— 88 — 



to be prematurely ripened or scorched. We can now see that 

 the edges of the petals are beautifully " gaufres " "crimped." 

 The colour is still green with a tinge of yellow at the point — 

 The six stamens are already well developed, the anthers 

 having a well marked suture. The filament is not so long 

 as it afterwards becomes, being adapted to keep the stamen 

 within the shelter and protection of the perianth. Inside, 

 the ovary, about a quarter of an inch in length and of the 

 thickness of the tube of a watch — key, is of a glistening green. 

 From its top the style stretches upward, and n:ay be found 

 coyly hid in the intricacies of a petal, the tri-partite stigma 

 just coming to the outer lip of the flower. 



" The grains of pollen are at this stage still unripe. When 

 the anther is passed over the hand, or shaken over an object 

 glass there is no trace, but examined under the microscope 

 the grains will be found well developed. A little water floats 

 off many which can be scrutinized at leisure. They are oval 

 in form with a well marked suture. 



" The next stage of the flower is a very curious one — The 

 organs having ceased to require the protection of the floral 

 envelope, and on the contrary needing the full power of air 

 sun, light and air, to complete their development, and free- 

 dom for the winds and insects to waft the pollen grains 

 hither and whither, the petals turn upwards one by one, ex- 

 posing the inside of the leaf to view, and leaving the stamens 

 and pistil stretching outwards, without cover, in the manner 

 referred to at the commencement of this paper, as if they had 

 been naturally external to the perianth. The points of the 

 leaves unite at the top, and as the inside which is visible is 

 now of the richest colours, — light orange, or yellow, like the 

 mellow colour of a ripe apple, for the lower portion, and dark- 



