{Almost everywhere this tall rod, bearing yellow {flowers, which resemble huge buttercups, may be {seen from June to November. Its velvety leaves, {which grow in rosettes on the ground, are soft to {the touch, but if sheep or cows try to eat them, Great Mullein (Other{the down upon them becomes splinters in the names: {tongues of the animals. That is one reason it Velvet Dock, {grows so widely—the down saves the leaves from Aaron’s Rod, {harm. This same down is sometimes used by humming Flannel Leaf) {birds to line their tiny nests, which are no {larger than a large thimble, yet hold two {humming-bird babies. { {The seeds of the great Mullein are eaten by {goldfinches, or they would scatter yet more {abundantly. { {The great Mullein is a native of Europe. “My winter coat is made of velvet dock,” said Bouncing Bet. “Mine is made of flannel leaf,” Jack added. “Yet they are both made of the leaves of the great mullein,” laughed Mary Frances. “Good.” laughed Bouncing Bet. “Jack, we didn’t catch her.” “Now comes a wild flower with a charming name,” she went on. “It is the— {This bright orange milk-weed is found blooming {nearly everywhere in the United States except {the far West, from June to September. It is {greatly loved by butterflies because in its Butterfly Weed (Other{small deep blossoms they find sweet nectar, names: {which even the long tongues of bumble-bees Pleurisy-root, {cannot reach. The pollen lies deep, too, and Orange-root) {adheres to the long legs of the butterfly. { {The stem has very little milky juice, and the {seed pods are not so interesting as those of the {Common Milk-weed. {This plant grows in the northern, eastern and {middle western part of the United States and is Common Milk-weed {most interesting because of the white milky {juice in the stems, and because of the fluffy {the seed pods. When I tell you about Seed Babies {down in with Wings, I’ll tell you more about {this milk-weed down. Just as Bet finished speaking about the milk-weed, there sounded a silvery clock. One! Two! Three! it chimed. “Oh,” exclaimed Jack. “Oh, can it be possible that it is three o’clock! Bet, you must stop talking and give me a chance!” “Oh, dear,” sighed Eleanor. “Oh, must she stop talking? I am so anxious to learn more about the wild flowers.”