English Wild Flowers | by Tom Burgess
To be found by the wayside, fields, hedgerows, rivers. moorlands. meadows, mountains, and sea-shore
Title | English Wild Flowers |
Author | Joseph Tom Burgess |
Publisher | Frederick Warne |
Year | 1868 |
Copyright | Frederick Warne, 1868 |
Amazon | English Wild Flowers |
By J. Tom Burgess, F.S.A, Author of "Angling," etc., etc., etc.

"Who loves not These fairy people of the leafy woods ? Children of storm and sun ! climbers of The mountain-side ! or loiterers on the bank Of the young rivulet!"
With Numerous Illustrations and Coloured plates.


Preface- I have tried to make this little volume worthy of being thought the indispensable companion of those who care to make the acquaintance of the flowers which blossom by the wayside, make gay our fields,...
The Story Of The Wild Flowers- LET us listen to the silent voices of the flowers of the wayside, and interpret the mission of the wildings of Nature which dwell in the woodland glades, spangle the dewy meads, adorn the moorland w...
The Story Of The Wild Flowers. Part 2- The seaweed family, the castaways of every storm, are not only of use as manure, but they enter largely into the economy of human life. Before chemistry had discovered an economic method of making sod...
The Story Of The Wild Flowers. Part 3- Numerous plants tell us of bygone festivities, of well-dressing, decking of town crosses, of weddings, and of funerals. There was a special floral calendar, about which I shall have something to say b...
How The Wild Flowers Grow- THE old prophets took the flowers of the field as the most natural emblems of the life and immortality of man, and we repeat the words without knowing how true the comparison and how close the analo...
How To Know The Wild Flowers- AS we wander through the deep embosomed lanes on our way to the wild moorland and shady woods, pointing out each herb and flower, marking its beauties, uses, and peculiarities, let us also learn the l...
How To Know The Wild Flowers. Continued- 1. Butterfly-shaped blossom. 2. Salver-shaped. 3. Cross-shaped, 4. Trumpet-shaped. 5. Funnel-shaped. 6. Wheel-shaped. 7. Labiate. 8. Bell-shaped. But the flowers, with their wonderful stamens and p...
Wild Flowers Of Spring- The welcome flowers are blossoming, In joyous troops revealed, And lift their dewy buds and bells In garden, mead, and field; '1 hey lurk in every sunless path, Where forest children tread, And do...
Wild Flowers Of Spring. Part 2- A tender green begins to peep from the hedge-row Elder in sheltered nooks, And the dark pine-wood's boughs are seen Fringed tenderly with living green. The sword-like leaves of the Blue-bell are ...
Wild Flowers Of Spring. Part 3- Ere the end of April the shower of seed-leaves noticed earlier have sent forth their aerial leaves, and conspicuous amongst them is the star-like whorl of the common Cleaver (Galium aparine), which is...
In The Woodlands- And now the wood engirds me, and the tall stems Of birch and beech tree hemming me around Like pillars of some natural temple vast. AS we pass along the embosomed lane, and turn into the woodland, ...
In The Woodlands. Continued- In the chalky woodlands especially of Kent, and along the banks of the Thames, the Lady Orchis - the brown-winged orchis of the botanist - (Orchis fusca) - may be found. The stem is sometimes two or e...
Flowers Of The Field- AS we emerge from the woodlands, and gaze over hill and vale, and cross the fields where the spring wheat hardly veils the rough soil, we shall find many an early wild flower, half hiding its modest h...
In The Meadows- Ah, joyous time ! through verdant meads to rove With wild flowers strewn. MANY a flower has peeped out in the deep fur-rows, warm woodland nooks, and under the hedgerows ere the glorious kingcups a...
Ruins, Walls, And Waste Places- THE loves of the flowers are as diverse as their forms and colours. Some love the moist bog, others the shady woodland. Some delight in the bracing air of the ocean, others in the quiet meadows. Many ...
The Moorland And The Mountain- LEAVING the beaten paths, and striking for the wild moorland and breezy heaths, beyond which the blue mountain shows its silvery outline, we find but comparatively few flowers of the early spring, but...
By The River And The Streamlet- Leaving the open downs, we will proceed Let us walk where reeds are growing By the alders in the mead, Where the crystal streams are flowing, In whose waves the fishes feed. THE hedgerows are gay a...
The Marshlands And The Bogs- PASSING from the river-sides to the spongy marshlands, or treading lightly over the dark hog, where The golden-belted bees hummed in the air, The tall silk-grasses bent and waved along the pathway,...
On The Cliffs And By The Sea-Side- IN many a sheltered nook and cranny the spring wild flower will be found in bloom. Others will be found braving the bold sea wind, where the murmuring surge On the unnumbered idle pebbles chafes, or...
Wild Flowers Of Summer- As shadowy April's suns and showers would pass, And summer's wild profusion plenteous grew, Hiding the spring flowers in long weeds and grass, What meads and copses would I wander through! When on ...
By The Wayside And Hedgerows- The dew yet lingers on the grass, As down the long green lane you pass, Where o'er the hawthorn's snowy wreath The woodbine's honied perfumes breathe And the wild roses' arching spray Flaunts to th...
By The Wayside And Hedgerows. Continued- Though the spring-time, ere the pale green of the hawthorn-bud had burst, we have noticed the pinkish buds of the Woodbine or Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum). The woodbine is one of the earliest l...
Summer In The Woodlands- THE summer woods are matronly and sombre; the foliage is full and dark Shade above shade the aerial pines ascend, Nor stop but where creation seems to end, and invite us to avoid the glare of the m...
