For January. 1922 



17 



impervionsness to moisture. Though often closely as- 

 sociated, the floras of dune and cliiif are usually quite 

 different, thout^h some species may grow in either place. 

 The cliffs support a large number of "crevice plants" 

 which are in reality rosette plants with long slender roots 

 which they send into the crannies in search of moisture. 

 The harebell and various columbines, saxifrages and 

 cresses are typical forms. Here are also found such 

 "cushion plants" as pinks and phloxes in addition to 

 mosses, ferns and lichens. In the cold deserts the mosses 

 and lichens may form the bulk of the vegetation though 

 there are often many cushion plants as well as rosette 

 plants and mat-plants, represented by such forms as the 

 gentians, primroses, phloxes, pinks and the like. 



In regions where cold puts an end to [jlant growth for 

 a part of each year, we find assemblages of jilants known 



as tropophytcs or turning plants because for ])erhaps 

 half of the year they have all the aspects of the plants of 

 perennially moist regions while for the other half they 

 appear like desert plants or xerophytes, dropping their 

 leaves, disappearing underground, existing as annuals 

 and in other ways behaving as desert plants do. Even 

 in warm regions may be found certain kinds of tropo- 

 ]>hytes that drop their leaves because dryness stops their 

 growth. There is one group of plants that may be rep- 

 resented in both regions. This is the coniferous group 

 represented by the pines and their allies. The slender 

 leaves with thick epidermis are admirably adapted to 

 retard transpiration whether they be exposed to cold or 

 drouth. They are practically desert plants and we may 

 therefore find them on sand dunes, in the cold north, on 

 rocky cliffs or in dry regions near the equator. 



Telling Time by Flowers 



BERTHA BERBERT-HAMMOND 



III n'cry cupsc and sheltered dcll. 

 Unveiled to the obsenvnt eye, 

 Are faithful monitors who tell 

 HoTV pass the hours and seasons bv. 



The green-robed children of the Spring 

 Will mark the periods as they pa^s; 

 Mingle with leaves Time's feather d wing 

 And bind with flowers his hour glass. 



— (T. Smith). 



AS the natural divisions of time are marked by the 

 lunar month and the true solar day and solar year, 

 so the variations in Flora's calendar are recorded 

 by the change of seasons. Note of time is taken by 

 numbers of blooming plants that possess the striking 

 characteristics of opening and closing their blooms at a 

 certain season or definite time of day. The .Swedish 

 botanist, Linnaeus, observed this peculiarity in over forty 

 varieties of plants, and is said to have utilized this property 

 in forming a unique dial of flowers. Mrs. Hemans com- 

 ments on the beauty of this idea as follows : 



'Twas a lovelv thought to mark the hours 

 As they floated in light away, 

 Bv the opening and the folding flmvers 

 That laugh to the Summer's day. 



Thus had each moment its own rich hue; 

 And its graceful cup or bell. 

 In whose colour'd vase might sleep the dew. 

 Like a pearl in an ocean shell. 



Yet is not life, in its real flight, 

 Mark'd thu.s — even thus — on earth. 

 By the closing of one hope's delight. 

 And another's gentle birth ? 



Oh ! let us live, so that flower by flower 

 Shutting in turn, may leave 

 A lingerer still for the sun-set hour, 

 A charm for the shaded eye. 



Some years ago a gentleman residing in New Orleans 

 who had closely studied this remarkable property of 

 plants, constructed in his garden, which contained inter- 

 esting plants from nearly every clime, a large floral clock 

 in which are massed and carefully arranged in a circular 

 bed twenty-four kinds of plants, each variety being planted 



opposite to the hour at nr near which its flowers would 

 open. In this dial, the Portnlaea which was chosen to 

 represent twelve o'clock is said to have never varied more 

 than ten minutes of the noon hour in the opening of its 

 flowers. The old-fashioned Four o'Clock, dependable to 

 represent the hour indicated by its common name, was 

 planted in the proper position and the Nyctago was planted 

 at five. The Evening Primrose appeared at seven and the 

 evening hours were assigned to night bloomers, the mid- 

 night hour being graced by the Cactus known as the Night 

 Blooming Cereus. Though not a part of the time-telling 

 scheme, a large pair of vine-covered, wooden clock 

 hands were added to give a more realistic touch to the 

 design. 



In more recent days, a I'rench botanist is said to have 

 carried out the bright idea of a floral timepiece by laying 

 oiU a circular flower bed of twelve sections, intended 

 to mark only the twelve daylight hours, beginning with 

 the opening, at about seven in the morning, of the water 

 lilv and ending with the opening of the Evening Prim- 

 rose. 



If desired the idea could be worked out to a greater 

 extent by noting also the span of life enjoyed by the 

 various flowers utilized. By careful observation of the 

 opening and the closing habits of plants, it is thus quite 

 possible to construct a floral dial that will prove a fairly 

 accurate time keeper. 



FROM SEED TO SEEDLING AND PLANTING 



(Continued from page 13) 



in an unbroken stream of sugar but it is deposited and 

 redissolved as it passes from cell to cell. In this way the 

 starch is finally brought either to a place of storage, or 

 to where it is to be used. It is probable that the proteids 

 behave similarly, but they can not be observed. 



The organic materials necessary for plant nourishment 

 are not used without a change taking place ; through 

 chemical work they are turned into new and manifold 

 products, a few of them being now made synthetically 

 in the laboratory. The plant can not turn starch or 

 sugar directly into proteids with nitrates or sulphates. 

 Without a doubt many intermediate steps are necessary 

 before the final product is reached. But the "how" and 

 the "what" are still problems for the future. 



