Some Anomalies 



to the starting-point after two turns of the 

 spiral. 



Let us now give the sepals a base wide 

 enough to provide a tightly closed containing 

 wall. We shall see that the parts on sections 

 I and 3 are completely outside the spiral; 

 that the parts on sections 2 and 4 have their 

 two edges fitting under the adjoining sepals; 

 and that, lastly, the part on section 5 has one 

 edge covered and one free. On the other 

 hand, it is manifest that, hampered in their 

 expansion by the petal placed over them, the 

 edges caught under the others cannot send 

 forth their delicate appendages. Hence we 

 have the two bearded sepals at points i and 

 3, the two beardless sepals at points 2 and 4 

 and the half-bearded sepal at point 5. 



This explains the riddle of the rose. The 

 disparity of the five pieces of the calyx, ap- 

 parently an irrational structure, a capricious 

 anomaly, is really the corollary of a mathe- 

 matical law, the natural consequence of an 

 immanent algebraical relation. Disorder is 

 eloquent of order; irregularity bears evi- 

 dence of a ruling principle. 



Let us continue our excursion into the 

 realm of the plants. The quinary order al- 

 lots to the flower five petals arranged in a 

 269 



