Daily public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1892-191?, 1896-06-27
GRASSY RoApsIpss.
floral Beauties FYund Along tho Nigh
ways of England.

floral Beauties R.,und Along tho Nigh
ways of England.
The beauty and the vegetation of the
road margin, though varying with To-
cnlity and SOIL conform i'm each 10 q cer-
tain order. BY the great high roads in
the agricultural counties this roughly
corresponds to the lawn, flower border
and background of shrubs of the culti-
waited garden. The finest turf that
grows, except that which las for 500
years been cropped by the cattle of the
New Forest, fringes the highway. It
owes its quality first to the passing trav-
elers' feet, which have pressed il for CEN
turtles without wearing il away, and
ccondly TO the constant powdering with
road dust. the finest and most flourish
ing of grass fertilizers. The heritage
consists mainly of the tiniest clcvers
and the best lawn grasses. Between the
turf and the hedge lies the roadside
flower garden, to which the fence forms
a background of shrubbery. On the
level margin of the flat-bordered roads
this isalso preserve of wild herbaceous
plants.
Among the dwarf bushes of bramble,
rest-harrow and dog rose, or on the
rougher and less-trodden margin, where
these do not flourish, grows the legion Of
roadside flowers. 1t is the ground
sacred to the wild snap dragon. the
musk-thistle, cranes'-bill and speedwell,
eye-bright and white nettle, pink con-
Novulus and wild carrot, mallow and the
big pink clover. Some plants seem to
love thedust and sun nearest 10 the road
way. Aaron's rod, pink nettles, gray
scabious and the bright blue viper's
bugloss and pennywort thrive with a
coating of dust, washed Off by passing
showers. On heavy soil the wayside
needs a ditch to drain the road; there
fore meadow-sweet, loosestrife,y etch and
cherry pie and all the ditch plants
flourish there. When the road is bor-
dered by q running stream the floral
wreath of this wayside garden is
doubled or trebled. The refraction of
the sun from the road, the confinement
of the fences, the water, dust and light,
here force the roadside vegetation to
the utmost. There grow the large
A'A"A 81 iSOAdsa- NhC lOHBtSJ' lluTl -
tongues, the tallest teazles and the
greenest burdocks. Butterflies and
birds of certain species always prefer
the roadside to any other haunt. The
sociable yellowhammers and white
threats seldom leave the road hedges,
and cartridges have a special liking for
this dangerous nesting place.
Where the road is cut deep and the
margins slope upward. the charact err of
the flower border changes. Loosely
growing grasses take the place of the
compact turf, and these are set in
spring with beds of white and purple
yiolets, star of Bethlehem, white nettle,
speedwell and cclandine and later with
masses of mallows and ragged Robin.
The ants and bumblebees are the char
acteristic insects of these warm borders,
the former piling their hills among the
loose grasses and the latter burrowing
III the warm slopes. There the old coun-
try women, active and industrious TO the
last, come and gather the medicinal
plants which seem to grow nowhere else
except by the roadsides. no one but
these old danes knows the plants by
sight, though all fetch their price when
sent up in bundles to the dealers in Con-
vent garden.-London Spectator.