162 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
many parts of Ireland cultivated for that purpose. The moist places 
the Comfrey inhabits are the homes of two of the Forget-me-nots, 
which are also alliances of the Borage. The true Forget-me-not is 
the Water Scorpion Grass, Mi/osotis palm tris, a robust leafy plant 
which fringes the sluggish river, and frequently chokes up the 
smaller streams, for which it abundantly compensates by the beauty 
and plentifulness of its pale blue flowers, which are as like tur- 
quoises as any flowers can be. There are a few other species of 
myosotis natives of Britain, not all of them water plants, for some 
inhabit mountainous regions, and others haunt the woods and the 
fields. The Creeping Scorpion Grass, M. repens, though ranked as 
a species, is only a poor variety of the last, met with in sour bogs. 
The Tufted Scorpion Grass, A[. ccespitosa, is not tufted, but crowded 
in its growth. It very closely resembles in leaves and flowers M. 
repens , and, indeed, is but a variety of ilZ. palustris. The Upright 
Wood Scorpion Grass, M. sylcatica, is distinct and beautiful, most 
beautiful, 'with oblong leaves and large handsome blue flowers. It 
is scarce, but may be looked for in dry shady places. The Rock 
Scorpion Grass, M. alpestris, is an Alpine form of the last, with 
smaller flowers. The early Field Scorpion Grass, M. collina, is a 
tiny thing, growing on walls and roofs. It has one distinguishing 
quality, that the flower buds are never pink as in other kinds. The 
Common Field Scorpion Grass, M. arvensis resembles sylvatica, 
especially when growing in the shade, but is never quite its equal in 
beauty. The Yellow and Blue Scorpion Grass, M. versicolor, 
is the most distinct of all, for the simple reason ^that its flowers 
vary from bright yellow to bright pink and bright blue. It is a 
sweet little thing, by no means rare, and to be looked for in dry as 
well as in moist places. The Alkanets and the Bugloss, which also 
belong to the Borage family, may be better studied in the garden 
than in the field, and it will be a poor garden that does not contain 
some of them. 
Having returned to water scenes we may expect to find the 
Buckbean, Menyanthes trfoliaia, a splendid aquatic, with noble 
br ght green leaves and elegant pink flowers, which are charmingly 
fringed. As for the Lilies, we have but three, one of which is 
doubtful. The Great White Water Lily is Nymphcea alba of the 
botanists ; the Yellow Water Lily is Nuphar Intea. If anywhere in 
our watery wanderings we should light upon a bog, we might find 
the two-flowered Linnsea, Linncea borealis, which Linnaeus adopted as 
a crest for his coat of arms, and which, in his own fanciful way and 
in remembrance of his early struggles, he considered as especially an 
emblem of himself, “ a little northern plant, flowering early, de- 
pressed, abject, and long overlooked.” 
It would be strange if in a June ramble we did not somewhere 
meet with the Honeysuckle, and it would be fortunate to find the 
two-flowered Linnsea on the same day, for they both belong to the 
same natural order, and Woodbine tribe. In this order are grouped 
the Elder and Guelde Rose, iu addition to the Linnsea and the 
Honeysuckle, plants that differ immensely in their habits and 
attractions. In all of them the corolla is in one piece (monopeta- 
