98 



TALKS AFIELD. 



and the 3,654,000 in the peony ! The showy- 

 flowers occasionally produce seeds through 

 the aid of cross-fertilization, and such seeds 

 no doubt tend to correct the evil tendencies 



of continual in-breeding. 



The Arrangement of Leaves. 



It is usually a matter of great surprise to 

 the uninitiated in botany to learn that the 

 leaves of plants are arranged in a definite 

 order. Can it be possible that each of the 

 ten thousand leaves upon the great elm in 

 front of my window is placed upon the twig 

 in such an exact manner as to form a part of 

 any system of arrangement ? A little twig 

 from this tree presents 

 an appearance nearly like 

 Fig. 75. Beginning with 

 the lowest leaf, we find 

 that the third one above 

 is directly over the first. 

 The fourth is over the 

 second, the fifth over the 

 third, and so on. If we 

 draw a line from the left 

 to the right around the 

 Fig. 75. stem, beginning with the 



first leaf, it will (complete the circumference 



