LINAllIA CYMBALAIUA. 199 



be trodden under foot. Nature has wonderfully provided against 

 such a contingency. The Psalmist exclaimed, "O Lord, how 

 manifold are Thy works ; in wisdom hast Thou made them all." 

 In this tiny, unobserved plant, a proof of creative wisdoni is 

 readily seen. A careful observer will notice that as the blossom 

 of Liiiaria cyjiibalaria fades and the seed-capsule swells, its long 

 green stalk gradually turns inward. When the capsule is ripe, its 

 position is exactly the opposite to that formerly held by the flower. 

 The latter stole out from the thick green leaves into sunshine, but 

 the former retires to the rear of the pretty tapestry until the seed- 

 vessel is close to the crevices of the w^all ready to discharge its 

 precious freight. Some observers have gone so far as to credit 

 this little plant with a kind of instinct to preserve its species. 

 Miss Pratt, in her " Flowering Plants of Great Britain," writes : — 

 " The capsules, before ripening, turn towards the wall on which 

 the plant so often grows and place tJieinselves in a crevice or hole, so 

 as to shed the seeds, when ripened, in a place where they may 

 thrive, instead of scattering them on the ground where they would 

 be wasted." 



A correspondent to Science Gossip, in the September number, 

 1867, p. 211, writes : — " The seed-vessel faces the wall. But this 

 is not sufficient. The office of the pedicle is not accomplished 

 until its precious burden is placed in safety. For this purpose it 

 draws close to the face of the wall or building, and then actually 

 seems to search out a rough chink or hollow, into 7ahich it may 

 thrust its capsule, in order that the seeds may find a secure resting- 

 place when separated from the parent plant." 



This curious and wonderful habit was denied to the plant by a 

 subsequent writer in Science Gossip, but observers may witness to 

 the correctness of the statement, in greater part at least, in any of 

 the localities where it thrives. No explanation of this peculiar 

 but important function has been offered so far as I have gleaned ; 

 but I shall presume to offer one, leaving my readers to judge of 

 its probable correctness. In dissecting the flower-stalk, one is 

 impressed with its tough and wiry nature. When the outer mem- 

 brane, which is readily detached in a cylindrical form, is removed, 

 the interior stem appears as a white, thread-like substance, very 

 strong and slightly elastic. If this be macerated in water and 



