as he strolled along 
expatiated upon the beauty and fragrance of his choice of flowers 
but all condemned the rising blades of green composing the wheat- 
flelds, as unworthy of such bright companionship. 
"A Farmer chanced behind the gate 
To overhear the youth's debate, 
And knowing from ignorance error springs 
He strove to teach them better things. 
'My lads,' he said, 'now understand 
These are the weeds that spoil our land ; 
But the green blades you trample down 
Are wheat, man's food and Nature's crown.' 
These lines illustrate the prevalent and conventional distinction 
between the flowers and the weeds. Our grandparents probably 
pondered w^onderingly and failed to understand why these flow- 
ers so beautiful should be ruthlessly condemned as weeds, these 
flowers so bright could not be weeds. But in after years they till- 
ed their many acres and entered the eternal fight against the 
weeds and then hard experience taught them the distinction be- 
tween Nature's crown "and the flowers that blossom so fair in the 
sweet summer time." 
