tibe Sleep of tbe lC>Iant6 193 



of the sunflower writes in its tAvisted fibres the tale 

 of sun-risings and settings which it has followed ; 

 the flowers and leaves are chroniclers of the hours of 

 the day and the hourly changes of the weather. 



The small scarlet pimpernel on the roadside at- 

 tracts little attention ; put it under a microscope it 

 becomes a thing of marvelous beauty ; its small 

 gray-green leaves seem to be powdered with frost; 

 its scarlet petals are delicately veined ; the dark 

 centre glows into a round of roj^al purple. This ex- 

 quisite flower is one of the best of weather prophets. 

 Hours away it knows of the coming of the rain, 

 folds tight its petals so that scarcely a red tip shows, 

 bends down its leaves, and thus exposing the least 

 possible surface, waits for the approaching storm. 

 The later any of these sleep-taking plants linger in 

 the autumn the more wakeful they become. They 

 are like children — made drowsy by the hot summer 

 day, but alert and wide-eyed when the days are crisp 

 and cool. 



Perhaps there is no flower more fascinating in its 

 opening than the splendid moon-flower, a radiant 

 creature of Flora's own, Avhich might be described 

 as the Sultan's daughter in the "Arabian Nights " 

 — " round-faced and beautiful as the full moon in the 

 seventh night." The moon-flower, from a bulb, 

 sends up a most luxuriant vine, with leaves resem- 

 13 



