vantage of his weakness, jumped on him, and
pecking at his head, dragged him along the ground as fiercely as a
game cock. This was witnessed by Mr. St. John.[A] "I have often heard
peewits uttering their peculiar noise," said Willy, "quite late at
night. What do they feed on? I should so much like to have a tame
young one." The food of the peewits consists of insects, worms,
snails, slugs, the larvae of various insects; I am certain they do much
good to the farmer by destroying numerous insect-pests. "Oh, papa,"
exclaimed May, "do come here, what a splendid cluster of bright golden
flowers is growing on the side of the drain." Yes, indeed it is a
beautiful cluster; it is the marsh-marigold, and looks like a gigantic
buttercup; it is sometimes in flower as early as March, and continues
to blossom for three months or more. Country people often call it the
may-flower, as being one of the flowers once used for may-garlands. I
dare say you have sometimes seen wreaths hanging on cottage doors.
Some people have invented what I think very ugly names for this showy
plant, such as horse-blob, water-blob.

"Beneath the shelving bank's retreat
The horseblob swells its golden ball."

I have somewhere read that the young buds are sometimes pickled and
used instead of capers, but I do not think I should like to try them.
"And what," asked May, "are those bright green feathery tufts under
the water? they are very pretty, but they do not bear any flowers."
No, there are no flowers at present, but in about a month's time you
will see plenty. Out of the middle of the feathery tuft there grows a
single tall stem with whorls of four, five, or six pale purple flowers
occurring at intervals. Its English name is water-violet,--not a
fitting name for it, because this plant is not at all related to the
violet tribe, but is one of the primrose family; so we should more
correctly call it water-primrose. Its Latin name is _Hottonia
palustris_; it is called Hottonia in honour of a German botanist,
Professor Hotton, of Leyden. Willy will tell us that the word
_palustris_ means "marshy," in allusion to the places where the water
primrose is found growing. It is a very common plant in the ditches on
the moors here, and I will take care to show you its pretty tall stem
when the flowers appear. While I was talking to May about the water
primrose, Jack espied a sulphur-coloured butterfly, and off he set in
full chase; he did not, however, succee