Summer Flowers In The Corn-Fields- THE ears of the corn are pressing through their ribbed sheaths as summer advances. By the footpath we shall find the humble Chickweed (Stellaria media) pushing its tiny white stars by the side of its ...
Walls, Ruins, Rocks, And Waste Places- AS we climb the ivy-mantled ruin, and repose in the shady bower it has made, we shall find some of the most brilliant of our summer wild flowers in bloom. For who would sing the flowers of June wou...
Walls, Ruins, Rocks, And Waste Places. Continued- A frequent companion of the dock is the big burly Burdock {Arctium lappa), whose large heart-shaped foliage forms a remarkable cluster by the road-side. Their ball-like flowers, of a dull purplish hue...
Grassy Nooks- WHO in the sweet summer-time has not thanked God for the green fields, and thought, with Johnson Barker, What a desert-like spot would this life of ours be, If, amid sands of sin, no glimpse could w...
Grassy Nooks. Part 2- Similar in appearance, but lower in growth, are the purple anthered Cat's-tails (Phleum), tenants alike of the meadow, the pasture, and the sea-shore. They have two pointed glumes, concealing the blun...
Grassy Nooks. Part 3- The Sweet Grasses {Glyceria) have a simple paleae; and their many florets, headed by the two glumes, form little spikelets on the panicle. There are four varieties of sweet grasses Which inhabit water...
In The Meadows And Along The Pastures- THE intermingling of spring and summer is so general in the bright grassy meadows, now so lovely in their greenness and beauty, that it is difficult to distinguish between the beauteous children of t...
The Heath, Moorland, And Mountain- THE gorgeous living beauty of the heath and moorland in midsummer tells rather of untold wealth than of a poor soil. The jewels of earth's diadem are scattered in profusion, and speak of Him Whose ...
The Heath, Moorland, And Mountain. Continued- The Bird's-eye Primrose (Primula farinosa) blooms in June and July, and is somewhat like an auricula; but the flower is small, seldom larger than the oxlip, of a pale purple tint, with a yellow centre...
Summer By The River And The Streamlet- IN the summer-time the banks of the streamlet are covered with glory, as we wander by The sad waters, sad and chilly With the snows of the lolling lily, or recline beneath the fat alder or the hoary...
Summer in the Marshlands And Bogs- THE earliest summer flower of the marsh is the Red Rattle or Lousewort (Pedicularis palustris), which shows its red stems and flowers so plentifully as to tint the landscape, which is brightened by it...
Summer in The Cliffs And Sea-Shore- THE summer sun brings out the sea-side flowers in profusion. The visitor will find the strange vegetation full of beauty. Many have a curious resemblance to the inland flowers, but the majority will b...
Autumn Wild Flowers- The scarlet pimpernel creeps here and there. Amid the corn the crimson poppies blush, Still on the brooks gleam water-lilies rare, And purple loosestrife, and the flowering rush Still honeysuckle b...
Woodland Glades- There is a Power, a Presence in the wood, A viewless Being, that with life and love Informs the reverential solitude; The rich air knows it, and the mossy sod. Thou, Thou art there, my God 1 The ...
By The Hedgerows And Wayside- THE tender green leaves and bright flowers of the spring and summer have given place to the dull and dusty-looking labiate tribe of Mints, Calamints, and Dead Nettles. We all know the White Dead Nett...
In The Stubbles And Cultivated Fields- THE golden tint of autumn is spread over the fields. The corn is garnered, and with it have gone many of our brightest flowers. A few remain, as if to remind us How many plants - we call them weeds -...
By The Rivers And The Streamlets- O river-side! Where soft green rushes bear dark flowers, And reedy grasses weave dark bowers Through which fleet minnows glide; 0 river banks let me from you convey Something to scatter in that minst...
Marshlands And Bogs- HERE we shall find the cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix), with its whorls of four slender leaves and its pale hells. Many a mass of ling and heather bloom beside it, though their home is on the moor...
The Cliffs And Sea-Shore- AS the autumn comes on we still find the pink flowers of the Sea-Thrift in bloom, and several kinds of Sea-Southernwood are in bloom. On both the southern and north-western coasts the Samphire (Crithm...
Wild Flowers Of Winter- See, winter comes to rule the varied year, Sullen and sad, with all his rising train, Vapour, and clouds, and storms; AND as he comes the wild flowers go to their wintry home, where the secret proc...
Wild Flowers: How To Cather, Preserve, And Classify Them- The Linnaean And Natural Systems Where'er I cast my wandering eyes around, The God I seek in every object's found : Pursuing Thee, the verdant fields I pass, And read Thy name on every blade of gras...
How To Gather Wild Flowers- The materials and implements necessary are a strong pruning knife, a species of wallet, some eighteen inches long, four inches deep and eight broad - one that can be suspended by straps from the shoul...
How To Preserve Wild Flowers- When the plants are dry, many of the firmer varieties may be simply labelled and placed in a drawer or cabinet. The more delicate and perfect specimens should be mounted on stout cartridge-paper, thou...
How To Classify Wild Flowers- The specimens, as they increase, should be arranged into families; but this requires some little attention to be paid to botanical science. This, though shrouded in what seem hard names, will be found...
How To Classify Wild Flowers. Part 2- The orders of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth class, are founded on the number of the stamens, and they consequently receive the same names as the first thirteen classes - Triandria, Pentan...
How To Classify Wild Flowers. Part 3- 1. The Spindle-tree family+ . . . Celastraceoe. 2. The Buckthorn family+ . Rhamnaceoe. 3. The Leguminous family . . . Leguminosoe....
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