1M1K DAY FLOWER 



139 



ers or stalks of celery may be seen. It 

 is a sight of beauty and of wonderful or- 

 namentation that makes a lasting impres- 

 sion on the mind of the observer. 



Mr. J. S. Diller in a government publi- 

 cation says : "All caverns are not so beau- 

 tifully ornamented. Mammoth Cave of 

 Kentucky, although remarkable for its 

 size, contains a very small amount of cave 

 deposits such as are shown by the two il- 

 lustrations", referring to Luray Cave in 

 A^iroinia and Marengo Cave, Indiana. 



The flowers, the sunbeams, the sparkling of 



dew, 

 Are all sweet allurements of Nature for 



you; 

 She woos you with beauty, with color, with 



scent, 

 In all to her fullness of life giving vent, 

 Oh can you resist her? Why wedded so 



long 

 To the life artificial, which multitudes 



throng? 

 Just live for a season a free, simple life 

 And you will have done with vexation and 



strife. 



— Emma Peirce. 



The Dayflower. 



BY ROBERT CUXNINXHAM MILLER, UNION- 

 TOWN, PA. 



An odd little flower is the common 

 dayflower (Coiiiiiielina comiiniuis), a 

 member of the Spiderwort family which 

 we find growing in damp, shady places all 



over the land. Its two bright blue petals 

 so oiUshine the tiny white one that the 

 latter often passes unnoticed, and the 

 flower has a peculiar appearance, as 

 though part of its petals had been blown 

 away by the wind. The generic name of 

 the flower, (Commelina) was intended 

 by Linnaeus as a quiet little joke on the 

 three Dutch botanists Commelyn, two oi 

 whom became noted through their 

 scientific writings, while the third, Casper, 

 although a deep student, never gained 

 note through his failure to publish the re- 

 sults of his work. Like the inconspicuous 

 white petal of the dayflower, he was over- 

 shadowed by the lirilliance of the other 

 members of the family. 



In spite of the fact that the plant is 

 so hardy, its blossoms are most delicate. 

 Once while passing a colony of them near 

 my home, I gathered a few specimens, 

 intending to press them and add them to 

 my collection, but before I had gone two 

 squares they were hopelessly withered. 

 At best they last but a few hours, until 

 the work of pollination is accomplished. 

 Like those of the morning glory, the pet- 

 als of the dayflower roll together at noon, 

 but they never open again, and from this 

 fact the common name is derived. As a 



THE DAYFLOWER. 



little boy to whom I was explaining the 

 habits of the flower once remarked, "I 

 think it ought to jes' be called a half- 

 dav flower." 



