378 FLORA HISTORICA. 



plant, which cannot fail to interest the students of 

 natural history and botany ; and the closer they in- 

 vestigate the apparent phenomena of the Colchicum, 

 the more will they be struck with the wonderful ar- 

 rangements that the all-wise Creator has adapted in 

 the formation of vegetables, which appear, on a 

 superficial inspection, to act by contrarieties, whilst 

 their actions are governed by the most consummate 

 wisdom. Let us regard the Colchicum as a native 

 of our moist pastures, and we shall find that its 

 corolla is sent out of the earth with its parts of 

 fructification at a season when they have only time 

 to mature the anthers, that the stigmas may receive 

 and convey the fecundating particles of vegetable 

 nature to the numerous empty seed-shells that are 

 prepared to receive it in the three-iobed capsule. 

 As the season of the year would not allow the 

 fruit of this late-flowering plant to ripen so as to 

 multiply its kind, Providence has so contrived its 

 structure, that it may be performed at a depth 

 within the earth out of the reach of the usual effects 

 of the frost ; and as seeds buried at such a depth 

 are known not to vegetate, a no less admirable pro- 

 vision is made to raise them above the surface when 

 they are perfect, and to sow them at a proper sea- 

 son. For this purpose the seed-vessels are lodged 

 in the bosom of the embryo leaves, and are conse- 

 quently thrust forth with the fohage about the 



