ful wreath of white dancing pearls or studs, I hardly know which to call them.

I daresay you have often twisted and knocked the heads together, to try which has the strongest stalk, but I wonder whether you know how to make a knock-head basket? Gather a good many of the longest and strongest you can find, pull off their pretty black heads, crowns and all, then take the stoutest of all, and give it to some small brother or sister to hold at full length for you. Then take one of the others, bend it in the middle, and give it one twist round the first. Oh, but we want another pair of hands, some other little person must come and hold the ends; hold them tight while you twist another knock-head in the same way, and add the ends to the former one; then another, another; hold fast and be patient, little helpers, till some twenty or five-andtwenty have been put on, twisted in the middle, and the ends held in two bundles. Now get some string, tie one set of ends together, now tie the other, cut them even, then release the little ones who had been holding the first stalk so patiently, and tie the ends of that together as neatly as you can for the handle, and now you have a knock-head basket. It will not stand, to be sure, for it has only a ridge at the bottom, and it will only last a day, but it will do very nicely to please the little ones and hold daisies; and if you are as happy making them as I have been you will not be much to be pitied.

Here is the hoary plantain, with leaves growing in a neat compact form close to the ground, tall stems with white cottony coats and tall heads, which have pretty pale pink filaments and white anthers; there is also the buckshorn plantain, or star of the earth, so called from its branching leaves, which spread out like a star in very

dry pastures. And the greater plantain, with very long heads and pink stamens, growing in the edges of fields and in the sides of cart-tracks, is well known to all keepers of caged birds, for the chirp and hop with which the canary or bullfinch receives it is a sufficient reward for all the pain the tough stem may give the fingers that uproot it.

The bay tree belongs to the next tribe; I daresay you know it well, those fragrant evergreen leaves are so pleasant to gather and make a nice mark for the collect and psalms in a prayer-book. It grows wild in the south of Europe, and was greatly prized by the Greeks and Romans; indeed it was of bay leaves that they wove the wreaths with which they crowned their victors, either in war, poetry, or their games of strength and skill. These are the corruptible crowns for which the Greeks strove and trained themselves with so much more self-denial and steadiness than the children of light are always ready to take for the crowns of glory that will never fade away. The Latin name of the bay is Laurus, and this has made a little confusion, as the laurel is quite a different plant; but whenever you hear of people being crowned with laurel, like Julius Cæsar, it is sure to mean with bay.

bay, which grows shining evergreen

The cinnamon tree is a sort of plentifully in Ceylon, and its light leaves are most beautiful in the woods. It is the inner bark that we use to flavour puddings, and the seed, when boiled, yields an oil that hardens into white cakes and is made into candles. The camphor tree, another of the same family, is found in China and Borneo, and the white lumps of fragrant refreshing camphor are obtained from its leaves by distilling them.

ful wreath of white dancing pearls or studs, I hardly know which to call them.

I daresay you have often twisted and knocked the heads together, to try which has the strongest stalk, but I wonder whether you know how to make a knock-head basket? Gather a good many of the longest and strongest you can find, pull off their pretty black heads, crowns and all, then take the stoutest of all, and give it to some small brother or sister to hold at full length for you. Then take one of the others, bend it in the middle, and give it one twist round the first. Oh, but we want another pair of hands, some other little person must come and hold the ends; hold them tight while you twist another knock-head in the same way, and add the ends to the former one; then another, another; hold fast and be patient, little helpers, till some twenty or five-andtwenty have been put on, twisted in the middle, and the ends held in two bundles. Now get some string, tie one set of ends together, now tie the other, cut them even, then release the little ones who had been holding the first stalk so patiently, and tie the ends of that together as neatly as you can for the handle, and now you have a knock-head basket. It will not stand, to be sure, for it has only a ridge at the bottom, and it will only last a day, but it will do very nicely to please the little ones and hold daisies; and if you are as happy making them as I have been you will not be much to be pitied.

Here is the hoary plantain, with leaves growing in a neat compact form close to the ground, tall stems with white cottony coats and tall heads, which have pretty pale pink filaments and white anthers; there is also the buckshorn plantain, or star of the earth, so called from its branching leaves, which spread out like a star in very

dry pastures. And the greater plantain, with very long heads and pink stamens, growing in the edges of fields and in the sides of cart-tracks, is well known to all keepers of caged birds, for the chirp and hop with which the canary or bullfinch receives it is a sufficient reward for all the pain the tough stem may give the fingers that uproot it.

The bay tree belongs to the next tribe ; I daresay you know it well, those fragrant evergreen leaves are so pleasant to gather and make a nice mark for the collect and psalms in a prayer-book. It grows wild in the south of Europe, and was greatly prized by the Greeks and Romans; indeed it was of bay leaves that they wove the wreaths with which they crowned their victors, either in war, poetry, or their games of strength and skill. These are the corruptible crowns for which the Greeks strove and trained themselves with so much more self-denial and steadiness than the children of light are always ready to take for the crowns of glory that will never fade away. The Latin name of the bay is Laurus, and this has made a little confusion, as the laurel is quite a different plant; but whenever you hear of people being crowned with laurel, like Julius Cæsar, it is sure to mean with bay.

bay, which grows shining evergreen

The cinnamon tree is a sort of plentifully in Ceylon, and its light leaves are most beautiful in the woods. It is the inner bark that we use to flavour puddings, and the seed, when boiled, yields an oil that hardens into white cakes and is made into candles. The camphor tree, another of the same family, is found in China and Borneo, and the white lumps of fragrant refreshing camphor are obtained from its leaves by distilling them.

CHAPTER XXIX

CROSSWORTS

ALL the plants in this tribe follow the rule of four, but still have only one four-cleft petal. Though the Valerians often have only three anthers, it is because one stamen is imperfect. There are three sorts. One, dark red, making a grand banner to adorn old castle walls or rocks by the seaside. Great Valerian is of a pale flesh colour, and likes bogs and river sides. It has pretty feathery leaves, and what is curious is that cats are very fond of it, and like to roll and tumble and purr over it in perfect ecstasy. Lastly, Small Valerian is a lesser likeness of its big brother, and whiter. There is also a very small kinsman of Valerian known as corn salad, or lamb's-lettuce, growing in stubble, with a much-forked stem and little heads of white flower. I do not know that lambs are specially fond of it, or whether it is good with lamb.

The next are a set called crossworts, with all their parts divided in fours; a stem in an exact square, leaves at regular intervals, growing in twice fours, a calyx in four divisions, a corolla likewise in fours, four stamens, half four cells to the germ, and four seeds.

The largest of these crossworts is the sweet woodruff, with its pretty white stars of flowers, and the leaves that