CLOVER


I said all I could to make you admire the Nettle, and to see what a
handsome and even useful plant it is. I am afraid, however, that you do
not care much for it; I do not see that any of you have gathered a
handful to take home. When we go in to dinner presently, if Mrs. Hammond
were to say, "Will you have green peas or nettle-tops?" I believe you
would all say, "Peas, if you please!" So we had better look for a flower
that you may like better. We will go to Ashmead, where the cows are
grazing, and will find some Clover.

Mr. Hammond grows Clover in some of his fields every year. Those of you
who have been at Willow Farm before, and have walked about the farmer's
fields, know this, for we saw the bailiff sowing Clover broadcast.
Besides the fields of Clover, however, there is always plenty of it
growing among the meadow grass. We find some directly we go through the
gate into Ashmead. It is a plant with a bright purplish-red blossom.
Let us sit down and examine it carefully.

The blossom is a little knob, or ball of colour, almost round. It is
made up of a great many little purple stalks, standing upright and very
close together. Pull a few of these stalks from the blossom and put
their lower ends between your lips. They are quite sweet like sugar.
Nearly all flowers contain honey, or rather _nectar_ of which the bees
make honey. Some flowers have much nectar, some less, and some have none
at all; the Clover contains a great deal.

Now look at the leaves; each has three leaflets. If you can find a leaf