GOOD AND BAD WEEDS
AT that, the little fellow picked up a tiny stick, which he used
as a cane, and started ahead, Bouncing Bet following with a happy
hop-skip-and-jump step.
Mary Frances and Eleanor were surprised that they had to hurry to keep
up to the tiny little beings.
At length they came to a high hedge.
“Touch me with your hand,” said Jack to Mary Frances, holding out his
arm.
“Touch me with your hand,” said Bet to Eleanor.
“Now, when I say ‘three,’ all jump,” commanded Jack.
“One, two, three!” Over the top of hedge they went as though they had
wings, and found themselves in the midst of a wonderful garden.
“Oh,” cried Mary Frances, “I never, never saw so many wild flowers
blooming at once.”
“This is a fairy garden,” answered Bouncing Bet, “and the fairies keep
it for just such friends as you, who are anxious to learn about wild
flowers.”
“But we can tell you only the shortest flower stories to-day.” Jack
caught up the conversation. “Just take a seat please, and I’ll begin.”
The girls sat on a pretty rustic bench under a tree, and Jack and Bet
leaped upon a branch in front of them. Then Jack began:
“GOOD AND BAD WEEDS”
“Of course you know that all the flowers cultivated in your gardens
have come from wild flowers.
“Through years of care, the wild flowers have improved so that it would
be almost impossible to trace each of the plants in your gardens to the
wild flowers from which it was started.
“There are many hundreds of wild flowers, but none more beautiful than
those growing in America. There are many different kinds which were
growing here when America was discovered, but the seeds of many more
were carried over from Europe in grain for the colonists.
“Some of the wild things are most helpful to human beings; such as
mint, and dock, and dear old dandelions, and other ‘weeds’ which
may be eaten. From ‘weeds’ also come some of the most wonderful of[J]
medicines. Perhaps you have tested the medicinal effects of mustard,
catnip, and boneset.”
“I tried catnip on our Jubey,” said Mary Frances. “It did her lots of
good.”
“I’ve had mustard plasters, and mustard baths, and boneset tea when
I’ve been ill with chills,” Eleanor added.
“Just so! just so!” nodded Jack-in-the-Pulpit; “so you see, many
‘weeds’ are not useless plants, but are very valuable. The Indians knew
that.”
“My, I hadn’t any idea weeds were valuable,” said Eleanor.
“I always knew about mint and catnip,” Mary Frances replied, “but I
didn’t know other weeds were of so much help.”
“Of course there are many weeds which seem of no value at all. They
steal the food of valuable plants and choke them out.” Jack went on.
“For instance, there’s corn cockle, the seeds of which are poisonous.
It loves to grow among the corn and wheat, and troubles the farmers
terribly.”
“I think the flowers are quite pretty,” Mary Frances ventured to say.
“Oh, you know them when you see them?” asked Jack. “That’s good,
because we can go on with our story faster if you know some of the
wild flowers. You would like to gather some out of our fairy garden,
wouldn’t you? Well, you may take some of all that are in bloom at this
time of year, after we finish telling you what we so much want you to
learn about our dear flowers.”
“Now, it is Bet’s turn,” he went on, turning toward the dainty little
fairy, who began to bounce happily up and down on the branch of the
tree.
The girls were delighted with her dancing. At length she stopped and
began to talk in her musical voice.
“I am going to talk a little about the flowers,” she said, “and shall
mention only the ones known by most people, because we have such a
short time for your lesson. I shall just mention them, and if you
do not know them, please interrupt me, and Jack and I will take you
through the garden to show them to you. Do you know the—
{This charming gold and white, wheel-shaped
{flower, which is a troublesome weed to the
Daisy (Other names: {farmer, blooms everywhere afield from May to
Ox-Eyed Daisy, {November, from Canada to the southern States, and
White Weed) {to the Mississippi River. It is perhaps the best
{known wild flower in the Eastern United States.
{Almost everywhere this tall rod, bearing yellow
{flowers, which resemble huge buttercups, may be
{seen from June to November. Its velvety leaves,
{which grow in rosettes on the ground, are soft to
{the touch, but if sheep or cows try to eat them,
Great Mullein (Other{the down upon them becomes splinters in the
names: {tongues of the animals. That is one reason it
Velvet Dock, {grows so widely—the down saves the leaves from
Aaron’s Rod, {harm. This same down is sometimes used by humming
Flannel Leaf) {birds to line their tiny nests, which are no
{larger than a large thimble, yet hold two
{humming-bird babies.
{
{The seeds of the great Mullein are eaten by
{goldfinches, or they would scatter yet more
{abundantly.
{
{The great Mullein is a native of Europe.
“My winter coat is made of velvet dock,” said Bouncing Bet.
“Mine is made of flannel leaf,” Jack added.
“Yet they are both made of the leaves of the great mullein,” laughed
Mary Frances.
“Good.” laughed Bouncing Bet. “Jack, we didn’t catch her.”
“Now comes a wild flower with a charming name,” she went on. “It is the—
{This bright orange milk-weed is found blooming
{nearly everywhere in the United States except
{the far West, from June to September. It is
{greatly loved by butterflies because in its
Butterfly Weed (Other{small deep blossoms they find sweet nectar,
names: {which even the long tongues of bumble-bees
Pleurisy-root, {cannot reach. The pollen lies deep, too, and
Orange-root) {adheres to the long legs of the butterfly.
{
{The stem has very little milky juice, and the
{seed pods are not so interesting as those of the
{Common Milk-weed.
{This plant grows in the northern, eastern and
{middle western part of the United States and is
Common Milk-weed {most interesting because of the white milky
{juice in the stems, and because of the fluffy
{the seed pods. When I tell you about Seed Babies
{down in with Wings, I’ll tell you more about
{this milk-weed down.
Just as Bet finished speaking about the milk-weed, there sounded a
silvery clock.
One! Two! Three! it chimed.
“Oh,” exclaimed Jack. “Oh, can it be possible that it is three o’clock!
Bet, you must stop talking and give me a chance!”
“Oh, dear,” sighed Eleanor. “Oh, must she stop talking? I am so anxious
to learn more about the wild flowers.”
“Do you know all I’ve told about, when you see them?” asked Bouncing
Bet.
“No,” replied Eleanor. “Do you, Mary Frances?”
“Not all,” Mary Frances shook her head.
“Come then,” cried Jack and Bet, jumping from the tree. “Come,” and
they led them among the flowers, and pointed out to them besides the
ones mentioned: Wake Robins, Trailing Arbutus, Lupines, Forget-Me-Nots,
Columbines, Heather, Laurel, California Poppies, and hundreds of other
wild flowers which were in bloom in the outside meadows and fields and
woods.
“I’m so sorry we haven’t time to tell you the story of each one,” said
Jack. “Some time next year, please come again and we’ll tell you.”
“We could come to-morrow, couldn’t we, Mary Frances?” Eleanor ventured,
but Jack answered:
“No, not to-morrow. Only once a year can flower fairies talk with human
beings. It must be to-day. So now, just as quickly as possible, I am
going to tell you something about how plants are related to each other,
but please be more comfortable. Do take a seat in the grape-vine swing.”
Then the girls noticed a hammock nearby, formed by the interlacing of
growing grape vines.
It was wonderfully comfortable, and they leaned back contentedly as
Jack took his place in a little green lily-shaped flower growing close
by, and Bouncing Bet pranced around on the lawn near him.
“Jack’s in his pulpit now,” she said. “Hear him speak.”
FOOTNOTE:
[J] For information concerning weeds used in medicine, send for
Farmers’ Bulletin No. 188, which may be had free from the United States
Department of Agriculture.