Richard Henry Yapp

"... ' is widely spread over the north temperate and colder regions of the . In Great Britain it is a common plant, being found in the whole of 's 112 counties, ... whilst its altitudinal range is from the coast to some 2,700 above sea-level.... Itself a characteristic plant of the drier parts of marshes and s, ... the habitat of ' is usually where the is considerable rather than excessive. It prefers soils with a high water capacity, such as or . Provided that its needs in respect to soil moisture are satisfied, it will grow almost anywhere: at the edges of marshes and rivers; in the damper parts of meadows; in roadside ditches; on the sea-coast; ... in damp hollows between sand-dunes; ... and even in woods, if the shade is not too dense. ... It readily colonizes moist ground which has been recently disturbed; and hence frequently establishes itself at the foot of railway embankments, &c."

"and factors, though frequently of great importance, are usually indirect in their action, influencing plants by modifying more direct factors. Thus s influence . Local differences of or affect , light, wind and drainage. Associated plants modify light and for each other. , s, etc., exert a far-reaching influence on the chemical and physical characters of the soil, and so on."

"It has been said, and with more than element of truth, that the least important part of education is the acquisition of knowledge. The facts of nature, as such, have intense fascination for the nature-lover, yet the value of a mere knowledge of facts may easily be over-estimated. Facts are really s, the value of which lies in the uses to which they may be put. Of far deeper importance, therefore, than the mere committing of facts to memory, is the acquisition of correct habits of study. Habits, that is, of patient and accurate observation, and of clear and logical interpretation and correlation of the facts observed. Facts may be forgotten, but habits remain."

"Each has two (sometimes three or more) thin flat ..., at the base of each of which is a swollen part, lined with hairs and containing a single seed. The seed is covered by a thin brown testa. If you scrape away the testa you will find the inside, consisting, as in the , of a , two s, and a very minute plumule. The cotyledons are green and long and narrow, and are coiled into a sort of ball ...; they too contain a store of food."